The Dinner Detective True Crime Murder Mystery Dinner ShowReviews of thedinnerdetective.com

Our party of eight celebrated a birthday at the Dinner Detective I really had no expectations, which is always advisable when you don't want to be disappointed. From what I surmise, is the Dinner Detective is a franchise that is provided murder mystery scripts from the parent company, then contracts with a hotel for room/catering, and hires local "talent". The performers were friendly, the script was "corny, and we had fun because we made it fun. It was an amateur production with the actors wearing their street clothes. No costumes or props/sets in the room just, eight round tables in a hotel event space. The food was edible, the service was poor but we didn't come to "eat" so we just accepted that part of the evening. Unfortunately three people in our party became ill about 8-9 hours later. I did voice concerns but they assured me that they did everything right (held food at right temperatures, didn't serve expired food) but did state the "protein" was cooked the day before and made a point to state the salad was made fresh that day. (this explains why you cant change what you order). While i give them credit for stating the meals were cooked the day belore, it definitely left a bad taste in my mouth.

Many facets need improvement: 1- Too much responsibility is placed on the guests to both sleuth AND mingle and not enough time to eat the courses. There is especially no time to go from the bar or restroom and arrive back in the conference room without missing something. A cash bar should be in the room where the dinner and acting takes place. 2- The wait staff did not speak English well. Plus, we had to ask for more dressing and bread and refills. There was not enough of the former to go around at a ten-person table, and they never came around unless they were waved down. 3- There should be more physical clues in the room and more scenes acted out. Insisting that each guest rely on a shared QR code in order to mine clues on their phones is time consuming - and the food is getting cold. Moreover, everyone should be given a clipboard since there is no room on the table to place or write on the single piece of paper that is the worksheet. 4- The code names are pointless and the actors think they are being creative by putting people on the spot to come up with a backstory for their code names when they are not employed actors; they are paying customers expecting to be entertained. 5- The basis of the crime is not explored at all (which revolves around the suspicious and untimely death of an actress) but we are supposed to forget about that and solve the most recent ancillary murder, which seems to ignore the overarching motive. 6 - In the end, one patron is awarded the prize for getting closer than anyone else to solving the (ancillary) murder. But the rest of the participants are not made aware of why that person won, what they uncovered, and what the rest of us may have missed. Thus, it is wholly anticlimactic. The food, however, was very good. And it ought to be for 80 bucks a pop. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Overall, I wouldn’t recommend this experience. The cast clearly tried, but the execution felt under-rehearsed. The script didn’t flow naturally and often came across as forced—especially the dynamic between the two law enforcement characters, which never quite clicked. That said, New Year’s Steve stood out and earned points for her character commitment. I understand the show is meant to be over-the-top and campy, but even within that lane it fell short. I’ve seen high school productions with stronger character commitment and tighter pacing. Food didn’t help the evening. All four of us ordered the chicken with carrots and potatoes; it arrived cold, and the chicken was dry. Bottom line: despite some effort from the cast, the overall experience missed the mark. I wouldn’t recommend this to a friend.

Our venue had split the party into two sides of a large open area, and the actors stayed on one side the entire night. One half of the room couldn't hear or see or undertand what was going on for 2 hours. There was no "crowd control" by the actors to bring the entire room together. It was a big disappointment.

First, the website said no jeans and saw a lot of people in jeans. They weren’t turned away like the website said. The men in our party wore dress pants for this reason. To me the show was very unorganized. Had no clue what the show was about and lack of details about the “murder”. Couldn’t hear the actors, so unable to pick up on clues. Need microphones!! Have done murder mystery dinners before and I would not recommend this one.

The show was somewhat entertaining, however confusing. But the "Amazing Meal" promised (chicken dinner) was truthfullu inedible. I don't know who was responsible, The show staff or the hotel. Breaded chicken cutlet with raw breading, covered with white goo that looked like school glue, gummy risotto (or whatever it was, I couldnt tell) and unseasoned, boiled vegetables. Chocolate cake was a square Hostess cake. I inquired if I could exchange my dinner (the salmon looked unseasoned, but edible), they said I'd have to pay for the plate. I already paid $65 to go to the event. Rude and inhospitable!