"An unwanted guest" by Shari Lapena: Review:

“One may smile, and smile, and be a villain.”

When I first saw the book and read its synopsis on the back, it immediately reminded me of one of the dearest books I’ve classified in the list, which is “Les dix petits nègres” by Agatha Christie. For those who’ve already read it, you can imagine what it is about. For those who haven’t, well it’s about gatherings in a hostel “Mitchell’s Inn”, a welcoming, cozy and perfectly relaxing setting for a winter weekend, which turns up to be, obviously, a crime scene at the end.

Shari Lapena pigmented her novel with some criterias that helped through the narration and promoted murders. I truly loved all the stories given back and forth, the little glimpses I had of every guests’ life and the interesting secrets they’re hiding. GOOD NEWS! There is a little love story you can witness despite all the negative vibes around.

As much as I loved the twists and turns, as much as I didn’t like the end. I had high broken expectations. I truly enjoyed reading it, but I expected a better end. I felt like reading the whole 300 pages, to finally have the killer’s name swung in the last 5 pages, as easy as it can sound. A name that made me think of all the kill choices Mrs. Lapena adopted. I mean, I don’t know, I seriously expected it to be more interesting, more cringey should I say, harder to get and announce. I was truly disappointed.

This was the first book I’ve read of Shari Lapena, and after finishing it, I did some research about her and her releases. Without any surprise, I did find that it's her least rated book. Readers recommend another book of her, which is “The couple next door”, claiming it as a big success. I think I’m going to give it a chance. I hope it’s going to be worth it.