Whodunnit set in small-town AUSTRALIA

The Dinner Party by Rebecca Heath, whodunnit set in small-town Australia.

The dinner party that reveals more than anyone expected – how well do you know your neighbours?

The Dinner Party by Rebecca Heath is a traditional whodunnit set in 1979 in small-town Australia and, although a fairly predictable story line, I couldn’t put the book down and was pleasantly surprised at the ending which wasn’t as predictable as the rest of the book.

The Callaghans have two daughters and live in a middle class neighbourhood where everyone is aspiring and/or pretending to be better than their friends – but they all have secrets. The usual dinner party among neighbours turns into a nightmare for the family when their baby, Megan, disappears without trace. As was the norm for everyone in Ridgefield at that time, the children have been left home alone while the parents party – something unheard of in today’s world but something even my parents would have done at that time in small-town South Africa.

Buy Now

There is a faint hint of Madeleine McCann here, although no suggestion of a paedophile kidnapper. This is more sinister and the answers lie closer to home.

The author keeps the narrative going nicely with the interjection of her podcast transcript every few chapters – this is 40 years later and everyone is still trying to solve the mystery. The case is kept alive by Megan’s sister who is determined to find the truth of what happened that fateful night.

And she thinks she’s finally found the answers she’s been looking for when a stranger knocks on her door and claims to be the long-lost sister. As the newcomer weaves her way into the family’s lives, questions start to be asked but the answers aren’t always the ones the neighbourhood want to hear. And Billie, Megan’s niece, doesn’t buy her story at all.

The perfect summer read, this is a psychological thriller full of twists and turns and will keep you guessing until the very last page. A really fun read.

Val for the TripFiction Team 

Buy Now

Catch our reviewer Val on Twitter X @valproctor

Join team TripFiction on Social Media:

Twitter (@TripFiction), Facebook (@TripFiction.Literarywanderlust), YouTube (TripFiction #Literarywanderlust), Instagram (@TripFiction) and Pinterest (@TripFiction) and BlueSky(tripfiction.bsky.social) and Threads (@tripfiction)