YOUth Review: An Unwanted Guest by Shari Lapena

An Unwanted Guest is by Shari Lapena is an adult fiction psychological and suspense novel. The story is set in a secluded lodge located in the midst of a snowstorm. A group of guests, each with their own secrets and baggage, arrive at the lodge seeking refuge from the harsh weather. As they settle in, tensions rise due to the isolation, and communication with the outside world becomes impossible. However, the situation takes a dark turn when one of the guests is found dead under mysterious circumstances. Panic and suspicion grip the group as they realize they are trapped with a potential killer among them. As the story unfolds, the characters’ pasts are revealed, unveiling a web of deceit, hidden motives, and personal connections that might have led to the murder. The characters gather clues, share information, search for evidence, and investigate alibis to catch the murderer. There were many confrontations in the book that almost led to the murderer being caught!

One personal critique I have about this book is that the writing is really bland and made the whole experience really slow and uninteresting. The characters were another poor aspect. None of them were likable or relatable and almost everyone made really stupid decisions regarding how to stay alive. For a book that only had 290 pages there was only so much happening. For a book about nine plus people only two characters were killed within 200 pages. That took way too long for anything to happen. And the ending literally wrapped everything up in about five pages.

I would give this book a 3/5.

This review was written by Anshul G.