My rating: 3 stars 🌟🌟🌟
What a fantastic opening. Ted's on the kitchen floor, writhing and bloody with a barbeque fork in his back. He's wondering if he's going to survive and he's still trying to fight.
I was immediately all in and the story takes us back a few days to The Dinner Party. From there it was a propulsive read as I felt like I was in the same race as Ted to piece together the clues and the culprit. I was kept up late into the night reading and couldn't wait to get back to it the next day.
That's not to say there weren't some problem areas. To begin with, the couples (and sadly the individuals who comprise them) are a bit bland and nearly indistinguishable. There's a beard on one, a Mallen streak on another, a childless couple amongst those with various enumerations of progeny, one who gets combative after a few drinks... and yet, there's little more to make any of them a true standout (with the exception of Ted because of the way he's introduced). None of them will be terribly memorable and I've honestly forgotten the names of quite a few and I'm only just over 24 hours our from finishing the book. The secrets didn't feel that big in the final analysis and the ending felt flat (and what the heck was the deal with the sitter). Perhaps it was crushed under the weight of this reader's expectations.
So it's a 2.5 read for me overall. I really wanted to like it more but your mileage may vary. Neutral on recommend.
That's not to say there weren't some problem areas. To begin with, the couples (and sadly the individuals who comprise them) are a bit bland and nearly indistinguishable. There's a beard on one, a Mallen streak on another, a childless couple amongst those with various enumerations of progeny, one who gets combative after a few drinks... and yet, there's little more to make any of them a true standout (with the exception of Ted because of the way he's introduced). None of them will be terribly memorable and I've honestly forgotten the names of quite a few and I'm only just over 24 hours our from finishing the book. The secrets didn't feel that big in the final analysis and the ending felt flat (and what the heck was the deal with the sitter). Perhaps it was crushed under the weight of this reader's expectations.
So it's a 2.5 read for me overall. I really wanted to like it more but your mileage may vary. Neutral on recommend.
Summary: All your friends are invited. But which of them will survive?An addictive and twisty psychological thriller about the dark secrets that lie within a peaceful neighbourhood.
Eight friends. Eight secrets. One killer.
A group of old friends gather in a peaceful suburban street for a dinner party.
They are expecting a fun evening of wine, food and pleasant company. But then they start to play the game…
It’s about trust and dark secrets – it tests marriage to its limits – and none of them can begin to imagine its consequences.
Because the next day, two guests are dead and the others are trapped in a nightmare…
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