The Couple Next Door: Thrilling & Not-So Thrilling
SYNOPSIS
Fast-paced and addictive, THE COUPLE NEXT DOOR announces a major new talent in thriller writing. 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?
Title: The Couple Next Door
Author: Shari Lapena
Page Count: 308 pages
Genre: Thriller // Mystery
Rating: 3 stars
Publisher: Penguin Random House
Release Date: May 30, 3017
Buy It: Chapters Indigo // Book Depository
MILANA'S REVIEW
A good thriller will make you nervous. It’ll make you grip your book with white knuckles and palpitating breaths. A good thriller makes you hunger for more long after you’ve finished reading. The Couple Next Door however was just an okay thriller.
The first half of the book was actually very good. I flew through it. I was hooked and all I wanted was for the reveal to shock me. About halfway through the book the bomb is dropped, with the whole plot is basically revealed. All I can say was that’s when the story went downhilll for me. I was so disappointed, the rest of the book was extremely predictable and I couldn’t get over the halfway reveal. I was also quite confused with the last chapter. It seemed so out of place and very far fetched.
Clearly I have mixed feelings about this entire book. I liked reading it as the author was a good writer, kept you on your toes, but at the same time I was disappointed because it was easy to guess what was going to happen next. Some parts were thrown in for shock value which made me roll my eyes and then other parts were uncomfortable and forced. What confuses me the most is that although I didn’t like it I was still entertained and liked the pacing of the book. I’m seriously conflicted on what to rate this book. I think I will settle with a 3/5? Even as I say that I still am unsure. This is one book that you’ll have to give it a shot yourself as I definitely don’t trust myself with this one.
I guess the takeaway message here was that I liked it, I didn’t like it, I was confused, it was very predictable, but ultimately I was entertained and that’s all we can ask for from an author.