Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of The Couple in the Photo in exchange for an honest review.

I quite enjoyed this novel overall. Lucy, the main character, perfectly encapsulated the feeling of joining an already-established friend group and the nuances that come with that history. While I personally guessed multiple of the twists, the author's writing was interesting enough to keep me engaged throughout the book.

This novel highlights the fact that nobody's perfect and we've all got demons in our closets.

A very interesting storyline. Two couples — Lucy and Adam, Cora and Scott — are best friends. While looking at honeymoon pictures of her coworker, Cora sees a picture of Scott with another woman. After that woman disappears, the friendship slowly begins to unravel because suspicions abound.

This definitely kept my interest and was a real page-turner with enough twists and turns to keep the reader guessing somewhat. If the pacing was a bit tighter and a bit more even, I think this would be a great read. As it was, it was a good read, and I look forward to reading more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for giving me a free eARC of this book to read in exchange for my review!

The Couple in the Photo follows Lucy and her husband Adam. They have been friends with Cora and Scott for years. One day at work a coworker shows Lucy pictures from her vacation. Lucy notices that there is another couple in the picture and one of the people turns out to be Scott but the woman in the photo is not Cora. Lucy does not want to tell Cora about the photo. But then all the sudden the women in the photo turns up dead and Lucy thinks that Scott is somehow involved. As Lucy starts finding out the truth she starts to find out there are consequences for knowing the truth.

I thought this was just an okay thriller. I will say this was a very fast-paced thriller. I did think that story was interesting. But I predicted the killer pretty early on in this book. Like it was super obvious who the killer was. So I feel like this book left no surprises at all. I wish the author would have done a better job of not making this book so predictable. By the time I got to the end, I was like really this is it. I also felt like this book was super repetitive. I don't regret reading this one and I will read more by this author. But this one just missed the mark for me.

Thank you Netgalley and Putman books for the ARC of this book.

Pretty standard mystery/thriller. A book that’s good for traveling or an easy distraction.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62296522

Lucy, Adam, Cora, and Scott are an inseparable foursome until Lucy spies Scott with another woman in a coworker's honeymoon picture. After that, we are taken on a wild ride. Many lies and secrets will be uncovered. Oh, the tangled web... The Couple in the Photo held my attention and kept me wondering what event would happen next. I thought it was a good read!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this book. The opinions are my own.

The Couple in the Photo
Written By Helen Cooper
Published By Penguin Group Putnam
Release Date December 05, 2023

Characters: 4/5
Plot: 4/5
Pace: 3/5
Suspense: 4/5
Overall Enjoyment: 4/5


Married couples Lucy and Adam and Cora and Scott have been friends for a very long time. They do almost everything together. Down to owning a beach condo together. It seems though that someone has a secret. Lucy is looking at her colleagues honeymoon photos and lo and behold she sees Scott with another woman who is now missing. Lucy wants to keep that a secret as well from her friend but once she realizes there is more to the story she knows what she must do. A well written suspense novel that holds the secrets even as the reader is learning all of the intricacies of the thrill. Will the mysterious woman be found and if so what does Scott have to do with her?

Cooper definitely knows how to keep the reader engaged and entertained while the twists keep coming.

4 stars

Thank you to NetGalley as well as the author and publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my unbiased and honest review.

I enjoyed the mystery and romance in this book but I felt like the plot got lost at times. It was a decent read, not my favorite.

3.5 stars!! Intense and kept me engaged, although I did find myself skimming through unnecessary detail quite a bit. Didn't expect the ending or exactly how everything unfolded, but I knew it would go in the direction it did, if that makes sense? Always fun to read a truly up to date contemporary thriller that has updated technology references, etc.

I enjoyed this book! It was exciting and twisty! I liked the premise too and it felt original. At times, it felt a little long but overall, it was a great 4 star read.

It has been a while since I have read a book from the Suspense/Thriller genre. They make me too anxious, and I have trouble putting the book down because I want to know who did it. When I was given an opportunity to read Couple in the Photo by Helen Cooper from NetGalley, I decided to give it a go.

I was captivated by this book right off the bat. It starts from page one, and I didn’t want to put it down until the end. Lucy, a devoted wife and mother, whose world is shattered by lies and deceit. Adam, Cora and Scott whose lies and dark secrets finally catch up to them. The buried secrets keep coming one after the other. You could feel Lucy’s pain of being lied to all these years and Cora’s pure selfish evilness made you want her to finally get what was coming to her. I was shocked when it came at the hands of Adam, the one person that loved Cora unconditionally and really would, and did, anything for her. Helen Cooper knows how to weave a tale of jaw dropping moments that keep you wanting to turn the page.

I have never read a book by Helen Cooper, and I am glad I read Couple in the Photo, it is a page turner that introduced me to a new author. I Will definitely pick up her other books.

Helen Cooper's "The Couple in the Photo" is an emotionally charged story that tugs at the heartstrings. As the secrets of a mysterious photograph unravel, it explores love, loss, and the enduring power of human connections. With beautifully crafted characters and an evocative narrative, it's a poignant tale of love transcending time, leaving readers deeply moved and thoughtful long after the last page is turned. Couldn't put it down.

Good book. I loved the premise and the book kept me engaged most of the time. I would read books by Helen Cooper again!

This is one messed up story. Lucy never would have guessed that seeing a coworkers honeymoon photos would upend her and her closest friends lives but it’s a catalyst that puts a wild story in motion. As you get into the story more history of the characters unravels showing new deceits, old secrets, and and the culprits at the center of it. I went into this story completely blind and loved every twist and turn that came with it up until the final chapters. Thank you to Netgalley, Penguin Group, Putnam and Helen Cooper for this ARC.

I thought this book was really good and I was left in suspense for much of the time. It centers on Lucy, who sees a picture of one of her best friends with a woman that isn’t his wife. This leads her to questioning everything she took for granted about her close relationships.

Lucy originally got on my nerves because she was like a dog with a bone, even when others told her to back off. Once it became apparent that there was more to the story, I appreciated her approach more. There were some great twists in the story that I didn’t see coming. The end seemed like it wrapped things up awfully quickly after many other parts of the book were more of a slow burn, but I still felt satisfied with the way it all came together.

Overall, this was a good book with a unique storyline that kept me guessing. I’d recommend to those who enjoy psychological thrillers. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I found this story entertaining. I gave it a 3.5. It was a little slow at first but once I picked up I was hooked to find out what happened!

Lucy and her husband, Adam, have been best friends Cora and Scott for years. They own a beach cottage together and are currently remodeling it. Their children are best friends and they are a family. At work, Lucy is looking at a coworker's honeymoon photo and sees Scott in a photo with another woman. She begins her own investigation and then realizes the woman in the photo with Scott is not missing. She thinks Scott is involved. She begins trying to figure out what is going on. Her Husband, Cora and Scott have known each other longer and it seems they are hiding a few things from Lucy.

I enjoyed Cooper's writing style and pace. It is a great quick read.

Two couples who are best friends with a past going back to college days, start to receive threatening emails about a secret they have tried to forget …. This book has suspense and intrigue and I did enjoy. I found it a bit hard to follow at times , but all in all it was a great 3.5 star read for me. Thank you to Netgalley, the author and Penguin group Putnam for the arc read in exchange for a fair review!

Rounding up to 3.5 ⭐️

The Couple In The Photo follows two couples who have known each other since college. When a woman from their past disappears and is later found murdered, the group falls apart. The main character Lucy starts an investigation of her own to get to the bottom of what her friends know and what they’re hiding. While I enjoyed the story and was definitely not expecting some of the twists it did end up being a tad predictable. I did find the ending to be a bit long winded/drawn out. Overall, an enjoyable & cozy mystery.

THANK YOU to the author, Netgalley & Penguin Group Putnam for this ARC in return for my honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5 (3.5/5)
I’ll be honest when I started this book I had no idea where it was going to go. I thought this was going to be an island paradise murder mystery but it turned out to be a much deeper thriller about the power of friendship, past and unrequited love.

I’d say this is a fast read, and it reminds me of a book I’d pick up spontaneously on vacation and binge read on the beach. It took me awhile to catch on to the twist. Not because it was overly shocking, but because the plot of this book is very complex and takes awhile to unravel.

The POV of this book switches from the main character Lucy who is also trying to figure out her friends and husbands past secrets and the “bad guy” which is interesting but somewhat confusing at times.

This book makes you not trust the characters which I always enjoy. I like to be suspicious of everyone. The way the plot finalized, I wasn’t completely on track with who the actual culprit was but once it started unraveling it made sense and was sort of sad for the main character.

It’s not my favorite thriller I’ve ever read, but I enjoyed it and think it would be a great vacation read.

I will post this one online on the pub date to my instagram @readitwithtay