Review: Seven Reasons to Murder Your Dinner Guests by KJ Whittle

Imagine being invited to a dinner party with seven complete strangers, only to walk away with a card predicting the age you'll die. Creepy, right? That’s just the appetizer in KJ Whittle’s twisted, slow-burning thriller. What starts as an unsettling game turns deadly when the predictions begin to come true—one card at a time.

What I appreciated most was how each chapter peeled back layers of the guests’ personalities through their own perspectives. It’s like reading seven mini memoirs stitched into a single suspense-filled narrative. The diversity among the characters felt authentic, not just a box-checking exercise. The fact that any one of them could be behind the whole thing? Deliciously sinister.

Now, let’s be real. The pacing in the beginning? A bit sluggish. It took some patience before things started cooking. And the constant switching between points of view within each chapter was a little disorienting. Thankfully, the author helps guide you by clearly tagging each voice with their name up front.

Once the first death hits, though? The story snaps into gear. It builds tension with each chapter, keeping you guessing not just who's next, but why. The twists aren’t just for shock. They’re smart, earned, and layered.

If you’re the kind of reader who loves unraveling secrets and doesn’t mind a slow burn, this book is worth the invite. Just make sure your dinner plans don’t include mysterious cards or suspiciously quiet hosts.

Thank you Sourcebooks Landmark for providing this book for review consideration through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Dinner party/weekend retreat tropes seem to be all over horror and thriller books lately, and I tend to not enjoy whatever the latest trend is. However, this book was a good time. Did it feel like it could have been about 50 pages shorter? Yes. Was it slightly difficult to keep track of all the characters? Yes. Did I have fun reading it anyway, yes.

Book Review: Seven Reasons to Murder Your Dinner Guests by K.J. Whittle
Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for the gifted ARC.

This book opens with a killer premise—literally—and never lets up. Seven strangers are invited to an anonymous dinner at a tucked-away London restaurant. None of them know each other. None of them know the host. The wine is flowing, the food is suspiciously perfect, and then, as dessert plates are cleared, things take a sharp turn: seven envelopes appear, one in front of each guest. Inside? A card with a number—the age at which they’ll die.

It sounds like a prank. A twisted, unsettling joke. But two weeks later, one of them is dead. At the exact age listed on their card.

This moment shifts the novel from curiosity to dread in an instant. From there, it becomes a high-concept mystery wrapped in a psychological character study. Whittle doesn’t waste time rehashing the same thriller beats. Instead, she digs deep into each character’s response to the inevitable ticking clock now attached to their lives. Some spiral. Some investigate. Some live recklessly. And all of them ask the same question: “Why me?”

Told through alternating points of view, Seven Reasons to Murder Your Dinner Guests is a masterclass in voice and structure. Each chapter immerses you in a different guest’s reality, revealing secrets, regrets, and choices that begin to hint at why this group was chosen—and how they might be connected. Despite juggling seven POVs, Whittle manages to make each character distinct, flawed, and painfully human. You may not like all of them, but you’ll believe in all of them.

One line in particular stuck with me: “Knowing your number doesn’t make the days longer. It just makes the silence louder.” It captures the creeping dread and introspective weight of this novel. It’s not just a whodunnit. It’s a meditation on mortality, guilt, and how people live differently when they’re forced to confront the endpoint.

The pacing builds gradually, layering in clues, misdirection, and emotional tension. It’s not action-heavy—it’s tension-driven—and that’s what makes it work. The deaths don’t feel gimmicky; they feel inevitable. And each one shifts the power dynamics of the group in interesting, often brutal ways. As the bodies fall, the questions grow louder: Who is behind the cards? Is this fate? A serial killer with a twisted motive? A shared past catching up with them?

I figured out part of the twist around the two-thirds mark, but the final reveal still landed. It wasn’t just about who was behind it all—it was about why. And the “why” delivers. It reframes the entire story in a way that’s both satisfying and quietly haunting.

Whittle also makes a smart choice in how the story ends. She doesn’t go for a splashy, cinematic climax. She sticks to the emotional core she’s built, bringing the threads together with a sense of moral weight and quiet devastation. There’s resolution, but it’s not neat. It lingers.

If you’re a fan of Agatha Christie, you’ll see the homage, particularly And Then There Were None. But this isn’t just a retelling. It’s more psychological. More introspective. It’s The Menu meets The Good Place with a side of Black Mirror. It plays with structure, stretches genre boundaries, and still keeps you flipping pages long past midnight.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5 stars)
Genre: Mystery / Thriller / Psychological Suspense

Final verdict: absolutely gripping. Unique structure, layered characters, killer concept, and a payoff that delivers. K.J. Whittle is one to watch.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for an ARC of this title and the opportunity to provide an honest review.

This book was such a fun ride! The premise was immediately intriguing-- seven strangers are invited to a dinner part where their mysterious host predicts the age that each of them will die. But, it's not some weird party trick. The deaths start happening, one by one as predicted.

I was also a huge fan of the writing. I LOVE a book with multiple perspectives and watching the characters' lives slowly intertwine by the end. The author did such an awesome job with that all while giving each character enough "air time" you could get invested in them. It added so much depth and made the mystery more layered than just a simple “whodunnit."

I figured out part of the twist about halfway through, but honestly, it didn't take away from the experience at all. The way everything came together was still super satisfying, and there were plenty of surprises left to uncover. The concept felt fresh, the pacing was strong, and I was genuinely invested from beginning to end.

Easily one of my favorite mysteries of the year so far. Highly recommend if you enjoy character-driven thrillers!

I really appreciated this book's unique formatting take on a trope that is one of my favorites. The Christie-coined format of X number of strangers have been gathered under opaque circumstances and then begin being picked off one-by-one. This book's unique take is they all leave the initial meeting alive and then the narrative is driven by these strangers meeting up time and time again at each others funerals. This format really worked and kept me seated to finish this book in one go. My only caveat is that I did clock both the killer and his gimmick at the 11% mark on my kindle, but event with that in mind I still enjoyed this as a murder mystery. 3.5 stars rounded up to four.

I really enjoyed reading this book, it had that element that I was hoping for and enjoyed from the mystery element to this book. I was hooked from the first page, a mysterious dinner party with a mystery host. It felt like "And Then There Were None" and "Clue".

Thank you NetGalley & Gallery Books for the ARC!

Seven Reasons to Murder Your Dinner Guests is a fun "whodunnit" story, that follows a wide range of different characters. The format of the book is written in long chapters, which i didn't mind, because they were broken down into the POVs for each character. All of the characters were interesting, and I loved seeing how Whittle used the mystery backdrop to bring growth to the main character.

The mystery is slow burn and Whittle does a great job of keeping the reader guessing at what the final reveal will be. I enjoyed the tension that the twists brought to the story, and thought everything was wrapped up perfectly at the end.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐓𝐨 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭:
* Questionable Characters
* Multiple POVs/Timelines
* Facing Your Mortality
* Secrets & Suspense
* Plot Twists
* Exploration of Morality

𝐈𝐬 𝐈𝐭 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐲?
🥶 (No)

If you love books with twists and turns, and a mystery that keeps you guessing until the very end, then I would definitely recommend Seven Reasons to Murder Your Dinner Guests.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the opportunity to read and review the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A unique twist on “and then there were none” seven strangers are invited to a dinner party by a mysterious host. Toward the end of the evening, seven cards appear. One for each of them that will predict the age of their death. They laugh it off, but then a few weeks later one of the dinner guests dies. More begin to die just as the cards predicted. Now it’s a race against time to find out who and why is behind it. It was a little slow starting and with a lot of people to keep straight, but about halfway through I became really invested with the story. I really enjoyed watching everything unravel.

The very second the first guest opened their envelope with their death age I was HOOKED. Holy moly was this one good. It was giving murder mystery vibes and there was so many unique characters and twists and turns. The whole plot was intriguing from chapter one forward. This one also was a super quick read! I finished it in about 2 days! I feel like I usually can guess the killer in a murder mystery by the end of the book but this one honestly stumped me!! The ending had my jaw on the floor. I will definitely be reading more by this author and picking this one up once it’s released

I received an arc version of this book through NetGalley. I really liked this book. It reminded me of an old fashioned whodunnit! Kind of like a version of Murder on the Orient Express or Knives Out. I don't want to spoil it, but it was an entertaining read and it does keep you guessing. Each character has a major personality flaw and that is what brings them all together. I liked that it spanned a time period of several years and you got to see how each of the characters developed (or not). Definitely worth it if those classic mysteries appeal to you.

Well, this is certainly a fresh take on the “And then there were none” trope. A group of strangers attend a mysterious invitation in a private club. They receive a card telling them the age at which they will die. They all leave but, in only a few weeks, one of them perishes as scheduled. This is not a locked-room murder but sometimes you don’t need to be confined to be trapped. I was very intrigued by this premise. How could someone know such information? The characters themselves have their own theories: psychic, serial killer, self-fulfilling prophecy? I had no idea. The cast is filled with mostly unlikable characters, but I still cared for them. The way they all react is almost philosophical and thought-provoking… what would you do? Would you like to know? Do you use it as a wakeup call? There is another element reminiscent of one of my favorite movies, but I won’t name it because it’s a spoiler. A few of the twists were maybe a little predictable, but I enjoyed the novel so much that I didn’t mind. Very good.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/Sourcebooks Landmark.

I went into this book hoping for an awesome murder mystery and it definitely delivered! I was hooked from the first page, dropped immediately into a favorite little trope of mine: a mysterious dinner party with a mystery host. It was very "And Then There Were None" meets "Clue" and I loved the whole vibe!

This story was told from the points of view of seven different characters, which I worried would be too many, but the author wrote it so well! From the very first scene, each character was extremely well-developed and I was able to tell them all apart almost immediately. Getting inside each of their heads really added to the depth and drama of the story, especially as we slowly learned about all the skeletons in their closets. I found myself not wanting to stop reading because I learned something new and intriguing with each new page.

While I do wish there was a little bit more drama in the climax of the book and with the big reveal (specifically that it lasted longer and that the tension had time to build), I do enjoy how the ending played out. It was definitely an ending that was foreshadowed well; looking back, I could definitely track all the moments that led to the end. If you enjoy Agatha Christie and are looking for a fun whodunnit mystery, I definitely recommend this one!

This was really hard to get into because of all of the characters, it was kind of hard to keep track of who was who and whatnot. Once you get that together it becomes a lot more enjoyable, it was a fun mystery but not my all time favorite.

🍽️ For my friends who want a modern take on “And Then There Were None.”

SEVEN REASONS TO MURDER YOUR DINNER GUESTS by K.J. Whittle

Thanks, @bookmarked, for the review copy via #NetGalley. (Available 9 Sep 25)

Take a classic Christie murder mystery, stir in a bit of the movie “The Menu” (so good, BTW), and add a heaping helping of Liane Moriarty’s HERE ONE MOMENT. Seven strangers attend a luxurious and extravagant dinner, where each of them receives a card revealing the age at which they will die. They laugh it off until two weeks later, one of them dies exactly as predicted.

The story is told from each guest’s point of view, with an emphasis on how they decide to change (or not change) their lives, knowing when it will come to an end. The reveal/twist was evident, but I still enjoyed spending time with the characters.

Seven seemingly unconnected people are invited to a lavish dinner party by a host that never reveals themselves. At the end of the dinner an envelope appears in front of each guest, the contents inside telling them the age at which they will die. Everyone shrugs it off as some sort of practical joke until two weeks later the first guest is dead from what appears to be an accident. As each guests date becomes a reality, the remaining guests are left wondering if it’s truly a coincidence or is there a serial killer out there & if there is, how long until it’s their turn?

I read a lot of mysteries but I must say this one was surprisingly different from what I usually read. It had almost an Agatha Christie type feel to it, which I liked because I’ve always been a fan of her work. There are even references to And Then There Were None in the book. The structure of the story was also quite different from what you normally get in a book, where as instead of having chapters where each chapter was told from the POV of a different character, it was broken down into parts and each part contained the separate character POVs - more specifically the POVs of whichever characters were still alive. This approach definitely allowed for some characters to have much more growth than others.

Overall I enjoyed the book and can truly say that part of the ending shocked me. Like stared at the page and didn’t know how to proceed. That alone made it worth the read.

**Thank you NetGalley & Gallery Books for the ARC**

As is the case for many readers a "And Then There Were None" comp is a good way to get me interested in a novel. Initially I was worried that I wasn't going to be able to stick it out with this story as spending time with these terrible people felt almost claustrophobic in there determined grossness, but I hoped that the larger plot would be worth the wait and it definitely was.
There are some fun bits of misdirection and some details that aren't entirely fair-play, but mostly by the time you get to the end it's been an extremely worthwhile ride that treats you to satisfying character growth. And a hint of horrors yet to come. It is a thriller after all.

Seven strangers meet at a dinner party where each are handed a card revealing the age at which they will die. The mysteries to unravel in this story felt almost like playing a game of Clue and I had a fun time. I do wish more clues were revealed throughout the story for the readers to make their own assumptions, but the ending was still satisfying.

This book had me hooked from the beginning. It was like reading a movie. Quick paced and kept me hooked beginning to end. The ending was not what I expected.

Okay, I will admit that this book started VERY slow. It took me several tries to really get into it. However, once I did, I started to understand both the writing style and the reasoning behind the different plot decisions. I can say, even as a seasoned mystery/thriller reader, I did NOT see the ending coming! There were times where I did get a little lost, as timelines skipped without obvious evidence that it had happened for several paragraphs/pages but overall, really well done. I wish I could give half starts because this was more of a 4.5 star instead of a 4.

I could not get into this story. All of the characters annoyed me, and I did not care what happened or even what the dinner was about.