Lapena has written a great whodunit, with a delicious Christie-like vibe. Fans of the author’s first novel will want this, and anyone who savors a well-crafted murder mystery will gobble it up!”

I loved Shari Lapena's previous books "The Couple Next Door" and "A Stranger In The House" and couldn't wait to start reading this, her latest thriller "An Unwanted Guest". It didn't disappoint and I have to admit that this one is actually my favourite of the three and in my opinion her best yet. The writing was what threw me off. It was.....really bland. And made the whole experience really slow and plodding...uninteresting. The characters were another poor aspect. None of them were likable or relatable and almost everyone made really, really stupid decisions regarding how to stay alive.An intriguing cast, an isolated location, a raging storm and the threat of death in every dark corner: An Unwanted Guest reads like Agatha Christie with a shot of adrenalin. Clear your desk before you start it because you won’t want to put it down.” I am happy to see that so many others appreciate and love this novel. I'm sure I'll still be all grabby hands for her next one whenever it comes out. This murder mystery gave me all the CLUE vibes and I loved it so much! A large cast of characters trapped in a remote hotel during a snowstorm with no electricity or cell service? Yeah, sign me up. Guest Trisha just told you she's not leaving your house. How can you get her OUT? Gary Burchell/Getty Images

I felt like I was playing an oral game of the classic board game, CLUE. It was one of my favorite games growing up. Communication is necessary but it is a bad way to encourage unwanted house guests. Being a cold person is really helpful to get rid of unwanted people who always come to your house. They may visit your house very often but you can build a hard boundary at the first time by limiting conversation. You may pretend to be hurry and end the conversation as soon as possible. Make sure that you do not start talking to them in any case. 4. Do Not Smile Try to bend the truth instead of creating a big lie. You don't want to get caught in the middle of your own lie. For example, instead of saying one of your kids is deathly ill, say they have a very contagious cold. As Trisha's unwitting landlord, you have to follow state law for evictions, which can vary. In California, where Portman practices, you first need to give Trisha a " notice to quit." This is an eviction form which notifies her in writing that she has 30 days to voluntarily leave the property. You'd probably want to have an attorney draft this document and give you instructions on how to serve it. What happens next depends on whether Trisha is a tenant or a lodger.Right from the start, Shari Lapena pulled us into this story with a very chilling setting here with a hotel snowed in. We all loved the feeling we got from the storm and the spooky feeling of being trapped with people you don’t know, with nowhere to go and no one can come to help. The suspense and tension rises when bodies start to drop like flies and we started questioning just who was the unwanted guest. Overall, An Unwanted Guest is a fast-paced and entertaining read. This novel has some clever twists and turns which will keep you hooked till the end. Recommended for Mystery and Thriller Fans.

A woman receives an unexpected visitor during a deadly snowstorm in this chilling thriller from New York Times bestselling author Heather Gudenkauf

Like with “The Couple Next Door”... it’s not that I found either book utterly riveting...but simply interesting & enjoyable. I like the ‘easy-going-style’ of Shari’s suspense writing. FUN is the best way for me to describe it..... If Trisha is staying in your guest room and convinces the cops that she's providing even minimal help in exchange for a place to stay, she's a lodger. And evicting a tenant or a lodger is a civil matter, which means the cops won't touch it. Congratulations, you're a landlord now! Shari Lapena wraps An Unwanted Guest in icy, treacherous roads, power outages, howling winds, snapped off tree branches, and oh by the way.....MURDER. A good old fashioned “Whodunit” Set in the Catskill Mountains, during a bitter cold, stormy weekend when the guests at an Inn get snowed in during a power outage. This is one mystery / suspense that is not to be missed! Tell them that other house guests will be arriving soon. For example, let them know that your in-laws are coming to visit and need to stay in the room they are staying in. Say “John, I’m so sorry, but my in-laws are coming to stay for a week starting Friday, we’ve got to have our guest room available to them.”

The hotel is three stories with a grand staircase, reminiscent of Gone with the Wind. A forest surrounds the hotel and it has a grand lawn which is all covered in pure white snow. This should be the perfect setting for a quiet, relaxing weekend, but it will not be. Thank you to Edelweiss, Penguin Publishing Group and Shari Lapena for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review. Determine why you want them to leave. You need to be clear with your own reasoning before diving into the conversation. Review any agreements you made when they moved in, or any promises that have been made/broken. Assess the situation and their current behavior, grounding your reasoning in fact. While "I don't like living with them" is an acceptable reason to ask someone to move, you want concrete details, like "they never do the dishes," "they said they would leave months ago," etc. before talking to them.A weekend retreat at a cozy mountain lodge is supposed to be the perfect getaway . . . but when the storm hits, no one is getting away. As I mentioned previously, none of the characters were particularly likable, in the traditional sense, but they were definitely interesting.