The Disinvited Guest

The Disinvited Guest / Carol Goodman 
NY: William Morrow, c2022.
304 p.

I usually grab any book by Goodman as soon as it appears; but this 2022 novel was one I skipped. Mostly because it's set during a pandemic, and I just wasn't in the mood for it in 2022. But I went back to it this month to catch up before reading Goodman's newest.

The story takes place in a returning pandemic, a few years after our shared 2020. Lucy Harper is our heroine; she still has recurring trauma and health issues after the original pandemic. But now she's married to Reed, her rich friend from college, and as another pandemic looms he is taking her to his family's private island for safety. They are quarantining with a handful of others, including Reed's sister and her girlfriend, and their college bestie Ada and her stuffy husband Crosby. There's also Mac, a local and good friend of Reed's, who will be joining them. It seems perfect, what could go wrong? 

This is another book with Agatha Christie vibes; everyone stuck on an island and strange things beginning to happen. Supplies are going missing, creepy historical things about the island are coming to light, and people are not always what they seem. An interesting element added the main story is the backstory of the island as a location for sick immigrants to be quarantined in the past. And the ghastly fate of many of them shows up in family documents that Lucy finds and begins to read. As things ramp up the reader starts to wonder, is this all for real or is Lucy loosing her grip a little bit? 

While I was hesitant about reading another pandemic novel, this one was weirdly ridiculous in the best way. Creepy woods and past events, people who are all under great stress, isolation and grave danger. This was a little more focused on contemporary characters and a remote setting than some of Goodman's often academic settings but I found it had good pacing and really kept me reading. The ending was bonkers, although I had been suspecting one of the characters for a while before it all came out. Definitely an atmospheric and chilling read for this time of year. Goodman is, as usual, reliable with her suspense.