It’s a story we’ve all seen in the news, and at times the plot definitely felt a little too close to a certain missing little girl, but The Couple Next Door took me on a rollercoaster that I didn’t stumble off until the back cover. The truth was concealed under layers and layers of manipulation and confusion, that peeling back that last page felt ever so slightly anti-climactic.
You never know what’s happening on the other side of the wall.
Your neighbour told you that she didn’t want your six-month-old daughter at the dinner party. Nothing personal, she just couldn’t stand her crying.
Your husband said it would be fine. After all, you only live next door. You’ll have the baby monitor and you’ll take it in turns to go back every half hour.
Your daughter was sleeping when you checked on her last. But now, as you race up the stairs in your deathly quiet house, your worst fears are realized. She’s gone.
You’ve never had to call the police before. But now they’re in your home, and who knows what they’ll find there.
What would you be capable of, when pushed past your limit?
This book was very plot driven, and by that I mean the story felt like it was going from plot point to plot point and ticking them off as it went. I can imagine that each twist and turn in the story was very carefully mapped out before writing, and even if it wasn’t, that’s how it read. It was fun! I didn’t see where it was going and it kept me up well into the night when I wanted to know just whodunit, but there’s a reason that plot driven books are sometimes lacking…
The characters fell flat for me. I just didn’t believe some of the things that were happening because, although I know that people do bad and stupid things all the time, they normally have better reasoning then those in this book had. If this was a movie, it would be badly acted because you wouldn’t believe the actors knew why they were doing what they were doing.
The writing was easy enough. There was nothing extraordinary and only two sentences that I sticky-noted because I liked the way they read more than average. But that’s just what the majority of this book was- average, which isn’t bad for a debut! It was fast, and readable, which is what you’re looking for in a thriller.
In the end, it has been a couple months since I read The Couple Next Door and it’s a good thing I left myself notes because this was not a story that has stayed with me. If you’re looking for a beach read then look no further, but this is very much a three star book for me, I liked it while reading but I wouldn’t pick it up again.
Want to nab a copy? You can pre-order it here for its Thursday release!
Marco feels like a minor actor in a drama with some key players; it’s a feeling he often gets when Anne’s parents are in the room. Even now, in the role of Father of the Kidnapped Baby, he feels shoved offstage…
Imogen's Typewriter. 