Four Couples.
Summer 1979. In the idyllic suburban neighbourhood of Ridgefield, during a scorching heat wave, four couples gather for their weekly dinner party.
An ordinary evening.
It’s a chance for friends to catch up, to show off their perfect marriages, to have a break from the kids… but secrets hide behind the lit-up picture windows and carefully curated lawns.
The beginning of a nightmare.
When Frank Callaghan checks on the sleeping children, he finds an empty crib where his 4-month-old daughter Megan should be sleeping. The party-goers swear they didn’t see anything. No one left the dinner table.
Forty years later, Megan’s sister Amanda is still searching for answers when a stranger knocks at her door claiming to be Megan. The family are sceptical until they see what she is holding – Megan’s blanket, taken the night she disappeared.
This shock appearance unearths many questions: Where has Megan been all of this time? Who knows what happened that night? And how well do you really know your neighbours?
The new exciting thriller by Rebecca Heath, author of THE SUMMER PARTY. A dark and twisty domestic thriller set in a seemingly idyllic suburban neighbourhood, where family secrets are best kept buried…
Buy a copy of The Dinner Party here.
Read some great reviews from our Preview readers here:
Thank you to Better Reading Australia for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. I loved The Dinner Party by Rebecca Heath, it was such a tense and suspenseful book that I felt was not even the least bit predictable (which in my opinion many thrillers tend to be nowadays). I was genuinely excited to pick up the book whenever I had the opportunity to, as I couldn’t wait to find out more about what happened to baby Megan Callaghan and the ‘dinner party from hell.’ I loved how the book had multiple little mysteries that coincided with the main, overall mystery (this being the disappearance of Megan Callaghan); these little mysteries added to the plot and made me want to find out how they were all related to Megan. I also really enjoyed how the book had alternating timelines, from when Megan went missing to the present day. I felt as though this gave the story more depth because we were able to “see” first-hand some of the events that led to her disappearance. I recommend it to anyone who loves a good Australian domestic thriller! Chloe, NSW, 5 Stars
An absolute page-turner. I love the format of how this book was written flicking to and from information from a podcast. This novel is a must-read. Enjoy. Petrina, QLD, 5 Stars
This is a real page-turner. Kept me interested all the way through. Great characters, intriguing mystery, and twists and turns that are not expected. Rebecca Heath has the gift of a great author and storyteller. Keeps it real, not too overdone and wording is not complicated. The end of the story is a surprise and it left me wanting more. Linda, VIC, 5 Stars
A tense domestic thriller full of twists and secrets from that particular night to this day! The story is brilliant, I loved the podcast angle. It was really well put together. The plot was intriguing and towards the end it became fast-paced and exhilarating. A cleverly written missing person mystery that is going to keep you reading through the early hours of the morning!!! Gabrielle, NSW, 5 Stars
All I can say is WOW. After reading The Summer Party I was looking forward to reading this second book by Rebecca Heath and I was not disappointed. What a wonderful book that kept me guessing all the way. I found this book even better than the first one. Will certainly be keeping my eyes open for her next one. Angela, WA, 5 Stars
I was excited as soon as I read the storyline. An enthralling story about a missing baby, and how 40 years later, lives were still consumed by what happened. A heartbreaking tale, as the journey to truth comes alight and the cost of knowing raises the question, was it actually worth it in the end? Fantastic book! Kylie, NSW, 5 Stars
Every so often, the neighbours of Wattlebury Court have a get-together dinner party. This is usually after the children have been tucked in bed and fast asleep. As it was back in the 70s, this is what you could do. Leave your children fast asleep in the house by themselves. And one of the parents would pop in now and then through the night to check on them. But on the evening of 9th December 1979, 4-month-old baby Megan Callaghan goes missing. The police are called and everyone is questioned, places searched but to no avail. Baby Meghan has disappeared. Wow, what a page-turner. Would highly recommend it, it really drew you in. Sue, NSW, 5 Stars
This book was the perfect holiday read and kept me engrossed right til the very end. Fans of Liane Moriarty will love this. A missing baby from the 70s and the return of someone claiming to be this baby. The twists and turns in this book will have you quickly realising nothing is ever as it seems. Justine, NSW, 5 Stars
Four couples go to a dinner which ends up “the dinner from hell” as one of the children left at home, aged only 4 months, disappears. Ten-year-old Amanda, sister of the missing child Megan, is among the people affected. The case involves inquests and police interviews and Amanda actually sets up a foundation to look for the missing Megan Callaghan. A podcast is sponsored and surprisingly the podcast appears to lead to Megan being reunited with the Callaghan family forty years after her disappearance. Intriguing, well-paced, involving and with characters we can identify with. Definitely worth reading. Am now going to go to read Rebecca Heath’s first novel. Kate, NSW, 5 Stars
As a lover of true crime podcasts, I really enjoyed this book. I thought the characters were well-developed and authentic, and the book gave a good insight into family dynamics and what happens when secrets are kept. The main characters, and their familial relationships, were very relatable. I found this book to be a real page-turner which kept me guessing, right to the end. I really liked how the book alternated between the podcast, the setting when Megan disappeared, and present day. Overall a really good read. Julie, VIC, 5 Stars
A clever telling of an event that shook a neighbourhood spanning across the years. The tiny details revealed from the past resulted in a dramatic twist. This novel proves that nothing, and no one, is ever as it seems. Amy, WA, 5 Stars
The Dinner Party was a great pacey read! A real page-turner! I found myself needing to know what was coming next – highly recommended, especially if you’re looking for something with a few twists and turns. Kelly, VIC, 4 Stars
I could not put this down. After a slow start, mainly limited by trying to get the vast cast of characters locked away in my head, the story picks up and the need to find out what happened that night takes over. The dual timeline and differing storylines were as strong as each other, making it difficult to put down between chapters. The dynamic between the sisters and the mother-daughter relatationships were relatable, and each character arc gave you time to engage and feel for each of them and their individual circumstances. If you enjoy family drama mixed with a whodunnit, look no further than The Dinner Party by Rebecca Heath. Jane, VIC, 4 Stars
I loved reading about Australia back in the olden times (of the 1970s/1980s), with the author reminding us of how it used to be. The Dinner Party takes you on a journey over the course of 40 years, as one neighbourhood struggles with the aftereffects of one dinner party. It was great to read how this small little street ebbed and flowed over time as a group, kids all growing up together, and how easy it is to keep secrets and tell lies. I feel for Megan very much as she grew up in the shadow of a missing sister and her memory forever blocking that night. Do her hidden memories tell of a sinister fate or just a simple truth? Rebecca Heath is an excellent writer with a flair for drawing the reader’s imagination into being able to envision themselves right there. Elizabeth, VIC, 4 Stars
I really enjoyed this novel. I haven’t read Rebecca Heath’s work before but I will be back for more. The story is cleverly told through a podcast, which reveals different facts and perspectives throughout the journey as it investigates the historic disappearance of an infant. This combined with a past and present view from characters quickly had me enthralled in the mystery of where is baby Megan. The novel is a bit of a slow burn but the podcast told by Ruby was very cleverly delivered. There are a large amount of characters pivotal to the plot which took me a little time to get my head around but didn’t detract from the story. Despite the fact that I struggled a little to identify with the main character Billie, I still really enjoyed the domestic mystery/thriller and was kept guessing until the end. I think this novel would lend itself very well to an audiobook with different narrators. A very solid 4 stars from me! Tracey, TAS, 4 Stars
Thanks to Better Reading for the opportunity to review The Dinner Party by Rebecca Heath. During a neighbourhood dinner party in the late 1970s, the couples left their children at home asleep in their beds, checking them every so often, as people did back then. But one night, a young baby went missing. Forty years later, the case has still not been solved and her older sister gets a visit from a woman claiming to be her missing baby sister. The story is told mostly in the present day, with flashbacks to the night of the dinner party and transcripts from episodes of a podcast on the disappearance of the baby. It is somewhat of a slow burn as the reader gradually finds out that all is not as it seems and many of the characters have secrets they are trying to keep hidden. I could not put this book down as I had to find out the truth of what really happened the night of the dinner party. Rebecca Heath now has my attention and I am looking forward to reading her previous thriller. Alison, NSW, 4 Stars
I enjoyed The Dinner Party by Rebecca Heath and found it to be an original and absorbing thriller, although rather slow at times. It is the 40-year cold case anniversary of a missing baby in suburban Adelaide in 1979. A hugely traumatic event that has long-lasting effects on the family. I loved the two timelines that were forty years apart being interspersed with current-day podcast episodes that give great insights into the characters and events. A moving and emotional story well told. Karin, VIC, 4 Stars
The 40-year-old mystery disappearance of four-month-old Megan Callaghan hangs over the Callaghan-Jones family. Billie has grown up with her mother Amanda’s endless search for Megan. Most recently, an investigative journalist has aired a podcast about Megan’s disappearance, which has reignited interest in the unsolved case. When a stranger makes contact with Amanda claiming to be her lost sister, Billie remains unconvinced. The Dinner Party tells the story of that fateful neighbourhood gathering in 1979 in which Megan goes missing and the repercussions for both the family and the neighbourhood for years to come. The novel cleverly weaves together multiple timelines with twists and turns to keep the reader guessing. The Dinner Party evokes a sense of 1970s suburbia and the facades of an ideal family life that the neighbours try to present to the outside world. Not all is what it seems behind closed doors and the novel explores the lengths taken by some to keep family secrets hidden. It is a page-turning story that makes for a perfect summer holiday read. Holly, WA, 4 Stars
Baby Megan went missing from her home in 1979 whilst her parents were at a neighbour’s dinner party. Megan reappears at her sister’s doorstep 40 years later. There are an abundance of characters which makes it difficult to follow at times; however, the mystery kept me intrigued. Nektaria, VIC, 4 Stars
The Dinner Party by Rebecca Heath switches between the events of one night in 1979 when a dinner party was held and 4-month-old Megan Callaghan disappears, to 40 years later and Megan’s older sister is still looking for answers. This is a very enjoyable story, told mostly from the viewpoint of Billie Callaghan, Megan’s niece who is trying to help and protect her mother Amanda from people claiming to be Megan. This intensifies when a podcast about ‘the dinner party from hell’ is released and brings the case back to the attention of the public. Having the podcast as alternate chapters was a very unique way to tell the story of what happened 40 years ago and I really enjoyed this format. There are quite a few characters to keep track of but it doesn’t get confusing at all and I really enjoyed both the storylines of the dinner party and the present day. This was a well-written, fast-paced story that fans of Australian crime fiction should enjoy. Thanks to Better Reading for an advance review copy. Jo, QLD, 4 Stars
The Dinner Party revolves around a 1970s neighbourhood dinner party when a baby left alone with her 10-year-old sister disappears. For forty years the sister, Amanda, has been searching for her missing sibling, Megan, when a mystery woman claiming to be Megan arrives on her doorstep. Having experienced the devastation of fake Megans in the past, Amanda’s daughter is wary of the stranger. One thing I really liked about this book was the true crime podcast written into the story. It was easy to imagine how this would play out in real life and provided a point of interest to a story that could be a bit slow in parts. The large number of characters was a bit hard to keep track of and I was often wishing for a diagram with a cast of characters at the front of the book. Overall, this was an enjoyable read. Jodi, QLD, 3 Stars
The Dinner Party by Rebecca Heath is a good read. It is a well-thought-out plot, although at times a bit implausible. I thought that so many people keeping such big and life-changing secrets successfully for so long was a little unbelievable. I also got quite confused with who was related to whom or working with whom and think that as these relationships were introduced it often seemed to be done as a convenient afterthought. Overall I did enjoy the book and will pass on to friends who enjoy the genre. Steph, NSW, 3 Stars
A domestic suspense thriller that you must concentrate on while reading to really appreciate and understand the story. There are numerous characters, so it took me a while to decipher who is who and their part in the story. Once I achieved a sense of each character it made reading the book a whole lot more enjoyable. The story centres around a missing baby thought abducted at the dinner party and the case has never been solved. The family is trying to solve the case and the reader will want to as well. Samantha, QLD, 3 Stars
Leave a Reply