Lily and Stig Leonard have been married for 5 years, but not happily. In order to liven up their relationship Lily takes Stig to Sapphire, a restaurant owned by Stig's favorite chef, or so she thinks. When Chef Hector Bolson-Woods invites them to his kitchen to cook for them, Stig does not react well to being in the company of the chef. The chef seems to really like the couple and continues to invite the Leonard's to dinner parties in his various homes. Stig, not his real name, does not like or trust Hector and they seem to share a past that only Stig, Hector and Ruby a mutual friend of theirs is aware of. As Lily begins to fall for the rich and charming chef, things start to come to surface that shine a dark light upon Hector.

The Dinner Party is a smart, gripping psychological thriller about family, revenge and deceit. I loved every bit of it!

Thank you Netgalley and Boldwood Books for this thrilling edge of your seat novel.

I received an E-ARC with a request for my honest review.

This eerie psychological thriller follows Lily who has booked a table at an exclusive restaurant for her and her husband’s anniversary. It is owned by celebrity chef Hector Bolson-Woods.

However, when they arrive her husband doesn’t seem pleased with the surprise, and even less so when they are invited to dine privately with the chef himself.

Lily tries to work out why her husband acted how he did, but suddenly an invitation comes through the door inviting them to Hector’s house for dinner. Lily is keen to attend and doesn’t see why her husband is not but accepts anyway on their behalf.

What is behind Lily’s husbands dislike to Hector? Why has the celebrity chef taken a liking to this couple?

I found this psychological thriller quite eerie to read as you are waiting to see if there is a dark reason for Hector inviting the couple to his house for, especially with the husband’s sudden disliking to the chef.

There are plenty of secrets to uncover, so all becomes clear but there is plenty of tension and mystery throughout whilst the storyline unfolds.

Overall, an eerie psychological thriller where an anniversary dinner, unravels secrets from the past.

I've never been to, or held a dinner party and after reading this I'm not quite sure I actually want to!

I had absolutely no idea in which direction the book was going to be taking me - I didn't read the blurb - so down the rabbit hole we went...

Imagine yourself in a restaurant with a plate of your favourite food in front of you...do you leave any? No, you devour every last morsel and that's what The Dinner Party was for me...a one course meal that was way too good to leave unfinished.

It's a pacey thriller that serves up suspense, secrets and suspicion. Manning's characters are flawed and I found myself questioning their integrity more than once.

An enjoyable and engaging read with some great twists.

Nina Manning’s The Dinner Party is a gripping psychological thriller that explores themes of deception, desire, and the dark secrets lurking beneath seemingly perfect lives. With an elegant restaurant setting and a mysterious celebrity chef, this novel serves up tension and intrigue with every chapter.

Lily Leonard, eager to rekindle the spark in her struggling marriage, books a table at the exclusive restaurant of Hector Bolson-Woods, a renowned chef with an undeniable charm. When Hector invites Lily and her husband, Stig, for a private dining experience, Lily sees it as a golden opportunity to bring them closer together. But instead of a romantic evening, the dinner only deepens the cracks in their marriage. Stig’s discomfort and outright refusal to ever repeat the experience leave Lily questioning what really happened—and what her husband is hiding.

Manning masterfully builds suspense as Lily becomes increasingly drawn to Hector, whose enigmatic presence contrasts sharply with Stig’s cold detachment. The mystery escalates when another invitation from Hector arrives—this time with an offer that neither Lily nor Stig can ignore. As the layers of deception unravel, Lily finds herself caught in a chilling web of secrets that could change everything she thought she knew about her marriage.

With well-paced twists and a tantalizingly sinister atmosphere, The Dinner Party keeps readers hooked until the final reveal. Manning’s sharp character development and immersive storytelling make this a must-read for fans of domestic thrillers. If you enjoy books that blend glamour with psychological depth, The Dinner Party is an intoxicatingly suspenseful choice.

Thank you for allowing me to read this before release, enjoyable book but not quite fast paced enough for me! I wasn’t too keen on the characters and this felt more of a family drama than a thriller

The Dinner Party by Nina Manning is a gripping and suspenseful novel.
I’m a big fan of Manning’s work and this was another wonderful read.
The compelling narrative and well-drawn characters had me up so late.
The way she creates her characters is seriously the best. They are intriguing and entertaining.
Nina Manning's ability to build and maintain suspense makes this novel a captivating read for fans of psychological thrillers.

THE DINNER PARTY is a fast paced thriller that captured my attention for the start. I enjoyed getting to know these characters as they all had some issues. Overall, it was entertaining and I can highly recommend it if you are a fan of domestic thrillers.

Many thanks for my gifted copy.

This just didn’t feel like a thriller and felt quite forced. I’m not a fan of the main character and how she starts complaining about her husband first off. It seemed like she just needed to leave him instead of taking us through this story tbh. This story just was not a hit for me.

Thanks to NetGalley for the copy of this ARC. This will be out March 16,2025

3.5 stars rounded up

To celebrate their wedding anniversary, Lily Leonard books a table at the exclusive restaurant of Hector Bolson-Wood enowned celebrity chef. It should be the perfect evening for Lily and her husband, Stig, but not even a perfect menu can heal the cracks in their marriage. So when Hector invites them to dine with him privately, Lily is thrilled? Surely this will thrill Stig? Hector is charming and attentive - everything Stig is not - and she finds herself drawn more and more to the enigmatic Hector. And then another dinner invitation from Hector arrives. This time with a proposal neither Stig or Lily can refuse.

I wouldn't call this book a thrilling read, I'd say it was more of a family drama. None of the characters are likeable. The pace is slow to begin with, but it soon picks up. There were twists I never saw coming. It's filled with secrets and lies. My only criticism is that I found the ending to be a little bit rushed, I took off half a star for that reason.

Published 16th March 2025

I would like to thank #NetGalley #BoldwoodBooks and the author #NinaManning for my ARC of #TheDinnerParty in exchange for an honest review.

Nina Manning is a hit-and-miss author for me. I enjoyed her book The Bridesmaid, but The Waitress was a flop. I am sorry to say that The Dinner Party falls in with the latter title. The current rating for this book is 3.27 stars, and that seems very generous to me.

My first problem with the book was the fact that Lily had many complaints about her husband. Why did she marry him if he doesn't talk about his past or his family? If that is what bugs her, then she should have never married him in the first place. Secondly, if she doesn't want kids, why not just say so? This just seems a stupidly immature way for 35 and 40-year-olds to behave.

I'm not sure if it was meant to be a thriller, more like a psychological suspense, and it failed miserably on both fronts. I know the pacing is deliberately slow. Over and over again, the characters discuss various appetizers, only to have the actual dinner itself be rushed and anticlimactic. There was no tension, just boredom. The characters were like immature teenagers from a bad soap opera. Every interaction felt forced, every secret revealed was figured out in advance, and the twists were very predictable, too.

And the writing? Let's just say I've read grocery lists with more compelling prose. The dialogue was stilted, the descriptions were overdone, and the attempts at suspense were not effective at all. I spent more time rolling my eyes and shaking my head than turning pages. If you're looking for a book that will keep you on the edge of your seat or even mildly entertained, The Dinner Party is not for you.

Quick, fun read that kept me guessing until the final pages

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

there is a seedy and atmospheric undertone that needles you from the off in this book. you are not quite sure at points where its going. you arent quite sure who is innocent or perhaps wasnt so innocent in their past? why the fixation from a renowned chef on a couple. and why does this couple need to keep coming back for more. are they just desperate for something to fix them. or are they aware of something more. and why does the dinner invites increase and the husband somes to retreat more.
a gripping thriller that wraps you up in questions you can wait for the answer too. and original plot that i loved because it really was so different from thrillers ive read before. and i cant imagine how difficult it must be for all those talented authors to keep finding new themes or plots when the market seems to have its favorite tropes.and how do you dare pull away from said themes when they are loved and read for a reason... and there are just some authors that hit it out the park every time.

Another superb thriller from Nina Manning. As a surprise for their wedding anniversary Lily Leonard books a table at one of renowned chef Hector Bolson- Woods restaurants. There are cracks in the marriage and she is hoping that this will go some way to helping them reconnect. Hector invites them to dine privately with him and then more invitations follow. However the deeper Lily gets involved with Hector the more her husband Stig pulls back. It is obvious from the start of this that something isn’t right and what follows is a story full of intrigue, twists and turns. I liked the interactions between the characters, how it wasn’t easy to work out how this was going to develop and I thought it was at times quite chilling. Thanks to Boldwood Books and Netgalley for the ARC

I was hoping to write a rave review about this week, but despite the original seeming premise, the book was way too predictable and the ending was rushed. That said it was a nice easy read and I managed to get to the end which I don't always do. However, time is precious and I won't be reading work from this author again.

The premise is intriguing—Lily and Stig’s crumbling marriage, a lavish dinner at an exclusive restaurant, and an invitation from the enigmatic celebrity chef, Hector. There’s an immediate sense of unease as Hector’s charm pulls Lily in while Stig remains distant and resistant. The dynamic between the three kept me engaged, and I found myself eager to uncover what Stig was hiding and why Hector seemed so fixated on them.
Manning does a great job of creating an unsettling atmosphere, particularly with the power dynamics at play. Lily’s longing for attention and Stig’s coldness made their relationship feel authentic, if frustrating at times. The slow-burn nature of the mystery kept me turning the pages, even though the pacing lagged at times.
Where the book faltered for me was in its climax. After all the build-up, the resolution felt a little flat—like it wrapped up too quickly or didn’t fully capitalize on the suspense that had been brewing. I loved the twist and the conclusion, but it felt rushed which unfortunately means it didn’t quite deliver the punch I was expecting. I went into The Dinner Party expecting a suspenseful, tension-filled read, and while it delivered in some ways, the ending left me feeling a little underwhelmed.
The Dinner Party was an okay read. It had an intriguing setup, solid character dynamics, and an unsettling vibe, but the ending didn’t quite work for me. If you enjoy psychological suspense with a slow build, you will find it engaging.

3.75 stars

I’m a fan of Nina’s writing. The beginnings always pull me in quick and the synopsis of this was so interesting! Imagine taking your husband on an anniversary date and accidentally unleashing a crazy sequence of events.

There were some predictable things, but there were others that I wasn’t expecting at all. However, the last two chapters felt very rushed for an ending and I was left wanting a bit more!

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Fanastic book which had me gripped throughout! It was fast paced which I always like and I felt myself want to keep reading to find out what was going to happen! Great book and can’t wait to read more by this author!

Chaos follows when a seemingly innocent invitation from your husband's supposedly favourite chef wrecks the rest of your fragile marriage. This novel is an engaging and fast-paced read. The book delves into the depths of human traumas, character development, and abuse, delivering a unique thought. It is full of traps of deceit developed by our undeniably unlikable characters and their "annoying" choices throughout the story, yet it's strangely intriguing.

The transitions between Lily's and the third-person perspectives were smooth. It is one of the proofs of the author's skills that guarantees the pace stays the same. While I was able to predict some of the twists, there were undoubtedly a few surprises that caught me off guard. Despite my overall impression, the intriguing plot twists were, beyond a doubt, effective in keeping the story "somehow" unexpected.

The cover was stunning, and the short description had me hooked right away, but I felt a bit dissatisfied, especially in the few chapters towards the end. The conclusion, in particular, felt rushed and lacked the intensity that had built up throughout the story. It would be nice if they added the narrative there instead of adding unnecessary details in the beginning. There are also quite a few unanswered questions that baffled me. Some of the characters' actions were frustrating and made no sense.

Despite having some parts that didn't quite "pull off something for me", I can't ignore the author's undeniable talent in crafting this novel and without a doubt, there's a lot of potential in this novel, and I know some could relate to the theme, especially those who are learning to face their traumas and understand how to trust their partners. I'd recommend it if you're up for a story that challenges perceptions of relationships and personal struggles.

Not really a thriller in my opinion but I still enjoyed it a quick easy read with an ending you won't see coming well I didn't anyway 3.5 stars

It was a pleasure reading an ARC of The Dinner Party. This story is more of a mystery and a bit on the slow side. However, the mystery kicks off from the beginning and it has you believing you know what will happen. You might also believe you have the characters figured out but soon you’ll realize you don’t. The twist and ending come rather too quickly for my liking but over all a decent read.