Ten Perfect Guests by Jonathan Santlofer
September 8, 2026/Sourcebooks Landmark
Ten special guests.
An Evite, sent to each, requiring them to spend a weekend on a secluded island as a memorial to recently deceased famous artist, Victor D’Arcangelo, lest they forfeit the inheritance he has supposedly left them.
They all want the money. Some even desperately need it, such as Rachel, whose career as an art reviewer has imploded; and Bagdasarian, the NYC curator who is deeply in debt despite skimming money from his artists.
But the question is, is the money really on the table? Or is the eccentric and narcissistic artist seeking revenge from the grave? If so, who is pulling the strings for him?
Author and artist Jonathan Santlofer uses Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None as a blueprint for his atmospheric but slow-burn thriller, Ten Perfect Guests, which utilizes about a dozen narrative points of view to tell a story of a revenge plot carried out on a secluded island. It’s a tale told (many times) before, so the question is what makes this one special.
This reviewer is on the fence. There are good things about this book, such as its jungle setting featuring a luxurious hotel surrounded by poisonous plants and a lagoon housing actual sharks. Santlofer is an artist, and he uses this knowledge in his death scenes and as added color to the guests, who are involved in that world. Also, as an artist, Santlofer has a wonderful eye for developing his setting of hell disguised as paradise.
And no character is forgettable, from the money grubbing, former supermodel Jasmin to aging Hollywood actor Frank. For the most part, no one gets along, and that’s always fun. We have sparring first and second wives, a couple whose honeymoon ended long ago, and dueling art collectors.
But there’s too much of a crowd. Because the narrative is told from the shifting perspectives of all the guests (and a few others), no hero emerges. We have characters who are our favorites, such as Ian, the former musician married to a billionaire heiress he comically fantasizes about murdering; and Nicky, the reformed drug addict who loves his mother more than his supermodel girlfriend. Santlofer also does a good job of creating un-favorites, such as Lauren, Ian’s whining and entitled wife, and Bagdasarian, the pilfering blowhard. But there’s no central character, which is also true of Christie’s original but noting that And Then There Were None was a much shorter book–a novella, in fact–where the atrocities of U.N. Owen were carried out swiftly and with a clear pattern reflecting justice appropriate for each victim.
Here, this is not a cast of characters where everyone deserves the same end, and this ultimately presents something of a problem both in resolution for the reader and when it comes to motivation. More details cannot be provided here, for risk of spoilers.
It also takes time for the revenge plot to become clear and the consequent panic to ensue. The cast does not reach their destination of the hotel until roughly at the thirty percent mark of the novel, with the first body discovered shortly thereafter and appearing to be an accident. When it becomes clear that foul play is to blame, everyone points a finger at everyone else and the tension ramps exponentially. With the nasty personalities at play and the clear intent of an absent host, for a bit it’s a non-stop thrill ride to discover who will next turn up dead.
Ten Perfect Guests is solid play for fans of modernized Christie who have no trouble tracking multiple points of view. While some may be impatient at the time Santlofer spends detailing backstories and setting up his house of horrors, others will appreciate his vibrant characters and his vision in crafting this revenge tale.
*About the reviewer: Sarah Reida’s debut adult novel, Neighborhood Watch, received a Kirkus Star and was honored as an Amazon editorial pick as one of the Best Books of the Year So Far 2024. She is seeking representation for her sophomore novel, a small town mystery involving beer and murder. Join Sarah’s elite group of Instagram followers here.
