The Fifth Guest tells the story of a group of old friends from Oxford university, reunited for a dinner as adults. The dinner party atmosphere soon turns sour as it becomes clear their bonds are not so much of friendship as having scores to settle with each other. The chapters alternate between the present day dinner party and the past days of university life, with both revealing secrets and dark happenings.
This book has one of the most generic thriller premises ever (although admittedly a good one) but boy does it execute it well! A book like this lives and dies by its characters, and all of them are fantastic here. They really do feel like real people, with their own flaws and lives going on. I particularly enjoyed the chapters set in the past-I almost wish there had been more of them, or less of a large time skip since they take place over all three years. I wanted to see how they all grew and changed throughout university life. Having said that, those sections are still very enjoyable and it does help the book to keep a good pace.
I also loved how this book didn't always go with the 'obvious' past tragedies/secrets. It took some really interesting directions and kept me on my toes as a reader, which I really appreciated. Again, it helped it feel fresh from its typical premise and really breathed some life into the book.
Overall, I definitely recommend giving this a try. It's a perfect example of how to take a classic thriller premise and create a solid story from it, as well as to have characters who are flawed but still enjoyable to read about
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