It's Summer 1979 in the idyllic suburban neighbourhood of Ridgefield, during a scorching heat wave four couples gather for their weekly dinner party.

A solid mystery, though a little predictable. A good beach read.

3.5 ⭐

Heath makes sure her readers have a seat at the Callaghan dinner and witness an ordinary evening turn into a nightmare.


Things I loved:
✔️1970s setting
✔️missing person mystery
✔️multiple POV
✔️multiple timelines over 40 years
✔️range of characters; distinct
✔️escalating panic/unease development
✔️appearances can be deceiving theme
✔️focus on mothers and daughters


Things I struggled with:
✔️large cast of characters
✔️slow-burning domestic thriller
✔️podcast format interspersed
✔️pacing

Amanda’s daughter, Billie, was a memorable character and I was rooting for her through the heaploads of secrets and lies.

I was gifted this copy by Aria & Aries and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

A very engaging read that kept my fingers turning the pages. I liked the setting and storyline of past events and future revelations. A good suspenseful thriller recommended.

Four stars for this amazing slow burn tantalizing tale! I looove a missing kid trope so this was right up alley. A child lost and then…. found? Right?

In THE DINNER party the mystery surrounding what happened to baby Megan has been without an answer for forty years.

A big part of this book was the podcast by Ruby because it gave the reader the details of the case. The circumstances, suspects, and interviews with people, You inadvertently begin to draw your own conclusion but trust me…. They’re wrong.

There were a lot of twists and turns everything comes together in the end making this a very satisfying read.

Book Review 📚
The Dinner Party by Rebecca Heath - 4/5 ⭐

A great whodoneit kind of book. Opens on a normal eveeyday kind of scene and then, BOOM, dispair! It catches you off guard, in the best ways.

The story does start slow but don't let that stop you because when it picks up, it picks up massively! It literally took words out of my mouth when twists and turns started appearing. At that point I knew I had to finish it, and quickly.

Heath really went into detail in this book, there wasn't a piece of information that was missing and there was no unanswered questions which I love in a book. There is unbelievable description throughout, it's so thorough and thought out.

Thank you to NetGalley and Aria and Ares for allowing me to read this ARC - this is an HONEST review from my own personal opinion.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me this opportunity!

Rebecca Heath wrote a great whodunit novel. I love missing person finally returns typa novels. This was such a fun read and it was really intriguing.
4 stars

The Dinner Party by Rebecca Heath is an unforgettable thriller. The story opens with a neighborhood dinner party, but the party ends with a tragedy. As was typical for dinner party nights in the neighborhood, children were left unattended at home, because the neighborhood was safe, wasn’t it? Not that particular night however, as a 4-month child went missing from her own crib. Over 40 years have passed, and the child has never been found, dead or alive. What happened to the infant, Megan? The beginning of this story was a little slow, but the suspense builds as the plot gets underway. There are so many different stories of what actually occurred the night of the dinner party. It was interesting to read different points of view, those of actual attendees, those of children left behind at their houses, and that of the one interloper who purports to actually be Megan, 40 years later. As with all good psychological thrillers, there were twists and turns, with an unpredictable ending. In that vein, this novel does not disappoint as I did not forsee the ending. While it was slow at the beginning, the novel picked up speed, the characters were interesting and relatable. For these reasons, I recommend this book to anyone looking for a thrilling read. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance review copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was so cleverly written and whilst there were a few twists, it did end really well. Loved the detail the author went into and I really got into it. Great book, will recommend.

At first I wasn’t sure how this book was going to play out since it started more like an interview style, but I was quickly picked up into wondering what happened to baby Megan. It was heartbreaking and I could feel the pain from Carol as I was reading.

This book was a fun read. Lots of suspicion keeping you engaged throughout. And you definitely can’t predict this ending. Definitely recommend!!

On December 9, 1979 A court month-old named Megan was abducted from her home in a quaint, middle-class, suburban neighborhood. Forty years later, with still no clues as to what happened that night or to little Megan, Ruby, A journalist and podcaster pulls the case out and dusts it off. She's determined to find answers and solve this Australian cold case.

This story follows three storylines: the podcast, Megan's family in the present, and Megan's family the night of the abduction. The podcast excerpts are scripts and I absolutely loved them. They added that true crime, documentary feel to the whole story. The present day timeline focused on Billie, Megan's sister's daughter. It begins on the fortieth anniversary of the abduction during which a woman drops by claiming to be long lost Megan and comes with proof. The past timeline didn't add to the story in any helpful way for me. For some reason it was jarring for me and yanked me out of the story, so I started skipping those chapters altogether.

Excellent story that kept me on my toes. A must read for true crime lovers.

It started off so interesting and I was so excited to see how the podcast element would play into the story. Sadly I was disappointed. The podcast offered really nothing to the storyline in my opinion and only serves to recap us on the things that have happened in the case, but I just felt like it was so unnecessary. Also this story did not feel like a thriller at all it felt more like a drama mixed with a little suspense.

This is a slow burn domestic thriller about baby Megan disappearing during a dinner party. 4 couples from the neighborhood attended the dinner party. Despite the slow burn, the premise of the book kept me engaged and I wanted to know what happened to Megan in the '70s.

I liked Ruby's podcast because it introduced suspects and provided details of the police investigation. I usually love domestic thrillers, but this book had too many characters to keep track of and lacked depth.

Thank you NetGalley and Aria and Aries for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book has the two time period version of events that I really enjoy - one from 1979 when the crime happened and one 40 years later as the crime is finally being solved. The current storyline is told from the granddaughters perspective which is really good for the two generations later viewpoint. Solid story, solid characters. Four stars.

Summer of 1979, a dinner party where the kids are left at home. 4 couples are in attendance. This night will change their lives forever. So many lies and secrets between these so called friends and family. What happened to baby Megan? somebody must know something. 40 years later and a stranger knocks on Amanda’s door, claiming to be her long missing sister. Where has she been and is she who she says she is?

ARC REVIEW-

I requested this book because the premise of the podcast following the story of the crime. It reminded me a lot of the recent books I’ve read like The Kill Show and Murder in the Family.

I did find the relationships of all the different characters a little hard to follow in the beginning. Especially with all the children. I think I would have preferred to lessen the amount of characters and just focus on Amanda, and her children and Ruby.

I would recommend this book to those who enjoy thrillers with a little extra drama.

Thank you to NetGalley and Aries for the Arc of this anticipated thriller read which releases on January 4,2024.

This was such a good book. Once i started reading it, I couldn’t put it down. It had mixed media incorporated into the book and that just made the experience 10x better. This isn’t like your usual mystery missing child story, it feels more like a true crime podcast and it was everything i didnt know I needed.

This is a book with a LOT of characters, pretty much all introduced together and it does take some remembering who is who and with who etc,well it did for me,the writing is good and the plot with added podcast although familiar to this genres readers did still have something that kept me reading ,I did guess the ending but that did not spoil the book for me
Overall a good interesting read

ARC for honest review

Wow! Best book I have read this year. I couldn't put it down. The twists and turns, it literally made my jaw drop and I had to sit up straight a few times. Amazing story. I would give this more stars if I could ✨️

I did enjoy ‘The Dinner Party’. A lot of twists and turns. It was predictable, in that, I was able to figure out what was happening and the ending was a bit of a let down. However, the writing was good and the premise of the story was intriguing.