I was hooked from the beginning but started to lose interest about half way through. It just started to get too busy for me and I was losing that connection with the characters I had first developed. I do think it was a great idea and the writing was great as well, it needed fleshed out a bit more, but that’s only my opinion!

This book has an interesting premise, families at a dinner party check on their kids to find a baby missing and the sister traumatized. I was really into the book in the beginning, but did figure out a major piece halfway through. After that it felt a little like the storyline moved slower than I would have liked. All in all it was a good read and I would recommend it.

Thank you Aria & Aries and NetGalley for an early copy of The Dinner Party. Very, very confusing with all the cast of characters. I was still confused at the end of whom was whom with some of the characters. Great writing with the podcast chapters and the past and present, always left me wanting to know more after each chapter ended. Family drama at its Best!!! Good read!

If you love podcasts, you’ll love how the author narrated this tale! The author takes us through a time 40 years prior when a group of neighbors get together and a child goes missing. The author tells the story from the POV that the reader is actually listening to a podcast. She describes the sounds and music you’ would hear as your navigating this mystery through your headphones. The podcast is intertwined with the story of the family who was affected by this tragedy.

Thank you #netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy.

It begins in the 1970’s with a neighborhood dinner party that was fueled by drugs and alcohol and bad decisions. The couples left their children alone in their homes as they weren’t far way. On a check of the kids , it was found that 4 month old Megan was missing. This is just the beginning. I did enjoy most of the book but was disappointed at the ending. Thank you to Netgalley and aria and Aries for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

Wow, what a fantastic domestic thriller! A baby went missing over 40 years ago, with the case going cold decades prior. The family has tried their best to solve this mystery, but without new evidence, they continue to wonder what happened to her. After a podcast is released detailing the events of her disappearance, someone shows up claiming to be the missing baby! Of course, everyone is skeptical, but her sister wishes it to be true so very badly. The story kept me interested, while enjoying the character development very much!

thank you NetGalley for this ARC- all opinions are my own

This one took me a minute to get into, but then I was invested.

The story flips between a dinner party in 1979 and current day. In both, the missing baby--Megan Callaghan--is the center of focus. It's clear that her disappearance rocked not only her family, but also their small community and the after effects are still felt generations later.

The characters are realistic and multi-layered. Family dynamics, half truths, wishful thinking, and social media all play roles in the story in a way that makes them believable and natural.

The weakest plot point for me was the podcast transcripts. They would've meant broadcasting 3-5 minute episodes, and instead could've been conveyed just as easily as Ruby's interest in the story that she shared with a friend rather than the production of such short segments. I get that podcasts are popular, but this felt forced.

Overall: 4 stars

I'll tell my students about: mental health/trauma, death/violence, alcohol, language, kidnapping, drugs,

**Thank you to NetGalley and Aria & Aries, Head of Zeus -- an Aries Book for the free ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.**

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for giving me a free eARC of this book to read in exchange for my review!

I really liked the storyline of this one, but the pacing was a bit slow for me; I found myself putting it down more often than usual before I finished it. There were a LOT of characters in this story making it a little difficult to follow, especially in the beginning. By the time the ending was revealed, I wasn't on the edge of my seat. That being said, I did like the back and forth between the podcast and storyline - it broke things up and brought fresh perspectives! While it took me a while to get through, I did like the character development and would read something else by Heath. Thank you for the ARC in exchange for my review!

I reallllllly wanted to love this book. Unfortunately, it didn’t live up to my expectations. It wasn’t terrible, but it ended up being forgettable.

The Dinner Party tells the story of baby Megan’s disappearance during a neighbor’s dinner party that several parents/adults in the neighborhood attended. The story alternates between multiple POV’s, past and present, and a current podcast that is exploring the unsolved disappearance.

While I understand that the story needed a lot of characters to fill the dinner party, as well as the families, etc., The Dinner Party was way too character heavy in my opinion. I could not keep the cast of characters from the party itself straight and ended up not even trying. There was very little substance to any character. I spent the first half of the book trying to keep up with who each person was, and the second half just trying to get to the end for some resolution.

What saved this book for me is the premise. It was original which I liked! I also thoroughly enjoyed the 70’s setting! You don’t see that often in thrillers and I really enjoyed that aspect.

Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a character heavy domestic drama. I will definitely try and read more of the author’s work because I did find so much potential in this story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Head of Aries for the opportunity to read this ARC before its anticipated release of January 4, 2024.

Another page turning domestic suspense novel from a Rebecca Heath. Despite there being a large cast of characters, I managed to keep them straight throughout the story. Some were not so likeable and most made questionable decisions. It had me intrigued, although I guessed the twist, it didn’t take away from my enjoyment of this book.

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?

Thanks to Aria and Aries for my advanced copy of this book to read. Published on January 4th

Thank you so much to NetGalley for an advanced reader copy for review! As soon as I opened it up on my kindle and realized it had a podcast tied into it I was SOLD. I loved how much the story went from the past to the present and the addition of the podcast for extra information was icing on top of the cake. I do wish that we would have gotten more POV from Trisha after what happened between her and Carol but overall I think it was a great book with great character development. It was definitely a slow burn but I didn’t mind at all and felt like it was paced perfectly. I’d love to know if there’s going to be a sequel somehow with more of Donna’s story!

Rebecca Heath, The Dinner Party, Aria & Aries, Head of Zeus -- an Aries Book, Jan 2024.

Thank you, NetGalley, for providing me with this uncorrected proof for review.

The Dinner Party is a gripping domestic thriller, at its core, a missing baby. Forty years after the dinner party that was in progress when Megan Callaghan disappeared Ruby is making a podcast as part of a renewed effort to find her. The domestic nature of the past and present are very much in evidence, Ruby’s grandmother was at the dinner party, as was Billie’s whose mother, Amanda is missing child’s sister, and was with her in the house when she disappeared. One of the men responsible for checking the sleeping children of the dinner guests, her grandfather, is now in a secured unit in a care home. His wife is dead. Billie’s other grandparents are alive and remain part of the community in which Megan vanished. Eve, Billie’s sister, is married to one of their childhood friends. Trish, the wife of couple at whose home the dinner party took place is still a presence: she is part of the Callaghan family business and Billie’s godmother. Into this environment comes Donna – claiming to be the missing Megan. Amanda readily and lovingly accepts her. Billie does not, even when Eve makes it clear she is content with Donna’s explanations.

The story is told through Billie, Trish and Barbara from the dinner party, and Ruby’s podcast. The latter moves from the past to the present, interviewing all those still able and willing to contribute to the podcast. Trish tells the story of the evening through her experiences, contributing to the belief that all was not what it seemed between neighbours who periodically entertained at dinner parties, had children at the same school, and were part of a community in the past and now, often through the podcast.

As Billie explores the verisimilitude of Donna/Megan’s story she also suffers feelings of ineptitude in dealing with her new baby, her longing to return to her job where she feels competent, her mother and sister’s growing aversion to her because of her readily voiced suspicions, and her husband’s volatility. Trish’s story lays bare the sexism of the community in which, as a young wife, she tried to survive. Amanda’s obsession with finding Megan has impacted upon her marriage and her relationship with her daughters. The damage of the past seems to be never-ending, despite the charity she has founded which has successfully raised money for a reward for finding Megan, as well as aiding others seeking lost family members.

There are no confected twists in this novel; it does not need them under Heath’s capable hand. She combines excellent portraits of the characters as they adjust to living with the loss of Megan at the heart of everything they do. Heath also writes competently of events and feelings around the core event. The layers of complexity impact on the past and the present. What are the dinner party guests hiding? How did the couples react to each other and what were their lives outside Megan’s disappearance? What does an obsession do to the people involved at the time, and their future families? And in the present: How do the sisters deal with feelings of self-worth, competition with each other and with the missing child? And what secrets are there hovering in the current lives of the people living in the community forty years after Megan disappeared? And what of the role of the podcast and its impact and purpose in dredging up the past and promoting the foundation as well as Ruby’s closeness to some of the people involved in the past?

This novel combines a sophisticated consideration of a wide range of issues arising from one event with a strong story line that is engaging. There is no pat ending, rather a recognition that some of the characters will move on and others cannot. There are explanations for both outcomes throughout the story – they are both plausible and understandable. I shall be looking for more of Rebecca Heath’s work.

The Dinner Party is a twisty, drama-filled thriller that dives into a forty-year-old cold case of a missing baby. Unfortunately, this wasn't a book for me. To begin with, there were way too many characters introduced in a short timeframe. I had to keep turning back to remember who was who and who was married to who. I don't think I got all of the characters straight until 65 percent of the way through the book. In addition to the confusing cast of characters, the time jumps were also quite chaotically done. The narrations of those at the dinner party were poorly written. Honestly, there were no likable characters; I found everyone super frustrating. Finally, the ending was extremely predictable. I think all readers can figure out what happened to Megan long before the ending. Some people may enjoy The Dinner Party; however, I am not one of them .

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book!

I have conflicted feelings about this book - on one hand it’s well-developed in terms of the main character of Billie and it’s well-written, particularly in switching between three different perspectives. On the other hand the motivations of the secondary characters, especially the antagonist, are not close to fully developed and the plot holes that result from that lack of motivation are frustrating. I also thought it would come to a good explanation, but in reality it felt like a true suspenseful exposition with subtle character motivations/arcs was looked over in favor of injecting danger that wasn’t necessary. I’ll leave it there to not give too much away in case people want to read and make their own judgment.

Bottom Line: The one thing I don’t want from a thriller/mystery is to be left with an explanation that doesn’t feel realistic or satisfying. For that reason, even though I did enjoy the reading experience, I can’t give this book more than a 3/5.

This was a good thriller, without being overly dramatic, and light enough to read in one sitting. I felt that as readers we were presented with some ordinary people in an ordinary situation, but of course there was more to it than that. I also liked the format of the story, and the "episodes" breaking up the prose.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a free copy to review.

I received a DIGITAL Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book definitely kept my attention from the beginning. I enjoyed the plot immensely though I did predict the twist. I also enjoyed the podcast transcripts interspersed throughout the book.

I don't really have much else to comment on this book but if you find the plot interesting then I would give it a chance.

The story opens with the Baby Callaghan Podcast which relates to baby Meghan disappearing decades ago and the family continues to search starting a foundation to support those lost. In 1979 during a dinner party 4 month old Megan disappears and is never found again. Older sister Amanda has never given up and she and her children run a foundation to aid others who have lost a child without resolution. The premise of the book is good although the pacing was off and the writing style didn't resonate with me. A really unique premise and an original storyline. I found it less of a thriller and more just a gen fiction. It's a really slow burn and the podcast element didn't make it more engaging for me personally. I still read through to the end and there were a couple of twists thst I didn't see coming so it was still quite a good read, maybe just not as engaging as I'd been hoping.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for my copy of this book.

Oh another podcast included mystery. I feel like there’s so many books like this now. This book was interesting because of the she’s missing but now she’s back plot and having it be 40 years later. Like where was she what was she doing how did she get out. I loved it and it kept me guessing

1.5⭐️ - In the summer of 1979, 4 couples get together for a dinner party in their suburban neighbourhood. Their kids are all sleeping at home, but when going to check on his daughters, Frank Callaghan realizes his 4-month-old daughter Megan is missing. 40 years later, Megan's sister Amanda is confronted with a stranger who claims to be her long-lost sister. Where has she been all this time? And what are the adults hiding about what happened that night?

I, unfortunately, struggled to get through this book. The pacing was off and the writing style didn't resonate with me. I was interested in the premise, so I kept reading to get to the resolution, but the ending was disappointing. The characters felt two-dimensional; I read 400 pages about them and was still mixing them up by the end of the book. Mystery thrillers rarely prioritize character development, but considering the endless descriptions of Billie's struggles as a mother, I believe the author could have dedicated some time to portraying her as a person. Ultimately, I feel like there were random descriptions and points of view that did not serve the plot at all. It read more like a general fiction family drama than a thriller.

I want to thank NetGalley for sending me an Advanced Reader Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.