by K.J. Whittle

• Fiction
• Murder Mystery

Sometimes you’re just in the mood for a good murder mystery, and Seven Reasons to Murder Your Dinner Guests was exactly that. I’d never come across K.J. Whittle or this book before, but it was recommended to me by my book club, and I was excited to get stuck in. 

The opening chapters immediately caught my attention and drew me into the story. A group of seven people are invited to a mysterious dinner party, only to leave with letters containing the date of their death. From the very beginning, I wanted to know who was behind it all and, more importantly, who would be next. 

There are seven different characters, each with their own interesting stories and personalities. The chapters are split between the different characters, which did make some of them feel quite long at times. However, as each person mysteriously begins to die, the chapters naturally become shorter, which helped keep the pace moving. 

The story did slow down a little in the middle, but this didn’t take away from the overall mystery. What initially seem like seven completely random lives gradually become much more connected and important than you might expect, and I really enjoyed seeing how everything began to come together. 

One character who particularly stood out to me was Vivianne. She has some of the biggest character development throughout the book, and I found her journey really interesting to follow. 

The ending was one of my favourite parts. I genuinely didn’t see it coming, and just when I thought I had an idea of where the story was heading, it pulled me back in with an explosive conclusion. I definitely did not guess the ending, and there were moments that genuinely shocked me. 

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good murder mystery, especially if you like trying to figure out whodunit before the characters do. This was one mystery I didn’t manage to solve, and that made the final reveal all the more satisfying.