AUDIO

The Disinvited Guest

by Carol Goodman
HarperAudio. Jul. 2022. 10:26 hrs. ISBN 9780063020726. $27.99. THRILLER
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Ten years after the COVID-19 pandemic, Lucy Harper and her husband, Reed, take refuge with friends on his family’s island, waiting out the newest pandemic. Sequestered from society, the group should feel safe, but they are unsettled by the island’s troubling history. Lucy soon discovers the family’s connection to the island, which was once used as a quarantine colony for immigrant typhus patients. What she learns sends Lucy spiraling, making her question whether the island is haunted, or if someone in the group is out for revenge. Goodman’s (The Sea of Lost Girls; The Stranger Behind You) latest mixes suspense with current events. Narrator Imani Jade Powers ratchets up the tension, precisely capturing Lucy’s slow descent into madness as she learns more about the island’s past.
VERDICT While there are few surprises, fans of Agatha Christie, Ruth Ware, and Lucy Foley will enjoy this thriller, complete with the tropes of people stranded on a haunted island. For those who have lived through the COVID pandemic, the horror may not be the ghosts of the island but thoughts of recurring pandemics and lockdowns.
Reviewed by Elyssa Everling , Dec 01, 2022
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