As Lucy uncovers Reed’s family secrets and the island’s history as a quarantine hospital for typhus patients, she becomes obsessed with the past and feels her own grip on reality slipping. Tempers flare, strange signs appear in the woods, and accidents turn deadly. Is the island haunted by the dead? Or is someone amongst the living taking their revenge?

The Disinvited Guestis the story of people trying to escape a second pandemic, one that surfaced after the first one in 2020. On a private island in Maine, they hunker down, hoping to survive with friends. But family secrets and stories of past quarantines recounted in an old journal stir them and create anxieties that are unexpected. Fears even extend to others sharing the island retreat, creating suspicion and lack of trust. How had some of previous guests on the island died, and what would happen to those who remain? Who should stay and who should be forced to leave?
I found the story haunting as it kept me reading, although I was bored by the journal tales from the 1800s. I did like the ending, despite the sadness that clung to those who remained. 4 stars.