It's very hard to write this review without giving away the best thing about this short novel; the shock factor. It starts out as a simple story about the hassle of dining with another couple. It's told by Paul, a regular guy with a regular family. The beginning premise of a simple dinner date and general dinner banter is relatable and somewhat humorous. Over the course of the dinner things start to get tense. There are glimpses of an underlying problem, fractures in the normalcy the characters are trying to convey. Paul isn't the regular guy we thought he was.

Then, BAM! Dessert hits the table and it all turns south. The evening plummets downhill with such a surprising, horrific and tragic turn. As a parent of teenage boys I found the second half of the story disturbing. This, at least, kept me turning the pages. I'm not sure whose actions were more disturbing, the boys or their parents. I was most disturbed by Paul's wife. Her acceptance of the circumstances and eagerness to take it into her own hands is, dare I say it, monstrous.

This is definitely a book you have to work to get through. The first half is drawn out and too much time is spent on descriptions of restaurant staff and food or lack there of. The second half, I thought was too vague. There wasn't enough background on the couple's sons to understand, if that's possible, their behavior. I also felt that the ending was too abrupt.

This is a great book for discussion though. It opens up questions regarding how far parents are willing to go to protect their children, consequences, punishments and what out duty is to our own family and others.

Although a tad tedious in parts, the twist in this book makes it a story worth reading.

This is a very interesting and emotional read of two couples at dinner to talk about their children and the police investigation surrounding them. I really like the detail of emotion and the dinner.

DNF. Couldn't get into this one, although I heard a lot of high praise of it. May try again at another time.

There was so much of this book I enjoyed and it was so well written. Overall, not for me but it really is a great book for the right person.

I was eager to read this, but once I started it I knew it was going to be a difficult read for me. I had a hard time with the skipping around from past to present, and not really knowing what time we were in and where the story was going. I felt overall the story never went anywhere and that there were so many questions left unanswered.