In this book. we are following Dinah, a homicide detective who is absolutely obsessed with her psychiatrist husband, Joe. She would do anything to keep Joe happy, and make sure their marriage is perfect. However, when a woman is murdered, and her daughter disappears, the crime winds up hitting much closer to home than Dinah had planned, and their perfect marriage starts to crack.

A.R. Torre is the queen of very dark, very twisted, thrillers, and this one was no exception. This was a fun read; Dinah is absolutely unhinged, and reading from her perspective was creepy but so entertaining. Where this book lost me was the absolutely unbelievable plot twists, that veered too far into "that would never happen" territory for me. If you don't mind a far fetched book, this will work for you, but if you prefer a more realistic thriller, this one may be too out there. I did enjoy this, but did not love it.

Absolutely demented! I loved everything about it!

Torre is one of my all-time favorite authors. I get so excited when I see she's released another crazy tale for me to gobble up.

This time we're dealing with the perfect couple. She's a detective, he's a doctor. They have money and respect. They have each other.. but they also have some vices.

While the wife is investigating a case, it hits too close to home concerning her husband. Does she know or is this all one big coincidence?!

A story about an unhinged couple that had me HOOKED. They both had an interesting dynamic together that gave them a happy marriage. I loved how fast paced this was and how the author unraveled emotional complexities seamlessly as the story unfolded.
Thank you AR Torre and Netgalley for a copy of this thriller!

This was such a crazy read and the audiobook was excellent! I loved the fast pacing and multiple POV’s.

Dinah is a homicide detective living a very happy perfect marriage with her husband and psychiatrist, Joe. But as always, seemingly perfect marriages are never perfect! They have both been keeping deep, dark secrets. This story took some twists that I was not expecting.
I have mixed feelings about this story. While the plot is intriguing and is well written to keep you at the edge of your seat flipping through the pages, I felt like a lot of things were left unresolved. But by the end of the book, I had questions and felt slightly confused. I love A.R. Torre's writing and have read several of her books already. Her writing style keeps you immersed in the story. I just feel like this story didn't hit its mark for me. That being said, I still think it's a pretty great story and would still recommend giving it a read.

A.R Torre does it again!!! She has easily become an auto read author for me in the thriller genre. A Happy Marriage was really good. The author has a way of telling us a story that will grab our attention within the first chapter … that will make us continue to flip pages non- stop to see what will happen next. Then when the plot twist comes, it’s like WOW, I didn’t see that coming lol. Though this one was more on the domestic side, the suspense was not as high as the other books I’ve read by her. But still a good book nonetheless. I’ll highly recommend to those that enjoy the thriller genre; specifically domestic thrillers.

Cheers to A.R. Torre for the release of A Happy Marriage!

If you love thrillers that twist your mind into knots, you NEED to add this to your list!

What really holds a marriage together? According to this twisting psychological suspense from a New York Times bestselling author, it’s lies and secrets that could kill.

Get ready for a pulse-pounding psychological suspense that proves secrets don’t just break hearts, they can end lives.

You think you know your spouse? Dinah Marino, a sharp homicide detective, feels safe and secure with her psychiatrist husband, Joe. She’s keeping a deep, dark secret from him... but what she doesn’t know is that Joe has a few of his own, some involving unsettling disappearances.
When one of Dinah’s cases collides with Joe’s professional life, the delicate foundation of their “happy marriage” begins to crack. The truth buried between them could explode, turning their secure home into a deadly trap.

If you’re craving a gripping thriller where marital bliss hides dangerous truths, this is it! Go grab your copy now!

What in world did i just read? What a ride! I went into this read blind, and i think that was the way to go. This was a fast paced read and could not put it down. I finished this book in one day.

We follow a married couple, Dinah and Joe. Dinah is a detective and Joe is a psychiatrist. As the story unravels we find out some details of both of their pasts that could destroy a marriage.

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer and Netgalley for the eArc.

What constitutes a "Happy Marriage"? I suppose it differs for most people. In this twisted story, a happy marriage is found through lies, deception and complete insanity. The blurb is just a tad misleading...just a tad. This story absolutely did not go the way I thought it would go and the big "gotcha" moments were not as twisted as I'd hoped. You will absolutely have to suspend disbelief a little bit (especially at the end) in order to get your thriller vibe from the story. It did have some great psychological aspects though.

4.5 Stars

Always ready to dive into Torre’s psychological thrillers, she has yet again delivered a mind-blower of a story. Kept on tenterhooks while trying to untangle the plot in A Happy Marriage makes for a challenging page-turner because after convincing myself that I had it sussed, I soon realised I was way off the mark.

The author didn’t linger. Chapter one’s first sentence is a shocker. Told in the first person, Joe Marino's inner thoughts quickly put me in the picture, or so I thought. A psychiatrist and teacher, he is married to Dinah, an LAPD homicide detective, both of whom are holding back secrets that could rock their marital bliss. Dinah is investigating a murder that appears to be interwoven with a missing person case. But, even before we find out where it’s leading, the author introduces other characters linked to the story.

Dinah. There is so much more to her than meets the eye. Mildly impressed with her detective work since it felt like she wasn’t taking the case as seriously as she should have in the beginning, get ready for the startling revelations that can’t be ignored. Regardless of a past decision and growing up in a toxic environment, I wanted to like her when, in fact, all I had were conflicting emotions.

I enjoyed reading the short chapters and the way Torre built on both Dinah, Joe and other narratives, creating a sense of urgency to get to the end. Not only did she nail their traits, but also the twists and turns in this fast-paced thriller that rendered me speechless. Likely to appeal to suspense lovers who enjoy that what-the-heck have I just read feel and question what makes a happy marriage, it’s certainly worth picking up.

Many thanks to Thomas & Mercer and Netgalley for the advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

I have mixed feelings about this book.

On the one hand, I devoured it in a little over a day, so Torre was clearly weaving her usual magic! I tend to be a very distractible reader, so a book that keeps me planted and turning pages for hours at a time is a rarity, and I can unequivocally say that I was entertained. Was I satisfied at the end? Yes and no.

First, a short recap:

Dinah and Joe Marino are, by all appearances, a happily married couple of eight years. She’s a detective for the LAPD and he’s a clinical psychologist and college professor. She’s been called to the site of a woman’s death which she’s all but rubber-stamped as a suicide, even though the woman’s twenty-year old daughter Jessica is now missing. Freddie, a young, wet behind the ears trainee shadowing her doesn’t think it’s that simple. When Freddie makes an unexpected revelation one day to Dinah, her carefully constructed world with Joe is threatened. They’ve been keeping their own secrets, and things are about to get very messy!

I’ll leave it at that. The less you know the better.

I had some big issues with not knowing if Torre was going for dark humor a la Samantha Downing or playing it straight, which made the tone confusing at times. I chucked believability right off the cliff which is fine since that's kind of expected with thrillers, but this pushed the limits. Also, one character's story was basically dropped which was disappointing, and the ending defied all logic and reason.

As I said at the beginning, I was thoroughly invested and entertained, and at the end of the day that’s what’s most important, right? Despite my issues, I still liked the book and would recommend it to those who enjoy a bonkers psychological thriller. I can’t wait to see what comes from Torre’s mind next!

★★★ ½

AR Torre is so good at twists and psychological thrillers - they are so easy to binge. I read this in one sitting of course. So much deceit. Unreliable narrators. Multiple layers of twists. Such a page burner. Since it is such a quick read, be prepared to have all your questions answered really quickly and all at once. An additional 50 pages might have given this one the extra oomph to get it to a 5 star for me. Regardless - it's a super addicting style of book and if you like domestic thrillers and psychological thrillers it's a must read. Great for fans of Frieda McFadden.

Dinah Marino is a Los Angeles homicide detective. Married to her psychiatrist husband Joe, they seem to be the perfect couple, secure careers, loving, and happy. But throughout their marriage both Dinah and Joe have hidden things from one another. When Dinah gets called out to investigate a missing person case, the couples world's start to overlap when it is discovered that Dinah's victim was checked into Joe's hospital. As Dinah continues to investigate, tension and lies start to creep into the couples normally happy marriage.

I am definitely a fan of the "perfect couple with a secret" trope, and A.R Torre in general, so when I saw this up on NetGalley I knew that I had to request it! I was definitely not disappointed! Fast-paced and addictive with short chapters, I couldn't put this book down! I really liked the alternative POVs, being able to see two perspectives to the same event really pulled me in deeper into the story. I can see how some readers might feel like some parts are over the top but I like that in my thrillers sometimes. Dinah and Joe... dysfunctional with a capital D!! There are some dark and disturbing topics explored including kidnapping, suicide, knife violence, and death of a parent so just be aware before reading! Overall, a propulsive, suspenseful, and dark thriller that you are not going to want to miss!!

Thank you to NetGalley, A.R Torre, and Thomas & Mercer for this ARC!! Publication date is June 24th 2025.

I was hooked by the title alone and honestly this author’s highly inventive writing style hooks me from beginning up end.

Intense, suspenseful and messy these characters were not likable and they could not be trusted, hence promising a juicy story ahead.

Overall, I enjoyed Dinah and Joe’s story. She’s an LAPD detective and he’s a psychiatrist. Married for ten years they claim to be a happy couple. Except you cannot believe anything they say. They have secrets galore and one of those secrets plays a major role in this story.

Twisty, these characters are full of lies and secrets. We never really learn their back story to tie in why they’re the way they are.
As the story evolved and developed, I was expecting a certain UMPFH factor to tie all the pieces together. Instead the ending felt somewhat incomplete and left me with more questions than answers.
Maybe we’ll get another installment!🤷🏼‍♀️

Not saying much to reveal spoilers, but worth reading!

A twisty, addictive, unhinged thriller. I was immediately drawn into this fast paced read. While you have to suspend your disbelief a little by the end, it was a thoroughly entertaining read.

Thanks to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for a copy of this book.

I loved this twisty thriller from A.R. Torre. I felt like this book was a Dateline story waiting to happen. Dinah and her husband Joe seem like pillars of their community with their perfect 10 year marriage and stellar careers. She is a police detective and he is a psychiatrist, both in trusted professions. Yet something is off about their relationship right away, soon the cracks in their marriage start to show and then hold on for the wild ride this book takes you on. The beginning is a little hard to follow as all the story lines are introduced but once I got going I could not put this book down. A great read! This was my first read for this author and I will definitely read more.

What a dark, twisty and unhinged ride! This book kept me guessing. The characters were well written and they were both insane. It was fast paced and really easy to read.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this arc.

I couldn’t put this book down. It was full of twists and several of them I didn’t see coming. The first line of the book was intriguing and had me hooked from the start. I thought there’s no way Dinah knows but boy was I wrong. I don’t want to give anything away but this is a definite must read for thriller fans.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a gifted copy of this novel.

This book hooked me from the first pages and I found myself reading it quickly as I couldn’t put it down! I found the relationship between the MCs to be fascinating, as this is the epitome of not all is what it seems. I also did NOT see any of the twists at the end coming and felt that the ending was quite satisfying given the nature of the story. To me, going into this one blinder is better so you are completely shocked! Definitely recommend giving this one a read!

I was really intrigued by the premise of A Happy Marriage, and since I’ve enjoyed several of A.R. Torre’s past works, I went in with pretty high expectations. But sadly, this one didn’t quite hit the mark for me.

The story felt confusing at times—almost like I’d been dropped into the middle of something without the full picture. There just wasn’t enough backstory, which left me with a bunch of lingering questions.

I usually enjoy an unreliable narrator (they tend to keep things interesting!), but in this case, the main character felt flat and hard to connect with, which made it tough to stay invested.

I’d suggest going into this one with your disbelief fully suspended—it leans into the far-fetched. The ending did bring some clarity, but it only really came together in the final 20% of the book.

Overall, it's a dark, unsettling thriller with a few wild twists.
It wasn’t quite my cup of tea, but I can see how it might appeal to readers who enjoy a more out-there, twisty ride.
That said, I still love Torre’s earlier books and will definitely keep an eye out for whatever she writes next.

⚠️ 𝐓𝐖: confinement, drug abuse, toxic relationship, suicidal thoughts, blood