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The Dinner Party: The most addictive, twisty, psychological thriller of 2020: The most addictive, twisty, psychological thriller of 2019

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Her dialogue was excellent, her creation of Bernadette Gleeson suddenly shocking, then utterly poignant. She got her start working for a public affairs magazine, followed by a business and finance magazine.

The Dinner Party Cookbook: 200 Fabulous Main Dish Ideas The Dinner Party Cookbook: 200 Fabulous Main Dish Ideas

I have to say, I've read A LOT of author Acknowledgements, and I have never seen an author thank his readers and reviewers in a more heartwarming way. She is co-editor of the anthology Stinging Fly Stories and has an MFA from University College Dublin.

A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley and Harper Impulse and Killer Reads in exchange for an honest review.

The Dinner Party: The most addictive, twisty, psychological thriller of The Dinner Party: The most addictive, twisty, psychological

This is an ambitious story about family and how background, a particular past (a complex, probably frustrated mother, a large family, being a twin, death, character, etc) makes one who she is (she is the protagonist, Kate, just 30 something, living in contemporary Dublin, and cooking a special dinner for her siblings as the novel opens). We later go on to explore Kate's demons and particularly look at the character of Bernadette and her mothering techniques including verbal cruelties, which often Kate faced the brunt of. Sarah Gilmartin's ability to find images that are both accurate and imaginative, both gentle and deeply physical, is just breathtaking. Kate Gleeson has carefully crafted the perfect dinner party for her brothers, everything planned with precision so she continue with the facade that everything is fine . We start the novel at one such dinner party, where Kate, unwell but persevering under the razor-like pressure to make everything right, cooks for her two brothers and one of their partners, with their mother, thankfully, not there.My first two books were intentionally funny, like I was trying to do a joke per page, and for this I’m trying to go more upmarket women’s fiction,” she says. Then the characters were problematic, I disliked all characters even Ted the narrator, but what changed it from a potential 2 to 3 star read was the plot twist towards the end which to the authors credit I did not catch on to. It’s a character driven novel with some really good descriptive imagery to demonstrate the character’s feelings and the atmosphere in the Gleeson household can be incendiary. To begin with, the couples (and sadly the individuals who comprise them) are a bit bland and nearly indistinguishable.

The Dinner Party” by Mona Gardner - Plainview “The Dinner Party” by Mona Gardner - Plainview

The main family is Jewish, and then there are other two other families that play a pivotal role, one Jewish, and the other Italian Catholic. Brenda is the author of eight novels, including THE GRACE KELLY DRESS, which has been optioned for film by Hallmark/ Crown Media, and THE AUDREY HEPBURN ESTATE, which was chosen as the Reader’s Choice by the CBS New York Book Club with Mary Calvi. I couldn’t help but feel for Kate while reading the book, especially when we delved into her relationship with her mum, or lack there of. This absorbing thriller really races along as the stakes continue to grow, while none of the couples really stood out for me - it was interesting to see how the game soon escalated. I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy slower reads that deal with the nature of families and the issues that plague us in life.You may try and look away but one word, one yank of that line, and your right back there, in the mercy of the author’s expert hands. The narrative voice lacks character, the whole dysfunctional family thing is such a well-established trope that it needs something to make it feel fresh or different and this one didn't manage that. Long before Elaine's death, Kate was struggling with her twin identity; they looked identical, but they had different hobbies, different interests, and different ways of dealing with their mother.

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