The Dinner Guest: The absolutely gripping Sunday Times bestseller with a breathtaking twist Paperback – 1 April 2021

This story keeps you on edge the outcome not obvious. Twist and turns the whole way through. So good you can’t put it down.

Matthew and Charlie were a devoted couple who had been together quite a few years. Titus was being brought up between them.The guys first met Rachel in Waterstones bookshop on a Sunday morning. Charlie had reached for the same book that she did. Later, they met again in M&S, Charlie went to introduce her but didn’t know her name. ‘My name is Rachel,’ she says, ‘I have just moved to the area.’ There were a few books in her Waterstones bag, more Matthew’s taste than Charlie’s and that’s when Matthew invited her to his book club on Wednesday night. Charlie was thinking this was weird but she agreed to come! A complete stranger….little did they know how much they would see of her over the next few months. Titus was into baking and liked taking pictures of the cakes plus we took photos of our family days out to post on instagram. This partly led to the problems later on and the hell they would go through.A year ago, Rachel wasn’t enjoying her job. She was checking instagram when she found the man of her dreams. Her nightmares. Her waking thoughts. She had last seen him years ago although he was older now and it suited him. Rachel put some effort into tracing where Charlie lived although only one post mentioned ‘Carlyle Square’. She ended up living in Pimlico. On the night of the book club, it was clumsy getting caught in the bedroom by Charlie, Rachel had used the toilet excuse. She just wanted to know where and how they lived. One day Rachel followed Titus from school. Definitely not one of her brightest ideas but it paid off better than Rachel thought it would. It made the family feel indebted to her for her actions.What are Rachel’s intentions after all this time? Is she a killer? Is she a stalker? Is she after Charlie or Matthew and why?I loved reading this book and managed it in two sittings. The author has a great descriptive writing style. It is written in a now and then way but it’s also, by person, i.e Charlie and Rachel. Always telling you whose segment you are reading and from when.A brilliant and intriguing story.

I usually enjoy books by this author but sadly not this one. I found it full of unlikeable characters and a plot which was lengthly and not great. The whole book was explained on one chapter towards the end. Interestingly it is quite rushed at the end. Characters suddenly have bigger parts or appear from nowhere. It's quite snobby and pretentious too. Really difficult to enjoy.

Great read, loved, loved loved couldn't put it down. Twisted from the beginning to the very end. Great book x

Rating: 4.0/5"Noir" is a term that seems to get bandied around quite a bit these days, but often inappropriately. In a true piece of noir fiction each and every one of the key protagonists is flawed and the lines between good and bad, right and wrong, are blurred. That is a description that can certainly be applied to "The Dinner Guest".I have to say that the combination of the book's title and the marketing blurb supporting it had me anticipating a very different storyline structure than the one that B.P. Walter has actually constructed. In my mind I had conjured up an image of a very restricted cast of characters in a "locked room" type scenario with the dinner they are attending being the central point around which the plot revolves. This very much is not the case and, if anything it does a bit of a disservice to the author, who can created a very cleverly and skilfully crafted plot across a number of time frames.As it occurs at the very beginning of the book, it is not too much of a spoiler to let you know that the novel opens with a murder. Thereafter the narrative moves around across a variety of points in time, both pre and post the night of the murder. The events are also presented from the viewpoints of two key protagonists, Charlie and Rachel. Chapter by chapter clues are revealed, along with some red herrings, until the completed picture is finally able to be presented.In many respects this is very much a "whodunnit" / "whydunnit" in the classical style, but the author has taken a sufficiently different approach to make this a fresh and absorbing read. The background setting of the privileged, wealthy elite of London is appealing and the sharp, credible characterisation add to the story's appeal and combine to help deliver an intelligently written, engrossing noir.

I was so unable to put this book down. The twists got better and better and the more you learn the worse it got.This truly was well written, it's a rollercoaster of a read everytime you thought you knew what happened and who don't it BAM another plot twist.For anyone who loves a good plot twist this is will blow your mind. I couldn't side with any one character they were all as bad or good as each other - depends how you wish to view it. Throughly good read.

The plot was pretty unconvincing but it still grabbed my attention. I liked the way it was written before and after the murder so the story unfolded piecemeal. None of the characters were believable and most of them were portrayed as living a gilded and totally unreal life. The author worked hard to convey a life of privilege with frequent mentions of grand addresses, especially in London. There were some annoying editorial errors (eg phased/fazed, bored of/bored with). But if you can manage to put all that aside, I still wanted to get the answer to ‘why’ even though the reasons turned out to be unbelievably convoluted.

I hadn't read this author before and saw the Garden Party advertised and liked the synopsis so bought it and thoroughly enjoyed it. I then bought the Dinner Guest and was not disappointed. The characters are great as is the storyline. There is no padding out with unnecessary detail and repeating what has gone before. Would definitely recommend if you enjoy quality writing. I have now started a third book of his A Version of the Truth which I am enjoying also.