Torre’s “A Happy Marriage” might not be the best of the bunch, but it does have some redeeming qualities. The plot is a bit convoluted with some unexpected twists, but it also feels a tad predictable at times. The characters don’t quite resonate with me, and their actions seem a bit illogical. However, I managed to finish the audiobook because it was easy to listen to. The narrator’s were excellent and very engaging, which I appreciate.

Dinah has a perfect relationship with her husband, Joe. Dinah is a detective and Joe is a psychiatrist, and together they have it all figured out. They prioritize each other over everything else. Until Dinah discovers a missing woman she is searching for was recently treated at Joe’s hospital, a detail he failed to share, casting doubt on their promise to be honest with each other.

I loved this tangled cat and mouse thriller. It was fast paced and the alternating POVs from Dinah and Joe made it one that was hard to put down. Torre always creates the most twisted characters and this one was no exception!

A crime thriller with a unique twist!

This story is told from the perspective of three different people—a detective investigating several missing women’s cases, a doctor at a psychiatric clinic, and a young girl with mental health and memory issues who isn’t sure how she got to where she currently is.

All three characters are connected in some way, but you don’t find out the true depth of those connections until well into the story.

This was suspenseful, surprising, and overall and enjoyable read. I get fatigued with crime fiction lately because I feel like it’s a lot of the same plot lines and plot twists recycled over and over again.

This book stood out to me and will continue to stand out in my memory because it had some unique elements I haven’t seen in other books like it.

I’ve heard great things about AR Torre, but this was my first book by this author and I’m now excited to read more.

The narration of this book was also solid. I always like when there are multiple narrators because it helps set the characters and perspectives apart in my mind. All three of these narrators did a good job and helped bring the book to life.

Addictive and delightfully unhinged—Torre at her absolute best.

Torre has a gift for crafting gripping thrillers that are fast-paced, razor-sharp, and effortlessly bingeable. Her stories never overstay their welcome, yet always deliver a punch.

I’m a sucker for a messy marriage plot, and this one was deliciously dark and twisty. Writing unlikeable characters well takes skill—and Torre nails it. The unreliable narrators were executed with precision, keeping me second-guessing throughout. Was it a little over-the-top and occasionally predictable? Maybe. But none of that took away from the ride—I was hooked from start to finish.

Married couple Dinah and Joe seem to live a perfect life. She's a homicide detective, and he's a doctor. Together they have some secrets. I did really enjoy this overall but I think I liked the idea of this book more than I liked the execution. Pacing is great, I loved the concept of it. Something about it just did not connect with me. None of the characters had any depth and it was hard to root for anyone. I typically love A.R. Torre's books and can fly through them easily while enjoying what I'm reading. This one just missed the mark for me.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4
Thank you Brilliance Publishing and Netgalley for this ALC in exchange for my honest review.

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

This review was originally posted on Books of My Heart


Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

A Happy Marriage sounded like an interesting setup with Dinah, a detective and her husband Joe, a psychiatrist. With the title, I thought it would have aspects of how they make their careers work and still keep a close relationship. They do that and are successful in their careers but that's not this story.

We start with Dinah who has a new death, a woman with a terminal disease, Reese. She has a trainee riding with her and she collects the evidence but she says is most likely suicide. The woman's daughter, Jessica, is also missing. The trainee, Freddy, keeps bringing up aspects to check like insurance policies, etc. Dinah seems overly frustrated at this and always has the information and explains how it doesn't change her impression about suicide. I felt defensive for Dinah but really, either she is a lousy trainer (she is), or her ego is huge (it is) or she has something to hide (she does).

Dinah focuses a lot on her husband what he expects and what she will tell him. She enjoys their time together, the comfortable things he does for her like making her food or holding her hand. She does things like that for him also. Even with this case going on she heads out for the weekend with Joe to the "cabin."

I'm not going to spoil the story for you but it is a psychological thriller more than a police procedural. It is a fast track to looney tunes. All three characters felt like the unreliable narrator which is not my favorite thing. It's a happy ending of sorts, with a definitive ending.

Narration:
The narrators gave us the primary points of view with Dinah, Joe and Jessica. The voices sounded appropriate in tone and I was comfortable enough to stay in the story. The sections of the story were from one of the three's perspective and that chapter was all voiced by their narrator. I was able to listen at 1.75x speed.

The key to a happy marriage? Secrets, secrets and more secrets and your ability to keep said scerets. Dinah is a successful police detective, Joe is a psychiatrist, teaching at college and running a small private practice. Dinah has some issues with her mother and sister, she is also training a new officer. This was one wild ride. Psychological suspense to the max.

The narrators, Paige Reisenfeld, Charlotte Lobdell and Jonathan Davis were great.  Thank you to Brilliance Audio for the ALC.

the setup…
Dinah Marino is a Los Angeles homicide detective married to Joe, a psychiatrist with his own clinic. She loves her husband who makes her feel special every day of their marriage, unlike her own family. When she gets a call to the scene of Reese Bishop, a woman found dead in her home, Dinah rules it a suicide even though college student daughter Jessica appears to be missing. The detective trainee assigned to her that day feels differently and demands the case be further investigated. But something about this case threatens to sever the marital bliss between Dinah and Joe as secrets from her past begin to rise to the surface.

the heart of the story…
From the start, there was something unnatural about Dinah and Joe’s obsessive style love for each other. I didn’t have a clue how the current case connected but felt certain it would, especially how Dinah handled it and her persistent junior detective. When it’s revealed that Jessica is in Joe’s clinic, I knew I was out of my depth and what felt like a predictable story was anything but.

the narration…
The story is from the points of view of Dinah, Joe and Jessica. Paige Reisenfeld, Jonathan Davis and Charlotte Lobdell gave excellent voice to these characters in a way that made them feel authentic. I enjoyed the storytelling and their individual performances.

the bottom line…
This has Torre’s signature style of psychologically complicated characters who live in spaces of normality. It led me down one path only to abruptly send me on another unguided one. There’s no predictability here with a provocative twist that I did figure out in time. Didn’t matter as there was no certainties in the outcome. I inhaled this in a day as I had to know how it all ended. Sit back and hold on because this ride is weird.

Wow! This book was so good! A.R. Torre did not disappoint! This book had me hooked and I couldn’t wait to see what happened. The craziness of this story made this book so good! I definitely recommend!

I read and listened to this book all the way through, and it grabbed me from the start. The pacing was nonstop—fast and intense in a way that made it hard to put down. The dual timelines kept the story moving and added layers that made everything more interesting.

The characters felt real and complicated—flawed and human. I liked how their stories unfolded slowly, revealing parts of themselves over time in a way that felt honest and raw.

Experiencing the book both by reading and listening gave me a deeper connection. The audiobook added emotion and made the characters feel more alive, bringing the story to another level.

Some moments of suspense stretched believability, and that pulled me out of the story a little. But even then, I stayed hooked. The story had a harshness to it—sometimes cruel and shocking—but it wasn’t meaningless. Beneath the tough edges was something deep and real. It made me feel uneasy, but it also made me care.

This wasn’t an easy or light read, but it kept me engaged from beginning to end. I didn’t just follow the story—I felt it.

This one was a roller coaster!!! I was a little confused in the beginning but after I found my footing, I was immediately hooked and trying to figure out what was going on. We didn’t get much background on Dinah and Joe which left me a little disconnected from them as characters but they were insanely unhinged. Overall, I enjoyed how fast paced and messy this book was.

Thank you to netgalley for this ARC.

A happy marriage is a fast paced domestic thriller that grabs you from the start! Detective Dina Marino and Dr. Joe Marino are a perfect and happily married couple to the outside world, but they have their secrets together and individually. It is until their world’s collide that we start finding out what is underneath all their perfect layers.

A.R. Torre did a fantastic job with the storyline, every time I thought I had things figured out, I found myself gasping when I heard additional details.

The narration by Jonathan Davis, Charlotte Lobdell, and Paige Reisenfeld was perfect, I was pulled into the story from the very beginning and the portraying of all characters was well acted with the right amount of tension! Overall I really enjoyed this audiobook and I totally recommend it to anyone looking for a fast paced domestic thriller.

Thank you NetGalley and Brilliance Audio for this ALC

Thank you to NetGalley and @BrillianceAudio for this ALC in exchange for an honest review.

A Happy Marriage was a slow burn that hooked me more and more with each chapter. It’s one of those domestic thrillers where you think you know what’s going on, but then it keeps peeling back layers and messing with your trust in the characters. I listened to the audiobook and I truly enjoyed it. The narrators (Jonathan Davis, Charlotte Lobdell, and Paige Reisenfeld) were fantastic. Each voice added depth and tension to the story.

Dinah, a homicide detective, and Joe, a psychiatrist, seem like the perfect couple on the surface—but, of course, they’re each hiding major secrets. The twist? Their professional lives start to collide in ways neither of them saw coming. And that’s when things start to unravel fast.

What I liked most was how believable the characters felt. Flawed, complicated, trying to hold it all together while everything's clearly falling apart behind the scenes. It’s less about shocking twists and more about the slow, suspenseful unraveling of trust between two people who are supposed to know each other best.

If you're into psychological suspense that’s more grounded and character-driven, with strong narration that brings the tension to life this is the audiobook/book for you!

4 Stars!

#NetGalley, #BrillianceAudio, #AHappyMarriage, #SuspenseBooks, #ARTorre

Thank you NetGalley and Brilliance Audio for the ALC.

I love A. R. Torre's work including this one! It's fun fast paced thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Every time I thought I knew who it was I was wrong and left stumped. Narrator did a great job keeping me engaged.

I thought this one overall was pretty great and it was the perfect length for a popcorn thriller! I loved the lies and deceit in their marriage making me wonder what was going to happen next. It was a little messy and over the top, but I feel like with a lot of thrillers, there's an element of non realistic points.

I am excited to read other thrillers by this author!

This book was a lot of fun! I never knew who the trust of all the narrators. The couple was nuts and I loved the dynamic of her being a detective and him being a crazy doctor experimenting on the women she’s supposed to be finding. This book was a lot of fun and once again AR Torre gives us a book to binge in a day!

A marriage that appears to be perfect, but what happens when secrets begin to come out? Detective Dinah Marino & psychiatrist Dr. Joe Marino are a married couple with a lot of secrets between each other - and from each other. When a particular homicide Dinah is dealing with coincides with a patient Joe is treating, it threatens to upset the balance of their marriage and those secrets they've kept so well hidden.

A.R. Torre is so talented at creating domestic thrillers with all kinds of crazy twists and turns. You have to accept that anything is possible and expect to know nothing at any time when reading her books, and I really enjoy that! The dual narrators brought Dinah & Joe to life, and while I could not stand either of their characters, it made for a compelling listen with excellent reader performances!

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a quick-read thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat until the very last page! S

Thank you to NetGalley and Brilliance Publishing | Brilliance Audio for this advanced digital audiobook!

Thank you for this advanced copy. This is a popcorn thriller that starts off slow but offers a fun ride if the reader is willing to suspend disbelief. I do wish some elements had been more fully developed, as that would have made the twists more satisfying. The narration was well done.

ARC✶REVIEW
#ad much love for my advance copy @alessandratorre4 & @thrillerbookloversthepulse #partner
& @brillianceaudio + @netgalley #partner for the ALC

“𝒮𝒽𝑒'𝓈 𝒶 𝒻𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉𝑒𝓇, 𝓁𝒾𝓀𝑒 𝓂𝑒. 𝒜 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓇 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒶 𝒻𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉𝑒𝓇, 𝒶𝓁𝓁 𝓇𝑜𝓁𝓁𝑒𝒹 𝒾𝓃𝓉𝑜 𝑜𝓃𝑒 𝒻𝓊𝒸𝓀𝑒𝒹-𝓊𝓅 𝑒𝓃𝒾𝑔𝓂𝒶,” (𝓅. 𝟹𝟿).

🅰 🅷🅰🅿🅿🆈 🅼🅰🆁🆁🅸🅰🅶🅴
ʀᴇʟᴇᴀꜱᴇꜱ: ᴊᴜɴᴇ 𝟤𝟦, 𝟤𝟢𝟤𝟧

I don’t know how she does it but Torre has the ability to craft some of the most fantastic domestic suspense books. There hasn’t been a book by her that I haven’t loved and this book easily slips right into that same category.

I was hooked immediately and plot kept me guessing throughout. I had so many theories and everyone was a suspect. There were a few twists and turns that kept me on my toes.

Absolutely loved it 🥳 I loved the different narrators and they both did a fantastic job bringing this fab book to life. All the stars.

𝕄𝕖𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕒𝕓𝕝𝕖:
✓ Cats will eat your dead body, dogs will starve and die with you
✓ Peeing
✓ Books and puzzles - my fav 2 things

𝕋𝕣𝕠𝕡𝕖𝕤:
✓ Kidnapping
✓ Serial kiIIer
✓ Police procedural
✓ Unreliable narrator
✓ Things aren’t what they seem
✓ Dark secrets
✓ Identity

#thrillerbookloversthepulse #AHappyMarriage #ARTorreAuthor #domesticsuspense