The Dinner Guest by B P Walter is a mysterious, twisty journey. The past and the present connect to find out who murdered one of a foursome at dinner. The characters were well-developed, all with their own unique reasons to find them unlikable, and many quirks and secrets. The plot was interesting and kept my engaged. All in a all a good book.

***** I received an ARC from NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for my honest review. *****

The Dinner Guest opens with a woman reporting a murder she had just committed to the police, and the story as to why she does that is slowly revealed. Two different characters tell most of the story from their own point of view, one, a seemingly down on her luck woman who meets Charlie and Matthew, the other, a rich British aristocrat with an Instagram following. As layers of truth are exposed, the twists and turns this book took kept me guessing, I do have to say the end was a bit unsettling. I’d like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy Ito read in exchange for my honest opinion.

I've deliberated a lot over what I think of this book and storyline. Now I really love a mystery element, and I love a dual timeline narrative told from multiple characters. So this should have been perfect.

However it just didn't sit right for me. It started off with a bang and I was excited to find out what was going to happen next. But then it just kind of dragged on a bit, with lots of social status chat and snobbery, a lot of snobbery.

I'm from a small town in North Wales, I've visited London on a few occasions, so I'm not hot on where things are in the big city. I felt like this was an A-Z of London at times and it just left me bored.

But when things did pick up I was interested again, but by the time the reveal came I was ready to get to another book.

Thank you so much to One More Chapter for my gifted digital copy on exchange of an honest review

A compulsive and refreshing thriller that had me gripped from start to finish. The perfect book to read in one sitting! I loved it!

The Dinner Guest opens with a murder at the dinner table. In attendance at dinner are Matthew, Charlie and their son Titus. Also present is Rachel, who befriends the family after what seems to be a random meeting. Matthew is killed very early in the book and Rachel confesses to the murder. So many questions that need answers. Was their initial meeting random? Did Rachel really kill Matthew? If so, Why? If not, why confess? A cast of characters who are all unlikable for various reasons, making it difficult to know who to root for. Not your typical who dun it for sure.

Thanks to netgalley and One More Chapter for the arc

Addictive, thrilling, entertaining, shocking, edge of your seat chills! 5 words that describe this book perfectly! Meet Matthew and Charlie. A married couple living their best life. They have a son together, Titus. One day they randomly meet a friendly woman named Rachel and they quickly become friends. Or at least she becomes friends with Matthew. Not so much with Charlie. Charlie is skeptical of this woman they have just met and is baffled by how quickly she becomes friends with his Matthew.

I enjoyed how the beginning of the book starts with a huge revelation, and then the rest of the story unfolds to reveal what happened at the dinner party that resulted in what happened and revealed at the beginning of the novel. I found myself flipping through the pages to uncover the mystery of what happened at the dinner party and how things transpired and went oh so wrong. 

So many twists and turns and I loved it. There is so much deceit, lies, betrayal, secrets, and half truths in this book, you will find yourself guessing and second guessing what is going on. Who is responsible? Do you truly know those you are closest to, or do you only see what they want you to see? With a shocking twist that you won't see coming, I cannot recommend this book enough!

Great new page-turning thriller! 3.5 rounded up to 4 stars for engaging writing style! It's an interesting book because you know what happens early on, and you might be able to assume some of the "why's" to an extent, but then there are twists back and forth throughout. It's almost as if not a lot happens and at the same time a lot does happen in a very cool way. While written with a very modern style (the main characters talk casually almost as if you're just reading a note from a friend, discussing instagram, etc), the posh London background with large estates harkens to the traditional cozy British mystery style. I think the writer did a good job of combining these two vibes while giving a fresh spin of his own. This was my first B P Walter book and I certainly want to read more by him! Definitely recommend The Dinner Guest to lovers of mystery/thriller books!

Thank you to HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter, B P Walter, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

#thedinnerguest #harpercollins #onemorechapter #netgalley #arc

The Dinner Guest opens with a bang! A man has been murdered and a woman has confessed to the murder. “But....why??” asks a member of the household.

The readers are not sure exactly what that question means, but we spend the rest of the book finding out! There is plenty of secrets, revenge, and overall bad behavior for thriller lovers.

I appreciated that until the reveal, I was never entirely sure who the real murderer was. There were hints about many of these characters and I thought the author did a wonderful job with his red herrings.

This book started off so well, I was intrigued and was guessing who did what but, halfway through it started to meander along and it got a little tedious. I started to dislike the characters and got frustrated with them. It’s a shame as it could have been much better. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

Well that was a lot of fun.
I can't describe it, but I could not put this book down. Even though I knew what it was doing (leaving me at a cliffhanger at the end of every chapter), I didn't mind and happily read on for three hours yesterday instead of doing real world things like... making dinner.

I don't want to give anything away so I'll speak in really broad terms.
I can honestly say that I did not like any of the characters. They are all dark and selfish, bad people and even those who were motivated by some greater cause made me squirm. That said, they are perfect together and in this story, deserve each other as the strange events of that night play out. No one is perfect and even after the murderer is revealed, there are still lots of twists happening afterwards.
Because the story is told from multiple POVs it's fun to get a sense of where everyone's mind was before, during and after the dinner event. I really like Rachel and Charlie and show they viewed Titus and Matthew and how those views changed. And the last chapter is a fun kick.

It was such a good thriller. I thought I knew who had done it, and then I guessed again, and again, I love how layered the plot became and how more characters were introduced, even they were dark and forboding. The general tone and urgency of the story was very satisfying and it was easy to become absorbed in the plot, trying to weave my way through the events and motives and figure out who did it.
Surely that was a misdirection? NO! Yes! No..?

Such fun.
I'll be recommending this book to those who love thrillers.

I really enjoyed this book. It was suspenseful, fast paced, crammed full of glorious detail and it kept me guessing until the very end. Like a fictional version of Cluedo, fantastic! Would definitely recommend!

The overwhelmingly positive reviews on The Dinner Guest surprise me, as I found it to be just 'decent'. For me, the only thing that made it stand out was that it was about a homosexual couple, and it opens in such a way that you don't know whether it's a male-female relationship, or a male-male relationship, which was a nice little change. However, when the novelty wears off-- which it does-- we're left with a long-winded domestic novel that lacks real pizazz and isn't particularly memorable. I would say that those who are keen on slow-burn, literary fare will be most appreciative of this book, and for some readers, it may strike the perfect balance between literary and thriller.

The book started out really promising. The story is told between past and present. However, the story just did not hold my attention at all. The payoff is also not as satisfying in this story.

This was quite a wild ride from start to finish - full of twists and turns at every point as the full picture unfolds.

The story is told on two timelines - one after Matthew, husband to Charles and father to Titus, has been murdered and Rachel has confessed, and one that chronicles the previous year, when Rachel moved to London and began inserting herself into the lives of the family, all the while with an unknown motive. We know that things are not right in either timeline. Something’s off. What that is remains to be seen.

This is a book full os suspense and just teeming with surprises. The chapters are short and episodic, so they give just enough to whet your appetite with whatever point in time or scene they were depicting - the author does a great job of really amping up the suspense and setting the scene for the big reveals toward the end.

And those reveals were really good. I didn’t guess what was going on until it was revealed. But it was all very well done and very on par with the soap opera atmosphere of the book. The thing about this book is that it takes place in the world of the rich and elite of London, and none of the main characters are particularly “likable” so it has a really delicious Real Housewives/reality show vibe, where anything can happen.

And trust me, just about anything does!

I loved this book and highly recommend it to anyone looking for a twisty, suspenseful thriller that will keep you reading late into the night. B.P. Walter is definitely going onto y list of authors to watch!

This book was a really enjoyable read.
The start hooked me in straight away, with it's sinister and intriguing introduction to a murder. Then it followed with a dual timeline with the months leading up to the murder, then the events after it.
I am a huge fan of dual timelines, it is probably a favourite format for me, when executed well. This one took a little time to get used to, as did all the characters when they got introduced.
The middle part of the book definitely slowed down and didn't hold my attention as well, but rarely can a book hold my attention throughout its entirety.
The ending was fantastic and I really liked the way the book came together.

I was really excited about this book. I enjoy domestic type thrillers - an innocent event like a dinner party going tragically wrong. I had really enjoyed “The Guest List’ by Lucy Foley and imagined this might be something similar. I am not spoiling anything if I tell you that the novel starts with a murder and that Rachel has a bloody knife in her hand. Charlie and Mathew are married - if you don’t read the blurb all the relationships and characters at the start feel rather ambiguous and the early part of the book is a bit of a teaser as we work out who is who. The narrative is also deliberately vague about Titus and his relationship with Charlie, Mathew and Rachel. Having started with a murder, the book casts back over the previous months to piece together a picture of how we arrived at murder. The narrative switches between the main characters, building up character and motivation. Although Rachel has the knife in her hand, it cannot be this simple…Curiosity drove me forward, simply because I needed to know what had actually happened and why. My response to this book feels very mixed and it has taken me time to assemble my thoughts. On the one hand my curiosity absolutely would not let me put this down, on the other I did not like any of the characters - in fact I actively disliked them and I was uncomfortable with the reliance on a narrative of rich versus poor, which was overly stereotypical. What was more interesting was how these stereotypes led both the characters and the reader to assumptions and misunderstandings. There is one scene which feels a little out of character with the rest of the book and made me feel rather uncomfortable. Finishing the book, I felt like I had been put through the tumble drier, wondering what I had actually read and where the truth lies. This is very much how I felt when completing ‘The Silent Patient’ and I have no doubt this will make perfect book club material, with plenty to discuss! With thanks to Netgalley and One More Chapter for this compulsive read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review!

I unfortunately dnfed this book at 35%.
I was originally so excited to pick this up and be delved into the story of a suspenseful thriller but there was just no... suspense.
Chapter one was super gripping and I was sooo hooked on finding out what actually happened but as I read more, it really didn't feel like a thriller. Not much was happening at all and I really did start losing interest, which is not what you want in a thriller. The writing style wasn't bad by any means but it really did excite me or entice me to carry on reading. I love thrillers that constantly keep me on the edge of my seat where I can make up theories and see if I'm right but... this book just lost me.

In saying that though, I would say that perhaps this book is better for those starting within the thriller genre.

Firstly I want to say a huge thank you to @onemorechapterhc for sending me this to read and review via @netgalley

Oh my WORD!!!!! Where do I even begin?? This book is INCREDIBLE!!!!!

I LOVE a good thriller and I genuinely could not put it down.

The Dinner Guest is such a clever book, it’s told from several POV’s and flits from different times in the year. The way all of the characters are interlinked is pure genius and every time I thought I’d guessed whodunnit, I was always wrong. I was constantly second guessing the plot and I had soooooo many “what the f**k” moments!!

Sheer brilliance in my opinion, and more than worthy of this rating!! I can’t wait to read more from this exciting author ✍️

I can't believe it has taken me about a month to find the words to write this review, and to be honest, I still don't know if I have them! This was such a wild ride. Its a book told from only Charlie and Rachel's point of view and its told in both the present and the past so that we the readers get all the details!
So many secrets, so many lies! So much going on!!!!! I don't want to spoil it at all, but it was not what I thought at all and it was an ending I didn't see coming!

Thank you so much to #NetGalley and One More Chapter for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, B.P. Walter and HarperCollins UK for the free e-book in exchange for an honest review.

This is my first novel by Walter, and I have to say that I was impressed. I was immediately interested in these characters and what kind of madness led to the murder that starts off the novel. I had a few inklings of who the culprit was, but you have to continue reading to make sure that you find out the most important part - the why! This one was fairly quick paced and I wanted to just read the whole thing at once and know everything right away! Definitely would recommend.