Throwback Thursday – The Guest Room by Chris Bohjalian

Throwback Thursday is a meme created by Renee at It’s Book Talk to share old favorite books rather than just the new shiny ones. This is a great idea to bring back to life some much-loved books. Please feel free to join in.

My choice for this week is: 

 

The Guest Room by Chris Bohjalian

Published January 5, 2016 by Doubleday

 

Goodreads Description:

When Richard Chapman offers to host his younger brother’s bachelor party, he expects a certain amount of debauchery. He sends his wife, Kristin, and young daughter off to his mother-in-law’s for the weekend, and he opens his Westchester home to his brother’s friends and their hired entertainment. What he does not expect is this: bacchanalian drunkenness, a dangerously intimate moment in his guest bedroom, and two naked women stabbing and killing their Russian bodyguards before driving off into the night. In the aftermath, Richard’s life rapidly spirals into a nightmare. The police throw him out of his home, now a crime scene; his investment banking firm puts him on indefinite leave; and his wife finds herself unable to forgive him for the moment he shared with a dark-haired girl in the guest room. But the dark-haired girl, Alexandra, faces a much graver danger. In one breathless, violent night, she is free, running to escape the police who will arrest her and the gangsters who will kill her in a heartbeat. A captivating, chilling story about shame and scandal, The Guest Room is a riveting novel from one of our greatest storytellers.

 

My Thoughts:

“The Guest Room” was my first read from Chris Bohjalian and I’ve been reading his novels ever since.

I thought that the story was very well-written. I liked that there were multiple points of view.  Some perspectives were emotional and heartbreaking to read, but I thought the character development was excellent.

The story of a bachelor party gone very wrong. This book was gripping and I hated having to put it down. Some parts were upsetting, but I could see how they were important to the story.  A few parts may push the believability envelope, but it didn’t really bother me. This is a fiction novel though it does deal with some very real issues. It made me both sad and angry that these things do go on….everywhere.

I was completely invested in the story and the characters, and I couldn’t wait to see how it all came together in the end.  I think that the author told a really good story and I look forward to re-reading this novel when time permits.  There are still a couple of his previous novels that I would also like to read and I’m really looking forward to it.

Have you read this novel? I’d love to hear what you thought of it.