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“The Last Guest is a sharp, unshrinking look at the costs of submission—to power and control, to ambition and desire, even to the wish to protect those we love by forcing memory underground.”—Paula McLain, author of The Paris Wife and When the Stars Go Dark
When Elspeth Bell attends the fiftieth birthday party of her ex-husband, Richard Bryant, the Hollywood director who launched her acting career, all she wants is to pass unnoticed through the glamorous crowd in his sprawling Los Angeles mansion. Instead, there are only seven other guests—and Richard's pet octopus, Persephone, watching over them from her tank as the intimate party grows more surreal (and rowdy) by the hour. Come morning, Richard is dead—and all of the guests are suspects.
In the weeks that follow, each guest comes under suspicion: the school friend, the studio producer, the actress, the actor, the new partner, the manager, the cinematographer, and even Elspeth herself. What starts out as a locked-room mystery soon reveals itself to be much more complicated, as dark stories from Richard's past surface, colliding with memories of their marriage that Elspeth vowed never to revisit. She begins to wonder not just who killed Richard, but why these eight guests were invited—and what sort of man would desire to possess a creature as mysterious and unsettling as Persephone.
The Last Guest is a stylish exploration of power—the power of memory, the power of perception, the power of one person over another.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
October 5, 2021 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9780593452257
- File size: 318718 KB
- Duration: 11:03:59
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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July 26, 2021
Former actor Elspeth Bryant Bell, the 42-year-old narrator of Little’s searing debut, flies from New York to L.A. to attend the 50th birthday bash of her abusive ex-husband, director Richard Bryant, because her 19-year-old daughter, Lillie, doesn’t want to go solo. When Ellie arrives at Richard’s Hollywood home, however, she learns that Lillie begged off, and the event isn’t the “sprawling carnival” she expected, but an intimate gathering comprising Richard’s manager, oldest friend, and much-younger boyfriend, together with the cast and crew from his latest movie. Debauchery and drama ensue, and when Ellie wakes the next morning, Richard is dead of an apparent overdose. The police suspect homicide, though, and grill the guests, all of whom Richard somehow wronged. Stuck in L.A. until the case concludes, Ellie also starts digging, which forces her to confront her and Richard’s own fraught history. Little intercuts the party’s aftermath with flashbacks to Ellie’s past and the soiree itself, imparting tension, heft, and drive. Flimsy supporting characters and a murky denouement underwhelm, but Ellie’s emotional journey both grips and gratifies. Little is a writer to watch. Agent: Lucy V. Cleland, Kneerim & Williams Agency.
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