The Dinner Party hooks you from the start with the tension in Stig and Lily’s marriage, keeping you eager to see where their story will go. As suspicion and secrets build, Stig remains a mystery, making you question everything right along with Lily. The deeper she digs, the faster her past mistakes start catching up with her.

Lily isn’t always the easiest character to root for, but you can definitely understand her choices. It’s easy to see why she was drawn to Hector’s charm and wealth, but she also ignored the warning signs for far too long. When she finally faces reality, you can’t help but wish she had seen the truth sooner.

The story keeps you hooked with short, bingeable chapters, and while the ending wasn’t exactly what I hoped for, it still offered a sense of closure. The journey itself made it a worthwhile read!

A big thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I’m fresh off a Freida McFadden binge and love reading fast-paced domestic thrillers to unwind after work, so The Dinner Party caught my eye because it seemed reminiscent of The Menu. Tbh, throw a bold, basic typeface in all caps on the cover with a simple graphic behind it, and color me intrigued.

The Dinner Party book starts with Lily and her husband Stig celebrating their anniversary at the exclusive restaurant of celebrity chef Hector Bolson-Woods. As Lily becomes more intrigued by Hector, her relationship with Stig starts to unravel.

While I found the story engaging and it kept me turning pages, it felt a bit stretched in parts, and the writing could be tightened up to make it more gripping. However, just like Freida’s books, I had to keep reading until I found out ***The Big Thing.*** Ultimately, it fell a little flat for me but was an escape from The Horrors nonetheless.

Thanks to NetGalley and BoldWood Books for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Nina Manning’s “The Dinner Party” sets out to be a gripping psychological thriller, but much like an overcooked meal, it fails to deliver a satisfying experience. While the premise is intriguing—a dinner party among friends that unravels into a night of secrets and suspense—the execution leaves much to be desired, particularly in one of the novel’s key moments: the restaurant Nina Manning’s The Dinner Party sets out to be a gripping psychological thriller, but much like an overcooked meal, it fails to deliver a satisfying experience. While the premise is intriguing—a dinner party among friends that unravels into a night of secrets and suspense—the execution leaves much to be desired, particularly in one of the novel’s key moments: the restaurant scene.

The table at the restaurant should have been the setting for a tense, pivotal moment. Instead, it feels flat, forced, and ultimately underwhelming. The interactions around the table lack the depth and natural tension that a scene like this demands. Rather than escalating suspense, the dialogue feels contrived, the conflicts predictable, and the pacing sluggish. What should be a claustrophobic, pressure-cooker moment of psychological unraveling instead feels like a series of surface-level exchanges with little emotional weight.

Beyond the weak execution of this scene, the novel as a whole suffers from uneven pacing and characters who struggle to break free from cliché. The twists are either telegraphed too early or land without enough build-up to be impactful. While Manning’s writing has potential, The Dinner Party ultimately fails to serve up the tension and intrigue it promises.

If you’re looking for a psychological thriller that truly grips you, there are far better options on the menu.

Thank you NetGalley and Boldwood Books for this eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Lily Leonard and her husband Stig are celebrating a wedding anniversary. He surprises her with beautiful piece of jewelry and she in turn plans special dinner reservations at the posh restaurant of world renowned chef Hector Bolson-Woods. Lily is hoping to save their failing marriage with this surprise but she gets a reaction from her husband she did not expect. He is shocked and angered by her choice of restaurant and after dinner tells her he doesn’t want to ever dine here again. So when a private invitation to dine at the chef’s own home arrives, Lily is excited and tries to convince her husband to go. What is his aversion to Hector and what secrets is he hiding from her about his past and a possible link to the chef? Lily is attracted to and impressed by Hector..but does she really know this man and what lies behind his charming ways. This was a fast and very entertaining novel with lots of twists and a great ending!

Some interesting ideas, dark themes and despicably engaging characters make for a strong foundation. The strands are not always brought together in a way which allows the reader to really keep focused, which is a bit distracting.

I did not like one single character in this book. I couldn't stand any of those despicable folks and didn't really care about them. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

I enjoyed reading and it is a quick read that, while might be predictable, is entertaining. I wish the ended felt a little less rushed. It seemed as if the book went from “plot building” to “peak” in only a few chapters which made it feel like there were a few plot holes.


Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC read.

I quite liked this book at first but as it went on I found it a little scatty and all over the place. The past tense stuff was a bit far fetched but overall, it was interesting enough to keep me invested to the end. It's like a nightmare situation for Foodies! Bit far fetched but an OK read.

After reading my first Nina Manning book (The House Mate) and really enjoying it, I was so excited when I came across The Dinner Party!

The story follows Lily and husband Stig, who visited a popular restaurant for their anniversary, little did they know this visit would stir up a lot of secrets and surprises from the past.

It goes from Lily's to Lily and Stigs POV halfway through the book 👀

It seems that Lily is upset at Stig for the majority of the book for his own misgivings, despite Lily having a few of her own!

For me it was more of a domestic/family thriller than a psychological one

Overall, I was slightly underwhelmed by this book, despite not predicting the ending!

A good read, but not my favorite. While it had an interesting and intriguing premise… it just fell flat for me. I did finish the book and felt like it was pretty predictable.

The Dinner Party is an exceptional thriller that delves into the intricacies of human development, trauma, and the multifaceted nature of family dynamics. This narrative courageously addresses themes such as the formative years of a child, the enduring impact of trauma, the transition into adulthood, the often unspoken complexities within familial relationships, and the pursuit of individual achievements. It is a story that possesses the potential to be both polarizing and captivating.

As I immersed myself further in the narrative, I found my allegiance to the characters increasingly ambiguous. Each individual is portrayed with authentic flaws, prompting reflection on the universal truth that imperfection is inherent in all of us. This thriller focuses on depicting challenges and empathy.

This book may be easily overlooked by those without personal experience or sensitivity to the subjects of adolescent trauma. However, The Dinner Party offers a compelling and thought-provoking reading journey for readers attuned to these profound themes. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to those seeking a thriller that not only entertains but also deeply reflects the complexities of human nature and familial bonds.

The Dinner Party will have you wanting to keep reading with this fast paced thriller! I was originally hooked by the cover, but once I started reading the story, I needed to know what happened next. There was a huge mystery aspect and how all the characters are somehow intertwined.

Lily wanted to surprise her husband, Stig, for the perfect anniversary dinner. Little did they know, the restaurant they picked would stir the pot. 😉 This story will take you through many twists and turns that you didn’t see coming, ultimately leading to an ending you wouldn’t expect (at least I didn’t).

3.25⭐️
I have mixed feelings about this book in which I don’t know what genre it actually falls into. Never have a read a “thriller” where the part that makes it a thriller comes in the last 15% of the book.

I really liked the plot concept of the book and it ended up being a page turner in the last 40% but the execution was wonky. Had the same energy been throughout this would have been fabulous.

Lastly, and I’m going to try to say this without spoilers, is the connections between characters was really apparent very early on so that contributes to it dragging through the first half of the book.


I am thankful to have gotten a complimentary eARC from Boldwood Books through NetGalley to read which gave me the opportunity to voluntarily leave a review.

My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars and I rarely round up.

⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again

I want to start this review by saying thank you to Netgalley for the ARC of "The Dinner Party" by Nina Manning.

Truthfully, I picked this book because the cover reminded me of "The Menu", one of my favorite most recent horror movies. I mean, what's more terrifying than a mega chef like Gordon Ramsay?

It's clear that Nina Manning has a knowledge of the food industry, and that's a perk. But otherwise, the book is really only a thriller for the last 10% of the book--and the rest of it is a family drama. None of the characters are likable or redeemable, in particular, the main protagonist is...well, she's kind of awful. She's always nagging on her husband for being secretive, but she's even worse.

The book is set to release on in March of 2025. Personally, I would skip this one-- but you can be the judge of that!

This novel frustrated me! It had some good elements and some great writing, but other parts were off and didn’t flow at all. I found myself skipping pages because of it.

This one unfortunately fell flat for me. I didn't like any of the characters and there were a lot of grammatical errors which were mild annoyances. There were also a few inconcsistencies and lines that made no sense.

I think,as I have ready quite a few thrillers recently, I did nitpick quite a bit, but overall I think the plotline has promise and will be enjoyed by many people.

I chose to DNF the book. I picked it up because it reminded me of a movie I watched (The Menu), but the writing style didn’t entirely grab me as quickly as I would have liked.

From its first few chapters, The Dinner Party lays the foundation of tension in the marriage of Stig and Lily that keeps you wanting to know what will become of them. As the distrust and suspicion grow, you get a look into the enigma that is Stig, which only causes more questions to arise. As more secrets of the past are revealed, the sense of foreboding ramps up and poor decisions start to catch up with Lily fast.

While there are times you can’t exactly root for our heroine you can empathize with her. The way she felt welcomed and supported by Hector and his grandeur is easily something anyone could fall into. However, she willingly remained ignorant when the red flags started to pop up, and it’s only when she really starts to accept reality that you feel for her, and only wish she had seen the truth sooner.

As the plot reaches its height, questions are finally answered and the one thing you don’t expect is Lily’s ultimate saving grace.

The Dinner Party is a book that keeps you reading, chapters at the perfect length for you to say, “just one more” and while its conclusion isn’t exactly what I hoped for, it did offer a bit of satisfaction, and the journey was good enough to make up for it.

Enjoyed this!!! Thought it didn’t drag which was nice, some good twists and turns and overall a pleasant ride.

Don’t really have much more then this really, nothing bad and nothing amazing!

The Dinner Party is the latest psychological thriller by author Nina Manning. A story of secrets, temptation and full of suspense.

Lily Leonard wants to rekindle her struggling marriage to husband Stig so decides to arrange an anniversary dinner at an exclusive restaurant run by renowned celebrity chef Hector Bolson-Woods. Unfortunately the evening did not appear to be as special as it should have been. The couple were surprised while enjoying an exquisite meal Hector makes an unexpected appearance and invites them for a private dinner. Lily is naturally impressed but Stig does not appear to be so excited and the evening only deepens the tension between them. Stig appears to be determined not to spend any time with Hector which Lily feeling confused and suspicious. Another invitation arrives and is very difficult to refuse, Lily is being pulled into a tangle of deception and obsession.

The characters are well developed and the plot is intriguing making this a fascinating read. A plot that twists and turns and full of suspense.

I would like to thank both Netgalley and Boldwood Books for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.