A review by doodlebeanz
The Couple at Number 9 by Claire Douglas

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

There was never a dull moment while reading this book. The one main flaw for me... I have never dealt with a person who has dementia, so I am not sure if this book depicted it well, but it got a little annoying to read. Gran would have these intense moments of clarity and then would forget immediately, and I knew it was for the sake of the story and it being suspenseful and tense, but it just didn't seem that realistic to me. Again, I've never experienced talking to someone with dementia (especially about a murder), so it may be a realistic description, but as a reader, it seemed contrived.

The twists and turns were great. I figured out the big twist about half way through, but it was still shocking when and how it was finally revealed. I love stories where one person's POV is in the past, especially in letter/note form, and the others are in the present. You get little pieces of information that the other characters don't yet have and it makes it way more fun as a reader. I love playing detective on my own and putting the pieces together. I saw this book hyped up by a bookstagrammer and their other recommendations (recently) had led me astray, but not this one! I can't wait to pick up another Claire Douglas book soon!
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