“(…) But love changes over time, and in those final moments when I knew he was dying, well, I must confess that through the horror and the blood and the shock, the love I felt for him wasn’t quite as profound as I would have expected.” – 3.75/5 stars!

Attention! This book contains: drugs, bratty kids, baking sessions, vacation trips, knives, text messages, polaroid pictures, animal masks, jacuzzis, secrets and dinner guests.

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.

Agatha Christie 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.



This book is a bit tricky to rate because even though I really liked the story, there was a lot going on. I understand some mystery books do this in order to surprise the reader, but the plot changes a lot and the story had so much going on to the point that the first half of the book became (almost) pointless.

The characters were okay. I understand some people would not like Charlie’s personality, but I still liked him as a main character. He is a bit of a rich snob, but to me his feelings were valid when it came to Rachel’s appearances. She came out of the blue and all of the sudden she’s everywhere near them. The only person I really disliked was Titus. That kid was extremely bratty, immature and manipulative for his own good – and it wasn’t because there was lack of discipline because his parents were very tolerable and good to him. Other than him, I liked almost every character.

Sometimes the atmosphere made me feel unsettled (which was a good thing) and the story made me curious to see how it would unfold… it was hard to put the book down! I was very happy with all the twists and turns as I was reading them, but for the sake of the book as a whole, most things were unnecessary.

One thing I found interesting about this book was the rich/poor class differences. Charlie’s family comes from money, and Rachel is not used to all the luxury they’re around. There’s a very subtle criticism by the author on how privileged people see the lower classes. Very interesting.

Now about the ending: it gave me massive chills! I’m talking about that last part before the epilogue started. I didn’t see it coming! Very creepy.

So, would I recommend this book? I would if you like bigger, slow burning mysteries with twists and unpredictable paths.

PS: And by the way, if you read this book, did you understand by the end the “animal mask” situation? Message me your thoughts about that, because I’m very curious about what really happened there!

xoxo,