Serge is soon to be named Prime Minister of The Netherlands and his son is one of the teenage boys. He struggles with the twin desires of keeping the murder a secret (no one has identified the boys yet) and coming clean - thus having to step down as Prime Minister.
Clair is Serge's sister-in-law and is the mother of one of the boys who murdered a street person. Claire's only desire is to keep the murder hidden. She doesn't believe the boys should have to pay the price for a teenage stunt that accidentally ended in the death of the homeless person.
Clair and Serge with their respective husband and wife meet up for dinner at a posh restaurant to discuss what should be done about the boys. It is a very cantankerous dinner as Clair's husband - the brother of Serge, does not like Serge at all and thinks he is a pompous jerk. It is this relationship between the brothers that comes between the two families as they try to deal with their children's actions.
This is a very interesting book: the entire novel takes place either just before the dinner, during the dinner, or just after the dinner. I didn't think someone could spend so much time on just a dinner in a novel, but the author does an excellent job of moving the dialogue on and the flashbacks about the murder the boys committed.
Rating: 7 / 10
ISBN: 9780770437855
Publisher: Hogarth
Edition: 1st American Edition