Bungling police, a ridiculously naive heroine, and a plot that is so bizarre it beggars belief. The story was very dragged out, and the narrative style made it feel even longer than it actually was. So much so that I ended up skimming most of the second half to get to the big reveal, which was just ludicrous enough to make me glad I'd read that far, even if it was just for the laughs. Not one I'd recommend, and not an author I'd try again.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to preview The Perfect Couple by Jackie Kabler. The "perfect couple" - Gemma and Danny. They really are - they love each other and fall in love passionately. Then one day, Danny doesn';t some home and Gemma gets so alarmed by his disappearance that she notifies the police.
But the police start to think something else is going on because they don't believe Gemma. On top of that, there is a serial killer on the loose and the victims resemble Danny. But Danny doesn't have much DNA in their apartment or anywhere else in Gemma's life. Soon the police start to suspect that all is not what it appears, and things are not what they seem.
Ok book - quick read - What bothers me are characters that don't see the obvious and this is the case in this novel.
2.5 stars.

“Is she telling them the truth, or are there more secrets and lies in this marriage than meets the eye?”
Ooooh!!! A page turning, knee trembling read! Gemma and husband Danny have just moved to Bristol from London. Danny stayed in London for an extra week to finish up work and so Gemma did the main move. In Bristol the police have two murders on their hands. The spooky thing is that the victims look like they could be brothers or even twins, so similar are their characteristics. When Danny doesn’t arrive home after Gemma has been away on a work assignment for a night she thinks it is work and he is pulling an all nighter as he occasionally does. When he doesn’t arrive back after 3 more days after calling around everywhere she can think of she reports him missing. Danny is also an excellent likeness to the two murdered men. What is going on and where is Danny.This is one of those reads so well written that it slightly unsettles you. To me the mark of a well researched and excellent writer. I felt for Gemma and her situation and not really knowing many people being in a new place. A brilliant captivating read that I didn’t want to put down
(rest of links as part of blog tour)

Thank you Netgalley, Harper Impulse and Killer Reads, and Jackie Kabler for this Advanced Copy in exchange for an honest review.

Gemma has it all...a new home in a beautiful city, a loving husband, the amazing job and nothing but perfection as far as the future is concerned.

She loves her job as a freelance journalist and at times needs to travel for short bursts of time. When she goes out of town this weekend, her husband Danny promises to welcome her home with a home cooked meal. Wow, she really lucked out finding the perfect husband. She finally finishes her business and after a long trip back, she finds her house .....empty. Where's Danny??

Days and weeks go by without a word from him. Confusion, Fear, Sadness and Anger are all emotions she is feeling. How could he do this to her??

The police aren't much help, there seems to be a serial killer that is killing people that look just like Danny!

Just how angry was Gemma that Danny would disappear like that without as much as goodbye. Angry enough to punish him??

I really liked this book as it kept me interested throughout. I would like to see this as a first book of a series and I was left with questions about the ending.

Is there anything better than reading a book about a 'perfect' couple?! I think not... especially when it is going to be creepy and full of excitement! This is a definite must read and I want to read it again!

This was an excellent novel that I very much enjoyed. Strong.characters and a fascinating storyline make for an exciting read. Highly recommended.

Gemma and Danny are newlyweds who have just moved to the suburbs of London to ready to begin the rest of their lives together. Danny has started a new job in IT Security and Gemma has just come home from a trip having to do with her job as a freelance journalist and is looking forward to the promised dinner with Danny only he's not home. Figuring he must have been hung up at the office she waits, and waits and waits. Danny never shows. Finally she contacts the police to report him missing to discover that he matches the physical description of two men recently murdered nearby. Has Danny been murdered as well?

I really liked the premise of the book and I really like the start of the book and then it sort of bogged down. I was not impressed with the local police who weren't very bright and were willing to disregard glaring issues in order to blame Gemma. Without giving away the plot I'll just say that the confession when it comes was pretty ludicrous as well with glaring issues. But did read the entire story so it was okay.

Many thanks to HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter and #NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.

Lovely Gemma, married less than a year, is settling into her new place in Bristol, England with her husband, Danny. They are enjoying their nicely appointed home, painting and decorating it together, creating a nest for their future family. Gemma is a freelance writer and Danny is an IT specialist and together, they have it all. They are the perfect couple.

Until…cue the scary, screeching violins…Danny doesn’t come home one night. Or the next day. Or the day after. When Gemma decides she must go to the police and report her husband missing, she finds the police are busy with several unsolved murders. One by one, young adult men have been found bludgeoned to death. The police aren’t too worried about Danny, until they realize that Danny looks like the murdered men, with dark curly hair, and thick eyebrows.

As Gemma copes with losing her husband, the police discover that things are not as Gemma told them. Danny has never been seen in Bristol. He never went to work. He never emailed, called or used his bank accounts. The neighbors have never seen him. Only Gemma. Did Gemma kill Danny? And is she a serial murderer?

Warning, once you start this brilliant book, you have to finish it in one sitting. The plot is deliberately slow and well-paced. Gemma tells her story, in the first person and it’s as if you are living her horror right along with her, one puzzling and agonizing day at a time. The police are well-developed characters and you really can’t blame them for how they proceed. And wait until you get to know Danny!

Suspense, thrills, police procedural, and a good old-fashioned creepy scare await you. Highly recommend.







Thanks to NetGalley, HarperImpulse and Killer Reads, One More Chapter for a digital review copy. This is my honest review.

I did enjoy reading this book, however it was very drawn out and I did guess what was going to happen at the end. That being said it did have some great twists and turns and did keep me in suspense.
I would definitely read more from this author as it seems like she has some great storylines that haven't been done before.
I would recommend this book to friends. Only given 4 stars due to it being very drawn out but a good read overall.

Gemma and Danny are nearing their first wedding anniversary. Their courtship was amazing and marriage even better. Then Gemma returns home from a work trip to find Danny inexplicably gone, all his belongings there except what he'd have needed for work. When Gemma calls the police she learns no one but her has seen Danny in weeks. Someone's lying, but who?

The Perfect Couple is an enjoyable, twisty mystery with one of those endings that makes you shudder.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC. The opinions in this review are honest and my own.

I could not put this book down. I read well into the wee hours of the morning. Gripping story and so intriguing. Gemma and Danny seem like a perfect couple and Gemma thinks she knows all there is to know about Danny, until he disappears and then she learns things she never could have imagined. It was a compelling story, good character development (Gemma) and lots os twists and turns.

Review

Newlyweds Gemma and Danny move from London to Bristol. Gemma is a freelance journalist and Danny is an IT Security specialist, so moving home and area is easy.

Gemma returns from an overnight work event and discovers that Danny is not there to greet her as promised. He doesn’t come home that night, nor the next. Gemma is frantic with worry and after a couple of days, reports him to the police as a missing person.

In the meantime, DCI Helena Dickens and DS Devon Clarke of Avon Constabulary are working on the murders of two local men, both of whom look alike (and just like Danny too) as well as members of a particular dating app. Gemma is suspected of Danny’s murder and she has a hard time convincing them otherwise.

It was a good book with some clever elements. I didn’t expect the ending. However, I felt that Gemma was a bit naive and her actions at the end just frustrated me. It also dragged step by step by step so that in the end, I was pleased to finish it.

I rate this book 3 stars 🌟🌟🌟

Thanks
Thank you to the author and publishers Harper Impulse and Killer Reads for an advanced copy of this ebook in exchange for an independent review.

Thank you so much NetGalley for the ARC.

This book was just ok for me. I didn't really connect with the characters at all nor did I at any point feel caught up in the story. :(

This book was a ride to say the least. What you think could have happened at the start of the book is not what you are thinking by the middle and then it completely changes again by the end. I enjoyed it and found myself not able to put it down because I had to know what happened to Danny and if Gemma was just imagining that her husband had moved with her to Bristol. I liked how this was written not only from Gemma's perspective but also from the detectives on the case so you could see not only the side of the terrified wife but also the people investigating trying to figure out what happened to Danny. The ending was a real twist though that I did not see coming.

Thank you to netgalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The story was fine, even slightly exciting in its misdirection, but the characters were just so incredibly daft I don't think they'd notice if their own heads were on fire.

This book was overall an enjoyable read but there were several parts that just dragged- so much so that in some parts I almost gave up. I am glad I stuck with it. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy in exchange for review.

This thriller grabs you straightaway. Gemma and Danny had a whirlwind romance and have just moved from London to a new house in Bristol. Gemma comes home one Friday evening and Danny is gone – just gone. Meanwhile, there is a serial killer in Bristol choosing men who look exactly like Danny. When it turns out that none of the neighbours or Gemma’s new friends have ever seen Danny, the police suspect Gemma. There is no trace of Danny in Bristol and Gemma’s phone only has texts and pictures from London. As her life turns upside down, the mystery deepens. Is she guilty? Is Danny dead? How many lies can there be in what seemed to be a good marriage? I loved this book and couldn’t put it down. I would happily give it 5 stars, except that I was disappointed with the ending (no spoilers). Please read it, especially if you like falling deeply into a mystery and decide for yourself about the conclusion.

“OPEN YOUR EYES GEMMA!”

Those were the words I repeated to myself throughout this entire book. I enjoyed this read and could not figure out for the longest time if the narrator was trustworthy or not.

My rating is due to the slow paced build of the book. I prefer gripping and page turning story lines as opposed to slow builds. That being said, if you are a fan of piecing together the story at the same time as the narrator then this may be the book for you!

I really enjoyed this fast paced book. I started the year by reading a great book! Never heard of this author before, but will definitely be checking out other books by her.

2.5 rounded up

2nd book I’ve read by this author, enjoyed the first one (Am I Guilty?) more.

I like the way this author writes and the characters she creates. The story kept a decent pacing and offered some unexpected surprises throughout (and some predictable ones as well).

The deterrent for me was the whole “disappearance” thing is now so overdone. Plus, regardless of how smart or computer savvy you are, this is no easy feat to accomplish (especially considering the stuff that was happening during that timeframe). The investigation also was a tad bit silly and unrealistic. To fixate on Gemma and not explore additional suspects and what would her motives would be?? The final reveal was creepy and unnecessary, enough already.

I am sure others that haven’t been exposed to this scenario as much as I have might enjoy it quite a bit more. I think this author is talented and I will look for the next one.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for a copy in exchange for a review.