Cover Image: Rock Paper Scissors

Rock Paper Scissors

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Member Reviews

When Adam and Amelia win a weekend at an isolated Scottish chapel, they plan to work on their marriage together. As they settle in, they realize they didn’t randomly win this trip.

This book has been pretty hyped up and I’ve seen great reviews for it. The thing for me is that I don’t really enjoy thrillers that don’t make sense until the end. It was a pretty slow burn for me and I had really no idea of what was going on. Everything clicked and it made sense at the end, but for me, it took a bit too long to get there.

“Life is like a game where pawns can become queens, but not everyone knows how to play. Some people stay pawns their whole lives because they never learned to make the right moves.”

Rock Paper Scissors comes out 9/7.

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One of the best thrillers I’ve read all year. I was absolutely on the edge of my seat looking to see what happens next. I loved all the characters. I highly recommend this read.

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This was a fast paced and gripping thriller that I enjoyed, but probably would not visit again.

My thing with thrillers like this is that, for me, I find them to be great candlelight burners but I never want to go back and re-read them. Feeney has written a great thriller that will keep you up at night, burning the midnight oil, but I will probably not re-read this one.

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This book. THIS BOOK! My mind is whirling after the ending of this story. That twist was just way too good! I loved the alternating perspectives throughout the story. I also appreciated the anniversary letters. I felt like that was a clever way to give some insight to the relationships in this book. This book gave me chills!!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for providing me with a free eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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Yessss!!! This was SO highly anticipated and it absolutely lived up to the hype! I can’t stop thinking about the ending! I wasn’t sure who to like and who to trust because a good thriller keeps you guessing! I always theorize as I’m reading and look for clues to back up my theories. Then I get annoyed when I was right… and I was SO wrong about every single theory I had in this book! I’m not giving any spoilers by telling you that the twists keep hurling at you especially toward the end and I didn’t predict a single one!!! Fabulous writing as always! I’ve read and loved everything Alice Feeney has written and this is totally my favorite hands down!

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A story from both sides of a marriage is told over a snowy weekend - and someone isn't coming back from it.

Adam and Amelia won a free trip to a Scottish rental, and they are hoping it will help their failing marriage. But a trip in the middle of a snowstorm is only making them more on edge, and when they get to the place, it is an old church remade into a house in the middle of nowhere with literally no one around. With already frayed nerves, they explore the place, all while feeling like someone is watching. Meanwhile, in "flashback" writing, Adam's wife is writing him letters that she will never send on their anniversary, detailing their life together and its downward spiral. As the past and the present collide in a way no one expected, who will make it back home?

This is a story in which the reader will think they know what's going on - and they won't, not until the final page. It's a chilling thriller that also features a main character with face blindness, which is an interesting twist. I ate this one up in one evening, not wanting to stop for anything.

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After winning a trip to a remote Scotland getaway for the weekend, Adam and Amelia try one last-ditch effort to save their marriage. Amelia is tired of Adam putting his work as a screenwriter before her and Adam is just tired of Amelia. As things start to unravel and their past is revealed through secret anniversary letters Adam has never read, you find that someone is lying and someone doesn't want them to end happily ever after. While I was reading, I wavered between enjoying the mystery and being annoyed by it. Overall the book was good, if a bit unbelievable, but the twist is so artfully executed that it elevates the entire novel up a notch.

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Alice Feeney continues to write books that surprise me! I’m reading along and I think I know what’s going on and can predict how things will turn out. Then, a fantastic twist comes along, and I have to question everything I just read!

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Rock Paper Scissors is a must read for fans of thriller, suspense, mystery genres as well as people who enjoy stories about marriage and relationships.

Adam and Amelia Wright's marriage is at a breaking point their wedding anniversary is approaching.
Adam is a successful screenwriter who has facial blindness. Amelia is a volunteer at animal shelter she has won a trip to Scotland and thinks it would be a good idea to go with Adam to celebrate their anniversary.
They both leave for this trip thinking it will either help to fix their marriage or it could be the end of it for them.

The story of Amelia and Adam's marriage is told through multiple POV narration which adds to the layers of the characters and the suspense of the mystery that makes Feeney a masterful storyteller.

Ever since I read Sometimes I Lie Alice Feeney has become a must read author for me. Her stories always grab a hold of my undivided attention whenever I open one of her books. Feeney delivers another gripping page turner sure to be a hit with Rock Paper Scissors! She is the queen of brilliant endings. I was left me holding my breath till the very last word.

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Alice Feeney is proving herself to be a solid shocking twist mystery writer. I don't always love all of her books or all aspects of the stories, but I am always surprised by the twists. Rock Paper Scissors is one of her better efforts, with an interesting take on marriage, and a his and hers shifting POV.

I was definitely curious to see where the story went, I liked the creepy setting, and the characters were interesting. As always with this author, I was caught off guard by the twists. Fun twisty suspense.

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I love Alice Feeney! This is another great one by her.
This one is full of twists, turns, and "Hey, wait a second!?!" moments that will keep you engaged all the way to the end. The. Very. End.
A weekend getaway to a remote location in Scotland in the winter...during a major winter storm...HOW ROMANTIC!! From the very beginning there are lies...and secrets...and mysteries.
Told in alternating narrators and timelines, you get a full picture of a very twisted tale...but it takes you the whole book to put it all together and realize just how twisted it all really is.

This will be very easy to recommend!

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Unsurprising but I was happy with the way Feeney tied everything together. A nice, quick read. Great if you love books where you can guess the ending and like being satisfied.

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A husband and wife with marital troubles win a romantic getaway in a remote Scottish church that’s been converted into a B&B...what could go wrong?

I loved the multiple perspectives this book offered. Feeney gives us a study in relationships wrapped in a shroud of mystery. Loved it.

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* Thank you to Flatiron and Netgalley for my ARC.

I can’t believe I read "His & Hers" a year ago. I finished this Alice Feeney without remembering I had read and reviewed that one, too. I’m not sure why I completely forgot the premise of "His & Hers." I read a lot, so maybe I filed it away.

Or maybe, which I realized after reading "RPS," domestic thriller plots are getting melodramatic and shallow and essentially forgettable. I guess I walked away from this read feeling like there wasn’t much of a story. I didn’t particularly like the characters or want to root for them, and I didn’t get invested until about 45%. (I stuck it out to review it.) I didn’t mind the change in perspectives, shifting from Amelia to Adam to the letters to Robin. It’s definitely not easy to go from first to third person seamlessly, which Feeney does really well, but these shifts in POV and voice are necessary to sustain the narrative. Otherwise, there would be no story.

Perhaps that’s giving away too much. I don’t know. I’m starting to wonder why the domestic thriller has become the genre of the unreliable narrator. I would like to meet an unreliable character instead. I’m seeing a lot of tricky narrators, which seem to be the staple of the domestic thriller. Because it’s easier to tell a plotless story through the eyes of an unreliable storyteller. I’m just wondering if it hasn’t become a crutch for the writer. Everyone loves a trick, and Lawd knows writers have a few up their sleeves, but hmmmm … I suppose you’ll have to read it to know what I mean.

And I do recommend it. It’s fun enough, with a bit of gothic spookiness, though nothing that’s dragged out. And as I said POV is interesting, especially the introduction to the third character, Robin, whose story and perspective are told in the third person.

As far as the writing goes, Feeney has her moments. But I didn’t find this to be particularly witty or colorful. It was a bit plain and overwrought with telling, telling, telling. The letters include dialogue, which is just … well, no. It doesn’t work. If you’re going to use the device, use it realistically. People write letters in thoughts, without quoting exchanges word for word.

Also Feeney makes use of face blindness and I kept thinking she was missing the mark because it seems more out of necessity of plot than a genuine character choice. For those of us who can’t understand it or imagine it, we never actually see how it affects the character. He suffers from it, which we’re told again and again, but otherwise it’s never clear whether he can’t read expressions or just recognize faces, or both. We also don’t know if he compensates in another way. A few times he doesn’t even recognize someone by their dress, despite wearing a particular outfit that he should actually recognize. Feeney could’ve shown us how it affects him, rather than continually telling us he’s got it. Which she does over and over and over again. Oof, I’m being picky, I know. I just expected it to be a major part of the plot since it was continually mentioned. It really only sort of plays a part, I’d say.

Once I passed the halfway mark, I was entertained — or at least more committed. And the twistiness — twistish — twist — was surprising. I just found the ideas a bit scattered overall, though I’m sure Feeney plotted with excitement. It just didn’t land for me. I’d a hard time liking the characters, and rooting for them. I suppose despicable characters are fodder for the domestic thriller, though. Without them, the domestic wouldn’t be too thrilling.

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Ohhhh my! Alice Feeney has once again completely knocked my socks off with her latest novel! Rock Paper Scissors is a twisty-turny thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat until the very last page! This addictive read is told through 3 perspectives which works brilliantly with storyline! Just when I thought I had an idea of where this novel was taking me, I found out not only was my conspiracy theories weren’t correct- they were not even close! I promise this 5++++ star novel will leave you reeling (even days after finishing)—LOVE THAT! Alice Feeney is a master at meticulously and intricately mapping out at plot, which is exactly why she’s one of my top favorite mystery/thriller authors! I cannot recommend Rock Paper Scissors enough—a total and complete MUST READ!

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Typical fabulous Alice Feeney writing. A married couple take a long journey up to an isolated Scotland Loch to stay in an old, supposedly haunted chapel, a stay that they won in a raffle. When they arrive, things are strange right off the bat. Everything is dusty, the bathtubs have been removed to the yard and there are no pots, pans or cooking utensils. Very unsettling. The plot is narrated by both husband, wife and a woman named Robin, who lives in a cottage near the chapel. In brilliant form, each of the three narrators reveals pieces of an elaborate puzzle that is the plot. This had an original and intriguing storyline with a lot of mystery and suspense, several unexpected twists, an eery Gothic setting and excellent character development. This is why I love Alice Feeney so much.

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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Adam and Amelia’s marriage is hanging on by a thread. When Amelia wins a weekend trip to Scotland, she thinks this could be just what they need to reconnect.

When they arrive, the place is not at all what they expected and there’s a blinding snow storm.

As anxiety and tension builds, secrets and lies begin to emerge..... 👀
________________________________

I have a feeling there will be a lot of mixed reviews for this book, but I actually loved it. It is brilliantly guileful- masterfully crafted, with clues cleverly sprinkled throughtout. Every time I thought I had it figured out.... Nope!

Definitely recommend this one!

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So so good so well written a true page turner.A ten year marriage an anniversary so many secrets.Sat down to read a few pages could not put it down read late into the night.Grab this edge of your seat thriller.An author who I will continue to follow look forward to her next book. #netgalley#flatironbooks

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Welp holy shit this book. I am in awe of Alice Feeney's talent. A little jealous haha.

If you like isolation mysteries + domestic suspense + SUPER twisty multi-POV/non-linear structure: this book is a home run. It fired on all cylinders for me. First, reading the blurb I just HAD TO KNOW the twist. It's a book you're constantly trying to get ahead of and outsmart, and it does a good job of hiding it's sleight of hand as long as possible. One I want to reread just to track all the clues/how she did it (and that's rare for me).

I also love a bit of meta, so one MC being a screenwriter and there being a prickly old mystery writer entangled w/ the main couple was FUN. The third act is a banger--not in a breakneck pacing kind of way (though it has that), but in a "holy shit the TRUTHS being dropped in gorgeous lines of prose my god I cannot touch this." I'm just in love with all the places the book went. And the ending was unsettling in an interesting rather than cheap way... the kind that throws your perspective on all that came before into a new light. In other books (including Sometimes I Lie) it wasn't something I liked... here, definitely.

I don't want to say too much because spoilers, and this is one I think benefits from going in knowing as little as possible. I was glad the first time a new POV popped up that I wasn't expecting it--it contributed to the suspense and how things unraveled deliciously.

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Undoubtedly the BEST book I’ve read this year so far. Alice Feeney, the queen of wild twists and clever misdirections is BACK with an explosive domestic thriller about a woman whose husband...can’t recognize her face. It was a serious struggle for me to put this book down; EVERY single chapter ends with either an OMG twist or a heart-stopping cliffhanger that will have you tearing through the pages until the massive, mind-spinning, twisty finale.

ADAM suffers from face blindness. He can’t even recognize his own wife.
AMELIA writes him a letter (on every anniversary) that she never lets him read.
There’s something very *wrong* with this marriage. Can it be saved, with a weekend away to the Scottish Highlands?

There are many clues all throughout; but Feeney uses them cleverly. I thought I had them (and the twists) figured out but it wasn’t until about 75% that the book takes a sudden 180 before I saw the bigger picture. The second I finished, I had to re-READ the final chapters and only then did I spot the little clues hidden between the lines. It was honestly *incredibly* genius and I’m still thinking about it!!

In a nutshell, if you read one single book this year, make it ROCK PAPER SCISSORS. This is my fourth 5-star by Alice Feeney; I’m honestly so fascinated by the fact that she succeeds to write an even more challenging thriller every year!!

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