The Secret Dinner - by Raphael Montes (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

"Bold and bloody, it's a thriller with real bite." ―Riley Sager
"Highly imaginative and totally unique." ―Alex Michaelides
"Wickedly smart...It seizes your breath from the first page and refuses to let go!" ―Lisa Jewell

Four childhood friends, eager for a taste of city life, swap rural Brazil for an apartment in Copacabana, Rio. But they have no idea of the fate that awaits them there. . . .

Dante, Piglet, Miguel, and Hugo are your average students trying to make ends meet with part-time jobs, excited about the bright futures at their fingertips. So when their rent skyrockets, they struggle to keep their new lives and big dreams afloat. They need to make money however they can. In order to keep their apartment, the friends adopt an unorthodox plan and are soon sucked into a dark world of secret dinner parties catering to the twisted fantasies of Rio's elite.

Review Quotes

"The translator Zoë Alexandra Perry brings Brazil's top thriller writer to American readers with this fast-paced tale of four broke 20-somethings lured into the world of Rio's shady elite. What begins as a jokey get-rich-quick scheme -- catering exclusive dinner parties -- quickly morphs into something much more sinister."
--The New York Times

"This rollercoaster of a novel is highly imaginative and totally unique. I devoured it -- no pun intended! -- in one sitting. By turns gory, shocking, macabre and often very funny, you won't be able to put it down. Just be grateful you're not on the menu..."
--Alex Michaelides #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Silent Patient

"Dark, compelling, and wickedly smart, The Secret Dinner is a deliciously twisted thriller about friendship and ambition with a mind-blowing end. It seizes your breath from the first page and refuses to let go! Raphael Montes is a spectacular talent."
--Lisa Jewell, New York Times Bestselling author of Don't Let Him In

"Four desperate friends. One irresistible idea. But how many survivors? The Secret Dinner is delectable and diabolical, a zesty blend of Parasite, Sweeney Todd, and Fight Club."
--AJ Finn, New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in the Window

"Hustle culture meets cannibalism in this bruising satire from Montes [...] his sense of humor is stinging and he garnishes the novel with a delicious last-minute twist. Readers who can stomach the premise will walk away satiated."
--Publishers Weekly

"Well worth the wait [...] A satirical (and literal) evisceration of foodie culture and wealthy excess, The Secret Dinner should be read in public, while eating a very bloody piece of meat, and snickering softly. If everyone around is not freaked out by the time you finish your meal then you are DOING IT WRONG."
- Crimereads

"Montes keeps readers hooked to see just how far the group will go, if their friendship will survive, and what the outcome will be. A top thriller in Brazil, this bold mix of satire and horror is not for the weak of stomach."
- Booklist

"An unsettling exploration of ambition, excess, and moral collapse that blends literary thriller with visceral horror. The tightly paced narrative interrogates privilege and complicity among Brazil's elite."
- Library Journal

"One of the more successful devices that threads the beginning to the end has to do with one character's trauma and how that can change a personality. Combined with the overall quick pacing and introduction of twists (some of them red herrings), that device will help the book find readers who will gobble it up."
- Kirkus

"Riveting, page-turning, shocking [...] one of the best books of the year. This one is not to be missed."
- Red Carpet Crash

"On the first page of this hugely popular Brazilian thriller, which involves four broke friends who get involved in the dark underworld scheme involving dinner parties for the wealthy of Rio de Janeiro, a man in a blood-soaked tuxedo enters a police station to confess to an as-yet unexplained crime. How can you not read on?"
- The Orange County Register

"Especially promising novel from new talent [...] Raphael Montes' unnerving thriller."
- Bustle

"The Secret Dinner is a potent combination of gallows humor, Hitchcockian suspense, and trenchant social commentary. Bold and bloody, it's a thriller with real bite."
--Riley Sager, New York Times bestselling author of The Only One Left

"The Secret Dinner is part crime novel, part thriller, part horror, and not for the faint of stomach."
--Book Riot

"This page-turning international bestseller reads like The Menu meets Tender Is the Flesh by Augustina Bazterrica [...] You'll never look at seagulls the same way again."
--People

"Tightly paced and provocatively drawn [...] a propulsive blend of literary thriller and outright horror."
--Bookreporter

"Themes of cannibalism abound in this dark comedy about friendship and ambition. Safe to say you might want to be vegetarian for a while after reading this one."
--Nod Magazine

"Fair warning; it's dark. So yes, there's plenty of gore here, but beneath the blood and black humor is a sharp examination of greed, class, and just how far a really bad idea can go. Twisted, funny, and fast-paced, but very much not for the squeamish among us."
--Post & Courier

"It's easy to see why THE SECRET DINNER was a phenomenon in Brazil [...] Part satire, part shaggy-dog story, part body-horror gore-fest, the story evokes the musical "Sweeney Todd" with its musings about what sort of person makes for the best meat, as well as Jonathan Swift's 1729 essay, "A Modest Proposal."
--The New York Times

"The Secret Dinner is camp. It's loud, funny, and smart [...] And Montes's storytelling is [...] bold, current and, regardless of the grisly subject matter, very entertaining."
-Reactor Mag

About the Author

Raphael Montes is the biggest thriller writer in Brazil. His eight novels have sold more than a million copies and have been published in more than twenty-five countries.

Also a screenwriter, Montes is the showrunner of Scars of Beauty--the most watched original show on HBO Max in Latin America--and Netflix's award-winning series Good Morning, Verônica. He splits his time between Rio de Janeiro and New York and has a strong presence on social media, where he shares his creative process with his readers.