“That was how I looked at life sometimes, as a warm meal that was growing cold. I knew I had to eat, or else I would die, but I had lost my appetite.”
There’s something uniquely thrilling about dinner parties in fiction. What often begins as an elegant evening among friends or family soon twists into a psychologically gripping night full of secrets, surprises and suspense. In the literary world, dinner parties serve as the perfect backdrop for uncomfortable conversations, hidden agendas and shocking revelations that push both the hosts and their guests to their absolute limits. As each course is served, we as readers are pushed closer to the epicentre of the mystery as tensions begin to rise and masks begin to slip. Which is why we here at What We Reading thought we would pay homage to this popular thriller backdrop with some of our favourite books featuring dinner parties where cosy gatherings and social soirees slowly reveal sinister twists.
The Dinner – Herman Koch
Kicking off our list of the best dinner party thrillers is Herman Koch’s infamous bestseller, The Dinner. Taking place in Amsterdam, the story follows two couples as they meet at a fashionable restaurant for dinner. Initially, proceedings begin pleasant enough – the couples exchange pleasantries and get their small talk out of the way. However, through the forced smiles and every new course, the knives are being sharpened.
Both couples have fifteen-year-old sons. The two boys are united by their accountability in a single horrific act; an act that has shattered the families’ pleasant existence and invited a sweeping police investigation. As the dinner reaches its culinary climax, the two couples finally reveal just how far they are prepared to go to protect those they love.
The Dinner Party – Richard Jay Parker
Eight old friends gather in a quaint and quiet neighbourhood for a dinner party. They are all expecting an enjoyable evening of wine, food and pleasant company catching up on old times. But, then they all find themselves playing the game.
This game is all about trust and secrets. It tests marriages to the limits and loyalties to their most extreme. And none of the friends can begin to imagine the consequences of playing. Because, the very next day, two of the guests are dead, and the others find themselves caught in a nightmare. The Dinner Party is a page-turning psychological thriller by Richard Jay Parker that explores the dark secrets that lie within a peaceful neighbourhood.
Check Out The Most Complex Friends In Books
The Dinner Guest – B.P. Walter
Another one of the bestselling psychological thrillers where a dinner party turns deadly, B.P. Walter’s The Dinner Guest opens with the brutal murder of Matthew, a well-to-do father and husband, during a dinner party. Present at the table were Matthew, his husband Charlie, their son, Titus, and a new friend in all of their lives, Rachel.
Alternating between the past and present, Charlie reveals how Rachel was able to insert herself in all of their lives, and how he found himself slumped over his husband’s body with Rachel’s bloodied hands still gripping a knife. The question of why Matthew was killed and the shocking truths lurking even further behind in the shadows undoubtedly make this one of the most deliciously dark dinner parties in the genre.
Check Out Our The Dinner Guest Review
The Dinner Guests – Kiersten Modglin
When a group of friends receive unexpected invitations to a dinner party, they regard it as an opportunity to finally meet the bizarre and reclusive new neighbour whose home is enshrouded in layers of security. However, as the drinks are poured and the food is plated up, the group begins to realise that things are not what they seem.
What starts out as an innocent night of merriment soon becomes a seemingly sinisterly calculated evening of games filled with cryptic messages and chilling revelations. With no way out, the guests have no other option but to play along in the hopes of escaping. Soon, friendships threaten to sever, loyalties are tested and the secrets they have all kept buried from each other are finally brought to light in Kiersten Modglin’s 2022 thriller, The Dinner Guests.
The Couple Next Door – Shari Lapena
Anne and Marco Conti attend a dinner party at their next-door neighbour’s house one evening, leaving behind their six-month-old daughter, Cora, back at home. They take their baby monitor with them and take turns sporadically checking in on their child every half an hour. But, come the conclusion of their evening, they return home to find that Cora has disappeared.
As the investigation into Cora’s disappearance gets underway, secrets and lies about this picture-perfect couple are hauled to the surface, revealing that both Anne and Marco have plenty of skeletons in their closet. Skeletons that may lead to them looking like suspects in how their daughter has gone missing.
Check Out The Best Books Like The Couple Next Door
Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
