A Public Opinion on The Secret Dinner
Picture it, downtown Montreal 2026, there I was at the bookstore–again. Parce que I’m unemployed–still. I was trying to look lost in a cute way because bookstores always require a little romcom-isms, et I was looking for the sales associate I have come to know et love to rave about the book she recommended even though I’ve only read about 80 of it’s 400+ pages. Unfortunately I couldn’t find her, but I did find the book I came in for Living With Men: Thoughts on the Pelicot Trial, but as a little treat I wanted a fiction too. I went for Julie Chan is Dead as I’ve been meaning to read that for a minute, but then, as I was walking towards checkout, the balloon hem on my skirt caught on the corner of the desk in front of The Secret Dinner.
The balloon hem in question.
The book is a body horror that follows four childhood friends from Pingo D’Agua who, in pursuit of higher education et their dreams, move to Rio de Janeiro. A move that changes their lives for the better, until the recession hits et they’re barely making ends meet. With a culinary graduate in the crew, they get an idea to host secret dinners for Rio’s elite. However, the Rio elite have a deadly palet. Things don’t take long to spiral out of control et the next thing you know, you’re going through the motions of what happens to four young men when they fall in too deep with money et a complete loss of morality.
I do love a good scary story, but make no mistake, Julie Chan will be avenged.
Within the first 30 pages I realized why this book found me in such a dramatic way, because this book is drama. Not in the action-packed thriller-way you’d expect, but in a ‘fetch me my fainting couch!’ way because it’s written like a soap opera. Immediately we meet Dante, the narrator et sole gay member of the core four, reporting live from the police station. There’s also Piglet, the overweight hacking wiz, Hugo, the macho cishet chef who is undoubtedly a fuckboy et Miguel, the sweetheart. Your typical diverse group of male friends et right away you know so much about them. The book doesn’t waste time in letting us know there is a method to all this madness, with multiple backstories told in a way so matter-of-fact you receive the information like it’s a grocery list.
Though childhood friends, all the love between them is vaguely talked about et rarely shown or shared. We know they grew up together et how each person was added to the other’s lives, but more so in trauma dumping than in wistful nostalgia or a “this reminds me of when.” At first, I thought this might be because we’re supposed to believe Dante is telling these events to police as a testimony, so he was being as concise as possible, but if he was trying to be to the point, would he even bother with backstory? Et if he wanted to provide context to humanize his friends, wouldn’t he, well, humanize them?
Some might say this is the point. That the book stands as dark et discomforting criticism of the meat industry, but all comparisons drawn to the meat industry come through unnatural dialogue or a sentence sandwiched between the narrator's drug-induced run-on thoughts. That are, ironically, over-explained. Readers are taken through a scene where a conversation is overheard, or a text is read, but the outcome is still written out in case intention—which was pretty clear—is missed.
After things start getting increasingly worse, a lot is done without plausible justification. A lot more is done that could have been expanded on, until we meet a twist that is good, but doesn’t really hit you in the stomach like a good twist usually does— because the writing around it barely scratched the surface.
It’s a book with unlikeable characters with tortured pasts, shaky emotional ground, shallow explanations, et a twisty betrayal that comes after lots of sex, drugs et c’est la vies in the face of back-to-back murder.
In the right hands, this could be the campy blood-soaked thriller we devour the first month of summer.
Despite the shallow building et cheesy references, I did find the story interesting et entertaining. The body horror et suspenseful scenes are what keep you with it till the end. A pretty mild ride with a few good drops. I would recommend it as a library borrow for any horror fans looking for a quick vacay read or a light read, aprés something heavier.
2.5 as a book, but probably all stars as a limited series.
