A book review: The Perfect Couple (ARC)

TITLE: The Perfect Couple

AUTHOR: Jackie Kabler

PUBLISHED: 17th April 2020

I received an eARC copy of this title from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. My thanks goes to NetGalley and the publisher HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for the opportunity to review this book.

Gemma and Danny are the perfect couple…or are they? When Gemma returns home after a business trip she discovers that Danny has vanished. When Gemma reports her husband missing to the police her nightmare begins. They inform her that there is a serial killer on the loose who appears to be targeting victims that look just like Danny. The police are not convinced by Gemma however, and their suspicions grow when it seems that Danny has not been seen or heard of in weeks, and not at all at their new home in Bristol. What is the truth?

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I don’t need a lot of convincing to read a thriller, it is my favourite genre, and whilst this didn’t strike me as particularly exciting compared to others, I was drawn to it because it takes place in Bristol, the city where I grew up. I’m glad that was enough to convince me because I did enjoy it.

Much like Gemma and Danny’s marriage this book isn’t perfect but I found myself somewhat forgiving the flaws because the positive aspects were good enough to do so. Let me start with the good points.

As with all books of this type I’m looking for a great twist. For me, that is the difference between a good and bad thriller. The twist in The Perfect Couple is brilliant. I didn’t expect the route that the story took and I was pleasantly surprised with where it went and how it was all explained. I thought I had worked it out early on and for the majority of the book I was simply trying to prove my theory/wait to be shown that I was right. But I wasn’t. I was completely wrong and I must admit that what happens is far more entertaining than what I thought was coming.

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I also think that the author did a fantastic job with description. Whether people or places a real picture was painted and I found it easy to envision what was being presented to me. I know that the beauty of reading is to use our own imagination but a helping hand is always useful and I personally enjoy bringing to life in my mind the intention of the author. With this book the intention was clear because the description was so well executed.

So what didn’t I like?

I struggled with the pacing of the book. I found it slow to get going and at more than one point I found myself struggling not to skip parts that seemed to be little more than filler. Maybe I just enjoyed the action of the story that much, but I don’t think so, instead after considering this I still conclude that it was slow in multiple parts.

I also struggled with Gemma. I found her to be a little annoying at times, she was just a little too naïve with certain aspects, to the point where I found myself thinking ‘surely you aren’t that stupid’ and this was frustrating. I wanted to feel something for her because she is such a crucial part of the story, it’s just a shame that what I felt was annoyance.

Would I recommend this? This is a tricky question to answer. If I base it on this book alone then yes I would recommend it because I did enjoy it, but if I consider it within it’s genre and compare it to other thrillers that I have read then I would be far more inclined to recommend another title. I don’t think it’s a disappointing read, far from it, but if I’m being completely honest there are better thrillers out there.

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Overall, I did enjoy this book, and I would be prepared to read more by this author. I’m a harsh critic when it comes to thrillers because as I have said they are my favourite books to read and as such I have read many! This one holds it’s own but it wont be one that I reread.

MY RATING: 3/5

What are your thoughts? Do you think that you will read this one?

Thanks for reading. I hope that you enjoyed!

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Until the next time…Jess x