Wednesday 27 November 2019

Book ~ "An Unwanted Guest" (2018) Shari Lapena

From Goodreads ~ A remote lodge in upstate New York is the perfect getaway. ... until the bodies start piling up.

It's winter in the Catskills and the weather outside is frightful. But Mitchell's Inn is so delightful! The cozy lodge nestled deep in the woods is perfect for a relaxing - maybe even romantic - weekend away. The Inn boasts spacious old rooms with huge wood-burning fireplaces, a well-stocked wine cellar and opportunities for cross-country skiing, snowshoeing or just curling up with a book and someone you love. 

So when the weather takes a turn for the worse and a blizzard cuts off the electricity - and all contact with the outside world - the guests settle in for the long haul. The power's down but they've got candles, blankets and wood - a genuine rustic experience! 

Soon, though, a body turns up - surely an accident. When a second body appears, they start to panic. Then they find a third body. Within the snowed-in paradise, something - or someone - is picking off the guests one by one. They can't leave and with no cell service, there's no prospect of getting the police in until the weather loosens its icy grip. The weekend getaway has turned deadly. For some couples, it's their first time away. For others, it will be their last. And there's nothing they can do about it but huddle down and hope they can survive the storm. 

Ten people head for a weekend getaway to a quaint inn in the Catskill ... two girl friends, an engaged couple, a dating couple, a couple whose marriage is in trouble, an author and an attorney.  Because of the nasty wintry weather, staff and other guests can't make it and it's up to the owner and his son to take care of everyone.

On the second morning, one of the guests is found dead at the bottom of the stairs.  It looks like an accident but the attorney wants to make sure so asks that the body not be moved until the police arrive ... which probably wouldn't be until the next day.  Then another guest is found dead, obviously murdered.  And later that day, there is another murder.

No one trusts each other now.  Was it someone who was staying at the inn committing the murders?  Or was there someone else hiding there they aren't aware of?

This was an interesting story with lots of twists and turns to throw you off and get you thinking in different directions about whodunnit.  The whodunnit was a surprise to me and I bought it.  What I wasn't buying, though, was how they were caught (the clue they left behind).  I liked the writing style.  It's written in third person perspective with a focus on wherever the action is.  As a head's up, there is swearing.

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