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.
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