Book Review | The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena

Hey Guys! Welcome or welcome back to my blog!

I finished a book I was sorta thinking would be pretty good last night, but sadly, it disappointed me a bit. It wasn’t a bad plot or anything, it was just poorly written. Well, more about that later, let’s read the synopsis first!

Synopsis:

It all started at a dinner party. . .

A domestic suspense debut about a young couple and their apparently friendly neighbors–a twisty, rollercoaster ride of lies, betrayal, and the secrets between husbands and wives. . .

Anne and Marco Conti seem to have it all–a loving relationship, a wonderful home, and their beautiful baby, Cora. But one night when they are at a dinner party next door, a terrible crime is committed. Suspicion immediately focuses on the parents. But the truth is a much more complicated story.

Inside the curtained house, an unsettling account of what actually happened unfolds. Detective Rasbach knows that the panicked couple is hiding something. Both Anne and Marco soon discover that the other is keeping secrets, secrets they’ve kept for years.

What follows is the nerve-racking unraveling of a family–a chilling tale of deception, duplicity, and unfaithfulness that will keep you breathless until the final shocking twist. 

Plot:

Okay, so first of all, there was no plot development in the beginning at all. We literally start at the dinner party, and we don’t get to see any part of the ‘Anne and Marco Conti seem to have it all–a loving relationship, a wonderful home, and their beautiful baby, Cora‘ mentioned in the synopsis. But that can be forgiven, of course.

The first half was actually pretty slow, but the second half picked pace. The book was also kinda predictable- like the author tried to divert our attention to one character and then showed them to be guilty and then made another character guilty. Which didn’t work, because it was pretty predictable who the culprit was.

I have to say though, I didn’t expect the book to end the way it did.

Characters:

None of the characters except Anne were given much depth really. They were two-dimensional.

Also, Marco, Anne’s husband, Cora’s father was incredibly stupid. Like so so so stupid. I don’t get how he was so stupid. Like, seriously.

The detective on the case- Detective Rasbach was particularly annoying to me. I mean, I think he was supposed to be someone who could be liked, but by the end I had had enough of him.

I have to say I loved the names though.

Writing Style:

Although I got accustomed to the writing style, I found it really weird and amateurish and gravelly at first. For one thing, the book was written in the present tense. I mean I know most of them are, but this was just something weird. I mean, I don’t know, it just wasn’t for me, honestly.

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Overall, this book could have been a great one, had the plot been developed better, the characters been given more depth and the writing been more professional. I just found it weird , tbh. I don’t even know how exactly to describe what I felt for this book. Like, it had potential, but just didn’t reach it.

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

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Have you read this book? Did you enjoy it? Is it on your TBR? Let me know in the comments!

P.S.- We gonna hit 800 followers soon, I am so excited! I have an awesome post planned (well, I think the post is awesome, I don’t know if you guys will), but yes I am excited!

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