The food descriptions in 'The Guest List' were weirdly specific and kind of hilarious. The terrible wedding cake, the revolting seafood... it added to the overall sense of things going wrong. 'The Hunting Party' has that too with the game they're eating. It's a small touch, but it builds the world. Foley is good at using sensory details to enhance the unease.
It's all about the structure for me. The way she uses time—jumping between 'before' and 'after' the incident—is her signature move. 'The Hunting Party' uses that device just as effectively as 'The Guest List'. You know something terrible has happened, and the fun is in seeing how the seemingly mundane interactions earlier lead to that point. If that back-and-forth timeline is what you found compelling, then 'The Hunting Party' will feel instantly familiar. It's the same narrative engine.
Can we appreciate how good she is at titles? 'The Guest List', 'The Hunting Party', 'The Paris Apartment'... they all evoke a specific, intriguing setting right away. You know exactly what kind of closed-circle mystery you're getting. It's brilliant marketing. As for similarity, the titles alone tell you they're siblings.
Wait, are we talking about the Lucy Foley who also writes historical fiction under a pen name? Because that's a whole different vibe. Her thriller persona is very distinct. It's funny how authors can have separate lanes like that.
Honestly, just read Tana French if you want something with similar atmosphere but more literary heft. 'The Guest List' is fun, but it's airport thriller fun. French's 'The Searcher' or 'The Witch Elm' have that same slow-burn, character-driven mystery in an isolated Irish setting, but with prose that'll knock your socks off. Foley is for when you want a quick, addictive hit. French is for when you want to live in the story for a while.
2026-07-23 18:56:32
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My dream job served to me on a silver platter by one of the wealthiest members of Pembroke Hills Country Club.
The only catch? He’s my ex-boyfriend’s older brother with a reputation for being as charming as he is cunning.
But Cal doesn’t take no for an answer. He draws you in with flirty smiles and extravagant promises.
I should have seen him coming, but I didn’t. I should have stayed away, but I couldn’t.
His playful touches and burning gaze have ignited a fire in me. The more I resist him, the more irresistible he becomes.
I've always known there's an expiration date on the job–an expiration date on us.
But leaving isn't going to be easy with Cal on his knees, begging me to stay...
In the glittering world of Greenwich, Connecticut, where wealth and secrets collide, Kayla Morgan, a sharp-witted waitress, never expected to catch the eye of elusive billionaire Justin Drake. When a clumsy encounter at The Gilded Spoon drenches her in daiquiris, it sparks an undeniable connection that neither can shake. As the Greenwich Charity Auction looms, their paths cross again, igniting whispers of romance and a TMZ headline that thrusts Kayla into a spotlight she never wanted. Torn between doubt and desire, Kayla must navigate a world of opulence and intrigue to discover if love at first sight is real—or if Justin’s intentions are just another gilded illusion. A tale of passion, trust, and defying the odds, this romantic drama will keep you hooked as two hearts fight to find their place in a town where nothing is as it seems.
Violet Wintour is a controversial heiress in the 21st-century high society, but not for the same reasons other rich kids of London are. Her father, the Duke of Averbury, passed away with a family will that leads to a surprising twist.
Across the world, Clare Leighton is living a modest life. Years of struggling with bankruptcy begin to take a toll on her family. Her caring yet depressed parents force her to take a different path that she hasn't prepared for.
When the hand of fate brings these two different women together, something is going to change forever.
They say what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Cassidy Lane is about to find out that's a lie.
After catching her fiancé Tristan in bed with his assistant, Cassidy escapes to Sin City to drown her humiliation in cheap whiskey. She doesn't expect to meet a darkly handsome stranger at the bar—a man with cold eyes and a dangerous smile who listens to her rant about cheating men like she's the most fascinating person alive. One reckless night, a kitschy chapel, and two slurred "I do's" later, Cassidy wakes up in a penthouse she can't afford, wearing a diamond ring worth more than her apartment.
After catching her fiancé Tristan in bed with his assistant, Cassidy escapes to Sin City to drown her humiliation in cheap whiskey. She doesn't expect to meet a darkly handsome stranger at the bar—a man with cold eyes and a dangerous smile who listens to her rant about cheating men like she's the most fascinating person alive. One reckless night, a kitschy chapel, and two slurred "I do's" later, Cassidy wakes up in a penthouse she can't afford, wearing a diamond ring worth more than her apartment.
Then her new husband walks in.
Damien Blackwood. Tech billionaire. Ruthless CEO. The most feared man in the country.
And Tristan's boss.
Cassidy demands an annulment. Damien refuses. With a multi-billion-dollar merger on the line, a scandal would destroy everything he's built. His solution? A six-month contract. She plays the perfect wife in public, and he'll fund her dream of opening her own event planning studio. No feelings. No complications. Just business.
As the lines between contract and chemistry blur, Cassidy must decide: Is this marriage the worst mistake of her life… or the perfect match she never knew she needed?
Isabella Moretti was born into power, wealth, and expectation. As the precious heiress of an empire, her life has never been her own. So when her family demands she marry cold, commanding billionaire Sebastian Blackwell to seal a lucrative alliance, she obeys—because that’s what a Moretti does.
But on the night of the wedding, behind the locked doors of their lavish suite, Sebastian is not what she expected. His touch is possessive, his gaze unreadable—but beneath the ice, there’s heat. He makes her feel something she shouldn’t. And when their bodies collide, it isn’t duty—it’s desire and longing.
Still, her heart doesn’t belong to him yet.
It belongs to Luca Rossi—the boy her family cast out, the man she was forbidden to love. Wracked with guilt and confusion, Isabella flees before dawn, still in her wedding dress, and finds her way back to Luca. Their reunion is messy, breathless, and full of longing. One night. One mistake. One more secret.
Days later, Isabella’s world tilts again: she’s pregnant. And she has no idea whose child it is.
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"Rule 1! I don't want to see your filthy hands on my kids, make sure you are clean before touching them."
"Rule Two! I don't want you close to me. People like you are nothing but gold diggers."
Those were the rules Lucas Maxwell, the renowned billionaire gave to Scarlett Barnes before she was finally accepted into the big mansion as a nanny.
She had long dreamed of a high-paying job to foot her bills, and she finally got one. Without considering the terror she would face from Lucas, being the father of the kids she bonded with.
Scarlett thought it was the beginning of a new life, without realizing it was another phase of woes for her.
Fortunately, an opportunity came and she got into a contract marriage with Lucas, she gradually falls in love with him, but then secrets are revealed.
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What happens when she herself discovers her true identity?
I stumbled upon 'The Guest List' last summer, and it instantly reminded me of those Agatha Christie vibes but with a modern, bingeable twist. Both books by Lucy Foley are like a cocktail of suspense and drama—isolated settings, a group of people with secrets, and a murder that unravels everything. 'The Hunting Party' takes place at a snowy lodge, while 'The Guest List' is on a stormy island wedding, but both nail that 'no one can escape' tension.
What I love is how Foley layers her characters. They’re not just suspects; they feel like real people with messy histories. The pacing is addictive—I finished 'The Guest List' in one sitting because every chapter ends with a tiny cliffhanger. If you’re into atmospheric whodunits where the environment feels like a character itself, these are perfect. Bonus: they’re great for book clubs because everyone will have wild theories!
Honestly? I read 'The Guest List' and loved it. Then I read 'The Hunting Party' and thought, 'Oh, this is almost the same book, just a different setting.' The character archetypes and mystery beats felt really similar. So maybe space them out. Don't binge them all in a row, or you might get formula fatigue.