This was an engaging thriller, as we switch between the past and present in an attempt to unravel whodunnit. The story was effective and incorporated lots of decent twists, and I found the writing style easy to devour quickly.

However, I did feel frustrated sometimes at the story structure. There were red herrings which it seemed obvious would be red herrings from the start, and this was frustrating because it sometimes felt like I was just waiting for the real story to happen. This isn’t to say that I entirely predicted the ending, but I didn’t believe a lot of the misdirection before the ending. Also, I was frustrated when, after having enjoyed the writing style for the majority of the novel, towards the end a lot of exposition takes place in a few long paragraphs. I feel these reveals could have been woven more interestingly into the story rather than just being explained by a character.

Also, I was frustrated by the prologue, since I feel like it unnecessarily complicated an open ending which I was happy with beforehand. We are effectively introduced to a new character who up to this point we have only heard about at a remove, and I just felt like the ending was fine without this addition, since it left me with more confused than anything.

This is not to say that this isn’t an enjoyable read. It interweaves a gripping story with the detached lives of the British upper class, and overall is a good domestic thriller, despite not being as good as I think it had potential to be.

CW: Addiction, mentions of sexual assault and grooming

This story has good bones. There's a lot extra in here, specifically towards the last quarter of the book, which would have been much more delicious spread throughout with a few other things cut away, but overall a quick and fun read.

Thanks to Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Epiotme of a great thriller!! A tale of lies, secrets, relationship challenges, teenage rebellion, and the all time best--- blackmail. It was so great! I read this book in one sitting. Which suffices 5 stars!

Thank you #Netgalley for the advanced copy!

This was a great read following Charlie, Rachel, Titus and Matthew and how their lives intertwined in very interesting ways! So many plot twists and family cover ups kept me constantly guessing the outcome. Can't wait for another book from this author!

@netgalley @bpwalterauthor @onemorechapterhc

Pub date: April 1, 2021
📖 The Dinner Guest 🔪

Rachel the perfect stranger. Charlie didn’t want her at the book club, his husband Matthew didn’t listen. That is how Charlie finds himself slumped next to his dead husband while their teenage son Titus sits at the other end of the table. Rachel calls emergency services, the bloody knife still gripped in her hand. What will this web of secrets and lies reveal?!

🔪 I really enjoyed this thriller. I had no idea who or what was happening up until the very end! The dark and twisty secrets and lies were captivating. Each character within the story has their own set of evils.

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Unfortunately this book didn't hit the mark for me. But I would love to read more by this author. Thanks for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Let me just say, "Wow! What a great read!" This has to be the smartest book I've read this year.

"Four people walked into the dining room that night. One would never leave." This book grabbed my attention from the very beginning and I tore through it, much faster than I normally read a book. We have the seemingly perfect modern family. Matthew, his adopted son Titus, and step Dad Charlie, with his picture perfect Instagram account. They seem like the picture perfect family. Then we have the shadowy Rachel character, and we know she means this family no good.

The book is told between Charlie and Rachel's point of view, and it jumps back and forth in time between before the murder and after the murder. I found that this helped build tension, because at the beginning of the book it is hard to imagine how the characters will find themselves in this final situation. But the further we go into the book, like peeling layers off the onion, we discover that things are not as they appear.

What I most enjoyed about the book was the writing style. I felt like it was edited to where every word mattered. It was there to advance the story. There was no fluff, and this is enjoyable. I also loved how important dialogue was to the story. There are many books where we are told how we should perceive the characters. In The Dinner Guest, the characters reveal themselves through dialogue, almost as if watching a play on stage. I found the first third of the book in particular had witty and sharp dialogue with laugh out loud moments, before the story began to take a darker turn. I challenge you not to be drawn into The Dinner Guest in the first few pages like I was, and not to enjoy every moment of getting to the final conclusion. This was one of the best reads I've had so far in 2021.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Collins/One More Chapter, and author BP Walter for allowing me to read this ARC. I give it a dazzling five stars!

The Dinner Guest is a deceptively subtle psychological thriller. Its full impact, as a result, doesn't hit you until you have walked away and are thinking back on what you read.

Sometimes, this story moved a bit slow for me until I finished it and realized the story's pace is totally fitting. It is ingenious in its delivery of the journey to figure out who killed a dinner guest and why. One of the dinner guests will not leave the table alive, but which one and why.
I had to explore so many secrets as they slowly unfold in increasingly complex layers to figure that out. Those secrets leave no doubt that the perfect picture can hide an abundance of imperfections.

The narration is primarily through Charlie and Rachel, who have subtly unique voices that rarely leave doubt about who is telling the story. Both perspectives are essential to fully disclose the story, and at no point did I find it confusing or redundant. They are both interesting characters. Both have an exciting story to tell, even when it seems like they are just recounting the mundane.

The timeline is anything but linear going backward and forward as the plot dictated, the murder being the central point around which everything else is told. This sounds like it could be very confusing, but surprisingly it is not. To understand the unraveling of the secrets, some latitude with the timeline is essential. The narration is written clearly and distinctly, so I always knew when I was in the story.

I loved the ending. I had to read it twice to make sure that I read it correctly. I do not think I have read such a gloriously devious conclusion before, and I must say, I am in awe at the mastermind that came up with it. It seems so innocuous at first. Then I thought about it and realized it was perfect – the perfect revenge, the ideal manipulation, and the ideal conclusion to the story.

The Dinner Guest will surprise you with its subtle delivery and level of deviousness, and you will love every single morsel of the perfect dinner.

There are four people around the dining room table, one will never leave. This story is about these four people; Rachel, Titus, Matthew & Charlie. Who killed Matthew, and even more important, why? This is not a spoiler, as this book tells its story backwards.

I enjoyed this book, it was a great thriller that kept you guessing all the way until the end. I was a little bored in the middle of the book, as I felt there was some dead time there. The beginning and ending kept me very interested, and made up for the slow moving parts in the middle.

Even though everyone knows the ending of the book after reading the first chapter, they don’t really. There are so many unanswered questions and plot twists that the author unpacks throughout the book, summing it up in quite a surprising way towards the end.

TWENTY Must-Read Books of 2021 that You Need On Your Bookshelf
In 2020, I read a crazy amount of books. I doubt I will ever top the amount I read!

I’m trying to read as much as I can and just plowed through some of the best novels I have ever read. I didn’t think another year could possibly compare, but there is an absolute plethora of books that are SO GOOD coming out now and in the next few months.

I cannot stop reading! As soon as I finish one I pick up another.

Here are TWENTY books that you will want to read as soon as they are published.

These are books that will entertain, make you think, make you laugh, some will have you biting your nails in suspense. Take a look now and let me know what you will be reading!

20. The Dinner Guest by BP Walter, read this going in blind, not knowing what exactly will happen other than …
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.

And that’s how Charlie finds himself slumped beside his husband’s body, their son sitting silently at the dinner table, while Rachel calls 999, the bloody knife still gripped in her hand.

Coming out on May 27!

Gosh this was a rollercoaster of a read. Plenty going on, interesting characters, and I had no idea what was going on. About halfway through the book I thought I had it worked out and I was feeling very pleased with myself. After reading a bit more I was thinking maybe I was wrong, a bit further on and I realised I had no idea, and I loved that. Great book that kept me page turning and guessing until the last page .I really enjoyed reading it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for providing me with an ARC of The Dinner Guest. In exchange I offer my unbiased review.

Well this was a tasty little treat. When a random encounter at a Waterstone’s Bookshop eventually leads to a murder, one has to wonder what’s the deal? I thought I had the game figured out, but this thriller by B P Walter, had a few tricks & surprises I didn’t see coming.

Matthew, Charles and Titus are an Instagram worthy family, garnishing thousands of likes and followers until one day the wrong someone discovers this perfect family. I enjoyed the meticulous unraveling and trying to piece together the mystery of Rachel’s deceit. Not super hearty but definitely a book you want to snack on. I enjoyed this clever thriller, although it did become a bit “artificial”.

A really good psychological thriller. I could never have guessed any of the twists and or turns. Brilliant with lovable and dark characters xx

It's not often that stories tell you who has done the murder but this one does ... or does it? Yeah, dont believe everything you read coz if you do why continue read it?

Interesting how the timeline goes back and forth to explain the current days events, clever.

I liked all the characters involved and was quite surprised by the outcome.

Straight away this book was making me ask questions I wouldn't normally think about. Why would you be told who the murderer is straight away?

Another jolly good read by B P Walter. Keep up the very good work :0)

The Dinner Guest was a great, fast paced thriller with unexpected and exciting plot twists down to the last page. I enjoyed the different perspectives from the main characters per chapter, often alternating in time to explain the backstory. Walter did a great job of pulling you in as a reader. I would recommend this to anyone who likes a thriller!

Matthew and Charlie, the perfect couple. Titus, their perfect son. Rachel, the stranger. Why is Matthew inviting her to the book club meetings? Why won't he listen to Charlie? And how does this all end up in murder?

Believe me, I had to keep reading to find out. This book definitely kept me turning the pages quicker than I normally would because I just had to know what was going on. And what I did find out is that there are some crazy people in this story.

I thoroughly enjoyed this dark and twisted thriller. Alternating point-of-view and alternating timelines worked well with the flow and the building of suspense. The twists didn't necessarily leave my jaw on the floor, but I've read a lot of books in this genre. Therefore, that is getting harder and harder to do. I still think the mystery and intensity made this an exciting and hard-to-put-down book. Even up until the last page, I remained on the edge of my seat.

Thank you to HarperCollins, One More Chapter, and NetGalley for the opportunity to enjoy this book and give my honest review.

The synopsis is vague for a reason - the less you know, the better.

With a deceptive writing, an intricate plot, and engaging characters, this is a dinner you won't forget.

Charlie, his husband Matthew and their son Titus are having dinner when Rachel walks in uninvited. Matthew ends up stabbed to death at the dinner table and Rachel, holding the bloody knife calls the police and confesses to the murder.

The plot switches back and forth between the present, after the murder of Matthew, and one year prior, to the events leading up to the crime and between the perspectives of Charlie and Rachel. This made for a fast-paced suspenseful domestic thriller that is extremely difficult to put down. It captured my attention completely and I was at the edge of my seat the whole time while reading it. There were many red herrings scattered throughout the novel but for all its twists and turns it was pretty predictable because of how well-constructed it was.

One year prior to the murder, Charlie and Matthew are leading a picture-perfect life, happily married, dotting on their 15-year old son until, whilst shopping, they meet with Rachel, whom Matthew invites to join their book club. From that point onwards everything starts unraveling along with Charlie’s ideal domestic life, because as you can imagine, Rachel has an agenda and a plan that is immediately set into motion.

The book was filled with posh, privileged and snobbish unlikable characters, reckless and even dangerous teenage behaviour that goes unchecked, illicit affairs, drugs, deceptions and lies. Nothing is what is seems and the drama of it all was really entertaining. Entitled and rich people’s problems, especially if they are taken to the extent this book took them, reach another level of entertainment for me.

However, the sense of foreboding I constantly felt while reading the novel, came to an abrupt end when many things got explained in different lengthy expositional passages. It is my least favourite technique of unveiling the mystery in a thriller and it really brought the book down for me since it was used many times. Also I felt like the behaviour of a particular character changed completely towards the end of the novel and their actions escalated quite quickly, having informed us only one page prior of the true nature of their character. In my opinion it was a tad late for this character to have a completely 180 without at least giving us some hints from the beginning.

Lastly, the finale was extremely open-ended. This is something that normally does not bother me at all and in many cases I even prefer it to clean cut ending with a bow on top. However, in this case nothing really gets resolved, many things are left hanging and many questions go unanswered. I really appreciated the ominous and unsettling note the novel tried to leave off and if it wasn’t for the last chapter, which creates more questions and confusion, I wouldn’t have had so many problems with the ending.

What a twisted, tangled web of secrets.
The Dinner Guest is told by several points of view...each with their own opinions and thoughts.
For me, I felt like the story was slow in parts which made it a bit of a struggle to get through. The story did keep me engaged enough to read to the end.
All in all, a mystery, suspense with a very intriguing plot.
If you are a fan of domestic thrillers, The Dinner Guest may be for you.
Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest opinion. All opinions expressed are my own.

This is my first time reading a B.P.Walter novel, but wow-woozer, I can’t wait to explore his backlist of books. Because THIS! WAS! AMAZING!

This opens with a murder. Charlie’s husband has been stabbed to death in their home. Rachel has taken the blame. But is she telling the truth? Why did she kill him? She refuses to answer this question in custody.
Rewind months earlier and we meet Charlie and his husband, Matthew. They’re from a wealthy background with a lush home in Chelsea. One day they bump into the same woman twice. At a bookstore and later at M&S. They get talking and Matthew ends up inviting this strange woman to their book group. The stranger is Rachel, a northern lass who’s moved to London. Lonely and friendless.
But when we go into Rachel’s POV there’s more than meets the eye. We follow how in Yorkshire she quit her job and decided to move to Chelsea. After seeing Charlie’s Instagram. She’s stalks the couple and weeds her way into their lives...But why? What does she want from them?

There’s so much to like here. The characters are interesting. I found the dynamics of Charlie’s family intriguing. This was nicely plotted. A real page turner. I loved the setting of this, too. I felt like I was transported to that Battersea, Pimlico area. It made me miss London terribly. Nonetheless the world of the wealthy and posh was fascinating. It felt topical. The social commentary was aptly observed. My only gripe is towards the end there were a few plot points that weren’t clear, which I can’t talk about here without giving spoilers. The last 10% could’ve been tidier. Yet on the whole I enjoyed this is a lot. Plenty of grey characters. They’re all complex and messy, it was hard to figure out who the actual antagonist is. I did enjoy the arc of the characters especially Titus, the couple’s son.
This is a stellar novel set in Belgravia, observing class snobbery and gives a peek into the messy lives of posh people, through a working class protagonist who weasels her way into a rich gay couple’s life.