I ended up liking this book, though I had trouble getting into it for the first quarter or so. The story is told from 3 POVs: Amy (in past tense), who we know has died in a suspicious drowning accident; Leah, Amy’s aunt who is grieving and looking for answers; and Joanna, a young woman who initially is seemingly unrelated to the other storylines and is reeling from a surprise breakup with her long term boyfriend. The storylines eventually converge in a satisfying way. That being said, there were still certain aspects of the story I liked. The characterization was very well-rounded and the characters did show a lot of personal growth throughout the course of the story. This is one of those books that you start to read and right from the outset it becomes completely addictive.' Leah arrives in Il Mandrino, a luxury holiday village on Lake Garda owned by her sister and brother in law. A year ago Leah’s much loved niece Amy tragically drowns and she is astonished to find that all traces of Amy seem to have been airbrushed out but why?? In addition to this strangeness the dynamics in her sisters family are also odd seeming both strained and distant. Leah’s scepticism over Amy’s death is now amplified. Meanwhile in Derby, Joanna is trying to recover from a very sudden break up of a long-term relationship. She has no desire to be alone one evening and so calls in at a pub where she meets a kind and friendly barman, nothing out of the ordinary there except that a week or two later she finds herself drawn into something most unexpectedly . A] strong psychological thriller…Credible characters enhance the suspenseful plot. Cooper remains a writer to watch.”– Publishers Weekly

No really likable characters. I know we were supposed to like the two main characters, Leah and Joanna but, I don’t think we would find our way to each other in a bar. Maybe a passing hello but that’s about as much friendly chemistry I was feeling with either of them. The rest of the characters were 🙄.A large part of The Other Guest revolves around an aunt of Amy, who was a particular friend of hers, Leah, as she travels to the luxury hotel to be with her family after Amy’s death. Things are not quite right within the family. They are behaving strangely, and Leah becomes enmeshed in something that she does not understand, but feels is very dangerous, and so the mystery of what actually happened to Amy begins. Some strange connections start to materialise at a pace which is slow and tantalising, and which makes the book very hard to put down. Laila loves watching people and soon becomes obsessed with one of the families at the resort. She is so jealous of Em and her husband and their two boys Theo and Issac.

A normal, every day joe gets himself mixed up with a womanizing asshole and finds himself chasing after a girl, who drowns in front of him but doesn’t try to save her? All he wanted was her phone. Could he not think through this?As Laila sits by the pool she finds herself inexplicably drawn to the other family staying in their resort. Joanna is still struggling after a recent breakup when she meets Callum, a handsome male bartender. Soon after meeting Callum, Joanna discovers Callum is on the run and hiding a secret past. But what is Callum hiding? When days later one of the boys ends up dead. Laila thinks she knows who did it and explains it to the Police detective that comes to investigate. After Leah’s twenty-one year old niece drowns in a lake near their family Italian resort she is devastated. One year later her loss still feels fresh. She decides to return to her family’s resort and is dumbfounded when her family seems to have removed all traces of her niece. Leah suspects something is fishy and is determined to figure out they are covering up. To say it's categorised as a thriller, I didn't find it very thrilling - excuse the pun. It's a bit mysterious maybe but honestly, all that build up for, in my opinion, not a fantastic ending. I was really waiting for some big plot twist or a seriously dramatic turn of events. Sadly, it never came.

This is a book that requires constant attention as the plot wavers, hides and changes in a neat and fascinating way. There is a touch of Agatha Christie in the way the characters and the plot swerves, steadies and takes another route, which is fascinating to read and is extremely addictive once begun. I found this novel really difficult to put down and several times woke up in the morning with my kindle on my chest! I highly recommend this book, especially if (like me) you’d like to escape these gloomy February days for a couple of weeks but can’t afford a 5* holiday atm… have a 5⭐️ read instead! I loved the premise of two women who don't seem to be connected, but ultimately get entangled in some dangerous situations that reveal their connection.Initially gripped, I had high hopes for this book, unfortunately, after the main event (which happened very early in the story), not a lot happened and sadly I found the ending quite disappointing. To say it's categorised as a thriller, I didn't find it very thrilling - excuse the pun. It's a bit mysterious, maybe, but honestly, all that build up for, in my opinion, is not a fantastic ending. I was really waiting for some big plot twist or a seriously dramatic turn of events. Sadly, it never came. But Leah, her aunt, feels something's amiss, and when she leaves England to visit her family at the Il Mandarino resort, she finds that her sister, brother-in-law, and surviving niece are acting strangely. It's like Amy never existed, or at least they're moving on with life as though their daughter and sister didn't meet a terrible fate. But Leah's not buying it, and is determined to uncover what happened to Amy that night, even if it means putting everyone in danger. With its keep-you-guessing story line and holiday setting, fans of domestic thrillers will devour' Heat magazine