I thought I knew where this story was going - and I was enjoying it - and then WHAM! - it totally changed!! And I still enjoyed it but in a different way. The characters are good, the tension is written well, and the plot is - unusual. As for the ending - wow!!

I got about 50 pages in and couldn't do it. I find that men do not know how to write female characters, and this was perfect proof.

Wow.  The Power Couple grabbed me from the go.  So many marriages and families look so perfect from the outside.  But from the inside...you might find something entirely different.  Something more...complicated.

Rebecca, Brian, Kira and Tony are on a European vacation to celebrate 20 years of marriage.  Rebecca and Brian are feeling celebratory and Tony and Kira are old enough to explore on their own, right?  Until one night when Kira goes out...and doesn't come home.  The story explodes out of the gate from the first page at a breakneck pace.  The alternating chapters between mother, daughter and father keep you on the edge of your seat, yearning for more information.  Who? Why? How do they get out of this?

I loved the first part of this book.  LOVED it.  Unfortunately, the book really started to drag in the final third and the pace really dropped off.  I can't say I really liked any of the Unsworths, with the exception of Kira, so I didn't really care what happened to them.  That said, I will definitely read anything else that comes my way from Alex Berenson

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

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The Power Couple by Alex Berenson is a novel following an FBI agent and her husband, an NSA hacker whose daughter was kidnapped on a European vacation. Mr. Berenson is a published author and journalist.

Rebecca and Brian Unsworth have a good life, good jobs, good kids but below the surface there are trouble brewing. The couple decides to celebrate their 20th anniversary by going with their two kids to Europe.

Their 19 year old daughter, Kira, has a date in Barcelona with a guy she met in Paris. Over a very long weekend, the Unsworths are doing everything they can, using their own wits and all available resources to find their daughter.

I have read several novels of Mr. Berenson previously, and enjoyed them all very much. I was glad to see another novel by him, and have the opportunity to read it.

The story starts with the family in Europe and the mechanization that went into the abduction of 19 year old Kira Unsworth. That part of the book, for me, was terrifying, like reading a horror novel you can’t put down; or a slow moving car crash where you know you can’t take your eyes off of it, knowing disaster is going to happen but powerless to do anything about it.

The Power Couple by Alex Berenson continues telling the story in a very interesting manner, we know that Rebecca Unsworth works for the FBI, and her husband Brian works for the NSA. We also know a few points about their lives, but not much else. The second and third parts of the book are told from Rebecca’s and Brian’s view points, respectively, of how they grew up, got met, jobs, and their dark secrets known only to them and us, the readers, which we are privy to.

This novel, which follows characters that are unlikable with little redeemable characteristics, is difficult to put down. I did not know what to expect, but I was not disappointed. I felt the character of Kira was a bit too proactive and “operational” for a narcissist teenager, but that just added to the twists and turns of the novel. The last few chapters felt a bit forced, as if the author felt he had to tie up all the loose ends, or come up with some sort of closure. It was welcomed, but not needed.

Regardless, I enjoyed this book very much, it was fast paced, well written, and a lot of fun to read. A novel mixing up family drama and espionage – who could ask for more?

💫📖𝘽𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬 📖💫

📖 The Power Couple
🧑🏻‍💻 Alex Berenson

🌟𝗔𝗺𝗮𝘇𝗼𝗻: 4.5/5
🌟𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘀: 4/5
🌟𝗦𝗲𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝘆 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴!

💰𝐒𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬: Rebecca and Brian are celebrating their wedding anniversary with their family with a trip to Europe. Their teenage daughter Kira goes out for the night and does not return. They will stop at nothing to find her.
💰𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝: I loved the character development as well as the back story told from multiple perspectives, it was very interesting to see things from several perspectives .
💰𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐚𝐝: I felt like some plots were left undone.
💰𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐠𝐥y: I loved the way this book twisted and turned! If you liked the movie taken, this book is for you! I would recommend!
🌟 𝐌𝐲 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: 4.5/5

I’m currently rewriting my review. The Power Couple was such an incredible book that I don’t feel that my initial review was strong enough. Pulse pounding and unputdownable, I wanted to write the best possible review that would reflect how amazing this book truly is! Alex Berenson is a mastermind, and his creative and unique story in The Power Couple made it one of the best books I have ever read!

I will update my review by the end of the week to include several links to the groups where I left reviews as well as my blog sites.

Thank you Alex Berenson, Simon and Schuster and Netgalley for allowing me the privilege of reading The Power Couple. I promise-my upcoming review will accurately reflect how exceptional The Power Couple is! I didn’t want to rush through reviewing it because Alex Berenson deserve the best possible review with the highest accolades!

The Power Couple, Brian and Rebecca, play a zero sum game in their marriage where only one can win. But when their teenage daughter is kidnapped while they are on a family vacation, can they put aside their differences long enough to save her?

Both Brian and Rebecca are insufferable characters that deserve each other. So if you need to read only characters you can empathize and root for, I would recommend skipping The Power Couple. However, if that doesn’t bother you, you are in for a thrilling domestic suspense novel with an espionage setting that goes further than most. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars!

Thanks to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

What is a marriage? Is it a partnership, a holy union, a competition? The Power Couple examines a marriage through the lens of everyday life and through crisis. What happens to a shaky marriage when a crisis hits? Can the relationship survive? Should it survive? How much is each partner to blame for their own choices and decisions? The Power Couple is both fast-paced, and engaging. Berenson does a great job of balancing action with reflection. Fans of suspense and thrillers will definitely enjoy this one.

I really enjoyed The Power Couple, a gripping domestic suspense novel by Alex Berenson! This is a quick-moving story of a couple who seemingly have the perfect life but are holding onto a lot of secrets. They both have high-powered government jobs and are seemingly pretty influential.
Rebecca and Brian aren't really as perfect as they seems though, and are struggling with their marriage. They decide to take an anniversary trip to Barcelona with their two teenage kids to bring some new life into their relationship. The trip takes a terrifying turn when their daughter is discovered to be missing after not returning from a night out dancing on the trip. Rebecca and Brian pull out all the stops to get her back, and we learn what they are really made of underneath all the facades!

An exciting fast paced domestic thriller with a hint of espionage?
Count me in.

While the beginning was a little slow, once we got past the backstory I didn't want to put it down.
I liked Berenson's writing style and characters.

I love love love spy thrillers and was very excited to get approved by NetGalley and the publisher to read Alex Berenson’s latest book. I’ve read and loved most of the John Wells spy series so I knew this book The Power Couple would not disappoint.

It did take a bit of paying attention for me to get into the story initially. There was a lot of backstory and setup of Rebecca and Brian’s story. But once I got into it, it was full speed ahead! I could totally see this as a movie! So many twists and turns and double crossing. I also loved when the action shifted to Europe since I miss traveling so much. I couldn’t put it down after the slow start.

Anyway I highly recommend this book if you enjoyed the John Wells spy series or enjoyed movies like Mr and Mrs. Smith. Can’t wait to see this on Netflix!

This book is going to be the next BLOCKBUSTER movie! What an amazing action packed read.

In this book, the couple of Rebecca and Brian seem to have it all; 2 wonderful children, a nice house, and a loving relationship. Rebecca holds a powerful job in the FBI and Brian helps more with the children at home while finding work.

They take a much needed break and vacation to Spain. Quickly, the vacation turns into a nightmare when the daughter, Kira, is kidnapped. They get local authorities involved, along with the United States FBI. Kira, endures a horrific ordeal.

Just when I thought I knew who the "bad guy" was a plot twist emerges. This read will keep you on the edge of your seat. Do you really know how powerful your spouse can be when other family members are in danger?

Rebecca and Brian have been married for 20 years and have 2 teenaged children, Kira and Tony. Rebecca has been consumed by working her way up in the FBI. Brian has enjoyed taking care of the children and working at non-demanding coding jobs, until he lands a challenging job at the National Security Agency. The marriage isn’t going great and each of the perfect couple fantasizes about the day when the kids are grown and they can finally divorce. While on a family vacation, Kira is abducted in Barcelona and her parents frantically try to determine why she was taken and by whom. Their search, and the interplay of Kira and her captors, provided the thriller elements that I was expecting from this book. However, Kira is basically irrelevant. The book is about her parents.

The book started out very well, but then there was a too-long section of backstory that rehashed how the couple got together and Rebecca’s prior cases and how rifts developed between the couple. Then there was a section from Brian’s point of view, which was an interesting counterpoint to Rebecca’s take on the marriage. Neither member of this couple is particularly likable or sympathetic. This book did not go in an expected direction, or maybe it was just that no one’s actions made sense so it was impossible to predict what was going to happen next. I certainly didn’t expect the ending. Despite the somewhat tedious Rebecca backstory, I wasn’t bored by the book as a whole and found it entertaining.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

THE POWER COUPLE
Alex Berenson
Simon & Schuster
ISBN 978-1-9821-0369-9
Hardcover
Thriller

THE POWER COUPLE is somewhat a different book for Alex Berenson. It is a standalone work that takes place outside of the realm of Berenson’s long-running John Wells series, though fans of that excellent canon will find much to love here. Berenson combines elements of mystery, espionage, and yes, the domestic thriller subgenre to present an extremely interesting and intriguing tale that keeps the reader guessing about its outcome right to the last page.

THE POWER COUPLE focuses upon the Unsworth family, with husband and wife Brian and Rebecca being the power couple of the title. Rebecca is a driven FBI agent working in its counterterrorism division while Brian is a coder in the higher echelons of the National Security Agency. Rebecca is handed the first-person narrative reins on occasion but we also are given the point of view of Brian and nineteen-year-old daughter Kira while Tony, the fifteen-year-old Unsworth, is a bit of a passive figure but has his moment or two as well. The initial driver of the plot is a family trip to Europe to celebrate Brian’s and Rebecca’s twenty-year anniversary. Things get rolling in Paris when Kira meets Jacques, an archetypical Eurostud. They meet on the Unsworth family’s last night in Paris, so Kira is impressed that Jacques is so smitten with her that he offers to travel to Barcelona --- the family’s next stop --- for a date the following evening. Kira doesn’t tell her parents about Jacques or the scheduled date. When she doesn’t return from what is supposed to be an evening of sampling the Barcelona nightlife on her own her frantic parents barely know where to start in finding her. They have two things going for them. One is that Rebecca has some chits that she is able to call in to make local law enforcement, which is used to reports of smitten American teenagers disappearing for a night or two, take her seriously and do some investigation. The other is that Rebecca took the time to pass on to her daughter a bit of tradecraft in the areas of self-defense and situational awareness. The reader gets a look or two about what has happened to Kira before the book takes a sharp turn and ping-pongs into the past for a deep dive into Brian and Rebecca’s relationship over the course of the previous two decades. They have their secrets from each other, and the revelation of one or two of them to the reader demonstrates that possibly some of what was revealed in the early portions of THE POWER COUPLE isn’t quite the truth. That knowledge gives the reader a step up on most of the folks trying to find Kyra, with the kidnappers giving them some new urgency when they make a ransom demand. As the investigation continues, it is clear that there was some advance planning that took place prior to Kyra’s abduction. The underlying question for her parents, in addition to the “where” of Kyra, is accordingly “why” she was targeted. It is almost certain that her absence has something to do with their occupations. That question is answered --- at least for some --- in due course, at which point the questions of retribution for some and cover-up for others arise and are ultimately resolved, at least partially.

If you are a longtime reader of Berenson and are at least mildly disappointed that THE POWER COUPLE is not a John Wells book I assure you hand to God that THE POWER COUPLE is more than worth your while for the same reasons and a couple of others that you enjoy the Wells series. You will not be sorry.

Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
© Copyright 2021, The Book Report, Inc. All rights reserved.

IThis is book about a family who go to Spain and their daughter is kidnapped.
This first part of the story was slow but then we started to get some of the history behind the two – Brian and Rebecca. It took off after that and I really enjoyed it.
What happened to get them to this point and what would happen when they got home. Really a good read. The writing was particularly good. I read the author’s series about John Wells and it was just as good. I was happy to read this for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon Schuster!

I'm not going to rehash the plot, because its probably better to go into this with no expectations .

So, I love books where the characters appear to be perfect and then we find out they are far from it. This is a interesting story about how there are more to families then what meets the eye.

I really don't want to give anymore away. I have to say though this is a great character driven book with lots of themes going on . Its a really good, suspenseful read!

When Rebecca first met Brian Unsworth, she wasn’t sure what to think about him. But when he her on a date to play the piano for the residents of a retirement home—she’d told him that she had played when she was younger but wasn’t good enough to make it a career so she’d given it up—she fell in love. He had found her a grand piano to play, and had gotten it tuned before they showed up, and that kind of thoughtfulness doesn’t happen much in life. Meanwhile, as soon as Brian heard Rebecca play, he was a goner too. From there, they were inseparable.

Rebecca, “Becks,” was in law school but hoping for a more interesting career than what she could find at a law firm. But she started at a small firm anyway, to get some experience under her belt, and to take advantage of their maternity leave. She and Brian had a small wedding, a short but luxurious honeymoon, and she came back from St. Bart’s pregnant. Their daughter Kira was followed a couple of years later by Tony, and the family was complete. Becks followed her career aspirations to the FBI, like she’d dreamed of, so Brian decided to stay home and raise the kids.

They spent a few years in Birmingham, followed by Texas, and Becks finally landed in D.C.’s counterintelligence office, investigating Russians. Brian’s work through the years in computers finally paid off when he not only landed a job at the NSA but also sold a gambling app he’d been developing.

After all the struggles and long hours, all the money struggles and family squabbles, Brian and Rebecca decide that to celebrate their 20th anniversary with an extravagant trip for the entire family. Tony is in high school, and Kira is finishing her freshman year at college, so they all head to Europe. It’s an ideal time for them, with delicious food and good shopping and sightseeing, until they get to Spain. Kira goes out by herself to meet a new friend and never comes back.

Immediately Rebecca and Brian are concerned. Could she have been taken by someone Rebecca and the FBI had targeted in an investigation? Could it have something to do with Brian’s work with the NSA? Or was she simply taken for being a young, beautiful American woman? While they do everything they can to investigate, Kira is doing everything she can think of to survive. But will it be enough? Will they be able to keep their family intact, or will this incident create a rift that is too deep to repair?

Alex Berenson has crafted a domestic thriller with international espionage and nail-biting suspense as we follow a family from the drink through the unthinkable heartbreak of having a child kidnapped in a foreign country. The Power Couple is a compelling page-turner that will keep you up at night until you find out all the answers.

I had a hard time setting this one down, so I finished it in two days. While the characters aren’t always heroic, they are true to themselves and full of surprises. The added force of the FBI and its investigations and the NSA and its work add so much tension to this story, and the fact that their daughter is in imminent danger just ups the stakes and makes you keep reading until you get to the conclusion. It takes a strong nature to read this one, but if you’re up to the task, Berenson will take you for a wild ride.

Egalleys for The Power Couple were provided by Simon & Schuster through NetGalley, with many thanks.

A strange story of how love can turn into hate and how lives can be ripped apart. The story is gripping and definitely not the ending I saw coming.

A solid thriller with some espionage thrown in for fun and twists! I enjoyed this book immensely and recommend it for mystery, suspense, plot twists and quick thrill read folks.
Thankful for the ARC

Alex Berenson writes consistent, high voltage thrillers. The Power Couple is no exception. The book begins in a typical fashion, setting up the reader's expectations that the rigors of marriage, children and the difficulties of navigating financial stresses will progress in what seems to be an interesting if predictable plot. However, there are unexpected plot turns that quickly take the reader by surprise. The book quickly morphs into a heart pounding, unpredictable read that kept this reader up late into the night to finish. This book is highly entertaining, and one not to be missed!