This was an engaging book that a really enjoyed. There were lots of twists and turns to the story that were unexpected. It felt very modern and the characters were well drawn.

3.5 stars
Before I do my spiel, I gotta say that this isn’t a bad book at all! It’s really well written, and I recommend you give it a try but...

For most of the book, I felt like the crux of what the big twist hinged on left me feeling meh...
And I won’t give the ending away, but I found the justification for it disturbing. And not in the this-is-a-good-thriller kind of disturbing.

It was cool to read about Kensington and Chelsea, but I had trouble enjoying reading from one of the main character’s perspectives. He’s an extremely wealthy, superficial, forty year old man living in Kensington, only concerned with how many Instagram followers he has and keeping up appearances. And that ending?!! I mean, come on.

You’ll have to read it for yourself!

Thank you so much, Net Galley and the publisher, for a free e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Dinner Guest is a well-constructed book with timelines that go back and forth, before and after the murder takes place. The chapters toggle back and forth from the perspective of the characters, letting us know more about each character. Lots of interesting twists and turns and I went through this book quickly. I will definitely be looking for more from this author!

What a read!
Fantastic twisted thriller
I enjoyed the plot, pacing, character development. This book lived up to the hype. I cannot wait to read more from this author.
Brilliant book and I will be recommending this one for some time.
Thank you Netgalley and Harper Collins for my ARC.

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter in exchange for an honest review.

Sometimes thrillers are just okay and sadly I must add The Dinner Guest to that pile. Though it has two narrators, this book primarily tells the story of Charlie, a rich influencer who is struggling to raise his son, Titus, with his husband, Matthew. Titus is going through his teenage years and his parents aren't sure how to handle it when he reveals he is having sex. Furthermore, Charlie feels Matthew is hiding something from him. The plot kicks off properly when they run into our other narrator Rachel, a woman who has engineered herself into their lives for her own unknown purposes. You learn from the prologue that Rachel will turn herself in for Matthew's murder by the time the book is through, but what led to that situation?

For a book called The Dinner Guest, I expected a little more focus on the dinner party itself. This is a very basic thriller with no real theme, which means the title could have been anything from the plot really. If you're expecting the actual dinner party to be significant beyond somewhere for a character to be murdered, then you will be sadly disappointed.

The characters were well-written for a book of this kind, although I wasn't particularly fond of any of them. Rachel probably ended up being my favourite but Charlie was very insufferable. It felt like him and Matthew viewed Titus as a pet rather than a son, and this was something that was kind of addressed but not really in a way which made me satisfied it was a deliberate decision from the author and not just a result of convenience. Titus neatly comes in and out of the plot as needed and might as well not exist when he's not directly being discussed. He seems the least real out of the characters and the book suffered from it.

As this all seems very negative, now is the time to stress I didn't hate this book. It has a decent plot and I couldn't predict what was going to happen, and it also makes a fair attempt to discuss some wider social issues. There was just nothing that really wowed me or made it stand out among the thriller market. If you need a thriller to pass the time, you could do a lot worse than this. It's just a shame it had nothing new to offer readers.

Overall Rating: 3/5 stars

This one is a bit of a hard one for me to rate as I’m quite conflicted in how I feel about this book. I loved the Cluedo (as in the board game) vibe it gave me. However, I just found it a bit too long and the end wasn’t really satisfying for me. It either should have been longer to dig deeper or it should have finished a bit earlier to get that “what’s happening next” vibe. I also ended up really disliking all the characters, while I did liked them all about 50 pages towards the end. That being said, I did really enjoyed it and the story being told from two perspectives, Charles’ and Rachel’s, was really good. As was the timeline going back and forth a bit; creating that suspense that keeps you hooked! ⭐️⭐️⭐️

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.

The Dinner Guest is an excellent whodunnit, locked-room mystery with plenty of intrigue throughout. The story has unlikable characters and plenty of suspense throughout. Highly recommended to anyone who loves locked-room whodunnits. This is a fun read!

A classic story of who did it that gave me the Clue game vibe. You have all of these dinner guests and I was guessing the entire time who did it. I don't want to give too many secrets away, but this book brings on all of the twists and turns. I was flipping page after page trying to divulge the true murderer. It was a great thriller with plenty of mystery to keep entertained.

This book is so good. I read it quickly and enjoyed the fast-paced thrilling style. I really enjoyed the fact that I didn't guess through the secrets/twists throughout. I hope the author writes another because this one was enjoyable and it seems other reviews I have read think the same. I think that this one is a 3.5-er with the potential for the author to improve on their next if they're willing to write another!

I really enjoyed the writing of this book, which is the highest praise for me because I couldn’t put it down. I really enjoyed the short fast paced chapters and the writing flowed really well. I liked all the characters development and there were a few little twists that I didn’t see coming so that was enjoyable. Overall, I thought it was a great read but the ending slightly let it down for me personally. But I will definitely be reading other books by this author!

DNF'ed at 40%.

I was only mildly curious where the story was going and I assume I know what happened based on the character's actions. It was just a little too slow for me.

I don't love 'twists' at the beginning of books. But functionally there was nothing wrong with this.

“The Dinner Guest” has a locked room mystery feel to it. Who killed Matthew?! This book was a twisty psychological thriller that kept me guessing till the end. The less you know the better going in.

I read some of this book before it came out but got it way to late. I will be picking this book up at a later date and reviewing it fully.

The Dinner Guest - Book Review

I had heard such good things about The Dinner Guest. Sometimes that can be a bad thing and the book doesn’t quite live up to the hype. In this case, they were not wrong. I loved it from start to finish.

Usually, books have a cast of people who don’t have a lot and who are scrimping to make ends meet. However, the author in this case decided to give us a set of characters that were well to do. I found this rather a refreshing point of view. Most people would think as I have done in the past. They have everything that could they possibly have to complain about. Of course, this is an absolutely appalling point of view. They are human beings and they have feelings that all the money in the world can’t control.

We meet Charlie and Matthew who have a son called Titus. Not a name you hear every day and it did make realise from the start that the couple were upmarket. Charlie is perhaps the more judgemental and snobby one out of the two. Matthew would probably be more down to earth. Although both are very likeable and I really enjoyed getting to know more about them.

Titus on the other hand, I couldn’t warm too. Spoiled brat is what springs to mind. But when you look deeper you can see before the attitude that perhaps he is struggling with life and doesn’t know what he is meant to be doing. Alternatively is that rubbish and it is just typical teenage behaviour?

The blurb says Four people walk into the dining room that night. One would never leave. So already as you start the book your senses are on overdrive You learn who the victim is from the first sentence. I thought that was very clever of the author. From the reader's point of view, we have the who we just have to work out the who.

London plays a huge part in the book. The publisher One More Chapter had some special events on Instagram with the author BP Walter and they included a look at some of the places mentioned in the book. I found this added an additional element to my reading experience.

I would hope this isn’t the end of my time with these characters. There is wiggle room to go to when they were younger or to take another character and go off on a thread.
You will enjoy this book if you enjoy gentle who done it reads.

A corker of a literary meal it left me satisfied and with full intentions of returning again for more.

A thank you to Netgalley for sharing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Try as I might, I don't have a whole lot to say about this one. The premise is intriguing to be sure, and it has all the right ingredients to please my palatte, but...It's not that I disliked the experience, I just was never fully there, never fully engaged. Going to chalk it up to the characters, none of whom I found particularly memorable. Good story, but people while pleasantly warped, weren't particularly interesting to me.

From the outset, there is more than meets the eye to Matthew's death and the story is spent unpicking the past to how the four main characters got to that point. I liked the switch between past and present and the points of views although part of me thinks it would have been interesting for Titus to have his own chapters. As can be expected in a book that is laden with privilege, none of the characters are particularly likeable so it's hard to feel sympathy for any of them, despite what occurs. There were a few instances which I struggled to believe or find realistic, such as Rachel being able to so easily to worm her way into Charlie's family so quickly and deeply. I also found Charlie to be a hypocrite considering what we go on to discover in the book. Overall, just an alright read for me personally but it was well written with some neat twists.

Fast paced and gripping this story sucked me in and didn’t let go. Such well developed characters and Storyline that’s never been told before. Great read!

Dinner and murder, what's not to love?

The Dinner Guest is a strong mystery novel oozing secrets from the pages. Secrets that might appear where you least expect them. I enjoyed the fact the number of characters was limited, with four people at the core of the story and a few navigating around and helping the story by adding layers of reality.

I was kept intrigued throughout by the change in pov with each chapter and could not figure out what were the motives until halfway through the book.

Very interesting read and I hope we get to meet some of the characters again in other books!

An engaging thriller that will keep you guessing till the end.

One happy family. Charlie and Matthew happily married raising their teenage son Titus. All is well until Rachel inserts herself into their lives. Instantly Charlie is on edge knowing there is more to Rachel than meets the eye.

Told from multiple perspectives and timelines the pages flew by as the mystery built up and ultimately unfolded.

You may think you have this one figured out… but not so fast my friend! B.P. Walter has added some fabulous twists.

Looking forward to reading more from this author.

Posted to: https://books-are-a-girls-best-friend...

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for an ARC to read and review.

This was one of the best domestic thrillers I have read for some time. It starts with a prologue entitled “The day of the murder” which sets the scene for what can only be described as a thunderous, hundred mile an hour, roller coaster of a read.

Charlie and Matthew have been married for five years, living in upmarket Chelsea with Matthew’s adopted teenage son Titus. Matthew is a keen reader and a member of local book group made up of an eclectic mix of follow readers. As a result of a chance meeting, Matthew invites Rachel to join the group. Rachel soon finds ways to infiltrate their lives to the point where she can only be described as a stalker.

As the storyline unfolds, we learn more about Rachel’s life, her background and ultimately her reasoning behind the unusual friendships she created with the family.

This was brilliantly written, with many twists and turns, and a plot that I really couldn’t tell where it was going to go next.

Highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys domestic/psychological thrillers.

Many thanks to HarperCollins UK - One More Chapter and NetGalley for the review copy.