I can't say I liked this book, because I have to say that I LOVED this book!
Saffron and Tom are ready to start their family in their dream home they are remodeling until everything is put on hold after they find 2 dead bodies baried under the garden.
Who are they? How long have they been there? Did grandma Rose know them or that they were there?
Rose keeps naming people they don't know, someone is hiding in the woods behind the house, and no one seems to know anything, or do they?
An amazing story, with more twists and turns than a amusement park ride, and will keep you on the edge of your seat for the entire ride!!!!

The Couple at Number 9 is a intriguing story filled with suspense. It is different from anything I’ve read lately. Claire Douglas knows how to write a psychological thriller. I highly recommend.

The English countryside, a pair of dead bodies, and the kind of twisty-turny intrigue that I can truly say I didn't see coming. It's hard to review this book without spoiling; suffice to say that it's perfect for anyone who loves a thriller, particularly one set in the English countryside in a small, slightly claustrophobic town.

A twisty thriller with multiple POVs and dual timelines is basically the set up of my perfect book.
Going into this I was very intrigued.
Saffy and Tom move into Saffy’s grandmother’s cottage and begin renovation when two bodies are found buried in the garden. Totally normal right? No!

From there the story gets twistier and creepier.
Saffy’s grandma Rose not only has dementia, but a journal we see passages from, and a whole lot of secrets.
But then Saffy’s mom also lived in this cottage for a bit right? Except she only remembers tiny glimpses of feelings or memories.
And then there’s Theo and his father in Yorkshire that also tie into the story somehow after Theo finds a newspaper clipping in his dad’s office related to the bodies being found.

What a wild!
Overall parts felt drug out, the middle started to get long, I was ready for more answers, and I did guess a major twist but the reveal was still fun!

Divergent stories weave together nicely snd unexpectedly. Didn't see it coming. Nice job going back to the 70's and to current seamlessly. Good character development. Will read more by Claire Douglas.

Okay, I really wanted to love this one. It had so much potential but it was wayyyy too much of a slow burn for me (which, as a fan of the Gothic genre is saying something!)

The story did finally get super juicy by the end but unfortunately by that point I was just turning pages to figure out the ending because I'd been reading it forever (or so it felt.) I thought the ending was very clever (even though I did figure it out before the reveal) so I'll bump it up a few stars overall.

Thank you to Netgalley for my #arc

I’m still stewing over this one hours later because I HAVE THOUGHTS 🙃🙃🙃

first of all, this story alone begs the question of what would you do if you found two dead bodies in your backyard while doing construction? for me, I’d move LOL 😅 but for the MCs, they’re determined to solve the mystery

and the only one who can truly solve the mystery is … a 80+ year old woman with dementia 🫠

I absolutely loved the premise and how rose flitted in and out of consciousness. as someone who grew up with their own grandmother suffering from dementia, the representation was spot on!

every time rose revealed a little bit more about herself, the story developed even more! I found myself second guessing and re-guessing every character every chapter 😅

while I did guess the big twist, I still absolutely loved the ride!

the thing that didn’t sit quite right with me was the LGBTQ+ representation. it felt very surface level, thrown in as a plot twist, and superficial. if you’re going to include a FF couple, make it meaningful and not as a throwaway plot point. I also am really sick of the trope where the MC realizes she’s queer all of a sudden and then turns psychotic because of her revelation.

while I do think the author meant to include it as representation of the community, it was very poorly done in my opinion.

thank you to netgalley and penguin random house for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review 🥰

rating: 3 stars
wine pairing: australian malbec

In 'The Couple at Number 9', a pregnant Saffron and her partner, Tom, are renovating her Gran's cottage in Wiltshire, England, as their dream home. Then, the builders unearth bodies from its rear garden!

The story moves back and forth in time to show Gran's earlier life in the cottage with small Lorna (Saffy's mum) and how she came to share her home with another woman. Slowly, jigsaw pieces of the puzzle come together.

When the full picture emerges, it's a fascinating one.

The twists! This thriller held my attention until the very last page. I read this in one sitting and couldn't put it down

I found this book to be attention holding. A young couple, a family home no one knew about and unidentified bodies buried there. I was anxious to see the onion peel of clues go faster. I liked the back and forth of story times. I must admit, I had a hard time at the end figuring out who the grandmother really was. It was nice the family got together. Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

✨The Couple at Number 9 by Claire Douglas✨

Genre: Thriller/ Mystery
Pages: 400

📚 The Victims . . .

When pregnant Saffron Cutler moves into 9 Skelton Place with boyfriend Tom and sets about renovations, the last thing she expects is builders uncovering human remains. The remains of two bodies, in fact.

The Investigation . . .

Forensics indicate the bodies have been buried at least thirty years. Saffy has nothing to worry about—until the police launch a murder inquiry and ask to speak to the cottage’s former owner. Her grandmother, Rose.

The Witness . . .

Rose is in a nursing home and Alzheimer’s means her memory is increasingly confused. She can’t help the police, but its’ clear she remembers something.

The Killer . . .

As Rose’s fragmented memories resurface, and the police dig ever deeper, Saffy fears she and the cottage are being watched.

The Truth . . .

What happened thirty years ago? Why did no one miss the victims? What part did her grandmother play? And is Saffy now in danger?

📝Just as I thought I knew where this was going, the author was like “think again” 💁🏻‍♀️ A tense & captivating plot with just enough thriller elements to keep you on the edge of your seat! I could never guess what was going to happen. All of the plot twists caught me by surprise!

The mystery spans across three generations of women, each with their own unique personalities and quirks. There were several POVs, but the author did a great job weaving the stories from the past and present where it wasn't confusing, I couldn’t put this down!

💫Thanks to @harperbooks and @netgalley for my ARC💫

This was quite the thrilling, spooky read. I really enjoyed it. I liked how slowly all these connections were made that told a broader story.. I really liked the characters as well. The story was quite descriptive. I enjoyed it

The inheritance of a family home should be a blessing for young Saffron, her husband Tom, and their growing family. 9 Skelton Place may be small, but renovations should make it their perfect home. The renovations uncover a horrifying scene, making 9 Skelton Place into the scene of a crime and Saffron's ailing grandmother a prime suspect. What happened thirty years ago and what will her Grandma Rose's memory reveal?

You might need a character map to get through this one, but once you have all the ties and connections sorted out it is quite interesting. With multiple timelines and four narrators, The Couple at Number 9 is a slower-paced thriller that is all about secrets, love, and crimes of passion. The twists and turns are aplenty and even though I guessed the big reveal, it didn't take away from my enjoyment at all. This is one tense read, one that leaves you guessing just as much as the characters.

This one just wasn’t for me. I read the advance reader’s proof until about 30% back in early July and got distracted by other books because this was just dragggging. Then I tried to pick it up again recently by renting the audiobook for another 13% and still at 43%, there still wasn’t much of a plot or excitement so I decided to call it quits. I didn’t care enough to spend six more hours of my life just to find out who the bodies belonged to or what happened with the mysterious lodger and dementia grandma.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Perennial, and the author for an advance reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

A beautiful day working in the garden becomes a nightmare with long-lasting effects on a family.

When construction workers are excavating the yard to build an addition, Saffron is shocked by what the workers have found. Two sets of skeletal remains.

A mystery begins to find who lived in the house at the time the bodies were buried, who the people were, and how they became buried there.

Saffron's grandmother lives in a nursing home and has dementia, so interviewing her is difficult. Saffron's mom lived there but was very young, so doesn't remember anything about that time.

The Couple at Number 9 is great! Filled with all of the emotions one would feel during this experience flowing from the pages. The big reveal confused me at first, but after thinking about it, this author is a genius!

I was given this book to read and review. Thank you.

Disease. This is a beautifully written, expertly-plotted psychological thriller with a twist that still has me reeling. I loved the characters – Saffy, Tom, Lorna, Rose, Daphne, Snowy. I loved the setting. I thought Rose’s dementia was portrayed accurately and sensitively. And that twist!!!

✉️ B O O K • R E V I E W ✉️
•
Title: The Couple at Number 9
Author: Claire Douglas
Rating: 4/5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
•
Dead bodies uncovered in a house belonging to your grand mother? A secret past that is being brought to the surface? Hell Yes. Sign. Me. Up.
•
This was everything I could have wanted in a mystery/thriller. I was hooked right from the start, as Claire Douglas wasted no time in starting off with a bang. I loved the entire concept of the dead bodies being unearthed along with a ton of family secrets.
•
Told in my favorite style with multiple points of view, the reader follows Saffy, Lorna, Theo and Rose (in the past). Having all of the different voices tell their story just makes this one that much more intriguing. I loved that Rose’s input in the story is in the past, giving the reader a teaser as to what happened all of those years ago.
•
This one is a tad long, but you forget that with the intriguing storyline; it’s filled with twists and turns that will have you shocked to your core. I honestly didn’t really see any of them coming; okay, maybe one, but that one wasn’t overly shocking. I loved where this one led me, I found myself unable to put this one down. If your looking for a good whodunit mystery with a ton of family secrets - look no further, this was a great read!
•
Huge thank you to @netgalley, @clairdouglas and @harper for the eARC in exchange for my honest review! The Couple At Number 9 is out now and I highly suggest you grab it!
•
Would you continue to live at a house where a dead body was found? Would you want to help figure out what happened?
•
#netgalley #netgalleyearc #electronicadvancedreaderscopy #deadbodiesunearther #familysecretsrevealed #twistaftertwistaftertwist #addictingread #unabletoputdown #whodunitmystery #thecoupleatnumber9 #clairedouglas

What a treat! I was surprised by how good this was. Saffron (Saffy) and Tom have recently moved into a cottage house that has been handed down from Saffy's grandmother. In the midst of renovations, two bodies, a man and a woman, are found buried in the back yard. As the detectives work to uncover what is happening, readers are thrown into a tale more complicated than just a murder. The story is a twisty, turny, thought out, and engaging read. Told through multiple points of views, Douglas does an amazing job of intertwining each of the unique character's stories. Even using different points of views, secrets and clues are kept hidden until just the right time, Just when I thought I knew who did what, I was thrown in another direction. What a fun fast pace read full of suspense, mystery and intrigue!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC and the opportunity to read and review The Couple at Number 9 by Claire Douglas.

This book had a bit of a slow start, perhaps because there were quite a few characters that needed to be introduced, as well as different timelines, and the author wanted to lay a good foundation for the crazy twists to come. And wow were there some twists in this book!

I struggle so much with connecting to characters when a story is told in third person narration which it tends to be in a book with so many characters. I loved how the author, Claire Douglas, kept the narration to first person throughout the story, even when switching back and forth between several different characters. This helped me to stay connected to each of them, as if I were in their heads at any given moment. This became especially important leading up to several big reveals.

Douglas also did a phenomenal job at creating a creepy and intense atmosphere, right from the start as we are introduced to our main characters as several buried bodies are discovered in their garden. I found myself wanting to finish this before nightfall to prevent any nightmares from finding me, and yet the book overall, was not very scary.

The only thing I disliked about The Couple at Number 9 was that it was a bit of a slow burn up until the midway point. Like I said, I think this was probably pretty necessary to set the scene; however, thrillers that begin on the slower side, are sometimes harder for me to get into. Had it started off at a quicker pace, this would have been a five star read for me.

I did an immersive read of this book, going back and forth, and at times simultaneously reading from the text, while also listening on audio. All in all, this was great on audio, narrated by Kenton Thomas and Nathalie Buscombe, and if you are inclined to listen to audiobooks, I would say to give this one a try.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Perennial for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Tom and Saffy thought they had their dream house and their plans for the home were going great until all the planning and events came to a halt! Two skeletons were found, I think the police were kind of incompetent. However, the beginning was a bit sluggish do not give up a little past halfway this book picked up! The twist and turns had me biting my nails and on the edge of my seat!
Now I did enjoy the person who held the key to the secrets buried had Alzheimer's disease. That was a nice touch! If you enjoy Ruth Ware or Lisa Jewell then you would love this thriller. This is a great family secrets thriller and will keep you on the edge of your seat! I definitely recommend it! Thank you Netgalley and Harper Paperbacks for the extraordinary opportunity to read and review this one! It definitely was a treat!