A review by fictionmajorette
The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks, Sarah Pekkanen
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Full thoughts: https://fictionmajorette.blogspot.com/2022/02/the-golden-couple-greer-hendricks-and.html
The premise of this story did exactly what it should - draw me in from the very beginning. I pretty much always prefer my thrillers to get to the juicy details quickly, but even more so with domestic thrillers.
I absolutely loved the characters of Avery and Marissa because I love a good unlikable protagonist. I also loved how these characters were unlikable in very different ways. On the surface, it may seem like the two women are like water and oil, but they work really well together in this story. Their character conflicts do drive some of the tension and momentum in the story, but their differences also give the story some really good balance and texture.
The dual POV choice worked really well in this story to give us both sides of the therapy. We see Avery researching and digging into the Bishop's lives but we also see how the Bishops are living their lives and trying to follow Avery's guidance. I also think the POV choices made this domestic thriller feel a little less domestic-y.
I did find the tension to be a bit uneven. There were so many moving parts and different plot threads and I could tell Hendricks/Pekkanen wanted to amp up the tension in X plot or Y plot. But when there are so many plot threads, it is hard to make each of them feel that gentle ramp up of tension.
This is the first book by Hendricks and Pekkanen that I've read mostly because I don't reach for a lot of domestic thrillers but also because I've heard that the books by this author duo have a hard time sticking the landing. The ending, in this book, worked okay but I did feel like it ended up being a bit more simplistic and boring than I was expecting.
Overall, I really enjoyed the premise and characters. I was fully engaged and interested in the story up until the ending, which I found pretty lackluster.
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC
Expected publication date is March 8, 2022
The premise of this story did exactly what it should - draw me in from the very beginning. I pretty much always prefer my thrillers to get to the juicy details quickly, but even more so with domestic thrillers.
I absolutely loved the characters of Avery and Marissa because I love a good unlikable protagonist. I also loved how these characters were unlikable in very different ways. On the surface, it may seem like the two women are like water and oil, but they work really well together in this story. Their character conflicts do drive some of the tension and momentum in the story, but their differences also give the story some really good balance and texture.
The dual POV choice worked really well in this story to give us both sides of the therapy. We see Avery researching and digging into the Bishop's lives but we also see how the Bishops are living their lives and trying to follow Avery's guidance. I also think the POV choices made this domestic thriller feel a little less domestic-y.
I did find the tension to be a bit uneven. There were so many moving parts and different plot threads and I could tell Hendricks/Pekkanen wanted to amp up the tension in X plot or Y plot. But when there are so many plot threads, it is hard to make each of them feel that gentle ramp up of tension.
This is the first book by Hendricks and Pekkanen that I've read mostly because I don't reach for a lot of domestic thrillers but also because I've heard that the books by this author duo have a hard time sticking the landing. The ending, in this book, worked okay but I did feel like it ended up being a bit more simplistic and boring than I was expecting.
Overall, I really enjoyed the premise and characters. I was fully engaged and interested in the story up until the ending, which I found pretty lackluster.
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC
Expected publication date is March 8, 2022
Content Warnings
Moderate: Stalking, Infidelity, and Suicide