Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“All of them are guilty of something…”

If someone asked me what my ideal book would be, I’d present them this on a gold platter. I loved everything about it! I’ve been on a thriller binge lately and don’t regret a single second, especially as I picked up this which is sure to be in my top reads of the year. I’m so happy to be sharing my review of The Fifth Guest ahead of its publication next week!

About the book

Five friends. One deadly secret.

Five old university friends gather on the eve of their flatmate’s memorial at a beautiful riverside house.

Host Caro is as perfect as always. Shy, awkward Lily’s now a bestselling author. Sports hero George loves suburban fatherhood. Bad-boy Travis only gets his highs from meditation. And gatecrasher Elle is still a troublemaker.

Estranged for years, they’re finally ready to reminisce over dry martinis and delicious food. But there’s more than that on the menu…

Because each guest is hiding a dark secret about their time at Oxford.

They’re all guilty of something. Is one of them guilty of murder?

The beginning

When I first saw how many characters were involved in this book, I got a bit worried. In any other book, it probably would be to much for my liking. But my god, just how different these characters are as we get to know them, how strikingly memorable their personalities are made it impossible to forget them or to get them mixed up! Any worries I had instantly melted away and I actually had such a great time getting to know each of them. *chef’s kiss!* Caro, Lily, George, Travis and Elle are now fully fledged adults with their own lives, but were once housed together at university with Henry, who we soon find out was tragically killed. That’s all the detail we get about Henry, except the group have all been invited to a memorial to honour his memory. From reading all the perspectives and dipping in and out of the past, we learn about the kinds of people they all are, and I loved them all for different reasons. They’re all flawed in some way; I sensed jealousy, a bit of pretentiousness, maybe the start of some superiority complex. In all honesty, these characters were simply fascinating to me.

“She saw everything, she felt everything. All the egos that needed quietening. She could feel it all on her skin like spiders.”

Caro chooses to host a reunion for her old uni mates the night before the memorial. Let’s be honest, she wants them all to see how well off she is, how grand her house is. And even though this would bug me in real life, I bloody loved Caro’s character. There’s something about her that had me wanting to find out about her life before, and to be honest, I had the same feeling about the whole group. It was so entertaining reading how all these old friends were brought back together, but also quite sad under the circumstances. We learn of friendships, relationships and grudges between the group, and Elle certainly causes a stir when she turns up, uninvited, to Caro’s house. She’s rebellious and loves to see Caro uncomfortable, and we explore this more as we read more about their university days. The author perfectly builds their story, piece by piece, and I seemed to be constantly curious. I needed to know all the secrets, understand the tension in the room, and learn exactly what happened to Henry.

The middle

I found it increasingly difficult to put this book down after a while. I felt so drawn into these characters’ lives and so absorbed in what was going on that I wanted to forget all my responsibilities and just sit and read. So far, I didn’t feel like the book was much of a thriller. It felt more like an intense blend of secrets and drama and desire, sometimes bordering on obsession. There was a dark edge to it that made me question everything, and it felt exciting and unpredictable. Lily and Travis’ relationship was my absolute favourite up to this point, I have to admit (even though it was likely to change.) I would happily read a book based off these two characters any day of the week. Elle and George’s relationship had me completely gripped, especially when an ‘innocent’ act could potentially turn deadly… It was here where I felt the book was finally beginning to show those thriller elements we’d been promised, and I could sense something big was coming. But who would be involved? Could any of these characters really be capable of taking a life?

“They both laughed. Cracked up. Maybe it was just something to break the sadness but it felt like the hope of old times.”

Not all of these characters were particularly likeable people, but I surprisingly loved that. It made them stand out so much, and it certainly made time at Caro’s dinner party very entertaining. The juicy secrets about their university relationships, everything they did (whether good or bad) created an original story, and because of their personalities, it felt like we never really know the real them. The story is consistently mysterious and engrossing, my mind was jumping to all sorts of conclusions about Henry’s death. When these details were revealed, the book changed. It felt super dark, emotional and almost like this was the start of something else entirely. The author cleverly pens this change making both the past and present chapters even more important to understand what these characters had come from, and how the events of the past shaped who they’d become. There were still secrets, things left unsaid, what ifs. And it was here where the book’s title really shone through. What was the fifth guest capable of?

The end

The chapters that followed were SO intense and I absolutely loved them. Every single one of these characters has a secret, something they’re guilty of that they’ve kept stowed away for their sanity, and unravelling some shocking secrets was everything I wanted from this book. The drama was written to perfection, the need for revenge so strong that I binge-read every chapter. Even at this point in the book, we’re constantly learning new information about so many characters, and my impressions of them continued to change. It was completely absorbing and I couldn’t get enough! There were certain scenes that felt quite upsetting and tough to stomach at times, but the author tackles the delicate topics so well – trigger warning for sexual assault, rape and drug abuse. The lies, the secrets, the truth kept spilling out of different mouths and I felt it wouldn’t be long before someone snapped. Before they couldn’t take any more. It felt dangerous, unnerving and perfect.

“She was so tired. She just wanted it to disappear. She reasoned that if she couldn’t remember, she must be able to forget.”

The author certainly rounded off the story flawlessly in my opinion. There’s chaos and coverups, a twist that genuinely made me gasp. The way everything unravelled was written so so well – just when you think you have everything worked out, just wait! The ending completely threw me off and left me thinking about so much. I loved that there was a kind of round up of these characters’ lives, but with each one, you’re left with questions about how life would continue for them, how things would change and what they’d have to live with. It was a genius finale, a complete masterpiece. Another book that’ll most certainly be up there in my top reads of the year! Whether you’re a fan of a engaging thriller, a book with dramatic reunions or exposing people’s deepest, darkest secrets, you really can’t go wrong with this one. I’ll be thinking about this for months, absolutely recommend!

Overall thoughts

The Fifth Guest is a work of art. How the author untangles the messy lives of five university house mates and crafts it into a contender for thriller of the year is just mind-blowing. The book is super addictive with a big focus on character development, the dual timelines combined with the slow-burn narrative perfectly builds suspense and always kept me curious. Even though academia crime thrillers are nothing new, the plot felt original with surprises around every corner. It’s dark, fascinating and utterly compelling. I loved every word!

Huge thanks to the author, Jenny Knight, and the wonderful team at HQ for my copy of this book! You can pre-order your own copy of The Fifth Guest right now on Amazon or wherever you buy your books. Make sure you’re following the author over on Twitter and Instagram for more updates!

Looking for book reviews?

If you’re in need of reviews for your own book, do get in touch to get on my submissions list! All the information you need is on my book reviews page. If you enjoyed this review and would like to support my blog, you can buy me a coffee 😊