The Dinner Detective True Crime Murder Mystery Dinner Show - Knoxville, TN — Local services in Knoxville

My colleagues and I took our boss here for his retirement party. I bought tickets through Groupon, (my first mistake)! I purchased four “Two Flex Passes + Two Commemorative Merchandise” for $110 each, neglecting to read the fine print at the bottom that says that The Dinner Detectives will collect ANOTHER $15.25 PER TICKET when you go to make your reservation, making it even more expensive than if you book directly through them. My bad, not theirs!

Here’s my problem: On the evening of the event, July 27, I have 8 fully paid tickets, but due to illness only 6 of my party are able to attend. When I asked about the other two fully paid tickets, I was given an email address, and told that while my money could not be returned, that I would be given two additional tickets to attend at a later date. The 6 of us that did attend were given a warm, thrown together salad and watered down iced tea. The prices at the bar were OUTRAGEOUS! The QR codes that we were supposed to use to get the “clues” for the murder mystery didn’t work on most of our phones! The entree’s of chicken and salmon were nothing spectacular for the price we paid! The best thing about the meal was the chocolate cake! The murder mystery part was interesting enough, and the audience participation was fun, but because the QR codes didn’t work so we could get the clues, most of us were unable to participate. (The hosts were not very interested in helping us either)!

Back to the Groupon deal! What I paid for was supposed to include one commemorative item valued at $20 each PER TICKET! When I checked my party in, I was given ONE commemorative item - a shot glass! When I asked about that, I was (grudgingly) given an additional 3 shot glasses. They told me it was one per couple. NO, it’s one PER TICKET!

So, now I’m out 2 tickets and 4 commemorative items! A couple days later, I emailed the address given to me and explained the situation, and told them what the host told me. That I was to be given 2 tickets to be used a a future date, and asked how to get them and how to redeem them once I got them. After no response, I emailed again a couple days later. I’m writing this review on the 5th day of waiting for a response for my emails. I’m out 2 tickets, 4 “gifts”, my boss and my friends had (what they described as) a terrible dinner and we couldn’t get access to the clues for his retirement party. At this point, I’d rather have my money back than go to The Dinner Detectives...

Don't waste your money.

While I admire the fact that the cast worked hard, the production values left much room for improvement, especially at $131 admission for two.

First, the Dinner Detective organization instructed there was a dress code for attendance. No jeans and no T-shirts, but nice jeans were OK. Many sets of denim jeans and T-shirts were in attendance. One of the characters in the performance, a "detective", was wearing faded jeans. Not acceptable. Another character was wearing a sequined sport coat that had seen better days 5 years ago. It was threadbare in large patches, looked ridiculous and spoiled the performance they were trying to achieve.

Food was average. The "private bar" in the banquet room charged $13.75 for a cocktail or a glass of wine. Plus tip. A cocktail from the restaurant in the lobby was nine bucks and change. It was worth the trip to walk a bit.

The service staff were excellent.

My biggest complaint was that our table determined the suspect and we all submitted the name. We weren't selected as successfully determining the suspect as we didn't have enough "details" on our form. I suggest you select another event for an evening out. My tickets stated the event began at 6PM, but then I received an email stating that was a mistake and the event began at 7PM. This was on a workday evening and that hour pushback makes a difference for folks who need to get up in the morning for work.

Keep your cash in your wallet. Go listen to some live music instead. Go to a movie. This show isn't worth your time. Oh, and they promised a free shot glass for every 5 star review they received. So I wouldn't trust all those 5 star reviews...

We attended last night’s Murder Mystery Dinner Performance, 7/13/24. Our party of 8 were all disappointed. First of all, the garage covered parking is too far for those with walking difficulties. The price to park was $36 per car. The venue room was mediocre but could have been more appealing and welcoming with the right lightening, centerpieces and perhaps soft music playing before the performance and during intermissions. The meal began with a salad with two dressing choices and ended with chocolate cake. Those both were enjoyable, although the dessert menu posted offered 2 dessert choices and everyone was served chocolate cake. The entrees of chicken and salmon were both served at our table. Chicken was dry but eatable. Salmon was reported to be tasty. The sides were rice and brussel sprouts. The sprouts were not cooked at all (!could not stick a fork in them) and plain as well as the rice undercooked. Unsweet tea, coffee and water were included as well as hard rolls with butter. Unusual in the South not to see sweet tea as a staple. Alcohol and sodas could be purchased, as advertised. Kudos to the serving staff. They served graciously and in a timely manner. The murder mystery plot was not easy to follow and a bit corny and drawn out at times. Audience interaction was engaging. We enjoyed the company of friends but the show itself is overpriced and overrated. “Award winning” implies professional quality. Quality was definitely not what we...