Jules is confused by the note but unwilling to let it ruin her wedding. Jules received an anonymous note three weeks ago warning her that Will is not who he says he is. The other four ushers, Femi, Angus, Duncan, and Peter also went to boarding school with them. Will’s best man is Johnno, his best friend from school.

Will’s four groomsmen are often described as a pack of feral dogs. She has lost a significant amount of weight and has begun to self-harm. The two quickly become friends, and Olivia reveals her secrets to Hannah over the course of the novel-she met an older man, became pregnant, got an abortion, and is not mentally healthy. In the cave, Hannah meets Jules’s younger half-sister, Olivia, who is just 19. Hannah sneaks off to a nearby cave for some alone time. Hannah has always wondered if Charlie and Jules ever slept together, and she is even more suspicious when she notices how venomously Charlie treats Will. From the moment that they land on the island, however, Charlie engrossed with Jules and leaves Hannah to her own devices.

Charlie and Hannah are having a difficult time they are struggling with making ends meet, and they have little time to alone due to their children. Hannah notices that Charlie changes when he is around Jules he puts on airs. Charlie, who is Jules’s long-time best friend, arrives with his wife, Hannah. Some family and friends in the wedding party begin arriving on the island on the day before the ceremony. The couple is Aoife and Freddy: Aoife is the wedding planner, and Freddy is the chef. The island, also known as The Folly, is owned by a couple who planned to turn it into a popular wedding destination. The perspective shifts to before the wedding. When the lights finally come back on, a distressed waitress screams that she has found a dead body. On the night of the wedding, a storm leaves the island in a blackout. Jules is the editor of an online magazine, and Will is the celebrity host of a survival reality television show.Īs guests gather on the island to celebrate with the bride and groom, secrets from the past arise. Jules and Will are the “it” couple-beautiful, successful, and seemingly wealthy. The novel begins a few days before the wedding of Julia Keegan (Jules) and William Slater (Will). The novel is set on a remote island somewhere in West Ireland that’s known for its haunted past. Many perspectives compose The Guest List each chapter jumps from character to character and through time from past to future.

The guest list foley