We’re delighted to be sharing Elena’s thoughts about The Fifth Guest by Jenny Knight.
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- Publisher : HQ (3 Aug. 2023)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 336 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0008297584
- ISBN-13 : 978-0008297589
All of them are guilty of something…
Five friends. One deadly secret.
Five old university friends gather on the eve of their flatmate’s memorial at a beautiful riverside house.
Host Caro is as perfect as always.
Shy, awkward Lily’s now a bestselling author.
Sports hero George loves suburban fatherhood.
Bad-boy Travis only gets his highs from meditation.
And gatecrasher Elle is still a troublemaker.
Estranged for years, they’re finally ready to reminisce over dry martinis and delicious food. But there’s more than that on the menu…
Because each guest is hiding a dark secret about their time at Oxford.
They’re all guilty of something. Is one of them guilty of murder?
Book Review
5 university friends are gearing up to attend a memorial for a fellow student, Henry. The night before the memorial they are due to attend a dinner so that they can reminisce about the time they spent at Oxford together. Some of the group come from affluent backgrounds and are entitled and expect to achieve everything they could ever want whereas others are less well-off which makes for an interesting blend of characters.
The Fifth Guest is told via each of the characters’ perspectives as well as flashbacks from their time at university. As the dinner progresses, secrets are spilled and the guests are left stunned by each other’s revelations. One of the guests in particular is still bitter about their university days and is determined to cause trouble! Rather than focussing on Henry they bring up some terrible things that occurred at the time.
I really enjoyed this thriller and the author weaves the past expertly into the present with revelations and twists galore.
I loved how the plot unravelled and found the characters interesting with their differing backgrounds perhaps justifying slightly some of their actions.
There was so much in this book to keep me entertained and I did finish it really quickly as I couldn’t wait to see what happened to Henry and who was to blame.
This book is excellent and I can really see it being translated onto the screen!
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About the Author
Jenny Knight studied English literature at university before going on to work in journalism and the publishing industry. For many early mornings alongside this she coached rowing – a job that inspired the initial idea for her first crime novel, The Fifth Guest.
Jenny lives with her husband, son and a black-and-white cat.
Find her on Twitter and Instagram @jknightauthor