Intense, gripping and twisty. This story was everything I hoped it would be and more. A really thrilling read that kept my attention. I couldn't put it down!

Wow, I regret waiting so long to read this one! It was so enjoyable and had me staying up very late to finish it! This is truly a wonderful book!

Everything you want in a thriller and more cannot wait to read more from this author all the twists and turns you expect from a thriller and some you never would!!!

This had such a strong start, but fell flat in the middle and never really regained it's promise for me. It wasn't *exactly* forumlaic, but after a few misses in the middle it became very predictable and not as enjoyable for me as other books I've read in the same genre.
It was still a good read. Just not a stellar one.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in return for my honest opinion.

While the plot of the book is what drew me in -I found the overall story a bit lacklustre. Despite having a strong start I felt as though reading this was like moving through treacle and by the end of the book any excitement/momentum that had built up was completely lost. I am intrigued by their concepts and would happily pick up their next book to try, hopefully, I will find it more engaging.

Charlie leads a good life in London, living and upper-class life with his husband Matthew and their teenaged son. Charlie passes his time by being an Instagram influencer and his life is thrown asunder when a woman Rachel appears in their life. Suddenly, she is always around and even makes her way into their book club. (the nerve!) Until one night, we find Matthew dead at the dinner table with his husband and son, while Rachel calls the police.

The novel jumps back and forth in time from months before the murder to the days immediately after the murder. We see alternating perspectives from Charlie and Rachel, and as they tell their stories we learn (of course) that things aren't as clear cut as we may have initially thought. This was a twisty domestic thriller, set in the homes of the posh London crowd. I liked the Agatha Christie vibe with the twist of LGBTQ+ main characters. As always, I am a great appreciator of alternating perspectives and time lines. Something fell slightly short for me however, maybe it is because I've read too much Agatha Christie and (in recent years) domestic thrillers, so I saw the ending coming. I recommend this one to thriller fans. :)

THE DINNER GUEST is a mystery thriller by British author. B.P. Walter. This is the first novel that I have read of this author and it won ‘t be the last. This novel will keep you guessing right until the end!

Four people walked into the dining room that night. One would never leave.

The four people are Charlie, his husband Matthew, their son Titus, and Rachel, the stranger.

Matthew, an avid reader and Charlie met Rachel at a bookstore, and Matthew ended up inviting Rachel, a total stranger to Matthew’s book club. Charlie didn’t want her at the book club, but Matthew wouldn’t listen.

But Rachel manages to worm her way into all of their lives.

The novel opens with a murder where Matthew had been stabbed at the dinner table. Rachel is holding the knife in her hand and calls the police and confesses to the killing. Charlie, Matthew's husband and their son, fifteen-year-old Titus were witnesses to the murder.

The novel is told from multiple POV’s (Charlie and Rachel) and timelines, and the tension and mystery builds up with details released on a need-to-know basis.

This mystery thriller novel has everything in it to appeal to a wide audience, as it deals with love, betrayal, addiction and revenge.

So, who killed Matthew and Why?

Many thanks to the author, Harper Collins UK/ One More Chapter and NetGalley for granting- my-wish with a digital copy.

Plot

Four people walked into the dining room that night. One would never leave.

Matthew: the perfect husband.

Titus: the perfect son.

Charlie: the perfect illusion.

Rachel: the perfect stranger.

Charlie didn’t want her at the book club. Matthew wouldn’t listen.

And that’s how Charlie finds himself slumped beside his husband’s body, their son sitting silently at the dinner table, while Rachel calls 999, the bloody knife still gripped in her hand.

Review

Holy mother of bookblogging, this book!

First of all, the characters are hateful. Every single one of them. Which makes it hard for you to feel any sort of sympathy for them, which is he point. It’s a world that is alien to most of us, old money, Belgravia and Chelsea apartments which you see on instagram.

Charlie is instagram obsessed, narcissistic and hates anything that gets in the way of his “perfect” image. Which is why he hates Rachel. She killed his husband after all - or did she?

That’s when the twists start and this book has plenty of them. It’s a brilliant narrative that keeps you on your toes right until the last paragraph, literally. You find that things are not all they seem in a world where money can buy you anything and get you out of any sort of trouble.

Like I said none of the characters are likeable and as he book goes on, I kind is stared to think that maybe Mathew had it coming. Titus, the adopted son is just a nightmare beyond nightmare who starts falling away from Charlie’s perfect narrative and that will just not do.

I won’t say more fir spoilers but seriously this as such a good start to Murder Mystery March for me. I would love to see this as a TV series because I believe it’s got that potential. Call Jed Mucurio and see what he can do!

Rating

5/5


Recommend
YES!!!!!!!!!

Thank you to One More Chapter and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Dinner Guest?!?!?! Who was the guest, really? I've just finished the book and that's the question i keep asking myself. Because everyone seems to have been a guest in the Allerton-Joneses, including the family themselves!

Matthew, Charlie's husband and Titus' father, is sitting in his seat at the table dead of a knife stabbed into his chest but who did it?

Was it Rachel? She's a stranger,really, but she's thoroughly intertwined her life into all their lives. Plus there's the confession and the knife is in her hands...

Or was it Titus??? His grandparents obviously think he did it.

What about Charlie? Matthew has been acting quite strangely lately but is that reason to kill him?

There were so many twists I thought I saw coming but the twists had twists. Definitely worth the read!

Unfortunately this book was not for me. Other readers may enjoy it more, but I could not get into it and ultimately did not finish it.

Rachel is not invited to the family dinner between Matthew, Charlie and Titus but she turns up anyway. Once the dinner comes to end, Mathew is lifeless with a knife in his chest. Rachel is arrested for murder. But why did she kill Matthew?

The two POV's between Rachel and Charlie were good and how the timeline flipped between both before and after the murder as it helped put things together. Rachel's character development was strong and I felt we really got to know her through her chapters.

This was an okay thriller. I don't think it was anything extraordinary and I felt as though there was just something missing.

Thank you to NetGalley and One More Chapter for a copy of this in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you for the advanced copy of this book! I will be posting my review on social media, to include Instagram, Amazon, Goodreads, and Instagram!

A family that seems to have it all, Charlie and Matthew happily married bringing up their teenage son Titus.

Matthew meets Rachel in a bookstore and invites her to his book club. Where’s the harm in that I innocently thought … well we fast forward a year to a dinner party where Rachel is one of the guests, let’s just say the night ends with a murder and Rachel holding a knife, confessing to a crime she did not commit!!

My advise is to get yourself comfortable as this is a book you will not want to put down and you are in for a bumpy journey!!

Several times I thought i knew where this story was going but I’m pleased to say I was very wrong and loved being kept on my toes. This kept me in suspense, I was saying I will just read one more chapter before bed and ending up reading it in one sitting.

I would definitely recommend this, there are so many secrets and lies which make this a very addictive read!!

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for a review

Full review to come on Instagram and Amazon. Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for a review copy.

Dark thriller told in a truly compelling dual narrative that Walter does so well. Properly gripping, but very dark in places, I love the subtle nods to his other books within the story. Brilliant!

This was an enjoyable, if average, thriller.

I liked that our main character was gay. Not enough LGBT+ leads in thrillers for sure.

Somehow everything in the story was both obvious, but also had no real build up.

Just okay for me.

A thriller so intense and creepy as hell.
So intriguing that we completely emerge in the plot to discover who did and who not.
In my opinion, this book deserves to be read for those who likes a good plot twist and for those who wants to try a good thriller.

I will no longer be reviewing this book as I am no longer interested in this. I think that others will enjoy this.

I’d like to thank NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for approving me for an ARC of this book.

Well this one certainly starts with a bang doesn’t it? Matthew has been murdered and Rachel has confessed to killing him. Straight away I wanted to know what events led up to this murder and most importantly why the murder happened!

The story flicks from when Rachel walked into Matthew and Charlie’s lives and the days after the murder. Whilst Rachel and Charlie each tell their side of the story it is very clear that secrets and lies are intricately woven into this tale. I actually didn’t like any of the characters and found them very hard to relate too. Both Matthew and Charlie seemed to think very highly of themselves and their privileged back ground and Titus came across quite spoilt. Of all of them Rachel seemed to be the one who was most in control and it stayed that way until the end.

I found this one really hard to put down. Every time I thought I had figured it out another curve ball was thrown my way. I thought it was very cleverly written and explored the depth of revenge and family ties perfectly. It’s an understated, slow burning, psychological thriller that will have you doubting everyone and every thing. I think it’s safe to say that everyone gets their ‘just desserts’!

I started this book a while ago and it didn't grab my interest so I set it aside and wasn't sure if I would come back to it. I decided to give it another try before writing it off and I couldn't put it down. I wanted to see what would happen and how everything would play out. It was a fun read and I am glad I gave it another chance when I was in a better mood for this type of story.

This is the story of Matthew and Charlie, a married couple, and their adopted son Titus. They have a wonderful life, they are happy, everything is perfect until they randomly meet Rachel one day. Matthew invites her to his book club, against Charlie's wishes, and she becomes way more involved in their lives. Much to Charlie's dismay.

Now this story is told from the point of view of Charlie and Rachel. Some chapters are pre-murder, some post and they are all woven together perfectly. Now how everything unfolded was fun to read. It was easy to figure out some things, but some I did not anticipate which is always good. There are not a lot of players, but

*Spoilers ahead! I want to mention a few things that will 100% spoil the book and give away a lot of things so do not read further if you don't want to know what happens!!**

Charlie and Matthew and Titus are well off, they run in the rich circles, whereas Rachel is not. She lives in the poor section of town, she is often seen by Charlie as not good enough and he can really come across as so snobby, which others do call him out on. But really the whole elites vs poor led to some interesting conversations, though man I definitely was not a fan of Charlie. And I knew he was the actual killer, or should be, at the beginning when he was saying how he met Matthew. How he arrived at the restaurant where he was meeting him and Matthew was reading a book, which is a red flag for Charlie. I mean if that doesn't scream murderer I don't know what does. And how he was super weirded out that Matthew invited Rachel to his book club. And how he is so dismissive of the book club in general. He doesn't understand why this odd bunch of people as he says wants to get together to discuss books they probably don't really read. Or read too closely so they can really dissect everything. It was not a surprise to me when we have him open up at the end about his past, about what he thinks and feels in certain situations. I mean it is a red flag for him that someone has a book on them and read so...definitely the killer.

Overall this was a great read and I am glad I gave it another chance.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author and publisher for a copy of this book