Title: The Secret Dinner

Author: Raphael Montes

Link: https://www.amazon.com/Secret-Dinner-Novel-Raphael-Montes-ebook/dp/B0FMSC6KBJ/

Release Date: 08/18/2026

Summary

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.

What starts as a joke quickly spirals out of their control. As the four friends fall deeper into this dark underworld and earn more money, the stakes get higher and the consequences deadlier, revealing the devious depths that lurk within each of them and threatening not only their friendship but also their lives.

My Review

4/5 Stars

When four childhood friends move into an apartment together in Copacabana, they’re convinced their future is just beginning. But when one of them embezzles their rent money, the others are left scrambling to avoid eviction. Their solution? Hosting exclusive dinner parties. The catch? The main course is human meat.

I couldn’t put this book down. The tension started early and did not ease up. The way the book opens gives us a chance to really get to know Dante and his friends. I was impressed by the author’s ability to make us really understand who each character is at heart. They all felt like real people and that only made the emotional punches in the second half of the book hit harder.

This story makes some interesting points about morality and how desperation can blur the line between right and wrong, easily making someone justify the unthinkable. Dante doesn’t begin the story as a villain but watching his very character slowly dissolve away was one of the most compelling parts of the novel.

I’m usually pretty good at predicting plot twists, but this one completely caught me off guard. The final chapters left me sitting in stunned silence, replaying everything I had just read. I’m still not over that ending.

If you love stories filled with betrayal, realistic characters, and dark business ventures in Rio, you’ll devour (pun fully intended) this one!