Thankyou to BP Walter, NetGalley and Harper Collins UK One More Chapter for this ARC of The Dinner Guest.

The Dinner Guest starts with a bang - Matthew is murdered - stabbed to death at a dinner party with only 3 other guests - his partner Charlie, their teenage son Titus and their new friend Rachel - a stranger who recently joined their book club after a chance encounter in a book store.

Rachel confesses to Matthews murder - but did she really kill him. and if not, why would someone confess to a murder they didn't commit?

The Dinner Guest is told through varying timelines - before the murder and after the murder, from both Rachel and Charlie's perspective. We learn about the history and build up, including the secrets, lies, relationships and privileges involved in their lives up to this moment.

In this book its fair to say nothing is what it seems and this murder is the ultimate revenge. Whilst I didn't expect the final reveal - it fell a little flat for me. With only 3 main suspects to the murder, it felt like the ending lacked some of the impact I was craving and I struggling to fully understand the killers motive as it all felt a little on the extreme side!

Overall a good read I just struggled a little with the changes of pace and would've perhaps liked to have heard from other perspectives (such as their son's) too.

3.5/5

A good well written fast paced thriller which I thoroughly enjoyed and was a good page turner which kept me on the edge of my seat throughout.

I can recommend this book and thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins OMC for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

The Dinner Guest by B.P Walter is a book that grips you right from the start and makes you want to stay up all night reading. You can safely assume I enjoyed this book and I really did. The characters, the plot twists and that ending.

We start the book off with the murder of Matthew that has already taken place. Charlie, Titus and Rachel are all in attendance on the night of the murder. It has us thinking many times throughout the storyline. Did Rachel kill Matthew or was it someone else?

I enjoyed the writing style of The Dinner Guest. It went from before and after the murder of Matthew. I really enjoyed reading both Charlie and Rachel's perspectives and of course learning more about them.

If you love a good murder mystery this book will be right up your alley.

Publication Date: 1st April 2021

Thank you to Netgalley, HarperCollins UK and One More Chapter for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book gripped me straight away, I couldn't put it down! I was constantly trying to figure out the twists and I didn't have a clue where it was going. This book is filled with secrets, betrayal and revenge - it is a whirlwind of a book that will keep you on the edge of your seat. I genuinely loved this book and would 100% recommend.

Matthew is dead, there is a confession and 2 witnesses, but all is not what is seems. Facts can sometimes be twisted around lies and misconceptions. But who is telling the right story?

I really found this a difficult book to review. I liked the mystery aspects of the crime with the drip, drip of the point of views of Charlie & Rachel and the switching time periods to fill in the events that led up to the murder and the frantic after effects. However, as the book progressed, I found it becoming more & more too fantastical to be enjoyable and actually started to irritate me. I think the main problem for me was the class barrier that somehow felt too forced. The upper class characters didn’t feel believable, and it seemed more like a sketch to me.

Sadly this novel wasn’t for me but having read a previous book by Walter that I did like, I certainly wouldn’t be put off from trying his next novel.

This was a speedy, unputdownable read for me. I won't go into the plot but here are the elements I enjoyed:

Themes of privilege and elitism.
Misguided and nasty characters who commit bad deeds. I also loved the fact that their choices do not go unpunished. Karma bites back and no one is left unscathed.
Fast-moving plot with many twists.
The darkness and mess behind a perfectly curated social media account.

I enjoyed this and look forward to reading more by the author.

4 Stars. I couldn't put this book down. The story centers around the lives of four characters and how they become intertwined. Right from the beginning we know what happens but we don't know why. The remaining chapters switch back and forth between before the incident and right after the incident told from both Charlie and Rachel's point of view. It was more of a slow burner that had you flipping pages to try and determine where it was going. I thought the last couple of chapters really pulled it all together in regards to motive and the Epilogue was great. Would read more from this author.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins UK for my advanced copy.

It’s dinner time!

Grab your place setting and take a seat at the table for this twisty domestic thriller! Matthew, Charlie, Titus and Rachel are all in attendance. When Matthew is stabbed and murdered, Rachel says she did it. Or did she?

The Dinner Guest is a slow burn domestic thriller that will have you guessing until the end! Told by alternating narrators and through multiple timelines, the story goes back and forth detailing the lead up to the murder. Be prepared that the first half of the story moves very slowly, with an abundance of references to the names of the houses and neighborhoods where the characters live. Being American, unfortunately these references were lost on me, but I get it, they are posh and snobby! Needless to say, I had a difficult time getting through it until the 50% mark. While it does pick up pace quite a bit and I was surprised at the complete change in all of the characters, I was unfortunately let down by the final reveal. It is not the kind of WHY that the reader will figure out, as it is seemingly out of left field and not entirely believable. Kudos to Walter for pulling one over on me! However, I was disappointed that all of the characters turned out to be completely detestable.

Overall, this is a very intriguing mystery with a clever premise, but just fell short for me in the end.

3.5/5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for the ARC of The Dinner Guest by BP Walter in exchange for an honest review.

The Dinner Guest was a great character thriller that had me reading this in just a day as I couldn’t for the life of me think where this was going, obviously I had my thoughts but they were kicked to the ground pretty early on.
This is definitely a book best going in with as little knowledge as possible, that’s what I did and I really enjoyed knowing nothing. I liked how the chapters were from the three main characters so you got a better insight into their characters and that the chapters were labelled before the killing leading up in months and after the killing. I can’t say I was a huge fan of a couple of the characters but I think because if that it made it a better read.
I would like to thank Netgalley and HarperCollins UK. One More Chapter for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

THE DINNER GUEST by B.P. Walter was a fast-paced luxurious mystery. The identity of the players involved in the final whodunit are revealed right away, and the rest of the book slowly unravels their secrets.

I loved that this book had multiple timelines - before the murder and after - and also really enjoyed the multiple perspectives. Like I mentioned before, this book was fast-paced and was constantly moving the reader, whether that was ahead or behind because there was A LOT of catching up to do! The characters were all extremely interesting, but, as a reader, I found them difficult to trust.

There were several side plot points that I didn’t really enjoy, though I understand their intention was to add some unease to the story, but they feel a bit unnecessary upon reflection. The overall motive for the murder also fell a bit flat for me. I think there were many other ways it could have gone that would have been more believable.

Overall, this was an extremely intriguing mystery with a lot of secrets, but it still fell a bit short in terms of the overall execution.

Publication Date: April 01, 2021

*** special thanks to NetGalley and One More Chapter for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review ***

Posted to Goodreads and The StoryGraph: 03/11/21
Posted to Instagram (Bookstagram): 04/01/21

I was at first wondering if this book was going to be quite predictable as I already had my suspicions with some of the characters. I was pleasantly surprised at the direction that this novel actually did take! This is a fresh and original book which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Rachel confesses the murder of Matthew but nothing is as it seems. Charlie and Matthew, affluent spouses with a teenage son, live the perfect lifestyle of high society. And who is Rachel, she comes in their lives all of the sudden.

But this world, as any other, is full of lies, jealousy, control, revenge and passion.

Really gripping thriller, characters are very believable and well developed and the story is in parts shocking.

Great read!

Had I reviewed this at the 50% mark, I almost certainly would have given it 5 stars. The alternating perspectives and changing timelines — devices which I usually find really distracting — worked well to build suspense and create tension. However, the second half of the book dragged for me. All of that buildup seemed to fizzle, and the few twists didn't provide much impact. Additionally, I struggled with believing the motivations for some of the characters, and was left wondering what happened to others.

This was my first book from this author and it definitely won’t be my last. This book was full of twists and an ending that I did not see coming. This book is unique and definitely worth a read.

Four people walked into the dining room…but one would never leave…at least not alive…

Told from multiple points of view with a deadly countdown, The Dinner Guest is a highly character driven mystery with the cast having so many secrets, you will be guessing the motive behind the murder up till the very last page! Dear reader, I thought for sure I had it all plotted out, but the author reminded me that revenge is a dish best served cold.

I’ll not spoil the fun in solving the mystery in a review…you will just have to snag your own copy! Loved and highly recommend!




**I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book that I received via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. **

**Many thanks to NetGalley, HarperCollins UK/One More Chapter, and B.P. Walter for an ARC of this book!**

Whatever you do, even if you think your plate is already overflowing, save room for this absolutely juicy thriller which would put even the most sizzling piece of steak to shame!

Charlie and Matt are married, co-parenting teenaged son Titus who they are raising as their own, when Matthew decides to bring in book club newbie Rachel to share a meal. She has slowly been creeping further and further into their little world...but why? And when Matt is viciously murdered at dinner, WHY is she so quick to make the 999 call to confess to cold-blooded murder?

Trust me, this is all the setup you'll need to dive headfirst into this shocking and suspenseful tale, replete with everything from underhanded characters, dual timelines which slowly divulge details at the perfect pace to keep the reader guessing, devastating secrets aplenty, and an absolute knockout ending! I'll be honest, I thought I had this story figured out at about 25%...and I was COMPLETELY wrong. Luckily, I think this says less for my shoddy detective skills and more for the absolute talent of BP Walter to baffle and confuse his reader! When it comes to thrillers, I almost enjoy being wrong more than being right, and the hits don't stop coming until the very last chapter. I also love a thriller that leaves the story a little bit open-ended, because whether the author pens a sequel or not, it's always fun to speculate the next steps for our characters....the ones still ALIVE, of course!

This is one thriller that will leave you ravenous for more...and I'm already waiting for BP Walter's next book! (and maybe a fabulous piece of devil's food cake to go along with it!) 4 stars

I know how this is about to sound, but I liked this, but I just didn't LOVE it. 3.5 stars!

This book opens with a bang as we find that Matthew has been stabbed to death during dinner in his own home. The non-deceased guest list includes Charlie (Matthew's husband), Titus (Charlie and Matthew's son) and Rachel (a woman that Charlie and Matthew have only just met. Rachel phones the police while clutching the bloody knife and the reader is quickly made a aware that Rachel is not the person that killed Michael.

In alternating POVs from Charlie and Rachel, the story unfolds and we learn about everyone's secrets/dark pasts in the typical "who dunnit" fashion. Not a bad read, I just sort of lost interest by the time the big reveal came about towards the end.

Good page Turner ,lots of wonderfully dislikeable weak characters and a fun read of why they did it .
It didn’t really make sense to me she wd give in and do what she did ,I’d be like Phew someone else got there first and wouldn’t feel had to spend some time away to atone for my plan personally and she clearly was making decisions that effected others still so why take a moral decision in the end when she’s still v immoral in managing them like puppets after the fall out .
I enjoyed it but is average thriller so three stars .I would look at other novels of this author to pass the time ty netgalley and publishers for the advanced copy

I was on the edge of my seat for this entire book! I thought it was fast paced, and I liked the back & forth with the timeline. I thought all the characters were well-written & unlikeable - I just wanted to know who was going to get away with what. I kept trying to guess what was going to happen next & was never able to do so.

Big thank you to NetGalley, Harper Collins and One More Chapter for this much appreciated ARC in exchange for an honest review

4.5 ⭐️ stars/5
Holy wow was this novel a gripping psychological thriller!
It started out on a good and fast pace and executed the introduction to each character very well. As the story goes on, we are fed small puzzle pieces of what happened at that fateful dinner that four walked into and only 3 left alive. I genuinely couldn’t put it down, I even brought it with me to work to sneak in a few pages of reading.
It’s been awhile since I’ve read a book that has kept me guessing like this one has. The changing between POV definitely added a lot to the suspense as we’re able to slowly realize what led to the events of the murder of Charlie’s husband. A few plot points, I believe, were a little convoluted and weren’t completely necessary in my opinion but nonetheless we were delivered a solid novel with characters that dabbled in a very gray area. The conclusion did leave a few loose ends and introduced us to a character we only briefly saw mentioned earlier and didn’t get a true feel for but it felt as though one could fill in the blanks yourself to determine what was to come after the final page.
I would recommend this book to fans of any who-done-it’s and mystery/psychological thrillers like The Silent Patient.

The Dinner Guest is set to be released on April 1st, 2021.