The Dinner, By Herman Koch

This slick Dutch bestseller, translated by Sam Garrett, takes place over a single dinner in a high-end restaurant, during which the psychological interplay between couples rises to sinister levels.

Two brothers and their wives meet to talk about a secret act of criminality committed by their teenage sons and caught on CCTV in a vicious, satirical and ultimately baroque set-piece reminiscent of God of Carnage in its mix of satire and middle-class angst. It is worth it just for its fantastic black humour on fine dining.