Scan barcode
ciarareads96's review against another edition
2.0
I don't remember what this was about, which probably says it all.
kayedykes's review against another edition
3.0
Easy read, only got interesting at chapter 34 but was quite predictable
itsdanewrightt's review against another edition
4.0
a great read, read this one in a day. full of twists. would recommend
ella43688's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
avidreader24's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Awful. Bad writing. Badly written dialogue. Predictable plot twists. I only read to the end because I dislike not finishing books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Murder
Minor: Infidelity
diaryofthebookdragon's review against another edition
4.0
Mystery is a genre that I have just recently started reading, and Domestic Suspense is my favorite subgenre. I guess I just like the feeling when my husband asks me what am I reading about and I nonchalantly answer.
"Oh, just about a wife killing her husband."
(I gotta keep him on his toes lol)
Anyway, The Perfect Couple is not about a wife murdering her husband but about a wife whose husband disappeared. Or is it?
[insert Twilight Zone music]
The story had nice pacing. I loved how Jackie Kabler switches points of view between a wife and police detectives and how they had a different interpretation of events. To whom to believe? What is happening?
For me, the mark of a good mystery novel is when the story keeps me guessing until the end and that was the case here.
Recommended.
"Oh, just about a wife killing her husband."
(I gotta keep him on his toes lol)
Anyway, The Perfect Couple is not about a wife murdering her husband but about a wife whose husband disappeared. Or is it?
[insert Twilight Zone music]
The story had nice pacing. I loved how Jackie Kabler switches points of view between a wife and police detectives and how they had a different interpretation of events. To whom to believe? What is happening?
For me, the mark of a good mystery novel is when the story keeps me guessing until the end and that was the case here.
Recommended.
minaahlaw's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
the_coycaterpillar_reads's review against another edition
2.0
The Perfect Couple – always beware any book title that has perfect in it. Nine times out of ten it is anything but perfect. Gemma and Danny have the perfect life, the perfect jobs, and the perfect friends. Nothing and no-one are perfect, and Danny and Gemma are no exception. Gemma is a freelance journalist and Danny works in IT. Life is sweet, that is until Gemma goes on a business trip and comes home to no chilled prosecco, no dinner cooking, and no Danny. Initially Gemma thinks he’s been held late at work but the hours tick by and still there’s no Danny. She is finally forced to report him missing.
The synopsis initially got me overly excited at the prospect of reading The Perfect Couple. A twisty domestic thriller usually gets my pulse rocketing but no such luck with this tale. It’s not all negative and there were genuinely parts that had me intrigued enough to keep reading, and my favourite red herring trope had me questioning everything but by the midpoint of the book was becoming increasingly frustrated at the pacing and the direction that the author was taking the story in.
Although the premise of The Perfect Couple had serious potential to keep me hooked it just wasn’t a good fit for me. The pacing from the very beginning was slow (considering how it started, it didn’t sit well with me.) As it progressed, I really had considered DNF’ing it, but I wanted to see if I was right in my assumptions. By the mid-point it felt like we weren’t any further forward in working out what exactly had happened to Danny – although I’m sure every reader at this point knew what happened to him.
The Perfect Couple’s main character, Gemma just grated on my very last nerve. As a character she was mind numbingly dull and seemed to lack any substance whatsoever. She didn’t stand out (maybe that was the author’s intention) and for someone that had been a crime investigative journalist she was incredibly naïve bordering on stupid when dealing with different lines of investigation. The investigating detectives also seemed blind. It made me wonder what kind of cases they were used to dealing with in Bristol because there were facts that were staring at them in the face and they still couldn’t see it. Didn’t see the wood for the trees!
As a well-seasoned suspense reader, it just didn’t work well for me, there were more holes in the plot than a colander.
The synopsis initially got me overly excited at the prospect of reading The Perfect Couple. A twisty domestic thriller usually gets my pulse rocketing but no such luck with this tale. It’s not all negative and there were genuinely parts that had me intrigued enough to keep reading, and my favourite red herring trope had me questioning everything but by the midpoint of the book was becoming increasingly frustrated at the pacing and the direction that the author was taking the story in.
Although the premise of The Perfect Couple had serious potential to keep me hooked it just wasn’t a good fit for me. The pacing from the very beginning was slow (considering how it started, it didn’t sit well with me.) As it progressed, I really had considered DNF’ing it, but I wanted to see if I was right in my assumptions. By the mid-point it felt like we weren’t any further forward in working out what exactly had happened to Danny – although I’m sure every reader at this point knew what happened to him.
The Perfect Couple’s main character, Gemma just grated on my very last nerve. As a character she was mind numbingly dull and seemed to lack any substance whatsoever. She didn’t stand out (maybe that was the author’s intention) and for someone that had been a crime investigative journalist she was incredibly naïve bordering on stupid when dealing with different lines of investigation. The investigating detectives also seemed blind. It made me wonder what kind of cases they were used to dealing with in Bristol because there were facts that were staring at them in the face and they still couldn’t see it. Didn’t see the wood for the trees!
As a well-seasoned suspense reader, it just didn’t work well for me, there were more holes in the plot than a colander.
hlwilkins's review against another edition
1.0
Awful. A GCSE English student could have written better than this. The dialogue was so immature, the plot was so contrived and the characters were dumb AF.
Gemma's husband goes missing, and she reports it to the police. They have just moved from London to Bristol. The police are investigating 2 murders in Bristol and when they see a picture of Danny (the husband) they instantly link the murders as they all look the same and have been registered to some dating app. Then quickly they assume that Gemma is responsible for his disappearance as nobody has seen him since they moved to Bristol.
There's a few ridiculous red herrings (wtf was the old homeless guy plot point for) and then the police find Danny who's been hiding out. He goes on the run, finds Gemma, and admits to murdering all these people that look like him because they look like his abusive father! Utterly ridiculous. The police were made to be so stupid, following ridiculous leads and not doing any investigative work. They had mini side stories which I assume was supposed to build their back story but it added nothing and I lost track of who everyone was.
This was some of the most amateur writing I've read in a long time.
Gemma's husband goes missing, and she reports it to the police. They have just moved from London to Bristol. The police are investigating 2 murders in Bristol and when they see a picture of Danny (the husband) they instantly link the murders as they all look the same and have been registered to some dating app. Then quickly they assume that Gemma is responsible for his disappearance as nobody has seen him since they moved to Bristol.
There's a few ridiculous red herrings (wtf was the old homeless guy plot point for) and then the police find Danny who's been hiding out. He goes on the run, finds Gemma, and admits to murdering all these people that look like him because they look like his abusive father! Utterly ridiculous. The police were made to be so stupid, following ridiculous leads and not doing any investigative work. They had mini side stories which I assume was supposed to build their back story but it added nothing and I lost track of who everyone was.
This was some of the most amateur writing I've read in a long time.