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Wednesday, March 13, 2024

{I've Been Reading} The Perfect Couple

 The Perfect Couple by Jan McLoughlin

His job offers the young couple the opportunity to relocate to England for a year and live in  gothic mansion while he works. She starts to hear and see things as soon as she's alone in the house. He's kind of a jerk, policing her vocabulary and behavior so she won't seem too American and embarrass him. Their new home is near the small village her grandmother came from and she begins to hear rumors of a family curse. I mostly enjoyed this one. The Jayce compares her situation to The Shining and, while that makes total sense, I think I was getting more of a Rosemary's Baby or Yellow Wallpaper vibe. It was great until the ending, which was a bit of a let down after the author had built up so much great suspense. 


The Other Wife by Danielle Ramsay

"And if I do, what becomes of her? Of my wife?"
"You live your life as if she never existed." 

The protagonist finds herself in a stark white room, cared for by an unsympathetic housekeeper who tells her that she's suffering from memory loss caused by her migraines. She's kept drugged, confined to her  room. I had a hard time identifying with the woman because, as convinced as she is that she's not Mrs. Langdon and doesn't belong in the remote Scottish estate with this man who claimes to be her husband, she never explains where she thinks she should be. The first half of the book is extremely repetetive and absolutely drags. Then it got better. I had guessed the big twist, but the way the author pulls it all together is much more satisfying than I expected it to be. This is a unique domestic thriller with a traditional Gothic feel to it. 


The Nurse by Jenna Kernan

A newly graduated nurse is hired to take care of a wealthy doctor's wife, making sure she takes her pills on time and eats her meals, driving her on her errands and to her golf club. Doctor Roth warns Emily that his wife has delusions, that she'll claim responsibility for things that never happened...but Emily soon begins to suspect that her client is over medicated and might need her help. This is a slow burn that has the feel of an old fashioned gothic thriller. Once Emily starts uncovering the Roth family's secrets, it's a wild ride to the conclusion. 


Disclosure -- The publisher provided me with an advance review copy. 

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