A totally addictive closed room mystery that would be perfect for all Agatha Christie’s fans out there.

This was a character-driven domestic thriller with a gripping plot and edge-of-your-seat suspense.
I found it fast-paced and well-plotted. I did not find the well-drawn, memorable characters remotely likeable, but they held my interest. Many twists in the fast-paced plot contain devious, deceptive people, lies, illicit sex and adultery, drugs, blackmail, snobbery, and teenaged rebellion.

The story begins with a family dinner. Charlie and his husband Matthew sit down with their 15-year-old son, Titus. An uninvited guest, Rachel, joins them. Soon, Matthew is stabbed to death in his seat at the dinner table. Rachel, holding the bloody knife, promptly calls the police and confesses to the murder. What could her motive be?

They appeared to friends to be a happy family. Both Charlie and Matthew were devoted to Matthew's adopted teenaged son, Titus. A chance encounter with a stranger, Rachel, in a bookstore leads to turmoil and trouble. Matthew invites Rachel to his book club, attended by wealthy people from old school money. Charlie feels very uneasy about this, although he has never attended the meetings, and makes it clear to Matthew that the invitation is a mistake.

Matthew, Charlie and their friends lead privileged upper-class lives in London society. This is a world unfamiliar to Rachel. She works at low-paid menial jobs and lives in a shabby apartment. She quickly inserts herself into the lives of the family. At her first book club meeting, Charlie's suspicions about Rachel seem to be confirmed. He finds her snooping in their bedroom. She seems to be taking too much interest in Titus. She breaks up a mob menacing Titus in a different part of the city. Charlie believes she was following their son, but Matthew passes it off as a mere coincidence. Rachel leaves her job to work as an assistant to a wealthy book club woman and is soon leading a lavish lifestyle.

This menacing, well-constructed plot moves back and forth in time, before and after the murder. The timelines are never confusing. The chapters are narrated from the perspective of Charlie and Rachel but are their words reliable? As it delves deeper into the characters' backgrounds, the twists and revelations kept me riveted to the pages. Charlie hints that Rachel, now in prison, might not be guilty.
If so, why did she confess and what really happened?

This was my first book by B P Walter and left me wanting to read more of the author's novels. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy of this intriguing book. Recommended to readers who like a tantalizing domestic thriller.

The vast majority of this book is everyone walking around teasing little snippets of what I'll term their "motivating secrets." Yep, they have secrets. Yep, that's why they're doing stuff. Then, when the secrets are revealed, everyone kind of stands around going - yep, it makes sense that that did that stuff. Yep, on account of that thing we didn't know. Yep.

Just when you think you know what is going on, think again. What you know for sure: Matthew is stabbed to death, His husband, Charlie, their adopted son,Titus, and their friend Rachael are in the room. Rachel calls police to report that she has killed Matthew as she holds a bloody knife. That is the only information you know for sure. The narrative is told from two POVs - Charlie 's and Rachel's.- and moves in time to pre and post murder. This is not a distraction or the least bit confusing for the reader, It is B.P. Walter's method of deconstructing their lives in a way that reveals the characters to us.
Charlie and Matthew had led privileged lives as part of the upper crust of society. Rachel had not. She did, however manage to insert herself into their lives in a way that made Charlie very uncomfortable. Rachel would be going nowhere. But what reason would she have to kill Matthew?
The Dinner Guest weaves interlocking webs of secrets and betrayals. You will be hooked. I read this book in one day. It is an easy read with complex layers, It will keep you going until the last sentence...and perhaps a bit beyond. My thanks to NetGalley for the ARC or this book in exchange for my honest review

Thank you to NetGalley and Publisher for gifting me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was not what I thought I thought it was going to be.
I went in thinking I was ready..... I was not ready.
Usually, I read romance novels but man, this was good!

The plot, characters and the whole book in general was a massive case of the unexpected.
There are a lot of twists and turns that keep you on the edge of your seat and make sure that the only time you put this book down is in case of dire need.
It grabs you, holds you and does not let you go.

Pick it up! You won't regret it.

This was a twisted one. A fresh take on the formulaic thriller that has gained popularity. I did think the first half was a bit slow, building up to the second half, but once you do get past that, it picks up and is hard to put down. The Dinner Guest doesn’t hide what it’s trying to do or build up, and in some senses is predictable but in the end the twists keep coming until the very last page. I appreciated that the author almost anticipated what you thought, and disregards it, keeping you engaged. The characters evolve over the course of the events and I really appreciated that.

I do feel that the title is misleading though, I think I was expecting something very different, like there being more emphasis on a dinner that never really happened, but I’m willing to chalk that up to poor marketing. The book and plot and characters were transparent and dark and overall well done.

This domestic thriller grabs you on the very first page and simply does not let go. Told from dual perspectives and from multiple points in time, the reader learns in the prologue that Charlie’s husband, Matthew, was stabbed and Rachel confessed to the murder. From then on, backward and forward in time and told from Charlie and Rachel’s POVs, we were taken on a whirlwind ride through posh British society trying to figure out what lead up to the murder and what happened after the police took Rachel away. It was a wild and wonderful ride and was truly hard to put down.

My copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to the the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review it.

Another snowstorm, another book finished in one day. The Dinner Guest is a intricately construted jewel of a mystery. A married gay couple and their adopted teenage son sit down for dinner. Soon an unexpected visitor arrives, one husband is dead from a stab wound and the attractive female visitor calls the police and admits that she stabbed the man to death.
What follows is two characters narrating chapters in the past and present. The characters described in this book are British aristocrats living extravagant lives and one woman who will never fit into their lifestyle. The twists and turns continue until the last page.

Solid 4.5 stars.

Within the first few chapters, I thought I knew what was going to happen. Fortunately, I was very wrong.

Told from the perspective of the two main characters, this takes you on a ride.

Who really killed Matthew and why? This one keeps you guessing up until the end.

Worth the read!

The questions build into a noose of tension. You can't undo the pressure until you know. Who? Why?
A fantastic psychological thriller cleverly constructed to give you all the answers. But are you correcf in your deduction?
You'll only know for sure by turning the page.
Highly Recommended

‘The Dinner Guest’ by B.P. Walter is a delightfully dark and twisted tale of the vulnerabilities faced by a family when a new friend proves to be far more dangerous than anyone could ever have imagined.
The story opens on the night of a family dinner, moments after father Matthew is fatally stabbed and Rachel is arrested for his murder. Rachel contacts the police and confessed to killing Matthew. So far, straightforward. However, narrator Charlie quickly drops the bombshell that Rachel might not be as guilty as she suggested.
Moving between events of the past 12 months and the present, Charlie provides the reader with his viewpoints of recent events, while Rachel slowly reveals her motives. Through their eyes, the author weaves a complex tapestry of emotions, slowly revealing the divisions within their group. And slowly building a sense of menace, which adds to the overarching tension. There are plenty of twists, occasionally, leaving the reader unsure of who to trust. The story comes full circle by the end and all elements are nicely tied together.
Plenty of twists and suspense to keep you on your toes.
Thank you to @Netgalley and @OnemoreChapter for the ARC of this book. B.P. Walter is a new author for me and I will be looking out for this author in future.

Thank you Net Galley and One More Chapter for an early copy of The Dinner Guest. WOW WHAT A BOOK!!! I couldn’t get to the next chapters fast enough. Captivating and Gripping! Everyone had a secret story. The ending was the only downfall, maybe it was left for a sequel? Buy this book ASAP, you will be Engrossed.

"The Dinner Guest" has gone straight to the top of my "best read of 2021" list.

I don't quite get the Donna Tartt reference in the publicity, this novel is simply pure classic crime but with some delicious and delightful twists. So tightly plotted - almost every character introduced is relevant to the story or to one of the back stories where we learn little by little what happened and why it happened. I was totally engrossed in the lives of the family and so enjoyed the unravelling of the plot. I've not read Mr Walter before so i will be exploring his 2 earlier books..

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this brilliant ARC.

This is one of those great thrillers that keeps your head spinning continuously! Matthew and Charlie have a son Titus who is fifteen. And they have a new "friend" Rachel who seems to insinuate herself into their lives quickly which makes Charlie is suspicious. But during a dinner party, when Rachel confesses to murdering Matthew...well, things get dicey as this happens on the first page! And so begins the tale of secrets, lies, deceptions, adultery, teenage rebellion, and blackmail. What's not to love? This book may keep you up all night but it's totally worth every minute as the ending sucker punches you in the gut! Loved it!

This psychological thriller starts off with a bang right out the gate! It continues to allow you to stay interested enough to peel back the many layers with two alternating POVs throughout and makes the reader wonder, "Just what the heck is actually going on here??". You know everything isn't always how it seems and you want to get to the end, so you can discover the true story of what really happened. If you are a fan of domestic thrillers, I'd suggest this read. Some parts seemed unbelievable, but for the most part it was a good read!


***Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me an advanced copy of this book!

Loved the murder mystery at a dinner table! Loved all the characters. Really enjoyed reading this one with all the suspense, definitely on the book list for this year.

A book I could not bout down.A thriller that kept me turning the pages late into the night.So well written characters that come alive a well written story line.A bookI I will be recommending,#netgalley#The Dinner Guest

When two strangers meet in a bookshop, all manner of events are set in trail - ending in murder. 'The Dinner Guest' opens with a murder and then sets the scene of the crime, flitting back and forth between times and viewpoints.

Its an insight into such a wealthy world, castles and stately homes dotted around the place (I was already in awe at someone buying a hardback book on a whim!) - and the characters have been protected from life somewhat. They are not particularly likeable, all fairly selfcentred and greedy for more.
The backstory was well told - maybe a little too long? - but I galloped through it, worth a read if you like crime fiction.

I really enjoyed this book from beginning to end. We know from the beginning that Matthew has been murdered and that Rachel has the knife in her hand when she calls the police. We don’t know why Matthew was killed and we aren’t absolutely sure that it was Rachel who did it. This story goes back and forth between before Matthew was murdered and after. This book is very well written and quite addictive.

This is one dinner you will not want to miss.

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.

Rachel is not a part of the family. Charlie and Matthew met her less than a year ago, and she was invited to Matthew’s book club. What leads up to Rachel calling the police with the bloody knife still in her hand, while Matthew’s dead body sits at the dining room table?

The less said, the better.

Buckle up, because this is one enjoyable ride! I thought I had everything figured out early on, and was preparing myself for disappointment. However, although I guessed a few minor things, there are revelations that completely caught me off guard. I love when a book engrosses me and keeps me on my toes, and that is exactly what this one did.

If you like well-plotted tales with tantalizing secrets and a wickedly satisfying ending, check this one out.

4.5 stars. This book will be published: 5/27/21.

Thank you to HarperCollins UK/One More Chapter and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Review also posted at: https://bonkersforthebooks.wordpress.com