Publishers Weekly
06/25/2018
This disappointing thriller from bestseller Lapena (A Stranger in the House) riffs on Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None. A small group of people arrive for the weekend at Mitchell’s Inn, deep in the snowy Catskills, where they hope to enjoy the seclusion and natural beauty of the mountains. The first evening, a young woman, Dana Hart, is found dead at the bottom of the stairs. To lawyer David Paley, it doesn’t look like an accident, and he suspects Dana’s fiancé, Matthew Hutchinson. The problem is that there’s a winter storm raging, and the inn is without power and a generator. Since they can’t contact the police, the guests settle in for a long wait, and the presence of a dead body only exacerbates the mounting tensions. Each guest is hiding a dark secret, and as the secrets are revealed and accusations are hurled, the body count rises, and it seems that no one is safe. The pace picks up in the third act, but it’s not enough to save a narrative populated with emotionally distant characters and paint-by-the-numbers murders. Agent: Helen Heller, Helen Heller Agency (Canada). (Aug.)
From the Publisher
Praise for An Unwanted Guest:
“A gripping mystery perfect for fans of Agatha Christie.”
–Good Housekeeping
“Proving that time periods may change but people do not, Lapena delivers a solid whodunit with an ending that would make Dame Christie proud.”
–USA Today
“Another nail-biter perfect for an all-nighter.”
–Entertainment Weekly
“Shari Lapena has set up a chilling version of what Agatha Christie called ‘the locked room mystery’ (and it couldn’t be better for a cold winter afternoon) . . . Sometimes, nothing beats a classic mystery set-up.”
–PureWow
“A new thriller that will give you serious Agatha Christie vibes . . . if you’re one of the many people who counts [And Then There Were None] among their favorite books, you will love An Unwanted Guest. . . A deftly crafted and expertly paced thriller that will keep readers guessing (and terrified) until the very end.”
–Bustle
“This compelling and realistic modern take on the country-house mystery will gain new fans for the author and is definitely one to hand to devotees of Agatha Christie (and her modern interpreter, Sophie Hannah).”
–Booklist
“An intriguing cast, an isolated location, a raging storm and the threat of death in every dark corner: An Unwanted Guest reads like Agatha Christie with a shot of adrenalin. Clear your desk before you start it because you won’t want to put it down.”
–Gilly Macmillan, New York Times bestselling author of I Know You Know
“Lapena has written a great whodunit, with a delicious Christie-like vibe. Fans of the author's first novel will want this, and anyone who savors a well-crafted murder mystery will gobble it up!”
–Library Journal (starred review)
Praise for A Stranger in the House:
“Lapena’s A Stranger in the House will have you sleeping with the lights on for weeks.”
—Bustle
“Smart and suspenseful. . . you'll never see the ending coming.”
—PureWow
“So much suspense. So many twists. Good luck sleeping tonight.”
—Hello Giggles
“So many dizzying twists you'd better not drive after reading!”
—Linwood Barclay, New York Times bestselling author of Parting Shot
“Smart, twisty and compulsive. Suspense and suspicion accumulate relentlessly, toying with your expectations and your emotions right up until the packs-a-punch ending. Don’t miss it, and don’t expect to be able to put it down.”
—Gilly Macmillan, New York Times bestselling author of The Perfect Girl
“A diverting page-turner."
—Publishers Weekly
"Great suspense and lots of twists."
—The Toronto Star
"Lapena keeps the well-developed twists churning, with each a surprise notch in this ever-evolving plot, and she continues this skillful storytelling until the stunning twist at the end. . . memorable."
—Associated Press
Praise for The Couple Next Door:
“Meticulously crafted and razor sharp. The Couple Next Door lingers long after you turn the final page.”
—Harlan Coben, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Fool Me Once
“The twists come as fast [as] you can turn the pages.”
—People
“Provocative and shocking. One crime, an entire neighborhood of suspects, secrets and lies. How well do we ever know those around us? The Couple Next Door will keep you glued to the pages in search of the answer. Even then, you’ll never guess the truth . . . until it's too late.”
—Lisa Gardner, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Find Her
“I read this novel at one sitting, absolutely riveted by the story line. The suspense was beautifully rendered and unrelenting!”
—Sue Grafton, New York Times bestselling author of X
“Real men read women writers–because of books like this. Trust me.”
—Lee Child, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Make Me
“A twisty, utterly riveting tale that will send readers on a wild roller-coaster ride of emotions. Shocking revelations kept me turning the pages like a madwoman.”
—Tess Gerritsen, New York Times bestselling author of Playing with Fire
“Expertly paced and finely crafted, The Couple Next Door is a gripping thriller of the highest order. I couldn’t put it down.”
—A. J. Banner, bestselling author of The Good Neighbor
“Gripped me from the very beginning to the very end!”
—Becky Masterman, author of Rage Against the Dying
“Brilliant! This utterly riveting psychological thriller hurtles along at breakneck speed, never giving you the opportunity to catch your breath. Twisty, turny, and unputdownable.” —C. L. Taylor, bestselling author of The Lie
“Exquisitely torturous tension.”
—NPR.org
“Where did that baby go! It’s hard not to read to the end to find out, and the twists waiting there are gratifyingly clever.”
—USA Today
“The many never-saw-them-coming twists and questionable characters . . . will keep you on the edge of your seat. First-time novelist Lapena’s writing is spare and tense, and it makes The Couple Next Door a compulsive read. The last line is absolutely a killer.”
—Good Housekeeping
“[A] well-sculpted domestic thriller . . . highly suspenseful . . . Twists are subtly revealed with aplomb, taking the story to increasingly unpredictable levels.”
—The Associated Press
Kirkus Reviews
2018-06-18
It's murder o'clock at a secluded, snowed-in Catskills resort.Winter in the Catskills is just the time and place for a woodsy mountain getaway, at least for this ensemble cast. When the Mitchell's Inn's weekend guests arrive, "all is covered in a pure, muffling white snow," and they are ready to relax. It's not to be. The first evening, Dana Hart tumbles down the grand staircase to her death. It seems to be an accident, but David Paley's lawyerly instincts lead him to suspect murder. Unfortunately, phone lines are down because of the ice storm raging outside, and the police can't be called. Even worse, there's no power and no generator backup. They're stuck with a dead body, and of course, they really shouldn't move it to preserve evidence. As the group attempts to make the best of the situation, they begin to realize that nasty secrets aren't the exception among them but rather the rule, and as those secrets are revealed, paranoia takes hold. When more guests begin to die in suspicious ways, panic spreads, and any good sense that remained among the group blows away in the frigid winter wind. Readers who prefer likable characters won't find many here, except perhaps Candace White, an author who was hoping for a quiet place to write her new book. Lapena's (A Stranger in the House, 2017) very loose take on Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None further suffers from choppy, repetitive prose and an uninspiring reveal.Dame Agatha did it much, much better.
