After a run of several dreadful, depressing and/or simply dire books, I wasn’t optimistic about this one, which I chose largely because it looked to be the right length to occupy me if I was delayed for hours at the airport.

To my surprise, the description “immensely gripping” turned out to be absolutely accurate. I even had dreams about it and am almost certain I’ll be careful who I speak to in Waterstones*

The premise is that four people sit down to dinner: Charlie and his husband Matthew, their teenaged son, Titus, and Rachel, a friend from the book club; one ends up dead, but who was the victim and who was the murderer? But, more intriguingly, who confesses and why.

A clever plot and enough twists and turns for two or three books.