Both You and The Dinner are unique takes on the unreliable narrator tale that has become so popular.
The narrator of You, Joe, is stalking a woman he met at the bookstore he works at, but he sees it as devotion and love. As he reads her e-mails, arranges seemingly change meetings, and decides who in her life is unworthy of being near her, he sees his actions as honorable and completely justified.
The narrator of The Dinner admits from the first page that he is holding back facts. He doesn't even want to name the restaurant they are eating at for fear it will make people want to go there. This forces the reader to question just what else he is holding back when it comes to a secret that could split his family apart.
Both these books have a slow-burning, tension-filled buildup that continues to increase the suspense. Not knowing just how much you can trust the person telling you a story makes you read between the lines in every line. Both Kepnes and Koch have a writing style that draws you in despite not being sure you even like the characters you are listening to (another choice I definitely think the authors made on purpose), and get at the heart at what constitutes love, trust, and the truth.
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