the invitation book review

The Invitation by Lucy Foley

103 Good Housekeeping readers read and reviewed The Invitation by Lucy Foley

80% were satisfied with the ending.

78% of readers rated it overall as very good/excellent.

80% would read books by the same author again and 76% would recommend this book to a friend.

ROME, 1950S. ONE FATEFUL NIGHT, HAL JACOBS MEETS STELLA...

...a beautiful society darling from New York. To Hal, flailing in the post-war darkness, she’s a point of light. They’re from different worlds, but both trying and failing to carve out a new life.

Stella vanishes all too quickly, until a curious invitation from an Italian Contessa reels her back into Hal’s world. They join the Contessa’s collection of luminaries on a yacht headed for Cannes film festival.

The scene on board is a fiction - scars from the war can be hidden yet not healed. Everyone is hiding a dark history, but Stella’s secrets run the deepest. Compelled by her fragile beauty, Hal is determined to bring back the girl she once was, the girl who’s been confined to history.

The Invitation is an epic love story that will transport you from the glamour of the Italian Riviera, to the darkness of war-torn Spain, and to a golden - if rather haunted - time. Perfect for fans of Kate Morton and Victoria Hislop.

Here's what our readers had to say about The Invitation

‘I stepped into the story straight away - I was right there with the beautifully described characters and exquisitely drawn locations. This tale had great back- stories and twists of fate - -I was sorry to reach the last page! What a great read!’

‘This novel is just waiting to be made into a film. It’s easy to ready style belies an intriguing and fascinating plot that is both believable and inspiring.’

‘I was gripped from the beginning- a book which held my attention as a result of good characterisation, intense plot, superb style and wonderful sense of place. I have not read anything by this author before but will do again.’

‘Well written with empathetic characters. This is the second book I have read by this author and I have really enjoyed them both.’

‘An unashamedly romantic novel that swept me away to a glamorous period and luxurious locations. Lucy Foley shows a sharp eye for detailed and well-researched description...Thank you for sending it to me.’

If you see a book with a Good Housekeeping Reader Recommended Books logo, you can feel confident that it has been read and loved by readers just like you.

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THE INVITATION

by Lucy Foley ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 2, 2016

Obsession, obsession everywhere, and a flute of spumante to drink. As in a movie from this period, melodrama and clichés are...

A tragedy-laced romance set among the glitterati on the Italian Riviera in the 1950s.

Hal Jacobs is an English journalist who has been scraping by in Rome after a soul-killing war experience and a broken engagement back home. A friend passes along his personal invitation to attend a fancy soiree given by a contessa looking to raise money for a film. When security at the party busts Hal’s cover, the hostess herself steps in. “Someone once told me,” she says, “that a party is only an event if there is at least one interesting gatecrasher in attendance.” Hal winds up having a rejuvenating one-night stand with a mystery woman named Stella, but she slips away without telling him her last name. Two years later, the contessa digs him up from obscurity; she offers him a princely sum to cover the premiere of The Sea Captain for a major Italian magazine. He will need to accompany the cast and other key players on a publicity cruise down the Ligurian coast to the opening at Cannes. On the yacht, he will at last find his Stella—now on the arm of her nasty American husband, the film’s major backer. Foley ( The Book of Lost and Found , 2015) layers the ensuing drama with Stella’s tragic back story as well as the narrative on which the film is based, a tale found in the 16th-century journal of one of the contessa’s ancestors. He rescued a beautiful, mysterious, and badly bruised woman from the sea only to become obsessed with her. All this, plus a changing point of view, makes for a choppy ride.

Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-316-27347-3

Page Count: 432

Publisher: Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: April 12, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2016

HISTORICAL FICTION

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by Lucy Foley

THE NIGHTINGALE

by Kristin Hannah ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 3, 2015

Still, a respectful and absorbing page-turner.

Hannah’s new novel is an homage to the extraordinary courage and endurance of Frenchwomen during World War II.

In 1995, an elderly unnamed widow is moving into an Oregon nursing home on the urging of her controlling son, Julien, a surgeon. This trajectory is interrupted when she receives an invitation to return to France to attend a ceremony honoring  passeurs : people who aided the escape of others during the war. Cut to spring, 1940: Viann has said goodbye to husband Antoine, who's off to hold the Maginot line against invading Germans. She returns to tending her small farm, Le Jardin, in the Loire Valley, teaching at the local school and coping with daughter Sophie’s adolescent rebellion. Soon, that world is upended: The Germans march into Paris and refugees flee south, overrunning Viann’s land. Her long-estranged younger sister, Isabelle, who has been kicked out of multiple convent schools, is sent to Le Jardin by Julien, their father in Paris, a drunken, decidedly unpaternal Great War veteran. As the depredations increase in the occupied zone—food rationing, systematic looting, and the billeting of a German officer, Capt. Beck, at Le Jardin—Isabelle’s outspokenness is a liability. She joins the Resistance, volunteering for dangerous duty: shepherding downed Allied airmen across the  Pyrenees to Spain. Code-named the Nightingale, Isabelle will rescue many before she's captured. Meanwhile, Viann’s journey from passive to active resistance is less dramatic but no less wrenching. Hannah vividly demonstrates how the Nazis, through starvation, intimidation and barbarity both casual and calculated, demoralized the French, engineering a community collapse that enabled the deportations and deaths of more than 70,000 Jews. Hannah’s proven storytelling skills are ideally suited to depicting such cataclysmic events, but her tendency to sentimentalize undermines the gravitas of this tale.

Pub Date: Feb. 3, 2015

ISBN: 978-0-312-57722-3

Page Count: 448

Publisher: St. Martin's

Review Posted Online: Nov. 19, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2014

HISTORICAL FICTION | FAMILY LIFE & FRIENDSHIP

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THE TATTOOIST OF AUSCHWITZ

by Heather Morris ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 4, 2018

The writing is merely serviceable, and one can’t help but wish the author had found a way to present her material as...

An unlikely love story set amid the horrors of a Nazi death camp.

Based on real people and events, this debut novel follows Lale Sokolov, a young Slovakian Jew sent to Auschwitz in 1942. There, he assumes the heinous task of tattooing incoming Jewish prisoners with the dehumanizing numbers their SS captors use to identify them. When the Tätowierer, as he is called, meets fellow prisoner Gita Furman, 17, he is immediately smitten. Eventually, the attraction becomes mutual. Lale proves himself an operator, at once cagey and courageous: As the Tätowi erer, he is granted special privileges and manages to smuggle food to starving prisoners. Through female prisoners who catalog the belongings confiscated from fellow inmates, Lale gains access to jewels, which he trades to a pair of local villagers for chocolate, medicine, and other items. Meanwhile, despite overwhelming odds, Lale and Gita are able to meet privately from time to time and become lovers. In 1944, just ahead of the arrival of Russian troops, Lale and Gita separately leave the concentration camp and experience harrowingly close calls. Suffice it to say they both survive. To her credit, the author doesn’t flinch from describing the depravity of the SS in Auschwitz and the unimaginable suffering of their victims—no gauzy evasions here, as in Boy in the Striped Pajamas . She also manages to raise, if not really explore, some trickier issues—the guilt of those Jews, like the tattooist, who survived by doing the Nazis’ bidding, in a sense betraying their fellow Jews; and the complicity of those non-Jews, like the Slovaks in Lale’s hometown, who failed to come to the aid of their beleaguered countrymen.

Pub Date: Sept. 4, 2018

ISBN: 978-0-06-279715-5

Page Count: 272

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: July 16, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2018

RELIGIOUS FICTION | HISTORICAL FICTION

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by Heather Morris

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The invitation, by lucy foley, recommendations from our site.

“I was deliberating which Lucy Foley to choose… The Invitation is slightly different. There’s a bit of Sleeping with the Enemy in there , the film with Julia Roberts. A haunting, unsettling vibe. It’s very glamorous, and I love the location. Lucy’s such a beautiful writer. When you read her chapters, you’re suspended in Rome or in Cannes, at one point. Then later you’re on a beautiful yacht in the middle of the sea. Unlike the others, it’s a love story.” Read more...

The Best Thrillers Set in Luxury Locations

Rachel Wolf , Thriller and Crime Writer

Other books by Lucy Foley

The hunting party by lucy foley, the guest list by lucy foley, the paris apartment by lucy foley, our most recommended books, the talented mr ripley by patricia highsmith, eye of the needle by ken follett, fatherland by robert harris, the day of the jackal by frederick forsyth, the thirty-nine steps by john buchan, the silence of the lambs by thomas harris.

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The Invitation by Lucy Foley

Introduction

An evocative love story set along the Italian Riviera about a group of charismatic stars who all have secrets and pasts they try desperately--and dangerously--to hide. Rome, 1953: Hal, an itinerant journalist flailing in the post-war darkness, has come to the Eternal City to lose himself and to seek absolution for the thing that haunts him. One evening he finds himself on the steps of a palazzo, walking into a world of privilege and light. Here, on a rooftop above the city, he meets the mysterious Stella. Hal and Stella are from different worlds, but their connection is magnetic. Together, they escape the crowded party and imagine a different life, even if it's just for a night. Yet Stella vanishes all too quickly, and Hal is certain their paths won't cross again. But a year later they are unexpectedly thrown together, after Hal receives an invitation he cannot resist. An Italian Contessa asks him to assist on a trip of a lifetime--acting as a reporter on a tremendous yacht, skimming its way along the Italian coast toward Cannes film festival, the most famous artists and movie stars of the day gathered to promote a new film. Of all the luminaries aboard--an Italian ingenue, an American star, a reclusive director--only one holds Hal in thrall: Stella. And while each has a past that belies the gilded surface, Stella has the most to hide. As Hal's obsession with Stella grows, he becomes determined to bring back the girl she once was, the girl who's been confined to history. An irresistibly entertaining and atmospheric novel set in some of the world's most glamorous locales, THE INVITATION is a sultry love story about the ways in which the secrets of the past stay with us--no matter how much we try to escape them.

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Recommended to book clubs by 1 of 1 members.

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This book divided our group with some really enjoying it and others not so much! However all were agreed that it makes a good “summer read” and should be enjoyed as that. Those who d ... (read more)

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The Invitation

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By Lucy Foley

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• Audiobook Download (Unabridged)
• Trade Paperback $18.99
• ebook $9.99

This item is a preorder. Your payment method will be charged immediately, and the product is expected to ship on or around August 1, 2017. This date is subject to change due to shipping delays beyond our control.

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Description

• "Can I find words eloquent enough to describe this novel? Lucy Foley's THE INVITATION is so exquisite in its writing that it may take a place among the classics -- but it was the combination of the glittering, glamorous setting and the magnetic characters that mesmerized me. This book is luminous.--Elin Hilderbrand, bestselling author of Here's To Us "Pop this tale of love, secrets and obsession right into your beach bag." --People "Certain that they'll never meet again, journalist Hal and socialite Stella indulge in an illicit rendezvous. But when they're reunited on a yacht in Cannes a year later, temptation is everywhere." --Cosmopolitan "Lucy Foley crafts a subtle, dramatic story of guilt, desire and long-held secrets.... Lushly described settings and Foley's keen but compassionate eye for her characters combines to make The Invitation a beautiful, bittersweet journey of loss and redemption."-- Shelf Awareness
• "THE INVITATION is a riveting, dazzling romance, set in the most beautiful places on earth. I wanted to go wherever Lucy Foley took me." Anton DiSclafani, New York Times bestselling author of The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls and The After Party
• "Richly atmospheric and emotionally resonant, The Invitation is a compelling love story that takes us far beyond the alluring Italian coast and the film festival at Cannes to a darker place, where the wounds of war are still fresh, and secrets hide just below the water's surface. Lucy Foley's lavish depictions both immerse and transport, inviting us to cruise along with this glamorous and enigmatic cast of unforgettable characters. A great read." Brunonia Barry, New York Times bestselling author of The Lace Reader
• "I loved THE INVITATION. Foley has such a visceral writing style, and her rich descriptions made me feel as if I could dive into this book and be amongst the glittering characters in the Italian sun. A beautifully complex and vivid story, full of repressed longing and secrets. An absolutely enchanting tale." Lucinda Riley, New York Times bestselling author of The Orchid House
• "Glamorous and romantic and bittersweet all at once, this is a fabulous story with such wonderful, intelligent prose." Beatriz Williams, New York Times bestselling author of A Hundred Summers
• "I love The Invitation . The setting is so powerfully evoked that I found myself browsing holidays on the Italian Riviera for days. But while it definitely ticks all the boxes for those after a glamorous, mid-century romance, it's actually much more than that, with dark, sensuous undercurrents that lingered on in my mind, long after I'd reluctantly left Stella and Hal behind." Kate Riordan, author of The Shadow Hour
• "A seductive love tale set on the Italian Riviera in the 1950s" Sunday Times Style (UK)
• "The perfect summer read... Gorgeously compelling" Good Housekeeping (UK)
• "Oozes glamour... Lush, romantic and cleverly crafted - a brainy beach read to relish" Sunday Mirror (UK)
• "In her second novel, Foley weaves a very satisfying love story, and readers will be especially taken by the luxurious Mediterranean setting." Publishers Weekly

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The Invitation

Lucy foley. little, brown, $26 (432p) isbn 978-0-316-27347-3.

Reviewed on: 06/20/2016

Genre: Fiction

Open Ebook - 336 pages - 978-0-316-27292-6

Other - 432 pages - 978-1-4434-5105-5

Paperback - 432 pages - 978-0-316-27290-2

Paperback - 320 pages - 978-1-4434-5104-8

Pre-Recorded Audio Player - 978-1-4789-1644-4

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‘The Invitation’ Review: Bringing Down the Haunted House

Nathalie Emmanuel stars as the unwitting belle of an English manor in this middling gothic horror movie that leaves her blind to the blood-red flags waving at every turn.

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By Natalia Winkelman

“The Invitation,” a brittle, droning excursion into gothic horror, primarily takes place at a manor in the English countryside. The setting is admissible, if unimaginative: the exterior of the estate appears constructed of Playmobil; coated in cobwebs, its dingy indoors most closely resemble a dungeon.

Outside of the cinema, an invitation to such an abode would ring a cacophony of alarm bells and leave a guest clambering for the door. Not so for Evie (Nathalie Emmanuel), a jaded ceramist in New York who unwittingly becomes the belle of the dwelling after a long-lost cousin, Oliver (Hugh Skinner), invites her to a wedding on its grounds. An only child who recently lost her mother, Evie is tickled by the prospect of extended family, even if the stuffy brood are uniformly white and ominously keen for her company.

But soon, Oliver and his vast array of blond brothers and uncles hardly figure into the equation. Once Evie arrives on the property, she takes a shine to the lord of the residence, Walter (Thomas Doherty), a smirking bachelor dripping in wealth and vampiric good looks.

What follows is an escalating sequence of creaky-freaky jump scares interspersed with beats from a budding romance between Walter and Evie. Dressed to the nines, the pair drink champagne and smooch under a flurry of fireworks. At the same time, the estate’s maids are sucked into a menacing string of set pieces that invariably end in shrieks over a black screen.

The juxtaposition of these events might be exciting — or even mischievously funny — if each scene wasn’t so tedious. For a fright-fest as broad as this one, there’s an awful lot of banal dialogue, and the scare patterns are repetitive enough that even the easiest startlers (I count myself among them) grow immune early on.

Directed by Jessica M. Thompson, “The Invitation” makes feeble gestures at issues of class and race, but its efforts are as diffuse as the whooshing specters haunting Walter’s estate. Emmanuel, for her part, admirably endeavors to imbue Evie with smarts and sass, but confined within a story that leaves her blind to the blood-red flags waving at every turn, her scrappy heroine is hard to cheer on. Had the movie emerged as a friskier game of eat the rich, it might have had a fighting chance of survival. Instead, it’s middling, morbid pap.

The Invitation Not rated. Running time: 1 hour 44 minutes. In theaters.

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Little Book Chapter 5 “The Invitation”

In-depth review.

Classification : Blended Straight Whiskey

Company: Beam Suntory

Distillery : Jim Beam

Release Date: August 2021

Proof : 116.8

Age : 2 Years (Neck tag states it’s a blend of 2, 3, 5, and 15 year old whiskeys)

Mashbill : Undisclosed (Blend of 2 year old Kentucky Straight Bourbon, 3 year old Kentucky Straight Rye Malt Whiskey, 5 year old Kentucky Straight Bourbon, and 15 year old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey)

Color : Chestnut

MSRP : $125 (2021)

Official Website

Little Book is an ongoing annual release curated by Freddie Noe, eighth generation Beam family member and son of current Beam master distiller, Fred Noe. This year’s edition, Chapter 5, has been titled “The Invitation.” Chapter 5 is a unique blend of whiskeys: 2 year old Kentucky Straight Bourbon, 3 year old Kentucky Straight Rye Malt Whiskey, 5 year old Kentucky Straight Bourbon, and 15 year old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey. The blend is bottled uncut at 116.8 proof and is available nationwide. You can read more about this year's edition in the company’s press release .

Baking aromas are instantly noticeable with baking spice and cinnamon jumping out the most. Taking the time to push past these dominant scents reveals hints of vanilla and toasted caramel, along with charred oak and dried leather. There is also the faintest hint of kneaded dough that joins the mix. The result is a nose that tends to go more towards the average age of the blended whiskeys and displays neither youth or overly oaked characteristics. It’s a very pleasing way to start things off and sets the rest of the sip up nicely.

Cinnamon spice in the form of Fireball candy leaps out. This is mixed with rye spice, tobacco leaf, peppercorn, and baking spice. As the palate reveals these flavors, an overlaying tannic wet oak emerges. While the earthy tobacco leaf plays nicely with the spice, it is hard to escape this oak flavor which clips the wings of the palate and grounds it from achieving a higher level than it does.

The wet tannic oak from the palate flares but then quickly dissipates. In its place the finish doubles down on  earthy flavors in the form of leather, cigar box, and tobacco, along with green peppercorn. Propping up all of these is a base of spice that ultimately provides the end note of the finish in the form of a lingering heat. It’s a nice way to end the sip and helps redeem the low point of the palate.

The Little Book series is a fun way for Beam to release a blend of unique whiskeys that often results in a drinking experience different from anything else in their portfolio. Freddie Noe has often chosen some really interesting base components such as the high aged corn whiskey in Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 , or the brown rice bourbon in Chapter 4 . In Chapter 5’s case, the wild card is its 15 year old bourbon. While it’s not been uncommon to see 15 year old bourbon recently, as even Beam highlighted their prowess with 15 year old whiskey in Knob Creek 15 Year , it’s not exactly common either. Additionally, Little Book mashbills often contain a mix of bourbon and rye, and Chapter 5 is no exception. The rye helps to really emphasize a spiciness that plays well throughout. The end result is a whiskey that won’t knock your socks off, but offers just enough differentiation to stand out from Beam’s current offerings, along with differentiating itself from the Chapters that came before it.

Little Book Chapter 5 holds steady at the $125 price tag that was introduced with the release of Little Book Chapter 3 . Beam prices the Little Book series as their premium product above all of their Small Batch Collection, including Booker’s which now sports  a $90 price tag . While in Chapters past you usually got a unique offering - whether it was an extremely high aged whiskey, a unique component of the mashbill, or a unique offering such as Chapter 3 - Chapter 5 doesn’t really offer such a component. Yes, you have the addition of a 15 year old bourbon, however it doesn’t seem like that is necessarily an above average value given we don’t know how much of the blend it makes up. Instead, Chapter 5 is a below average value for what it offers. It’s a rare miss for the brand which usually delivers a higher value to the consumer, but it’s a miss nonetheless.

Little Book Chapter 5 delivers a good pour, however it fails to live up to the bar that was set by the Chapters that came before it.

The Little Book series has so far stood out to be a high point for Jim Beam every year. The company gives Freddie Noe a wide range to play with and he usually delivers a solid whiskey in return. While the 5th chapter in this series delivers a slightly above average sip, it fails to live up to the precedent that was set by those Chapters that came before. It lacks overall pizzazz, instead delivering a sip that is hard-pressed to justify its price tag. Chapter 5 is more akin to an actual book. Not every chapter will be a knockout, and some are there to just drive the story forward. While it will still please those who enjoy a unique Beam product, casual fans of the series may be more inclined to wait to see what next year's Chapter 6 brings instead.

Written By: Jordan Moskal

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'The Invitation' Review: A Gothic for the Modern Age — With Bite

'The Invitation' will be released in theaters nationwide on August 26.

It may be difficult to name a work of horror fiction that has so undeniably sunk its teeth into centuries of pop culture than Bram Stoker 's Dracula . The epistolary novel first published in 1897 was initially regarded as a Gothic work, but laid the foundation for many a vampire tale that would follow thereafter. If the titular Transylvanian count had never been created, it's difficult to say whether these fanged creatures of the night would have been as popular as they are today — but the world of Dracula is one that, all these years later, continues to be ripe for drawing stories from. Most adaptations or reimaginings tend to focus on the vampire himself, but more and more are beginning to veer away from that focus in favor of prioritizing other characters at their center. In the conceit of the original novel, Dracula's mysterious and seductive vampire brides only appear briefly, but their impact has continued to live on.

This year's The Invitation , directed by Jessica M. Thompson and written by Blair Butler , draws inspiration from that element of the classic story in following an unsuspecting American woman named Evie ( Nathalie Emmanuel ) who travels to the English countryside after receiving an invite to a wedding from an extended family she's only just discovered she has. Over the course of her stay in the impressive mansion, Evie finds herself trapped between the promise of romance and horror, wrestling over whether to give into the possibility of a relationship with the manor's handsome lord Walter ( Thomas Doherty ) as barely-glimpsed threats lurk around her room each night.

The Invitation roots itself in embracing many of the best and most timeless Gothic tropes — with a modern flair, of course, but bringing a story like this to the present day wouldn't be nearly as successful if it wasn't for the actress grounding the supernatural in more realism. Emmanuel, who fans may already be familiar with for her roles in Game of Thrones and several Fast & Furious movies, plays an endearing heroine in Evie, a part-time caterer and struggling artist still grieving the loss of her mother, which leads her to search for any hint of remaining family she might be able to discover courtesy of a mail-in DNA test. The surprising results, in turn, put her in touch with a long-lost cousin, Oliver ( Hugh Skinner ), who endearingly fumbles his way through inviting her to an upcoming wedding across the pond — and once she accepts, Evie finds herself in a realm she's completely unprepared to navigate.

RELATED: ‘The Invitation’ Trailer Shows Not All Family Can Be Trusted

Emmanuel's character is our entry point into the story, but also the fresh-eyed perspective that comes to the manor house with a clear preference of prioritizing sincerity over propriety. From being too helpful with the maids to insisting on cleaning up after herself, Evie's rejection of the way things are simply just done immediately puts her at odds with the butler, Mr. Fields (a scene-gnawing Sean Pertwee of Gotham fame), and their clashing continues even into the film's most climactic moments. Contrast to that tension, however, is the reassuring presence of Mrs. Swift ( Carol Ann Crawford ), the head housekeeper, whose complicated emotions about the manor's newest guest don't prevent her from becoming a valued ally to Evie when she needs it the most.

While the staff is significantly more conflicted about Evie's presence, there is one person who openly welcomes her with charm practically oozing out of his pores — Walter. With his piercing blue eyes and a jaw well-defined enough to possibly cut through glass itself, Doherty has been perfectly cast as the English gentleman more than capable of wooing Evie from top to bottom, and his chemistry with Emmanuel immediately sells the belief that these characters would develop a connection in the midst of whatever horrors the manor house is hiding. Later on, he proves just as compelling a presence on-screen when the Alexander family's intentions for their newly-discovered relative are ultimately revealed — and in the most horrifying fashion possible. Doherty feels equally at home playing either the romantic lead or the manipulator driven by his own secret motives, and as the latter gradually and unnervingly emerges, it's heartbreaking enough to throw all of Walter's previous actions into question but equally thrilling to get to watch Doherty embrace all the darkest edges of the character's potential.

Rounding out the cast are the so-called maids of honor, the women who have been tapped to serve the unseen bride at her impending nuptials and couldn't be more different from one another in presence but offer Evie a myriad of personalities to bounce off of. The tall, intimidating Viktoria (played by Mr. Robot 's Stephanie Corneliussen ) is at odds with her from the start, pairing thinly-veiled insults with equally disconcerting microaggressions against Evie's background, but by contrast, Lucy ( Uncharted 's Alana Boden ) is a kind, welcoming presence, making consistent attempts to rope Evie in on fun pre-wedding activities. Granted, even something as innocent as a spa day adopts a particularly ominous tone; one of the most tension-filled scenes in the entire movie happens over the course of the three getting manicures in a room deep within the manor, one that comes closest to resembling a tomb in and of itself. The film's primary location, Nádasdy Castle in Budapest, only contributes to the overall sense of history and legacy; none of the movie's scenes would be nearly as effective without the bones of such a place serving as their backdrop.

It's also in this environment where the horror truly begins — slow and foreboding rather than too reliant on jumpscares, offering a creeping sense that something isn't quite right each time the sun sets and everyone has turned in for the night — and while Evie is tormented in her own room, terrified by specters that only disappear once she turns on the light, even darker threats persist elsewhere, with unsuspecting staff finding themselves the victims of a dark and looming figure that pulls them into the shadows and cuts off their resulting screams. Thompson and director of photography Autumn Eakin prove themselves an expert pair when it comes to ratcheting up the suspense, with clever cuts and lighting that do more to make the monsters frightening sight unseen in a majority of the film; even when the reveal happens, the camerawork that results contributes to that sickening feeling of realization, as artifice is stripped away and the real purpose of the wedding is laid bare. The third act, however, is where The Invitation notably struggles, as if attempting to plant itself squarely in the divide between suspense and action movie when it really thrived most as the former. When the film leans into its indisputable strengths, the result is bitingly good horror; any attempts to swerve outside that vein result in a more toothless execution. Ultimately, though, The Invitation offers an inventive reimagining of a literary classic while asserting itself as a fun addition to the modern Gothic canon.

The Invitation will premiere exclusively in theaters nationwide on August 26.

The Invitation

$ 26.00

Come drift away on to an exotic locale, mingling with the rich and famous, discovering half-truths and beguiling secrets meant to never be released. The Invitation by Lucy Foley is a world unlike any other. The characters all have depth and double meanings, and there is so much more than what meets the eye in this tale. Breathtaking locations and an even more passionate story entangled within the main plot all help the reader to escape into this world. I felt as if time stopped, and the only thing that existed was the world within these pages. It was romantic and depressing, vile and gorgeous; it was a giant ball of contradictions and paradoxes. Yet, like many of the characters, I was both repulsed and drawn in by the siren call of this story. It’s definitely something I would read again and was not fully what I expected when I began reading. The Invitation is many things but boring would not be one of them. I enjoyed this book very much and would love for others to experience the beauty and the pain that is Lucy Foley’s work.

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During these last, lazy days of summer, there isn’t a whole lot to do. Still, you’re probably going to want to RSVP “no” to “The Invitation.”

It had such potential, too. Director Jessica M. Thompson establishes an unsettling mood that suggests we’re about to enter a dark and twisted world. But then eventually, her film is just dark—as in, it’s hard to see what’s happening, with herky-jerky visual effects that are especially off-putting. And when the twist comes as to what’s actually going on, it’s like: Really? That’s it? The trailer pretty much gives it away (as most trailers do), but we’re all about having the best possible moviegoing experience around here—even if it is a mediocre movie—so we’ll do our best to avoid spoilers.

Nathalie Emmanuel has an appealing presence, though, as Evelyn—or Evie, as she prefers to be called. The “Game of Thrones” actress is a stunner, of course, but there’s also a no-nonsense naturalism to her delivery that makes her feel accessible. So when things go sideways on her too-good-to-be-true getaway to the English countryside, we remain on her side throughout.

Evie is a struggling New York artist who works as a catering waitress to pay the bills. At an event for a new DNA testing company, she snags a swag bag and takes the test inside; after the recent death of her mother, she feels alone and adrift and seeks a sense of identity. Turns out, she’s got a bunch of cousins, and they’re all British, and very white. But the script from Thompson and Blair Butler merely skims the surface of exploring the racial implications of this connection. When an overly enthusiastic second cousin ( Hugh Skinner ) invites Evie to join him for a posh family wedding at a decadent English estate—and she arrives and realizes uneasily she’s the only person of color besides the maids—there’s hope that “The Invitation” might have something more relevant and substantial on its mind along the lines of Jordan Peele ’s “ Get Out .” No such luck.

Her best friend back home, Grace (an amusing Courtney Taylor ), is appropriately skeptical, but Evie gets swept up in the sense of belonging. Sure, the maids are all wearing uniforms with numbers on them. That’s a little weird. And the butler ( Sean Pertwee ) is a condescending prig. And there’s a hidden key that unlocks the library that’s off-limits. But still! The young lord of the manor, Walter (a seductive Thomas Doherty ), is super hunky with his piercing blue eyes and his square jaw and his shirt unbuttoned one button too many. And he isn’t one of Evie’s relatives, which is always a plus.

As the three-day festivities unfurl, Thompson relies way too heavily on cheap jump scares to put us on edge, which is a shame, because there’s enough atmosphere within the film’s initial mystery. A spa day for Evie and the imposingly glamorous maids of honor ( Stephanie Corneliussen and Alana Boden ) is staged and paced particularly well. And she could have taken more time in building suspense to the big reveal, which occurs at an ominous, masked dinner party that’s like something out of “ Eyes Wide Shut .”

But then everything changes really suddenly, really quickly, and “The Invitation” becomes a different movie—a sillier one. The shift into campier territory is jarring and even a little disappointing. It felt like Thompson was onto something here. Instead, she revisits some extremely familiar material in uninspired fashion.

The costume design is fabulous, though—the work of Danielle Knox . So even when Emmanuel is forced to do a tough juggling act between horror and comedy, at least she looks great in the process.

Now playing in theaters. 

Christy Lemire

Christy Lemire is a longtime film critic who has written for RogerEbert.com since 2013. Before that, she was the film critic for The Associated Press for nearly 15 years and co-hosted the public television series "Ebert Presents At the Movies" opposite Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, with Roger Ebert serving as managing editor. Read her answers to our Movie Love Questionnaire here .

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The Invitation (2022)

Rated PG-13 for terror, violent content, some strong language, sexual content and partial nudity.

105 minutes

Nathalie Emmanuel as Evie

Thomas Doherty as Walter

Stephanie Corneliussen as Viktoria

Alana Boden as Lucy

Hugh Skinner as Oliver

Kata Sarbó as Manicurist

Scott Alexander Young as Uncle Julius

Virág Bárány as Emmaline

• Jessica M. Thompson
• Blair Butler

Cinematographer

• Autumn Eakin
• Dara Taylor

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The Invitation is a waste of perfectly good evil vampires

It’s a boring riff on Ready or Not meets Get Out, with none of the fun of either

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Vampires are cinema’s most malleable monsters . They can sparkle , skateboard , yell “bat” , or do gymnastics , all while fulfilling their bloodsucking duties. In the horror movie The Invitation , vampires take on their more familiar role as society’s rich and powerful, as an unlucky human guest joins them for the weekend. The Invitation comes from director Jessica M. Thompson ( The Light of the Moon ), and while it pulls inspiration from several recent and successful out-of-place houseguest horror movies like Get Out and Ready or Not , The Invitation never manages to be scary, and it hides its vampires behind a lifeless love story.

The Invitation follows Evie (Nathalie Emmanuel), an unhappy and over-it gig-caterer in New York who’s fed up with her dead-end job, desperate to follow her passion for ceramics, and still reeling from her mother’s recent death. One day, Evie snags a gift bag from a swanky event she’s catering and tries out the included DNA testing kit. The test connects her to a previously unknown branch of her family that lives among the upper crust of English society. Before Evie knows it, she’s been invited to a mysterious wedding at an English estate, where she meets and quickly falls for the enigmatic Walter (Thomas Doherty), the lord of the manor.

This series of events takes almost all of the movie’s 105-minute run time to play out. That may surprise viewers who’ve seen any of the promotional material for this movie, which is far more focused on the story’s vampiric presence. The bait-and-switch of subbing a dubious romance in for vampire violence wouldn’t be much of a problem if the movie were willing to invest in the Gothic style and foreboding atmosphere that helps make vampire love stories timelessly creepy. Instead, Thompson is content with awkward flirting that’s shot as blandly as a one-season-only Netflix teen series.

Even though the story rests almost solely on viewers believing Walter is subtly seducing the worldly and cautious Evie, Emmanuel and Doherty never muster much chemistry beyond both being attractive people. The stiff, exposition-heavy dialogue never manages to make either character interesting, and it barely leaves room for the actors to add any spark or genuine emotion to the confounding romance.

Even stranger, the movie’s script, from Hell Fest co-writer Blair Butler, goes to great lengths to convince viewers that Evie is too smart to fall prey to the lures of old money. As a Black woman who has lived her whole life in the United States and knows what it’s like to be the disrespected server at a rich person’s party (even though she has a killer New York City apartment), Evie constantly sympathizes with the wedding’s ill-fated servants, and swears to her best friend that she’d never fall prey to the trappings of wealth and the luxuries colonialism paid for. Then she does. Right away. With no convincing, and no charm from Walter whatsoever. While her sudden susceptibility might suggest something supernatural is at play — something that might have helped sell the romance, and given her a meaningful internal struggle — The Invitation never makes any hints that that’s the case.

In fact, Evie’s only reason for thinking Walter is anything other than a rich playboy with a big house is that he apologizes to her for his butler being rude. (Yes, it’s the help’s fault when something goes wrong for Evie. No, the filmmakers do not acknowledge the irony.) The Invitation is desperate to try to replicate the awkward fish-out-of-water terror of Jordan Peele’s Get Out , without realizing that part of what made that movie so eerie is the implication of a loving, meaningful relationship between the protagonist and one of the villains, which started well before the movie begins.

The tedious flirtation in The Invitation is occasionally punctuated by scenes that bring the movie a little closer to the horror and moodiness that its vampiric premise promises. There are a few scenes of mysterious creatures lurking in shadows, or locked rooms that guard unseemly creatures of the night. These brief horror scenes are shot in an overly dark manner, with tacky blue lighting that obscures almost all of the action. But they at least manage tension for a few seconds at a time, and they provide a bit of the foreboding atmosphere that the rest of the movie is sorely lacking.

Finally, in its last 25 minutes, The Invitation turns into the vampire-slaying action movie Sony wanted audiences to believe it is for the whole run time. During a suitably creepy dinner — the movie’s most effective scene, thanks to the dozen or so masked vampire cultists — Walter finally explains his full vampiric machinations to Evie. The movie seems intent on revealing this information as a twist, but considering it not only makes up most of the trailer but is also hinted at in the movie’s prologue, Evie’s shock at the reveal ends up feeling like the most surprising part of the scene, especially given the broad hints at something weird and nefarious happening.

Once the cat’s out of the bag, The Invitation finally transforms into its best self, a vaguely angry movie about a woman who’s fed up with all these vampires and would very much like to kill them. The action itself is mostly lackluster and bloodless, and it never reaches the giddy violence or entertaining heights of Ready or Not , the movie The Invitation feels most indebted to. At least it’s more exciting than Evie and Walter’s baffling courtship.

One part Get Out , one part Ready or Not , and too few parts Dracula , The Invitation is a pastiche of infinitely better horror stories that it never measures up to. You can make vampires do almost anything in movies, but The Invitation commits the one unforgivable sin: making vampires boring.

The Invitation opens in theaters on Aug. 26.

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Book review: Thrills, romance, 1980s coastal life — Dan Strickland’s debut novel has it all

“The Snow Fell Off the Mountain”

By Dan Strickland; Palmetto Publishing, 2024; 305 pages; $17.99.

Beginning in the 1970s Dan Strickland fished commercially all over Alaska — in Cook Inlet, Prince William Sound and Bristol Bay. He and his wife now make their home in Palmer, where they run a small-batch coffee roastery. Clearly, though, he never shook fishing from his system, and his experience permeates “The Snow Fell Off the Mountain,” his first book.

Set in the summer of 1980 in and around the fictional coastal town of Coroglen (a barely disguised Cordova), the novel features two young salmon fishermen — one experienced and one newly arrived — plus a young woman/love interest who works on a tender. There’s also a charming older immigrant from Malta, an eccentric hermit, two brutal villains and a pair of heroic dogs. The action largely surrounds the small-boat drift gillnet fishery where a major salmon river (a lightly disguised Copper River) empties onto flats and on nearby bays and fjords (a lightly disguised Prince William Sound). It also involves drug running, martial arts, boats burned and sunk, a tsunami warning and multiple murders.

While the action is fast and furious, Strickland is especially skilled at evoking both the halcyon days and joys of salmon fishing and the terrors of crossing bars and breakers and fighting through storms. He’s thoroughly adept at recreating a time in the fishing industry before cellphones, refrigerated seawater, fish pumps for offloading fish, and sophisticated electronics. The main character, Rafe, fishes by himself on a 26-foot wooden bowpicker he calls a “skiff,” with a small cabin and a hold that fills, on a bountiful day, with a few hundred salmon.

Here’s Rafe fishing when we first meet him, early in the season: “He peered into the fluid blackness where the night and the water melted together, until at last he could see the faint bobbing of his net light and the sinuous curve of the net in the channel. Within seconds the fierce sweep of the ebb would catch at the curtain of web hanging in the muddy water and coax it into a gentle convexity, like a strong wind fills a sail. Even as he watched, a salmon hit the net in mid-channel, near the corkline, and raised a futile splash in its struggle for freedom.”

Soon after, the secondary character, Paul, arrives by ferry “into the heart of Alaska, the last great bosom of anonymity.” He has a black eye and swollen face, looking very much as though he’s been in a fight, and is clearly fleeing something. The mystery will hold until almost halfway through the book.

And then there’s the beautiful Sophie, who cooks and cleans and handles grocery orders on the tender, working for an obese and unsavory man named Moose. Rafe is smitten at his first sight of her. “Her legs were long and slender, her hips narrow like a boy’s, and there was a swelling fullness to her breasts that caused a momentary breathlessness in Rafe.” The two of them very soon declare their love for each other.

Fishing, fighting, conspiracy, accidents and murder all drive the story as a literary thriller, while the love portion seems to want to carry it into the territory of a romance novel. Reading about so much hugging and kissing may make a reader feel as uncomfortable as being around newly-in-love friends who are completely infatuated with one another and embarrassing to those outside their circle of two.

Two minor characters are perhaps most memorable. The old Maltese fisherman gives Paul his first deckhand job and is charming, kind and humorous. He shouts sometimes in Maltese and otherwise speaks with a heavy accent. “Ze devil takes hees chance wi’ me!” The begrimed Gene, a hermit who lives in a hut in the woods, dresses all in black except for the white cotton gloves he wears to read Dostoyevsky. When he hears a spirit voice call him out at night, he finds a dead man in a ditch and carries him all the way into town to the police station.

Alaska readers may particularly enjoy the portrait of a town like Cordova in a time when residents left their keys in their trucks at the harbor for others to borrow, the whole community enjoyed potlucks with multiple fish and venison dishes, newpapers circulated with local news, and naked saunas were a chief source of relaxation. At least in this novel, fishermen fished long and hard but also took time off to go hiking, to listen to birds and admire the views. Some of Strickland’s most lyrical writing captures such moments.

In one passage, Rafe and Sophie hike up a mountain in a light rain. “They could see for fifty miles, maybe a hundred. The trees had yielded to scrub juniper and grass on the mountaintop, but below them only a couple hundred yards the forest lay wet and dark, with the wind singing lowly through it and causing the branches to dance.” Rafe admits that he likes to imagine that it’s a hundred — or two hundred — years earlier, how things would have looked much the same, how he’d have fit into the landscape.

“The Snow Fell Off the Mountain” is an invitation to readers to turn back the calendar and imagine for themselves what Alaska’s coastal life might have been like in a simpler, more slowly moving time, not that long ago.

[ Book review: In the novel ‘Cold to the Touch,’ Alaska provides a dark setting for a series of killings ]

[ Book review: A whodunit convincingly set in Dutch Harbor captures a recognizable Alaska ]

[ Book review: ‘Fireweed’ blends historical and supernatural, brings an Alaska author into the spotlight ]

Nancy Lord is a Homer-based writer and former Alaska writer laureate. Her books include "Fishcamp," "Beluga Days," and "Early Warming." Her latest book is "pH: A Novel."

Smorgasbord Blog Magazine

Blog magazine for lovers of health, food, books, music, humour and life in general.

Smorgasbord Book Promotions – Author News and Reviews – Robbie Cheadle, Jan Sikes, Alex Craigie

Welcome to the new series of author news and reviews, where I will share updates on the authors who have been promoted on the blog and whose books I have read and can recommend.

The first author with celebrating wonderful reviews for her recent release which I can also highly recommend. Square Peg in a Round Hole is Robbie Cheadle.

“Square Peg in a Round Hole” is not only a heartfelt collection of poetry, but offers amazing paintings, drawings, photos, and fondant creations. I read this as a fellow nature lover, someone concerned about our planet, and a mother. Seeing the majestic animals through the words and images was breathtaking, but it broke my heart to think of how they were abused for trophy hunting. I could relate to so much of the ‘feeling different’ and the ability to get past that feeling through the arts. Ms. Cheadle’s introduction to her world made me feel the pain but also the strength that shined brightly through. At the end was poetry from her son, Michael, who expressed his perspective so powerfully and eloquently. I marked many passages to share and couldn’t decide which would highlight the enormous reach of all the parts of this book. This is one to be read more than once, and I can highly recommend it. 

Read the reviews and buy the collection : Amazon US –  And: Amazon UK

A small selection of other books by Robbie and Michael Cheadle and African related stories

Find out more about Robbie Cheadle, read the reviews and buy the books : Amazon US   – And : Amazon UK –  Follow Robbie : Goodreads – blog : Robbie’s Inspiration- Twitter : @bakeandwrite

Another recent release that is receiving rave reviews is A Beggar’s Bargain by Jan Sikes.

One of the reviews for the book

I was swept up in this feel-good western romance set in the 1940s. The premise is delightful – Layken Martin wants to save his deceased parents’ farm, but he can’t afford it, and the only way he can get a loan is to marry the banker’s daughter, Sara Beth. The arrangement is viewed as “contractual” until the loan’s paid off, but Layken and Sara Beth are both kind, dedicated, and hardworking people, and they can’t help but grow on each other as they work together to make a successful life.

Though primarily a romance, the relationship develops tentatively and with a great deal of respect and admiration. And naturally, not everything is smooth sailing as Layken and Sara Beth encounter both the best and worst in people, including some mean-spirited and dangerous men.

The POV alternates between Layken and Sara Beth. Both protagonists, as well as some integral secondary characters (Uncle Seymour and Tab), are emotionally rich and likable, and it was hard not to root for them all from the start. I also enjoyed the authenticity of the details about life on an arid farm during the 1940s and the way farm communities work together.

The pace moved along, and the plot was engaging with both ordinary daily challenges and some dangerous crises. Everything ties up nicely in a heartwarming end. The book can be read as a standalone, though I wouldn’t complain if the story continued. Highly recommended to fans of mid-1900s westerns, romances, and readers looking for a story to make them smile. 

Read the reviews and buy the book: Amazon US – And : Amazon UK

A small selection of other books by Jan Sikes

Find out more about Jan, read the reviews and buy the books : Amazon US – And : Amazon UK – Website: Jan Sikes – Goodreads: Jan on Goodreads – Twitter: @rijanjks

And the final update today is for Alex Craigie. . with a review for the second in her nostalgic series on how things used to be… this time The Rat In The Python: Book 2 Shopping and Food: Observations and experiences of a Baby Boomer

Alex Craigie is taking us back to the 1950s and 60s England in this book 2 in her memoir series of her childhood growing up in a post war U.K. and sharing her recollections and facts of the times in the Boomer era U.K. about diets, food availability and scarcity, and the rise of the refrigerator, which only one third of the population had into the early 70s.

I found this book a fascinating look at the ‘food times’ of post war U.K. With still no refrigeration, microwaves, or anything of its ilk, and food rations, Brits were pretty crafty about what they would eat to get by and how meals were prepared. As the author goes through chapters about food availability, preservation, and her childhood favorites and dislikes, I found this book to be a great informational about the past told with inflections of humor and wonderful images of gadgets of the times, and it was an eye-opener to me as a Canadian child growing up in the sixties with no lack of food choices, colorful refrigerator models, and all the comforts of home while England was just catching up with the modern times as it was re-building from the aftermath of war.

This book made me think about how much we take for granted in our lives without understanding that other parts of the world weren’t as quickly advancing into modern times because of war. It also reminded me of why I thought England was never known for their great food in such an era as I visited London for the first time in the late seventies and wasn’t impressed with food choices – as a North American. But look at the U.K. now with all its famous chefs and multi-cultural food choices. Amazing catching up in the world of food.

At the end of the book, the author offers some quiz questions about foods from different parts of the world, and about foods found in children’s books from the Boomer era. This author never disappoints, whether it’s her nonfiction or gripping fictional novels, Craigie keeps us engaged. This would also be a great book for school curriculum education of the past.

Head over to read the reviews and buy the book: Amazon UK – And: Amazon US

Also by Alex Craigie

Find our more about Alex Craigie, read the reviews and buy the books : Amazon UK – And : Amazon US – Follow Alex : Goodreads – Alex Craigie via : Facebook

Thanks for dropping in today and I hope you will be leaving with some books..

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53 thoughts on “ smorgasbord book promotions – author news and reviews – robbie cheadle, jan sikes, alex craigie ”.

Three terrific authors. I’ve read excellent stories from each.

Like Liked by 1 person

Thanks very much Pete, you must all be getting excited about the new arrival in a few weeks.. xx

Obviusly three great reads. I’ve read the first one and will get to the other two sometime in the near future. Those are great reviews and I loved Square Peg in a Round Hole. They are all great authors.

Thanks Thomas and thanks for you boost for Robbie, her collection was wonderful x

Three great reads! I always enjoy Trish’s books, thanks for sharing my review Sal. And looking forward to getting to Robbie’s and Jan’s too. Congrats to all for wonderful reviews. ❤ xx

Thanks Debby and a lovely review for Trish.. I have just finished Jan’s and another winner.. ♥

Great selection of books today. Thank you.

Thanks Craig. x

Congratulations to Robbie, Jan, and Trish on the excellent reviews! Sharing to help spread the word.

Like Liked by 2 people

Thanks very much Liz…xx

You’re welcome, Sally.

Many thanks, Liz.

You’re welcome, Trish.

Thank you so much for putting up these reviews, Sally. I love the one that Debby wrote for my book, and the other reviews show me that I’m going to have a great time reading Robbie’s and Jan’s. ♥♥

My pleasure Trish and delighted to give your fabulous book a boost ♥♥

Fantastic reviews, Sally. I loved Jagged Feathers by Jan. So, it doesn’t surprise me A Beggar’s Bargain is so well-received.

Congratulations to all the authors!

Thanks very much Sue and just finished Jan’s book and it is a delight. xx

I realise I have no idea how Mum did her shopping at our first home late fifties, rented top half of a house. I was supervised to cross the main road at five or six, dash along to the corner shop run by two old ladies. One was called Dolly so I thought Dolly Mixtures were named after her. Actual proper food for dinner we must have trekked up the road to the shops with the pram.

On the new estate in Farnborough, early sixties Mum had a box of groceries delivered by the milkman, a butcher’s boy on a bike and a greengrocer with his van – it was a joke that my little brother picked up his Hampshire accent – Oive got sum noice roipe tomaters. this was how we managed without a fridge.

I love this – especially the Dolly Mixtures! The first decade after WWII was properly austere in the UK and women were skilled at somehow keeping the family well-fed, clothed and happy. I appreciate, now, how difficult it must have been to manage without a fridge or a washing machine and to eke out the housekeeping money to cover essentials. Because our mothers made do and mended what they could, we children were free to run around with our friends building dens, climbing trees and using our imaginations. We owe them!

Our mothers certainly had to be inventive and the milkman delivered eggs and orange juice to us I remember. Plus there was nothing like the cream off the top of the milk on your cereal provided the bluetits hadn’t had it first. ♥

You’re definitely a boomer! ♥

And very loudly so sometimes lol…♥

Congratulations to each of these authors. Great reviews speak of quality work. Thanks for sharing, Sally.

Like Liked by 3 people

Thanks very much Beem and enjoy your week. x

Ah, looking forward to reading Robbie’s book.

Loved Alex’s one, review coming soon.

Oh, well, might just pick up Jan’s one 😉

Thanks, Sally. xx

Fantastic Pat, just what I like to hear ♥

Just what I like to hear, too! Many thanks, Sally.♥♥

Thank you so much, Pat! It’s my birthday today and I think this is one of the best presents I could ask for! ♥

Happy birthday Trish and hope you have had a lovely day. ♥♥

Congratulations to all of these authors!

Thanks very much Jacqui..hugsx

So many wonderful books to read. Amazing reviews. Much love and success to all.

Thanks very much Brenda ♥

Congrats to Robbie, Jan and Trish on such fantastic reviews!

Thanks very much Toni ♥

Thanks, Toni! ♥

Congratulations on your wonderful reviews Jan, Robbie, and Alex! Thank you for sharing them, Sally!

Thanks very much Joy.. ♥

Thank you so much, dear Sally, for featuring A Beggar’s Bargain today, along with Diana’s review! I am deeply grateful! Congratulations to Robbie and Trish for their spotlight!

My pleasure Jan…and my review is scheduled for May 25th…lovely book ♥♥

Well done Alex, Robbie and Jan on their book reviews and libraries of books published.

Thanks very much Sue ♥

Thanks, Sue!

I’ve not looked at my inbox for about a fortnight and everything’s stacked up in frightening porportions! I’ve just been looking through my posts on the Alex Craigie site and came across this terrific reference to The Rat in the Python – I’m so glad I didn’t miss it! I have Jan’s and Robbie’s books on my Kindle and I hope to have some significant reading time coming up in the near future. Many thanks, Sally! ♥♥

Delighted to showcase your book Trish and I know you are going to enjoy Jan and Robbie’s books… ♥♥

Hi Sally, thank you so much for the boost for SPiaRH. I appreciate it. Great to see Jan and Alex featured here too.

Pleasure Robbie… delighted to boost the book.. ♥

Brilliant reviews and features Sally, for Robbie Jan and Trish. 👌

Thanks very much Marge.. delighted you enjoyed..♥

Congratulations to Robbie, Jan, and Trish! Wishing them all every success. Thanks for sharing, Sally. Have a great week. Hugs 🤗💕🙂

Thanks very much Harmony ♥♥

Thank you, Harmony!

I would be delighted to receive your feedback (by commenting, you agree to Wordpress collecting your name, email address and URL) Thanks Sally Cancel reply

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• Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
• Thrillers & Suspense

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The Invitation: An absolutely gripping psychological thriller with a killer twist Paperback – April 14, 2020

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That’s the thing about old friends… they never let you forget.

The first time Jemma and Matt were invited to Polskirrin – the imposing ocean-view home belonging to Matt’s childhood friend Lucas Jarrett – it was for an intimate wedding that ended in tragedy. Jemma will never forget the sight of the girl’s pale body floating listlessly towards the rocky shore.

Now, exactly one year later, Jemma and her husband have reluctantly returned at Lucas’s request to honor the anniversary of an event they would do anything to forget.

But what Lucas has in store for his guests is nothing like a candlelight vigil. Someone who was there that night remembers more than they’ll admit to, and Lucas has devised a little game to make them tell the truth.

Jemma believes she and Matt know nothing about what happened to that woman… but what if she’s wrong? Before you play a deadly game, make sure you can pay the price…

From the four-million-copy bestselling author of Sleep Tight comes a psychological thriller that will have you gripped until the last page. Perfect for fans of Something in the Water , The Woman in the Window and The Silent Patient .

‘ Five stars!! Thrilling, gripping, compelling , and had me turning pages well past my bedtime! Rachel Abbott is clearly a brilliant writer and I cannot wait to read more from her!’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars

‘Oh. My. Goodness… The writing was so phenomenal!... had me gripped on every single page from the very beginning!’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars

‘ I read the entire thing in a day! The characters come fully alive in my head and I can almost see and hear them in my head… It was brilliant!!’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars

‘What can I say... WOW!!! I honestly think this was my favorite of all Rachel Abbott books!... It kept me guessing and eating up the pages until the end… All I have to say about this one is I LOVED IT!!! ’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars

‘Wow this book was awesome. It was creepy, scary and tense and had me madly turning the pages. I couldn’t get enough and found it really hard to put down.’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars

‘ As always, Rachel Abbott totally hit it out of the park !’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars

‘ So many twists and turns you are not sure what's coming next. Just when you think you have it figured out, the story takes you somewhere else. I love a book that keeps me guessing until the very end.’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars

‘Keeps you on a rollercoaster the entire way. Each time you think you know the who it is – there comes another twist. All I can say is I loved the book .’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars

‘This was a wonderful novel with characters that draw you right in and don’t let go. The storyline flowed seamlessly and kept me glued to the pages .’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars

‘This book is amazing ! Has a killer twist and keeps you guessing. The author is insanely talented. I am definitely looking to reading more by her.’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars

‘A great read from a very talented writer. The suspense ramps up at the very start. Highly depicted characters, and a surprising plot – sure to delight the reader!’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars

‘I did not predict that twist. I was shocked and gripped by the story. I recommend you go in blind for this book. You will not be disappointed.’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars

• Print length 352 pages
• Language English
• Publication date April 14, 2020
• Dimensions 5.06 x 0.88 x 7.81 inches
• ISBN-10 1838886680
• ISBN-13 978-1838886684
• See all details

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Product details

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Bookouture (April 14, 2020)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 352 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1838886680
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1838886684
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12.8 ounces
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.06 x 0.88 x 7.81 inches
• #14,425 in Murder Thrillers
• #15,819 in Psychological Thrillers (Books)
• #45,356 in Suspense Thrillers

About the author

Hello and welcome to my author page! Whether you’ve read my books before, are thinking of trying one out or just landed here by chance (or fate…?) it’s great to see you! 

I’m the No.1 Sunday Times and New York Tikes bestselling author of The Hunting Party, The Guest List and most recently The Paris Apartment, a murder mystery set in a beautiful but eerie apartment block in Paris. Jess arrives to stay with her brother Ben and finds him missing — from various clues in his apartment and from the suspicious behaviour of the other residents in the building she begins to suspect something deeply unpleasant has happened to him…

A little about me: I always knew I wanted to work with books somehow, so I studied English at university before working in a bookshop, a literary agency and then as a fiction editor at a big publishing house, during which time I realised that every book starts off as a messy first draft full of plot holes and mistakes. I thought I’d have a go at writing myself — the result of which was my first historical fiction novel, The Book of Lost and Found. I wrote two more historicals, The Invitation and Last Letter to Istanbul, before turning to the dark side and writing my first crime thriller, The Hunting Party: my first Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller and Waterstones Book of the Month, set over New Year’s Eve at a remote, snowy spot in the Scottish Highlands. 

Next came The Guest List, a murder mystery set at a wedding on an island off the coast of Ireland, which was a Reese’s Book Club pick, a Goodreads Choice Awards winner, a Waterstones Book of the Month, and has sold over three million copies. Then came The Paris Apartment, which is a number one New York Times bestseller and Sunday Times bestseller. 

My books have been translated into over 40 languages and all three murder mysteries are currently being adapted for TV and film. 

I’ve also written a short story for the brand new Marple collection, a brand new series of short stories featuring Agatha Christie’s legendary detective Jane Marple, alongside writers such as Val McDermid, Kate Mosse, Alyssa Cole, Ruth Ware and Leigh Bardugo, out September 2022 to coincide with Christie’s birthday! 

I’m currently hard at work on a fourth thriller, so watch this space!

If you enjoy my books or want to say hi, I’d love to hear from you: I’m @lucyfoleytweets on Twitter and @lucyfoleyauthor on Instagram, or you can check out my Facebook author page www.facebook.com/lucyfoleyauthor. Hope to see you there! And if you click the yellow 'follow' button, Amazon will send you an email when I have a new release, or if there's a promotion you might be interested in. It's the best way to make sure you never miss a book!

#TheParisApartment #TheGuestList #TheHuntingParty 

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