The Dinner Guest

By: B P Walter

Narrated by: Katy Sobey, Marston York

Length: 10 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's Summary

The Sunday Times best seller 

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.

Classic crime meets Donna Tartt in this nerve-shredding domestic noir thriller that weaves a sprawling web of secrets around an opulent West London world and the dinner that ends in death. 

©2021 B P Walter (P)2021 HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Critic Reviews

"Stayed up till past 2am to finish this! Well done, B P Walter - immensely gripping!" (Sophie Hannah, Sunday Times best-selling author of the Hercule Poirot mysteries)

"Dark and twisted, The Dinner Guest is a captivating, atmospheric story of secrets and lies set within the world of old-school London money. It had me second-guessing every page. Pure delicious escapism!" (Charlotte Duckworth, best-selling author of The Perfect Father)

"Devoured this.... Twisty, compelling and full of deliciously despicable characters, it had me stumped til the final chapters...a smashing read." (Lisa Hall, best-selling author of The Perfect Couple)

Ok

Well written and well read. I enjoyed some of the twists and turns but I found all of the main characters hard to connect to or even like which made it a little hard going for me I’m afraid.

Character focus?

I don't believe you need to like the characters you follow through a novel, but it is useful for them to have some redeeming qualities and reason for us to want to know more about them. It misses the mark slightly on this front for me. The class divide could have been interesting to explore but disappears quickly with Rachel getting a free ride through most of the book. Wish the themes from the last tenth of the novel were a bigger focus as well - I found them more interesting.

Great premise but not fulfilled

I loved the idea for the novel and thought the performances were excellent- but the last 1/3 of the book really let it down and I totally lost interest in not just the characters but the contrived ending.

It’s a shame because it had the potential to be a really good story.

A little disappointing for me

Well written book with twists and turns. Some of the changes in character's behaviour work well but some did not work for me.
At the end of the book felt very detached from all the characters behaviour.

weird but wonderful

I normally only listen to audiobooks while out walking but this one grabbed me, and I sat listening instead of watching my favourite tv programmes. lovely twists and a bit of a cliffhanger at the end

How many times do you need be reminded they’re middle class

I had high hopes of this being a good book. It starts well and you expect lots of twists and turns - they don’t come! Weak ending. Very tiresome hearing about their middle class lifestyle constantly; it’s not necessary to repeatedly refer to it.

Ho Hum

unsympathetic cliched characters, unlikely plot,...really wish i hadnt bothered,. take my advice and Dont! very unsatisfying

Disappointing

Was recommended but found it totally unbelievable and very superficial with no depth to any character. Style of storytelling very basic.

A fresh take on a whodunit. Well crafted.

A fresh take on a whodunit. Well crafted from the beginning with an unexpected twist at the end.

Why did I listen?

Totally unbelievable story with unbelievable unlikeable characters. I hate myself for wasting so much time on this drivel!