An Unwanted Guest by Shari Lapena

Page 254 - I have no idea who the killer is and why they're doing the killing.

Page 256 - I know who the killer is.

Page 260 - Wait, the killer might be someone else.

*Takes a shower instead of reading the final pages in order to stew over what I thought I knew, the details I thought I remembered and thought were important, and make connections that I thought were there.*

Page 270 - Ok, now I know who the killer is but I don't know why.

An Unwanted Guest by Shari Lapena is a modern-day game of Clue with a handful of complicated characters who share a common goal one snowy weekend in the Catskills: to have a peaceful, relaxing, luxurious weekend. But just as their weekend gets started, their common goal evolves into simply staying alive.

The story unravels much like it would if it had happened in real life. When one person winds up dead, it appears to be an accident, but each new detail that unfolds can either be easily explained away, or is part of something far more sinister. Each character has a reason, an opportunity, and a personality trait that would make them a killer, either in a crime of passion or premeditation. And each guest has a secret to keep and judgments to make through the lens of those secrets. It is truly brilliant how Lapena can bring together characters who don't know each other yet are still affected in some way by their own separate baggage.

An Unwanted Guest is a clever mystery with a subtle build where nothing is overtly obvious. It is well and efficiently written, though I am not a fan of the particular style; I don't appreciate three-word sentences, it makes me feel like I'm reading my grocery list. The book is light on imagery, but that's probably because most of it takes place in a hotel during an ice storm with the power out. There is no real investment in the characters, but the focus of the story is on the whodunnit and why. Like playing Clue, we don't care about who the characters are, we just want to solve the mystery before anyone else, so in that regard, I enjoyed the story and it was well-crafted.

I enjoyed this book more than Lapena's other, The Couple Next Door, which ended in a similar fashion to An Unwanted Guest. I'm not sure why Lapena does this; does she just put the pen down and decide to stop writing, or is it to leave room for sequels? Because in either book, a good extra page or two of explanation would be sufficient.

This is a book you will read in a weekend, aided by the fact that the entirety of the book takes place over a weekend. It is a chilling murder-mystery, perfect for reading under a thick blanket by the fire, particularly as the weather gets more blustery. And if you read this and The Shining, you probably won't be checking into any remote hotels any time soon...

The Dollhouse by Fiona Davis

As many a bookworm can attest, naming your favorite book can be almost as complicated and emotional as naming your favorite child. But without warning, Fiona Davis' The Dollhouse rapidly ascends to one of the coveted top spots.

I'll be honest, The Dollhouse was a book I passed on many times over when I saw it at the library, breaking the cardinal rule of reading: judging a book by it's cover. Then a fellow Instragrammer and bibliophile raved about it so my next trip to the library felt like I had hit the jackpot. I wasn't sure what to expect from the book, but I certainly didn't expect it to grab me by my glove-less hand and transport me to a world of propriety, glitz, glam, and gumption. And that I'd never want to leave.

Unlike Donoghue's The Wonder, Davis doesn't utilize any specific writing style to separate her book from any others, but she creates vivid, empathetic characters who we can't decide if we want to be best friends with, or just be period. Darby, Rose, and the gang are so magnetic and charming, the mystery of the plot - which serves to prop up the storyline - is quickly lost to simply wanting to know more about the characters and their lives; like FRIENDS but with more drug rings and alcohol, and less coffee houses and sarcastic one-liners. A story I didn't want to end, I was completely enveloped in the energetic atmosphere, enchanting setting, and the engrossing, expertly intertwining tale.

Written in alternating chapters, which could have muddied the story, Davis ingeniously infuses her tale with blatant label-feminism, and highlights the almost anti-feminist fact that we humans need each other, from the basic food-and-water necessities, to the complexities of navigating a hotel for women in New York City, both in the 1950's and in present-day. Davis expertly tells of what it meant to need a man back then and what it meant to NOT need a man, as well as what it means to need a man in present-day, and how those issues are strikingly different but also shockingly similar. Davis even throws in some sexual identity issues just to make the melting pot even spicier. The elements Davis includes in The Dollhouse are brilliant, from the basic plot backbone, all the way down to the details of a simple spec of spice.

Written in a to-the-point, almost blog-ish way, Davis appropriately and concisely wraps up any loose ends in such a way that is sympathetic to the complex characters, yet isn't stymied by some horrific, just-for-the-sake-of-drama tragedy that would sully the actors or setting. So while the mystery added a fragrant twist, the spicy characters and the peppery plot were able to stand on their own. As an avid bookworm, I'm excited to see what Fiona Davis comes up with next...

Mini Shopaholic

I know you're not supposed to judge a book by it's cover (then why do they try so hard to make them pretty, I ask you?!), but since shopping is in my blood, I instantly gravitated towards Sophie Kinsella's Confessions of a Shopaholic. Then leaped for joy when I learned it was a series. And even more when I learned the series would continue (this discovery was many years back so *sigh* Mini Shopaholic is the final book in the series. I did tweet Kinsella begging for a Shopaholic Takes Hollywood but have yet to hear back. Fingers crossed!)

So then I guess I don't need to tell you, I love these books. But more so, I love Sophie Kinsella. A British charmer with a quick wit and the vital talent of putting said wit to paper and have it properly translate. One of my goodreads friends gave her a bad review and I was offended! Her books are laugh-out-loud funny, endearing, intelligent, dramatic, fun, and completely worth the effort (unlike Outlander but don't even get me started on that hot mess).

We pick up shortly where Shopaholic and Sister leaves off, with Luke and Becky Brandon living with her parents while they try to find a suitable home for them and Minnie, their precocious two-year old. I'd say spoiled, but Becky's parenting skills aren't what's being reviewed, here...

In the midst of deal after deal falling through, for one unimaginable reason or another, a national financial crisis leaves Becky feeling like the fate of the economy is on her shoulders when she's probably the only one supporting it. While laughing at the ridiculousness that is her and her life, you can't help but like her, feel like she was the best friend you never had, understand the euphoric ecstasy that comes with shopping, and might even be compelled to do a little shopping yourself. She is assertive and stands up for herself, while also reminding us readers why it pays to be nice to everyone all the time no matter what.

No, the subject matter doesn't make you squirm for the sake of art; the climax of the story was Becky spending an obscene amount of money when the entire series was based on one question: will Becky finally get her financial life under control? The answer: no! And that's ok because we love Becky and everything about her. And no one can say she didn't help the economy.

Any of Kinsella's Shopaholic series - or The Undomestic Goddess, Can You Keep A Secret?, Twenties Girl, Remember Me?, or any of the litany of books she has published - is worth a haul in your tote, but it probably won't be there for long. I blew through these books because they're fun, funny, and surprisingly down to earth. Kinsella - as usual - gives us a sparkly, designer life-raft to survive the dark, deep ocean that is made up of the critically-acclaimed uber-dramas. I hope Kinsella never stops writing.

The Book of Mormon Girl

Do you ever get into these modes where all you eat is Greek yogurt; or Ramen noodles; or popcorn? Then don't want to look at it for awhile? Yeah, I'm that way with books. Ok, and food too.

After finishing Thirteen Reasons Why, I just didn't feel a draw to any particular book. I tried to pick up a few, including The Friday Night Knitting Club, and Fifty Shades Darker, but it just wasn't happenin'. Then one night while watching The Colbert Report, his guest was Joanna Brooks, author of The Book of Mormon Girl, and suddenly my book-interest was revived. She was so down-to-earth and enigmatic (a Liberal Mormon!), it almost made me want to become a Mormon. But I thought it best to read the book first.

The next day, I went out and picked it up at my local bookseller (sorry, peeps, it's a new release, so by "local bookseller" I mean Barnes and Noble) and was hooked that night, which wasn't hard to do since there are barely 200 pages.

The limited number of pages also meant, however, that there was a certain meat lacking to the story. Brooks gave time and effort to a few anecdotes, but the majority of the book felt more girl-looking-in than girl-navigating-life-and-faith. By the end, I felt the lack of pages represented about 3/4 of the book, or - more appropriate - 3/4 of the story.

Brooks begins her navigation through life with the most open of hearts towards the faith that was thrust upon her. Not that she has any remorse; to this day she continues to be a practicing Mormon. She observes her mother tirelessly research the family lineage in order to properly baptize them all, and to forever record them among the family history. She followers her parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles, and bonus aunts and uncles through the blind faith that is faith, knowing nothing more than that she wants to belong.

But as Brooks gets older and experiences the trial and tribulations of life that are not separated by faith, she often finds the two conflicting, with her confusion, doubt, anxiety, and multitude of unanswered and possibly unanswerable questions the only outcome.

If nothing else, Brooks provides us all with an unwavering loyalty towards herself. Whether it be her level of dedication to presenting her best self to the world (taking a moment to bow down to Marie Osmond and the extents to which she took to primp), or her underlying desire to ensure her own happiness.

Aside from her level of self-acceptance, we have much to learn from Ms. Brooks. She offers a very interesting perspective of the world, and offers points of view one wouldn't normally consider. Like I said, the only disappointing factor was that the book wasn't longer. If that's not a complaint wrapped in a compliment, I don't know what is.

(Update: My friend and book club amiga, Mer, read the book and enjoyed it as well. It also - naturally - sparked some very interesting conversation.)