Juliette and Ted are hosting a dinner party with 3 other couples at their home. Towards the end of the evening they play a dangerous game of secrets which leads to disastrous results. While others are pointing fingers and placing blame, Ted is determined to get to the bottom of who is ultimately responsible for the death of one of his friends.

This was a 2.5 read for me, rounded up to 3 stars since it was hard to put down. The beginning took off right away and the story held my interest throughout the whole book. The ending was a bit too complicated for me and a took a slight turn which I found too unrealistic. It had potential but fell apart towards the middle.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to review this book and to be an early reader via NetGalley! However, I will not be writing a review for this title at this time, as my reading preferences have since changed somewhat. In the event that I decide to review the book in the future, I will make sure to purchase a copy for myself or borrow it from a library. Once again, thank you so much for providing me with early access to this title. I truly appreciate it. Please feel free to contact me with any follow-up questions or concerns.

In the mood for a mystery novel after reading a bit of romance, I needed something a bit edgier and one of my favorite tropes is the mysterious events that lead to the people dying one by one due to dark secrets. Juliette and Ted used to host dinner parties with their friends regularly but it's been several months since they have all been in the same room, so they decide to finally host one. There are Juliette and Ted, Kathryn and Rhys, Evie and Jakob, and Orla and Connor. While at the party, Evie brings up a game for them all to play - a trust game where you write your darkest secret down and your partner without reading it, lights in on fire, and forgives you. This game though starts to bring up awkward emotions and the environment changes. The party wraps up and everyone leaves, then early morning - Juliette gets a frantic call from Evie to say Jakob has gone nuts. The pair rush over to Evie and Jakob's house only to find a crime scene with Evie dead. Of course, husbands are always the first suspect and so the police ask the friends about Jakob that night - what happens though when he turns up dead as well? As the week progresses, though more of the friends will turn up dead or near-death. What is going on? Ted seems to be the only one wanting to investigate as he knows something is up but will he find himself next as he discovers that someone in his group of friends wants to keep a secret - secret as if it ever came out - everyone in their group of friends could be compromised? Will Ted be the next one in their group of friends to die as he gets closer to uncovering the hidden truths? I have to admit overall I loved the novel but I did feel that the ending felt a bit too rushed for me. If you are on the outlook though for a good UK mystery, then check out The Dinner Party by RJ Parker as it will take you on a rollercoaster ride as you the reader, try to connect the dots.

Eight friends. Eight secrets. One killer.
A group of old friends gather in a peaceful suburban street for a dinner party.
They are expecting a fun evening of wine, food and pleasant company. But then they start to play the game…
It’s about trust and dark secrets – it tests marriage to its limits – and none of them can begin to imagine its consequences.
Because the next day, two guests are dead and the others are trapped in a nightmare…
When I first started reading this book, I was hooked. However, the "excitement" of the book was soon lost for me. I did not like or care for any of the characters. A main element of a good book for me is to at least "feel2 for the characters.

I found the ending to be unsatisfactory.

This was not a bad book, but I think it was a pretty average read.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Impulse/Killer Reads for this e-copy in return for my honest review. The book centers around four couples that reunite at a dinner party, what could possibly go wrong? Thrilling and gripping. Only put it down because I'd to go to work.

thoughts
Would I recommend it?yes
Would I read more by this author?yes
Not a type of dinner party i want to tend where a game is played and secrets are wrote down and then those very secrets lead to murder . Which brings the question up do we really know our friends and love ones as well as we think we do and how far would you or someone go to keeps those secrets from being found out even though no one except the person the secret is about knows what that secret is. Lies, secrets and murder what else you want in a story that will keep you wanting more .With that said i want to thank NetGalley for letting me read and revirew it.

This book was okay, not bad by any means, but not fantastic either.

It was certainly engaging and easy enough to get into; one of those easy to read thrillers that’s perfect for snuggling up in bed and get cozy with at night with a cup of tea.

It has all the proper ingredients for a suspenseful, compelling without being too complex thriller: a dinner party in which four (somewhat odd) couples gather for what they expect and hope to be a happy and relaxing, fun filled evening filled with laughter and merry banter. But then of course, trouble ensues. They have all consumed a lot of alcohol because, of course they have (what is a thriller novel in which there’s a gathering of friends without alcohol?) and after dinner has finished, they decide for some reason that playing a good ole game trust game is the proper way to end the evening (which really is just never a good idea okay) and of course this leads to trouble. Tensions arise, and deadly consequences soon follow.

Early the next morning one of them ends up dead, more tension arises, secrets and lies complicate things further, and of course at the center of it all is one vital question: did the game played the previous evening play a vital role in what happened?

As far as thrillers go, this was a pretty decent one, although it’s not going to be making it on my list of top favorites. It was entertaining, and certainly had an air of suspense about it, but on the negative side, the characters weren’t all that likable, and the second half of the book was pretty lackluster in comparison to the first half.

And the ending was extremely disappointing and left a lot to be desired.

Decent read and interesting enough, but not quite my favorite cup of tea.

The Dinner Party was a solid 4-star read for me! Four couples attend a dinner party together and decide to play a game of truth....what follows is a twisty, crazy, thrilling story of how far people will go to protect their deepest, darkest secrets.

This book starts off by getting right into the action and doesn’t slow down for about the first 25% of the book. The middle did have some parts that were a little slower for me but they helped to build the tension for the last 1/4 of the book, which was action-packed! Some parts were slightly far-fetched for me, but I still really enjoyed the book and would definitely recommend!

Thank you for the opportunity to read this. I will be posting a full review to Goodreads, Amazon, and Instagram.

You will not be able to put this book down!! Cancel all your plans the day you start reading this book because I guarantee you're probably going to want to read it until the end. R.J Parker crafted a brilliant thriller/suspense novel that kept me at the end of my seat wondering when the 'next shoe is going to drop'.

This book seemed interesting, yet evolved into something completely odd and unrecognizable. The plot just seemed too stretched and deluded to the point where there is just now way this would happen. The only character I even somewhat liked was Ted to a point, except until his wife started lying to him and acting strange after the dinner party. It seemed like observations got added in late in the story that made in even less plausible. I made it through this book, but definitely something I would not recommend to others. Thanks for the ARC, Net Galley.

I enjoyed this book - it was filled with suspense and really kept me guessing. It’s a classic chain-of-events story, where a “silly game” at a dinner party changes the course of eight friends’ lives forever.

Four couples come together for a dinner party one Friday night and everything goes smoothly, that is, until one of them proposes playing a couples “trust game.” After that, things go haywire, and all chaos breaks loose for the tight-knit group of friends. Is it related to the game? Or has one of them been hiding something for a long time?

The set-up was really cool. I don’t want to give away the game, but it’s actually kind of interesting and I wonder how I would handle it. Anyway, the action starts fast and furious, not slowing down until the very end. The mystery is intriguing and I was really curious to see what was going on.

The couples each had a distinct personality to them and it was interesting to see how they all interacted and how that affected what happened to each of them, since no one was immune from the events happening around them.

My one complaint with the story is that once things got down to the nitty-gritty, the big reveal, things were a little too convoluted for my liking. Without giving away too much, the resolution was complex and didn’t really “wow” me. I guess the rest of the novel was so good, leading up to that point, that i expected some big twist and a great reveal, but this one was just OK, in my opinion.

I also didn’t like Juliette, the main character’s wife, but i can’t really get into that without spoilers.

But I would still recommend this book to fans of mysteries. The story was great, the ending was good enough, and enjoyed reading it. I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

8 friends gather for a neighborhood dinner and two die the next day. What secret was revealed that someone had to kill to protect them-self. Lots of action and twists to keep you turning the pages. This is my first read by R.J. Parker and I see many of his books are murder and psychological thrillers. The cast of characters were a little bland and I didn't like the ending. I think it needed one more chapter. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

A book that drew me right in an invite to a dinner party.A group of friends gather and the twists and turns of this thriller had me racing through the pages guessing till the end.#netgalley#harperImpulse

The first three quarters of this book are totally engrossing. It's quick, well-written, and pulls you right into the lives of the characters.
Unfortunately, the ending was stupid. Almost seemed as if the author started writing the book without knowing how to end it. The last 1/4 of the book, absolutely everything sort of fell apart, one chaotic event after another. When I read the last page, I was so surprised that there wasn’t more. Left me saying “huh?”

Ted and Juliette host a dinner party for friends Evie and Jakob, Rhys and Kathryn, Connor and Orla. During that dinner party a game is introduced by Evie, based on a counselling concept of forgiveness. Each person in the marriage/partnership has to write down an act on a piece of paper they want to be forgiven. Nobody gets to see what is written and each adult tells their other half that they forgive them before setting light to the piece of paper.
No-one has any inkling of the devastation that is to follow, in spite of the game causing tension between and across the couples during the dinner party. What then plays out is a catastrophic and fatal chain of events which means one or more persons at that dinner party are guilty of some hideous crimes.
I found this book engaging and easy to read. I didn't much like the characters oddly, but I did like Ted. I found a section near the close of the book a little bit grisly and was kept guessing as to who was hiding what secret and the impact this would have on police investigations.

I was confused for a lot of the book which is a rare occurrence these days. Just when I thought I understood what the author was leading up to I still was wrong and each event took me by surprise. The ending in particular felt like it came out of nowhere, which was both a good and bad thing. At times it felt like the plot was too random but despite that, I enjoyed it immensely. Parker's writing always felt engaging and drew me in for every twist of the novel.

The Dinner Party had a lot of characters intertwined with the plot which added to the confusion. I enjoyed all of the characters but since a lot of them were quiet with little bold traits it was hard to remember who was who. My reading experience was filled with a lot of brief pauses to refresh myself on the plethora of characters.

Overall I generally liked the novel and had a good time reading it.

I really enjoyed this book so much. It has a really great plot, superb main characters and I read it in one sitting. I would highly recommend this book.

Overall I really enjoyed this book. It was thrilling and kept me on the edge of my seat.

Thank you netgalley for the ARC. I will be recommending this one to friends.

Oh dear. Secrets, lies, intrigue, all very drawn out and unlikely, with far too many gruesome deaths, and a disappointingly inconclusive ending. Not for me.