Wednesday, May 26, 2021

Book Review: The Perfect Couple

You guys- you probably thought maybe I had died, right? Well, not quite. I have been rather sick lately so I've just let some things go to the wayside and my little blog was one of them. Honestly, I wonder if I should even keep it up sometimes, but then after a few days I kind of miss having something to do, you know? 

Instead of that, let's talk about a new thriller I'm sure you've seen everywhere, now you can see it here. 

The Perfect Couple - Jackie Kabler

The perfect couple…or the perfect lie?

A year and a half ago, Gemma met the love of her life, Danny. Since then, their relationship has been like something out of a dream. But one Friday evening, Gemma returns home to find Danny is nowhere to be seen.

After two days with no word from her husband, Gemma turns to the police. She is horrified with what she discovers – a serial killer is on the loose in Bristol. When she sees the photos of the victims she is even more stunned…the victims all look just like Danny.

But, the detectives aren’t convinced by Gemma’s story. Why has no one apart from Gemma seen or heard from Danny in weeks? Why is there barely a trace of him in their flat? Is she telling them the truth, or are there more secrets and lies in this marriage than meets the eye?

I know the first thing most people say with a thriller is "predictable" and yeah... this one kind of fits that too. BUT. I am a big fan of all things true crime and this one immediately felt like it could be an episode of Crime Junkie or my personal favorite, Morbid. Easily and I can predict the host's voice telling this story as it unfolds because it's so strange but also predictable, while at the same time being so strange you almost can't believe it. Does that make sense? 

Any true crime junkie is going to find a series of inconsistencies with how the police go about their investigation, and that was kind of annoying. I'm over here shouting at the book with what they should be doing and wondering why they asking all of the questions. In the end though, I think that's what made this book for me because it just shows how well some of the characters outsmarted police and how things were able to play out the way they do/did. The other piece that drove me nuts but also kind of made the book was how absolutely awful these characters were. Not that they were written terribly but because if this were real life, they would be the absolute worst where you almost want to throw your hands up and declare you don't give a damn what happens to them. At times, that's exactly where I was at, but then something would happen and I'd almost feel a little sorry for one. It was always quickly squashed though, and by the time I got to the ending I wasn't sure what the hell I was hoping for. 

I suppose that's what puts it into the psychological thriller, right? 

Overall I would give this one 4 stars, it was twisty and frustrating, but also good and awful at the same time. It's like I don't want to like it but I have to admit where I'm often wrong and say this really was pretty good. 

Thank you to TLC Book Tours and Harper360 for sending me an ARC of The Perfect Couple for review. If you're interested in purchasing this, head over to the HarperCollins store, where they are offering a little free shipping deal so take advantage of that!  

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2 comments:

Why Girls Are Weird said...

I've been wanting to get my hands on this one, it sounds really good!

Shooting Stars Mag said...

It can be a bummer when these type of books are predictable, or you just want to yell at all the characters to do this or do that. But sometimes it doesn't matter and they're still a page turner!! Thanks for sharing this one! Sorry you've been feeling sick; I hope you are doing better.

Lauren
www.shootingstarsmag.net