Lovely Gemma, married less than a year, is settling into her new place in Bristol, England with her husband, Danny. They are enjoying their nicely appointed home, painting and decorating it together, creating a nest for their future family. Gemma is a freelance writer and Danny is an IT specialist and together, they have it all. They are the perfect couple.

Until…cue the scary, screeching violins…Danny doesn’t come home one night. Or the next day. Or the day after. When Gemma decides she must go to the police and report her husband missing, she finds the police are busy with several unsolved murders. One by one, young adult men have been found bludgeoned to death. The police aren’t too worried about Danny, until they realize that Danny looks like the murdered men, with dark curly hair, and thick eyebrows.

As Gemma copes with losing her husband, the police discover that things are not as Gemma told them. Danny has never been seen in Bristol. He never went to work. He never emailed, called or used his bank accounts. The neighbors have never seen him. Only Gemma. Did Gemma kill Danny? And is she a serial murderer?

Warning, once you start this brilliant book, you have to finish it in one sitting. The plot is deliberately slow and well-paced. Gemma tells her story, in the first person and it’s as if you are living her horror right along with her, one puzzling and agonizing day at a time. The police are well-developed characters and you really can’t blame them for how they proceed. And wait until you get to know Danny!

Suspense, thrills, police procedural, and a good old-fashioned creepy scare await you. Highly recommend.







Thanks to NetGalley, HarperImpulse and Killer Reads, One More Chapter for a digital review copy. This is my honest review.

I did enjoy reading this book, however it was very drawn out and I did guess what was going to happen at the end. That being said it did have some great twists and turns and did keep me in suspense.
I would definitely read more from this author as it seems like she has some great storylines that haven't been done before.
I would recommend this book to friends. Only given 4 stars due to it being very drawn out but a good read overall.

Gemma and Danny are nearing their first wedding anniversary. Their courtship was amazing and marriage even better. Then Gemma returns home from a work trip to find Danny inexplicably gone, all his belongings there except what he'd have needed for work. When Gemma calls the police she learns no one but her has seen Danny in weeks. Someone's lying, but who?

The Perfect Couple is an enjoyable, twisty mystery with one of those endings that makes you shudder.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC. The opinions in this review are honest and my own.

I could not put this book down. I read well into the wee hours of the morning. Gripping story and so intriguing. Gemma and Danny seem like a perfect couple and Gemma thinks she knows all there is to know about Danny, until he disappears and then she learns things she never could have imagined. It was a compelling story, good character development (Gemma) and lots os twists and turns.

Review

Newlyweds Gemma and Danny move from London to Bristol. Gemma is a freelance journalist and Danny is an IT Security specialist, so moving home and area is easy.

Gemma returns from an overnight work event and discovers that Danny is not there to greet her as promised. He doesn’t come home that night, nor the next. Gemma is frantic with worry and after a couple of days, reports him to the police as a missing person.

In the meantime, DCI Helena Dickens and DS Devon Clarke of Avon Constabulary are working on the murders of two local men, both of whom look alike (and just like Danny too) as well as members of a particular dating app. Gemma is suspected of Danny’s murder and she has a hard time convincing them otherwise.

It was a good book with some clever elements. I didn’t expect the ending. However, I felt that Gemma was a bit naive and her actions at the end just frustrated me. It also dragged step by step by step so that in the end, I was pleased to finish it.

I rate this book 3 stars 🌟🌟🌟

Thanks
Thank you to the author and publishers Harper Impulse and Killer Reads for an advanced copy of this ebook in exchange for an independent review.

Thank you so much NetGalley for the ARC.

This book was just ok for me. I didn't really connect with the characters at all nor did I at any point feel caught up in the story. :(

This book was a ride to say the least. What you think could have happened at the start of the book is not what you are thinking by the middle and then it completely changes again by the end. I enjoyed it and found myself not able to put it down because I had to know what happened to Danny and if Gemma was just imagining that her husband had moved with her to Bristol. I liked how this was written not only from Gemma's perspective but also from the detectives on the case so you could see not only the side of the terrified wife but also the people investigating trying to figure out what happened to Danny. The ending was a real twist though that I did not see coming.

Thank you to netgalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The story was fine, even slightly exciting in its misdirection, but the characters were just so incredibly daft I don't think they'd notice if their own heads were on fire.

This book was overall an enjoyable read but there were several parts that just dragged- so much so that in some parts I almost gave up. I am glad I stuck with it. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy in exchange for review.

This thriller grabs you straightaway. Gemma and Danny had a whirlwind romance and have just moved from London to a new house in Bristol. Gemma comes home one Friday evening and Danny is gone – just gone. Meanwhile, there is a serial killer in Bristol choosing men who look exactly like Danny. When it turns out that none of the neighbours or Gemma’s new friends have ever seen Danny, the police suspect Gemma. There is no trace of Danny in Bristol and Gemma’s phone only has texts and pictures from London. As her life turns upside down, the mystery deepens. Is she guilty? Is Danny dead? How many lies can there be in what seemed to be a good marriage? I loved this book and couldn’t put it down. I would happily give it 5 stars, except that I was disappointed with the ending (no spoilers). Please read it, especially if you like falling deeply into a mystery and decide for yourself about the conclusion.

“OPEN YOUR EYES GEMMA!”

Those were the words I repeated to myself throughout this entire book. I enjoyed this read and could not figure out for the longest time if the narrator was trustworthy or not.

My rating is due to the slow paced build of the book. I prefer gripping and page turning story lines as opposed to slow builds. That being said, if you are a fan of piecing together the story at the same time as the narrator then this may be the book for you!

I really enjoyed this fast paced book. I started the year by reading a great book! Never heard of this author before, but will definitely be checking out other books by her.

2.5 rounded up

2nd book I’ve read by this author, enjoyed the first one (Am I Guilty?) more.

I like the way this author writes and the characters she creates. The story kept a decent pacing and offered some unexpected surprises throughout (and some predictable ones as well).

The deterrent for me was the whole “disappearance” thing is now so overdone. Plus, regardless of how smart or computer savvy you are, this is no easy feat to accomplish (especially considering the stuff that was happening during that timeframe). The investigation also was a tad bit silly and unrealistic. To fixate on Gemma and not explore additional suspects and what would her motives would be?? The final reveal was creepy and unnecessary, enough already.

I am sure others that haven’t been exposed to this scenario as much as I have might enjoy it quite a bit more. I think this author is talented and I will look for the next one.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for a copy in exchange for a review.

Gemma thinks she has the perfect marriage, until she comes home from a business trip and finds that her husband has disappeared without a trace. At the same time, the police are investigating several murders in the area in which the victims look very similar to Gemma's husband, Danny. I was pretty interested in this for most of the book, unable to guess what might be going on, but I was underwhelmed by the ending. I also did not like Helena, the detective in charge of the murders and disappearance. She was so convinced she knew what had happened. 3 stars.

Gemma and Danny, the perfect couple. They've been married for over a year and have recently moved house.
One evening, when Gemma returns from her work trip, she finds the house empty despite her husband assuring her that he will be waiting for her with a bottle of wine.
When two days later there's still no sign of him, she turns to the police, who are investigating a series of recent murders. The victims look a lot like Danny...


This is my first encounter with Jackie Kabler's work and while it was an interesting read that kept me fairly entertained, I'm really on the fence about it.
The story was good with an ending that I failed to guess but...
Gemma, a freelance journalist, while facing the possibility of being arrested, decides to find out the truth by herself, with the help of her best friend. And this would be fine if for most of the book they wouldn't just sit and talk about it, repeating multiple times that they need to uncover the truth by themselves...
And don't even get me started on the useless police who seem to be doing absolutely nothing. It was just a farce. I wanted to scream at them to get a move on and do their job properly.

Overall it was a good suspense thriller, the story has good potential and I am likely to reach for another of Jackie Kabler's books.
I'd recommend it to anyone who's in need of a light read.
Thank you, NetGalley, for gifting me a free copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review.

I voluntarily read this ARC for an honest review
All thoughts and opinions are mine

I absolutely loved this
I had not read this author before but will certainly be keeping an eye open for her in future

Lots of twists and turns made this an unpredictable read - loved the story and the characters

4-5 stars. This was a well written quick read, with characters developed in a manner that keeps you feeling what they are. It provided the necessary thrills, chills, and tension I love in the thrillers I read and had me question everyone at certain times. Overall, I would highly recommend this story and the others I’ve read by this author, or the other I should say, as she seems to know how to write a well written, tense, and shocking thriller!
Will make sure I buzz this book up on different platforms!

Gemma comes home from a business trip to their new home in Bristol to discover that her husband, Danny is missing.

It takes a while but Gemma eventually reports him to the police as a missing person. Unknown to Gemma though, two men, who are scarily similar to Danny have been found murdered recently in Bristol. Is there a serial killer on the loose?

The police soon begin to question Gemma. Something isn't quite right here. Gemma is saying that Danny has only been missing for a few days - yet nobody has heard from him in weeks. Why haven't any of their new neighbours ever seen Danny? Why did Danny quit his new job before he had even started and why is there hardly any trace of Danny in the new home?

This really held my interest from the off and I loved the fact that I honestly had no idea of what was going on. Where was Danny? Who is telling the truth? What's the deal with the weird neighbours?

The ending was disappointing though and the final "twist", i felt, was not needed and that's the reason for this only having 3 stars on Goodreads from me.
I would still highly recommend this book though and I look forward to reading more from this author.

Oh this was a great read, a real page turner.

Gemma's husband of almost a year has gone missing, she reports it to the police and their concerned that Danny looks very like to other men who have been murdered.

Their suspions are raised further when they begin to suspect Gemma in Danny's disappearance. Gemma is adamant that she's had nothing to do with him going missing, but nobody has seen Danny since the couple moved from London to Bristol, a few weeks previously, so what is she hiding?

Loved this book, kept me guessing right till the end, the author did a great job of picking holes in Gemma's story... You wanted to believe her, but could you? And what about Danny was he really as perfect as he seemed?

Thanks to net galley for the opportunity to review this book. This is my honest opinion.

This was an interesting read. You feel the confusion Gemma feels, and at time you even suspect her. I could easily imagine an ending with Gemma as a central reason for everything. But I’d be wrong. There is much more to it. It’s not a predictable plot. It’s well written and keeps you engaged. The ending is truly surprising. The only thing I don’t like about the book is the title. It doesn’t really relate to the book. ‘The missing husband’ would be more apt.