Jo & Will have been married for several years. He is a part time actor & a full time school teacher. Jo is a seamstress in business with a friend. Jo & Will have been trying, unsuccessfully, to get pregnant & the struggle is beginning to strain their marriage. When Will disappears one day, mysteriously & with no warning, Jo is beside herself with fear & loneliness. Police are unable to locate Will or even determine what may have happened to him. After an entire year without Will, or any information regarding his disappearance, Jo decides to take on a house sitting job in another part of the country. Things go down & up & down again from here for Jo.

This was an exceptionally riveting read. I do not recall the last time I read a book that had me so gripped by fear, sadness & suspicion, not to mention downright curiosity - where the heck is Will anyway? The characters & the general atmosphere of the story were scarily well done. The ending is completely shocking & I don't think anyone reading this will see it coming.

Read this book - I very strongly recommend it.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author Samantha Hayes, and the publisher Bookouture for granting my request to read this excellent thrill ride of a book. This is my honest opinion.

Jo is married to Will. They have a happy marriage. They are trying to get pregnant. But one day Will disappears. She hasn't heard anything but she has visions of him all the time. When he has been missing for a year her friend Louise suggested she take some time away housesitting. Jo goes to check out one of the houses she may housesit and she spys a photo on the mantle and applies to stay in the house. Many twists and turns go down from there.

Samantha Hayes does it again with a true psychological suspense filled book.

When our heroine’s husband Will seemingly vanished into thin air, she will go to the ends of the earth to find him and bring him home. But after a long, heartbreaking year she is beginning to think that Will is gone for good. Even though she still sees and talks to him daily. At the end of her rope and with defeat finally kicking in, she is encouraged by her best friend to take a holiday to get away from it all. But finances are tight as a co-owner in a small dress shop and funds are particularly low with Will gone and no longer supplying the much needed second income. A vacation is the last thing she can afford and she’s not sure she’s 100% sure she wants Will to be officially part of her past.

When set up on a blind date the idea is floated that home sitting in the very area the couple had wanted to visited, a decision is made if only to finally lay the ghost of Will to rest. But as scrolling through the home sitting site one house in particular jumps out. For there in the pictures of the home are also pictures of Will on the mantel piece of this home’s sitting room. To find the truth the trip must be made. The answers have got to lie within this home. Is closure on the disappearance of Will finally close at hand? Sometimes the truth is indeed stranger than fiction.

A very satisfying read with the “A-ha!” moment not coming until the last of the book.

Special thanks to Netgalley and Bookoutre for this great ARC.

Will and Jo were a happily married couple when Will suddenly disappears. Still grieving months later Jo’s friend convinces her to take a holiday while house sitting. While beowsing the website jo finds an ideal house but Will’s photos are in the living room of the house. Intrigued Jo goes to house sit.... where is Will? And why are his photos in the house of a stranger.
I love a good psychological thriller, and I. Enjoyed this one. I found it quite slow to start with but it did pick up pace after a few chapters :).
Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC.

I became very interested in trying to answer the question "where's Will?" "The Happy Couple" by Samantha Hayes is another great book by her that will you turning pages quickly trying to find the other half of the happy couple.

Absolutely brilliant book! Was full of so many suspenses and you didn’t see the plot coming at all! Thoroughly enjoyed this and would be interested in reading more by this author

I thought this would be more dark and mysterious however it wasn’t exactly what I expected. I recommend it and I enjoy that it took me a few nights to read it so it was a rather quick read however I just wanted to be a little more mysterious and dark I guess.

A tense, well-crafted read that kept me turning the pages until the end! Thanks to the publisher and to Netgalley for the ARC,

Where to start? Getting into this bio took me awhile... it felt a bit hard to keep everything and everyone straight.... by half way through I couldn’t put it down! I did figure it out before the ending though.... but it all came together and was a good read.

Thank you #Netgalley for the advanced copy!

Jo's husband has been missing for a year, her friends and family keep telling her to move on that it is time; though no body was ever discovered. Jo's friend recommends she tries to be a house sitter to get out of her home and take time for herself. While at this property, Jo experiences many weird situations and connections to her husband. So many twists and turns throughout the whole novel. Just wait til the very end, surprises you never could have imagined!

He said he would always be there for me, but it’s been a year since he drained his coffee, walked out the front door and vanished. Did he leave me? Or did something terrible happen? I’m scared someone finally found out about what happened on the drive home that night. I lie awake at night trawling the internet for rental properties, desperate for an escape. Until I see my husband’s gorgeous face smiling back at me from a photograph on the fireplace in someone else’s home, and something inside of me snaps. At the house, I find no trace of him and the woman who lives there has no idea who I am. But I’m certain she’s hiding something behind the locked door upstairs.

I was intrigued by this synopsis and the cover immediately, and I'm lucky that I wasn't disappoint. The book has this electrifying atmosphere and creepy feeling that makes you unable to put it down. The haracters ware unlikable, but that wasn't the problem I dare to say it make it little better and different.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for an advance copy.

This book grabbed me in the first chapter and had me turning the page to find out what was happening. Suspense, grief, betrayal, mystery all play a part in this book. Theres a roller coaster of emotions involved in this book !!

He said he would always be there for me, but it’s been a year since he drained his coffee, walked out the front door and vanished. Did he leave me? Or did something terrible happen? I’m scared someone finally found out about what happened on the drive home that night. I lie awake at night trawling the internet for rental properties, desperate for an escape. Until I see my husband’s gorgeous face smiling back at me from a photograph on the fireplace in someone else’s home, and something inside of me snaps. At the house, I find no trace of him and the woman who lives there has no idea who I am. But I’m certain she’s hiding something behind the locked door upstairs. I know that if I want answers, I have to stay. You might think that what’s inside that room is the answer to all my questions and the end of all my pain.

I was intrigued by this synopsis and eager to get stuck in. We begin with a very hurt and fragile Jo as she approaches the one year anniversary of her husband disappearing. From here Hayes weaves a highly strung, emotional read that becomes increasingly intense the more you read. Towards the end of the read, the atmosphere is absolutely electric and I for one was gripped.

A book such as this thrives off twists and Hayes does have plenty of twists as Jo makes a lot of discoveries about her husband. However, the twists are obvious. This did not ruin the read for me but it did dampen the tension towards the end of the read. Some of the plot twists are ridiculous as well so you may have to suspend disbelief.

I now move onto the characters and I am sad to say I did not find any character particularly likeable. This did not present a major problem but did mean I lacked someone to root for and invest in which was a shame. However, I did enjoy learning about the different characters and seeing how they all slot in with each other. Some of the characters do bring a few surprises along the way.

Earlier I said I found the book to have an electrifying atmosphere and it definitely did but it was also full of tremendous pain and heartache. Jo goes through so much during this read and I may not have found her likeable but I could still feel every emotion she was experiencing.

'The Happy Couple' is an intense read that is rammed with secrets and heart-breaking discoveries for Jo to make. However, I needed likeable characters and more surprises to improve this read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for an advance copy.

While this book kept me turning pages, I found the main character Jo very unlikable and not very stable.
Jo's husband goes missing one night, leaving no clues to his whereabouts and leaves his phone, keys and wallet at his office. One year later he is still gone without a trace and Jo sees him everywhere. She hasn't moved on and wants to know what happened so one day her best friend Louise signs her up for a house sitting website to take a holiday. Clueless, Jo agrees and ends up seeing pictures of her missing husband Will at this Women's home. She applies to sit for her and sets off on a journey to find her husband. I was definitely interested in knowing what happened to Will so I kept turning the pages. However, many things that occurred in the story were so farfetched, it was simply unbelievable.

I'm a big fan of Samantha Hayes but his one just wasn't a favourite for me. I found it a bit hard to get into and to connect with. There are some fantastic reviews for this book so I do feel as though its just not for me and not necessarily the book itself. Worth a read if your a Hayes fan though.

Thank you Netgalley.

I loved the premise of Samantha Hayes’ The Happy Couple. Will simply disappeared one day. They did find his car, phone and all other personal items but nobody knew what happened to him. Days turned to weeks and soon a year went by and then one day his wife saw his photo in an advert for a rental home.

I love a good mystery and this one had me scratching my head. I kept changing my mind about what happened to Will. At some point I thought he was dead/murdered. Again, I thought he had met someone new and simply walked out on his wife. His disappearance was quite puzzling and I was eager to put the pieces together. I felt sorry for Jo who couldn’t move on with her life and spent all her days looking for him and hoping that he would walk back into her life.

My feelings about this book were up and down though. While I loved the mystery, I felt that some parts of the book dragged on and my mind began to wander. I loved following the clues especially once Jo went to the rental property and all these ominous occurrences started happening. At the same time, I wasn’t too crazy about some of the twists. Towards the end, suspension of disbelief wasn’t working anymore, I just felt like the conclusion was waaaay out there.

I know my review sounds confusing but that was my experience reading this book. Loved the mystery, didn’t love parts of the plot and the ending. Interestingly, because of the uniqueness of the premise, this is one mystery that is likely to stay with me.

In the end, this was an okay read but it didn’t wow me like 4 previous books by the author that I’ve read and enjoyed. I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next though.

3 for neutral, unfortunately I could not get into this book. I tried on a few occasions, but never grabbed me. Will update if able to finish at a later date.

I have read several books by this author and really enjoyed them, but this one I just found bizarre!! I just found the plot started off extremely unbelievable and then I thought ok I can see where this is going but then jo, the main character, was talking and seeing her missing husband all the time In her head , and then she ended up house sitting in a strangers house that knew her missing husband ( very unbelievable!) and Then the storyline Just got even more bizarre!! It was all over the place ! So this one was not one of favourites by this author 😬

How long will you be waiting for the love of your life?
Jo loved her husband Will, but one night he disappeared… now, a year later, her friend pushes her for a house sitting as holidays, her life will change after seeing her husband in a photo of one of the houses. She will need to know more about the woman on the photographs and why her husband was in them. Ready?
This had been an original read, as we read Jo’s thoughts in the present, we will have some flashbacks about her past with Will. But the mystery will remain there till the ending, what made Will to leave her? Were they ever really a happy couple? Who is the woman in the photos? So many question that could only be answered if you read the book of course!
The story is focused in the relation between Jo and Will; their love, trust and happiness together, making you question your own relation with your partner. How deeper is the love between you too? Could something that you always thought that would be strong forever be broken so easily?
I love the psychological thrillers that make you re-think about your life and your beliefs, because even if this is a fiction book, as I always say, reality is much more dangerous than fiction.
This is a book that you have to let it abduct you, this is not the marriage you expect, there are some mysteries that must be revealed… ready to discover “The Happy Couple”?

I read this ARC for an honest review
All thoughts and opinions are mine

A new author to me - I enjoyed this
A quick read - loved the ending - did not see that coming!

I will be keeping an eye out for more from this author