One star for sheer audacity

Ah, love. That sacred bond held together by secrets, ethical violations, and a plot that requires Olympic-level suspension of disbelief. Dinah, a homicide detective, and Joe, a psychiatrist, have spent ten years lying to each other with the confidence of people who have never watched a single crime show. When a missing woman from Dinah’s case winds up at Joe’s hospital, their perfect marriage crumbles faster than this book’s logic.

The suspense is about as subtle as a flashing neon PLOT TWIST AHEAD sign. The dialogue has all the charm of a procedural drama running on fumes. The twists require you to turn your brain off for the season, hibernation mode activated.

Instead of a gripping thriller, it’s two people playing who can be the worst spouse while occasionally pretending to solve a crime.

Final Grade: D-, an unhappy book

I am a longtime fan of Alexandra Torre and her books written under her own name and her pen name of A.R. Torre. This one was a twisty, dark, complicated thrill ride from page one to the very end. I thought I had the twist figured and boy, was I wrong! I didn't predict all of the nuances of the relationship between Dr. Joe and Dinah. This one kept me hooked until the very last page to see how it all shook out. Thank you to the publisher, the author, and NetGalley for the ARC.

📚 E-ARC BOOK REVIEW 📚

A Happy Marriage By A. R. Torre
Publication Date: June 24, 2025
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer | Amazon Publishing

📚MY RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨
(Rounded Up To 5⭐)

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for this #gifted e-ARC in exchange for my honest review!

📚MY REVIEW:

I've been hearing people RAVING about A. R. Torre for a while, so when I saw her upcoming read available on NetGalley, I JUMPED at the opportunity to read it. And let me tell you, this read lived up to the hype! A Happy Marriage was a twisty and wild ride about a happily married couple... And I'll just leave the synopsis at that. Just go into this one blind... And buckle up.

The short chapters - told from alternating POVs - had me FLYING through this book! The main characters, Joe and Dinah, are a married couple who seem like your average, very-much-in-love husband and wife after all these years together. She's an LAPD detective, he's a professor and psychiatrist, and everything seems to be nearly perfect in their lives. But what thriller is about a perfect married couple?! Something feels a little bit off about Dinah and Joe, but there was no way I could've predicted what I would come to learn about them! I was completely riveted and couldn't put it down... Even though I had absolutely no idea where this book was leading me for the first third of it. 😂

Once the twists started appearing, they did not stop. I had to pause, go back, and re-read some jaw-dropping sentences several times, because I wasn't sure I'd read what I just thought I read. Torre was masterful in the way she wove these deliciously shocking twists into the pages so subtly. The second half of the book was so diabolical that it was almost TOO salaciously enjoyable!

Torre really crafted a suspenseful psychological thriller that had me questioning Joe and Dinah every step of the way. If you're a fan of characters that are more than a little unhinged, unexpected twists, and jaw-dropping reveals, be sure you grab your copy of A Happy Marriage as soon as it's released in June!

#AHappyMarriage #ARTorre #ThomasandMercer #AmazonPublishing #ARC #NetGalley #NetGalleyReviews #thrilleraddict #thrillerlover #mustreads #psychologicalthrillers

Another great and twisty book from A. R. Torre. I was hooked from the beginning on what the history of Joe and Dinah was and I loved how things were slowly eked out while keeping me on me toes and wanting to know more. I really enjoyed this book but I do wish there was just a little more tension or that the epilogue ended on a questioning twist.

Ya know, for the first 30% or so of this book I was completely invested. I knew some sketchy things were going on but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. In the end, I never could have guessed where this chaos would end up. It was just too much for me. It felt like every twist was thrown in for giggles. I was overly disappointed because I could see the potential. I think if it was scaled back a bit, this would have worked out much better for me. Dinah was such an intriguing character.

4.5 ⭐ A.R. Torre does it again! One of the most captivating and concise thriller writers of our time. Each of her books takes you on a thrill ride from the very first page and doesn't let up until the last sentence. A Happy Marriage may be her most gripping tale yet - Joe and Dinah's union will be stuck in my head for a long, long time.

My only hesitation giving it a full 5 stars is that I have a few questions I still wanted more info on if we're being honest! While Torre is a master at all killer, no filler books it sometimes leaves me wanting just a little bit more.

A.R. Torre’s novels are always fun, juicy, and suspenseful. No exception here. The wrap up was a bit too clean, but the writing is so compulsively readable. I really enjoyed this one.

UNHINGED AS F**K and I LOOOVED every single part of it! So what does that say about me? I'm always excited when A.R. Torre comes out with a new book because I know each new book will be even better than the last! It was one of the darkest books I've read in a long story and the suspense was addictive because I never saw the twist coming. The relationship between husband and wife was absolutely, incredibly, balls to the wall CRAZYYYYYYY but I am here for it!!!!

A husband and wife are both hiding secrets. But what happens when those secrets come out?

This book was full of twists and turns. In my opinion, the books twists were brought on at random moments and moved too quickly. I enjoyed the thought of the plot but it could have been brought out in a better way. I felt as though the twist was just thrown into the story and not strategically put in. I didn't gasp or feel surprised. I often felt confused, like I had missed something because of the way they were brought out.

This was also a hard book for me to get into. I typically enjoy books with multiple points of view but for some reason, this book didn't click. I didn't like the way they didn't all intertwine or connect together each chapter. I felt they jumped around too much.

I also found a couple of grammatical errors.

All in all, I rated this book 2 stars.

This book is absolutely unhinged from beginning to end and I LOVED IT!! After reading “The last party” by A.R Torre that was soooo good I was so excited to see a new book by her and had the pleasure to read early and it didn’t disappoint!! Thank you NetGalley and publisher!

I usually enjoy A. R. Torre’s books, but this one didn’t quite work for me. I’m not sure why, but it felt a bit messy and over-the-top. The concept was interesting, but it just didn’t draw me in as I had hoped. Based on the reviews I’ve read, opinions are mixed, so I’d still recommend checking it out to see what you think.

I would like to thank Thomas Mercer & NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest and fair review.

This most definitely isn't about a happy marriage... and that's what makes it good! I enjoyed the craziness of this plot and these characters. It was fun to see how things played out- though a bit far-fetched, I must add. Overall, I would call it another win for A.R. Torre! 4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for an ARC of this novel.

I would definitely recommend. Well written and interesting. The characters had me invested right from the start. I couldn’t put this one down!

Something about the writing just felt really messy. I feel like bombs were dropped but not in a way that made it easy to follow- there were multiple times I had to go back and re read things just to make sure I didn’t miss something. It was overall a good premise it just wasn’t executed very well.

Four and a half stars rounded up to five. Dinah and Joe have the perfect marriage. She is a homicide detective and he is a psychiatrist. But Dinah has a secret that she has never revealed...and it could change everything.
I loved this book! It was so clever and even though I figured out a plot point fairly early on, it in no way interfered with my enjoyment of this book. Highly, highly recommended.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

The story started out captivating but kind of fizzled out for me in the middle and ended unhinged.

I couldn’t root for more than one character and even seesawed on that one.

There were a few things I considered character inconsistencies, based on what had been said in the story prior to that point with no further explanation to validate the new difference. (Maybe they’re yet to be caught by the time it publishes.)

Even though I read it over the course of a day, it still felt laggy. I’m also left feeling there were loose threads by the end of it.

With thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for an advance digital copy.

“In our marriage, death is a common disruption of our peace.”

3.5*

I stayed up until 3AM so I could finish reading ‘A Happy Marriage’. The pieces of the puzzle start connecting quite early on in this one. The characters pretty much lay out a story for you and then dare you to believe it. Most of the answers are right there if you’re paying attention, but trust you will start to doubt yourself and what you’re given and you definitely should. This one is sad, but I enjoyed it. If you enjoy domestic thrillers that have a dash of dark humor along with the twisted, then this book is a gem.

Thanks to @netgalley for making this available to review ahead of its release date! As soon as I saw that A.R. Torre had a new book, I had to read it.

This was a fast-paced story about a detective with a hidden past, complex marriage and unsolved cases. It has strong themes of dark secrets, manipulation and abuse of power. Between the three different POVs and the short chapters, I flew through this book. It's an easy, quick read that held my attention.

A Happy Marriage is the third book l've read by this author, and although I did enjoy it, when I compare it to the other two books which were so addictive, I think it could have benefited from another layer to deepen the story and throw off the reader. It wasn't a particularly twisty story, which isn't necessary in every book, but I felt like one of the storylines could have gone further which would have added a bit more complexity to it.

If you love A.R. Torre or you're looking for a quick and easy read, this is a great option!

Another great dark thriller by A. R. Torre. Somehow this author makes crazy people and their ridiculous actions become unputdownable reading. In this book the story follows a police detective and psychologist husband and they are somehow linked to the murder of a local woman. This author is a master at slowly dropping clues which all come together into a shocking ending.

Who can you trust? Who should you trust?

From the first sentence to the Epilogue, this was a wild ride that I could not put down, which I read in less than 24 hours (something I hardly ever do unless it is that good).

It was a cleverly written narrative of a couple (Joe and Dinah) with a seemingly “happy marriage,” oh, but do the secrets creep in from everywhere. A page turning fantastical ride, it was like being on a twisty, turny, diabolical rollercoaster you cannot (and don’t want to) get off of.

This was my first A.R. Torre book, and now I am hooked!!!! For me, it is a 4.5 star read (I hardly ever give 5 stars), and it will be a book I tell all my fellow suspense/thriller readers about.

Thank you to NetGalley, A.R. Torre, and Thomas and Mercer for the ARC.

Publishing date: June 24, 2025