Seven Reasons to Murder your Dinner Guests by KJ Whittle started off slow for me, but picked up at the end. The title really grabbed my attention and the premise sounded great. Seven strangers are invited to a fancy dinner party. At the end of the evening, they all receive envelopes with cards that tell them the age they will die. As the story progresses, the dinner guests start dying at their predicted ages from the dinner party. The middle seemed to drag at times mainly when Vivianne, one of the dinner guests, was conducting her investigation. It was repetitive with her internal monologue. The ending picked up for me though once things started to be revealed. Overall, I did enjoy this one.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for this ARC.

“Seven Reasons to Murder Your Dinner Guests” is a masterpiece. Suspenseful, and humorous, you can’t put this book down. Whittle starts off with characters you can’t wait to die, but slowly and beautifully you grow to love and root for them. Highly recommend!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for letting me access this book!

I love a good take on “and then there were none” especially when the characters make the connection. A similar book (with an equally satisfying ending) is Darcy Coates’s “dead of winter” (though it is far more gory and a horror rather than a somewhat cozy mystery that glosses over the violence—especially given that most of the characters believe everything to be accidental and/or coincidence).

The dramatic reveal at the end was a great way to both have the villain give a villain speech and not hit the cliche of the villain soliloquizing (is this a real word?) before their victim. The author also did an excellent job of hinting at secrets and solutions to the myriad of small mysteries as well as the greater one that gave just enough info to make you think you’d figured it out, only to realize you were only halfway there.

Whatever the author writes next, I am definitely looking forward to it!

Three courses. Seven guests. One card.

It's a deadly evening they'll never forget. This book reminds me somewhat of And Then There were None. It was a fun book to read and I kept guessing who the murderer was until the very end. Highly recommend!

So I tried really hard with this book, but could not get more than 35% through and have the desire to finish be stronger than my free time and ability to read with five kids. I skipped the last 12% to see what happened, I don’t know if the issue was me or the book. I just did not really care about the characters, some of the descriptions seemed a little Gothic or a horror-ish, which I did not super love. The writing was good and the plot seemed well paced. It just didn’t grip me in and I didn’t care enough about anyone to see what happened. All the characters seemed unlikeable, but not in a 3D way, and the ending seemed not worth the pay off. Maybe I was the problem but this book wasn’t for me.

This book had me pretty hooked from the start. Seven strangers, a mysterious dinner party, and ominous cards predicting their age of death? Yes, please. I devoured this in an afternoon, completely engrossed in the unfolding mystery.

I have to admit, I wasn't entirely sure whodunnit, which kept me turning the pages. The suspense was well-maintained, and the multiple perspectives added depth to the narrative. That said, there were a few plot holes that left me scratching my head. A bit more editing could have tightened things up and clarified some of the twists.

Overall, a compelling read that I'd recommend to fans of twisty mysteries and ensemble casts.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review—plot holes and all.

Seven strangers who attend the same strange dinner party start dying off one by one over a several-years timespan. Will anyone be left in the end? Is the killer one of the strangers, or an outsider? How are all these people connected?

This story is a nice spin on the "and then there were none" plot, albeit without the claustrophobic vibe of the Christie novel. The characters are well drawn; the tie-in with the seven deadly sins is a fun touch. It was difficult to be too upset about many of the deaths, as the characters are revealed over time to be pretty awful people. It did feel a bit repetitive after awhile, as each character died (was killed off?) and the remaining original dinner guests reunited at the subsequent funeral: death, funeral gathering, everyone talks about what they think is going on, rinse, repeat. At about the halfway point I had the killer narrowed down to one of two suspects, but the ending was pretty good, if a bit unoriginal.

Recommended for readers who like uncomplicated, well written mysteries. May be good for those just dipping their toes into the mystery genre.

I could not put this book down once I started. It reminded me a lot of The Measure, but more mysterious and darker. There were 3 major twists and while I somewhat suspected one of them at the beginning, the last two were a complete shock! I absolutely adored this book! If KJ Whittle releases any other books, I want to be the first in line to read them.

Thank you KJ Whittle, Sourcebooks, and NetGalley for the ARC!

4.5 ⭐️
Seven Reasons to Murder Your Dinner Guests is like And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie, a whodunit. Seven strangers get invited to a dinner party where they eat and drink getting to know each other. Suddenly notecards show up in front of them…written on them are the ages of which each guest will die. Slowly each guest is picked off at the age that showed on their cards, while racing the clock they try and figure out who the murderer is.

I had so much fun reading this and following along through the different perspectives of each of the characters. I was stumped until the end of who was behind it all.

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

Addictive take on the "Then There Were None" theme - one mystery dinner party, seven guests, will they die at the age writtsn on their card? Well done multiple character study as we learn more about each guest, and more secrets uncovered as their fates unfold. You may guess a bit, but it won't hurt the storyline - definite fun for mystery fans.

A bit of a slow middle but the end made it so so worth it. I really enjoyed reading this mystery/thriller! I’m a sucker for any mystery where characters are strangers and then start disappearing. I also appreciated the outright nods to Agatha Christie. Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the e-ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for the chance to read an eARC of Seven Reasons to Murder Your Dinner Guests! 3.5 ⭐️, rounded up to 4. I quite enjoyed the storyline - however the lengthy chapters and shifting timeline sometimes made it hard to stick with. I quite enjoy nods to And Then There Were None so was very excited to dive in to this one. A solid debut for this author and I would recommend this novel. Just make sure to carefully follow along so you don’t get lost in the shifting timeline like I did a few times!

The first thing I thought after I read the last sentence in this was: When is the next one?! If that's not an endorsement, I don't know what is? I enjoyed this so much!

Seven dinner guests, all with envelopes containing the age at which they will die, was a great setup. While I did figure out the identity of the killer, this was a very compelling story to follow. All the characters were well crafted, and I very much cared about why they were under threat and by whom. I haven't been this satisfied with a mystery in months (I've read plenty). I don't often say what kind of read a book reminds me of, but in this case, I will. As I reflected on it when I finished, it brought to mind Peter Swanson's Eight Perfect Murders , which I loved. If you're a Christie fan, you will see callbacks there as well. It was just, for me, all good.

Many thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the Advance Reader's Copy.

I thought it was just ok the plot was good but it was a bit drawn out. Overall it was a decent read and I’m surprised I didn’t see the twist coming I thought Viv was the murdered but overall it was okay!

I couldn’t put this down!!

I loved the premise of seven strangers being invited to a mysterious dinner party and then being given a card revealing the age of their death…

But this novel more than delivered on this intriguing hook - there were some great twists and the ending really took me by surprise! More than that, I lived the seven different pov’s - each character was very distinct (not always the case with multiple povs!) and fully realised.

For me, the character development, the lovely observations and the clear voice of this novel really made it stand out. I loved it and will be recommending to everyone!

Seven Reasons to Murder Your Dinner Guests by KJ Whittle was such an original idea for a murder mystery book. Seven random people each receive an invitation to an exclusive dinner party, while there they are given an envelope with the age that they will die at. The truthfulness of these predictions are unknown until two weeks later the first of the dinner party dies at the age predicted by the card.

Each of the characters was well developed, I felt like I could picture them right next to me and that I knew them and their motivations. The dialogue was spot on and it was so rewarding to see each character progress throughout the story. It's full of twists and turns, it was hard to predict what would happen by the end. Within each chapter the POV switches characters, it was really interesting to have all points of view throughout.

Personally I felt that this story was not fully my cup of tea, I almost felt like I knew too much about the characters and therefore didn't have too much sadness when bad things happened because I didn't root for them in many ways. There was one character that I enjoyed getting their POV, but I think having some redeeming qualities would have been beneficial.

Thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark, NetGalley, and KJ Whittle for the advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

LOVED this book! As a huge Agatha Christie fan, I loved the nod to her, and also the seven deadly sins. I will say that the antagonist was not a surprise, but this book was still full of a number of plot twists toward the end that really shocked me. It was incredibly entertaining and I definitely recommend it for Cozy murder mystery fans!

This seems like a locked room mystery, although it is not technically a locked room. Seven unconnected strangers get an invitation to a dinner party. They meet and chat and get an envelope telling them their age at their death. Very similar to the plot of Liane Moriarty's Here One Moment. But that is where the comparison ends.

The characters are;
Tristan, late 30's software developer,
Stella, early 20s You Tuber,
Matthew, late 30s banker and London's most eligible bachelor/lothario
Vivianne, early 60s magazine editor
Janet, early 40's - I forget everything about her except she was described as being overly made up and wearing too tight/revealing clothes
Gordon- a doctor who goes on talk shows, obsessed with nutrition basically othorexic
Melvin- a closeted cop whose wife has cancer

Once you keep those straight, it is relatively enjoyable. The ending was a surprise to me, I did not feel like there were reveals as much through the narrative as much as the ending was out of left field. I felt like it was a bit depressing once the killer is revealed. The characters were sort of purposefully unlikable although we liked Vivianne more as the plot thickened. I enjoyed the dialogue and kept turning pages, I did read it all in one sitting as it is an easy and fast read, great for the beach. Although the characters were a bit one-dimensional, it helps to not like characters that ultimately get killed off.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the ARC. Book to be published September 9, 2025.

A super engrossing mystery thriller with and then there were none vibes! A full cast of intriguing characters and mystery that will keep you turning the pages!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for an advanced copy to honestly review.

KJ Whittle’s Seven Reasons to Murder Your Dinner Guests is a darkly clever and utterly gripping psychological thriller that delivers both a chilling premise and an elegant execution. Equal parts whodunit and meditation on mortality, this novel is a suspenseful rollercoaster that will keep readers second-guessing until the very last page.

The story kicks off with a deliciously unsettling setup: seven strangers invited to a mysterious dinner party. When each guest receives a card revealing the age they will die, it's dismissed as an eerie, perhaps tasteless joke. But when one of them turns up dead—right on schedule—the remaining guests quickly realize that this wasn’t just a game. It’s a countdown. Whittle’s brilliance lies in her structure—each chapter is told from the perspective of a different guest, adding richness and depth to a puzzle that’s as emotional as it is cerebral. We get to know each character intimately: their secrets, regrets, fears, and desperate attempts to either outrun fate or confront it head-on. This rotating perspective heightens the tension, making every character both a potential victim and a possible suspect.

The pacing is razor-sharp, with reveals timed to perfection and twists that feel earned rather than forced. Whittle weaves existential dread into a taut mystery, inviting readers to contemplate their own mortality while eagerly flipping pages to find out who’s next. This is more than just a murder mystery—it’s a haunting reflection on life, choice, and the terrifying certainty of death. Thought-provoking, emotionally resonant, and undeniably suspenseful, Seven Reasons to Murder Your Dinner Guests is a standout in the genre. Highly recommended for fans of Agatha Christie, Ruth Ware, or anyone who loves a mystery that dares to ask the big questions. Just maybe don’t read it before your next dinner party.