Elisa Segrave

Caught in a web of lies: The Guest, by Emma Cline, reviewed

Moving among the rich of Long Island, an upmarket prostitute grows increasingly desperate as her many misdemeanours are exposed

Emma Cline. [Ricky Saiz]
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  • The Guest

    Emma Cline

    Chatto & Windus, pp. 291, £16

This deeply unpleasant novel kept me reading all night. Alex, 22, preys on rich men as an upmarket prostitute, formerly in New York and now in resorts such as the Hamptons. She is a thief and addict, sneaking her boyfriend’s sleeping pills, his valuable watch, a former room-mate’s medication, random jewellery and any available alcohol, while lying to herself and others.

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