The Power Couple, Berenson's new novel, is a powerhouse of deceit , intrigue and secrets. On a weak and trembling foundation such as this, is it any wonder that the couple's daughter is kidnapped and in mortal danger. In fact, it should come as no surprise that her younger brother internalizes much of the guilt for the kidnapping, since neither of the parents have the wherewithal to own up to their own share of the responsibility.

Fortunately, Kira is a smart, industrious character, who learned self-reliance and self-defense from her mother. With those tools and a little luck she is able to escape and save herself. If she had relied on her parents or law enforcement, I imagine she would have been killed or worse.

Even when it might have helped locate their daughter and up until the end., neither Rebecca nor Brian, could deal with each other honestly. What a facade of a marriage and family! But what a superb book! Could I see it happening in real life? Absolutely! To paraphrase an old adage, "It wouldn't be entertaining, if there wasn't some truth there."

If I might make note . . . there are some incomplete sentences at several points in the book, in one instance Kira was used when it should have been Rebecca. Readers be forewarned, if that happens to bother you. I didn't find it a problem. I just kept on turning the pages!

#NetGalley #ThePowerCouple Thank you Net Galley for the opportunity to read and offer my opinion.

Highly engaging. Berenson's skill in storytelling, with good pacing and drama, has steadily grown. The spycraft is convincing, and the characters are fun. In this tale, the complex dynamics within a marriage are also on display. Power, indeed.

"The Power Couple," by Alex Berenson, is a captivating thriller. Married couple Brian and Rebecca have been married for 20 years, and have worked for the government almost as long. On a whim, they decide to go to Europe with their kids on a getaway. While overseas, their daughter is kidnapped and her parents face their biggest hurdle yet: getting their daughter back safely. Secrets are revealed along the way, and the book ends with a big surprise.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

This book was SO. GOOD. Fast-paced, kept me guessing. I particularly liked how the characters were developed through backstory and how realistic the realities of life were portrayed.

While the idea of your college aged child being abducted in a foreign city is terrifying when presented in the format of fiction the subject becomes a page turner. With parents having highly specialized skills in tracking criminals the puzzle to a solution is intense and the resources tapped are believable. Characters are fleshed out and are mostly dynamic. Throughout the kidnapping many questions arise and there are twists that keep the action moving. College aged Kira is an easy target when she is captured while partying during a foreign holiday with her parents who are unaware that she has met a cliched foreign man in a bar. However, he is not what he seemed to be and the story is off with twists and and action.

The Power Couple, by Alex Berenson, is a fast-paced domestic thriller. Rebecca and Brian Unsworth are celebrating their twentieth wedding anniversary by going on a European vacation along with their two teenage children. While there, their daughter Kira is kidnapped. This book kept my interest, especially since there were so many secrets revealed. I would definitely recommend this book! Thanks to NetGalley for the free digital review copy. All opinions are my own.

I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review

Very twisty espionage thriller with a domestic twist. Testosterone driven.

A tidy little thriller that adds kidnapping to Berenson's typical takes off international intrigue, his latest involves a family vacation that takes a turn for the worse when a high spirited teenager disappears in Barcelona Was Kira Unsworth', the victim, simply a target of opportunity, or was she chosen because the handsome French graduate student who followed her from Paris to Spain knew she was the daughter of of a high ranking FBI agent? Her parents' connections may help find her, but what else they discover will turn their works upside down

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of The Power Couple.

The blurb caught my eye so I was excited when my request was approved.

The Power Couple is not a typical domestic thriller; oh, there are some standard tropes; a marriage gone sour after many years, lies and secrets being kept from the spouses, the day to day grind of work, minutiae and reflection that makes you wonder: why did I marry this person?

After 20 years of marriage and two kids, Rebecca and Brian Unsworth appear to have a solid marriage.

But, on an European vacation celebrating their union, their oldest child and daughter, Kira, is kidnapped. Rebecca and Brian must ignore the strains of their marriage and rely on each other to find their daughter.

And, Rebecca will come face to face with some truths about her husband and marriage she has been ignoring for some time.

I liked Rebecca and Kira; mother and daughter are both similar and different to be respected for their redeemable qualities. They're not perfect; on one is, but they're relatable and they're not victims.

it's rare I find and read a domestic thriller (or any thriller) in which the female main character is smart, savvy and respected. Generally, the women fall into many cliche categories; whiny, weak, doormats, on the receiving end of continuous gaslighting and/or various forms of abuse from a male partner.

Kira was a pleasant surprise; I expected her to wait for rescue, to be your typical privileged whiny brat but she stepped up. She had flaws and she owned up to them; instead, she learned from her past mistakes, dialed back her fears and drew strength from within herself to take control and fight back.

A good portion of a narrative is an info dump, exposition on how Rebecca and Brian met, what they were doing to get to where they are now in the book, so there's a lot of telling, no showing, which I get, but the prose was dry, textbook-like.

I did like the behind the scenes peek on how the FBI works, what they do, and how Rebecca used her influence to get things done.

For me, the narrative didn't pick up until close to the end, when the reason behind Kira's kidnapping is revealed, which I guessed right, but not the reason behind it, which made me go "Oooh. Now it's getting interesting."

The ending is satisfying, and exactly what I expected from a narrative with a savvy and intelligent female main character.

I look forward to the author's next book.

Alex Berenson is a very talented author of a successful series of suspense and espionage novels. This novel with twists and turns reminiscent of "Gone Girl" is a departure for him and doesn't quite pay off. Like "Gone Girl", the "Power Couple" is a two-person narrative starring Brian and Rebecca chronicling their first meeting, courtship, wedding, developing careers and child rearing throughtthrough twenty years of marriage. Rebecca is an esteemed FBI special agent that works on Russian counterintelligence and Brian works in IT for the NSA, both high security positions. On a European vacation with their teenaged son and 21 year-old daughter Kira, Kira disappears. The first two thirds of the novel rotates between Rebecca's view of her life and the search for Kira. A weakness of the novel is that by the time Brian's voice is heard it's boring and easily skipped over without losing any narrative impact. The whodunnit is a bit of a let down as it's comes pretty much out of nowhere and the final resolution just doesn't ring true to the characters. This is a decent page turner but just missed the mark of being a top notch thriller.

Thrillers are my favorite and this was no different. Especially as this was across different countries and involved a whole family. Great read!!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book!

Wow this book was nothing like I thought it would be but everything I love and then some.

We’re first introduced to Kira, the daughter of Rebecca and Brian, who goes missing in Brazil after meeting up with a guy from France. Throughout the book we’re slowly given details to begin putting the pieces together. They’re not a typical couple, Rebecca works with the FBI and Brian is a coder for the NSA and their perfect lives begin to crumble once they discover Kira is missing.

The Power Couple felt almost like the movie Taken (which I’m obsessed with so clearly I loved this book) with its espionage thriller vibes, and it’s about much more than a married couple with a kidnapped daughter. I highly recommend this book to other thriller lovers out there! This is one you won’t be able to put down!

Thank you to Simon & Schuster, Alex Berenson, & Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book!
Put this on your to read list because you’re not going to want to miss this one. Out on Feb 9th 2021!

Wow! This was my first book by this author. And I loved it! Thank you to NetGalley!
I really enjoyed the plot and it kept me on the edge of my seat! And the ending!!
Honestly, this book will hook you in and you won’t stop ready!

Loved this one! I've never read anything by this author and wasn't sure what genre it would fall in to be but it was a perfect domestic thriller wrapped in a spy thriller and the female characters were not damsels or dim and held their own well through out the book. The book move at a super fast pace (finished it in a day) and was solid through out Recommended for sure.

Thank you to Simon Schuster and NetGalley for an ARC of this book. It is one of Berenson’s rare stand-alones. He also writes the John Wells series.

Brian and Rebecca (Becks) seem like they’re doing well. He codes for the NSA and she works for the FBI. But their marriage has stalled. So they decide to go on a European vacation and take their two teens, Kira and Tony.

All is fun and games until the night Kira doesn’t come home from a dance club. After a weekend of searching for her, Becks and Brian find out she’s been kidnapped. Meanwhile Kira tries to figure her own way out, knowing it will be very difficult for her parents and the police to find her.

Alternating between the present and the backstories of Brian and Becks, Berenson digs deep into their characters. With each chapter, he leaves the reader wanting more, which he definitely supplies.

Domestic thrillers that deliver are my favorite and this is one of the best I’ve read this year. I’d place a money bet that most readers won’t guess the ending. I sure didn’t. Carve out some time without any interruptions when you start this book. You’ll be glad you did. A solid five stars.

Wow! Just... wow. This book was such a fun, roller coaster of a read! I’ve been in a bit of a slump with books lately, and this book really helped me to get thru it! What higher praise can you give to a book than that?! It was extremely well written, the plot made sense and than THAT ENDING. ah! I’ll definitely be watching for more from this author!

Brain, and Rebecca are on vacation with kids in Europe when their daughter gets kidnapped. A good thriller with several twists and turns. My favorite beefing the ending.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.
#Netgalley #ThePowerCouple AlexBerenson

Let me start with, WOW! This is a true thriller, an enthralling book that is so engaging that I couldn’t stop reading it. The author weaves the stories of Brian and Rebecca Unsworth around the kidnapping of their college aged daughter during a vacation in Spain.

They are not a typical couple. Rebecca is an ambitious FBI employee, while Brian works for an elite unit of NSA. With the kidnapping of their daughter Kira, their perfect, powerful lives begin to unravel.Berenson shares the story of their relationship and their own histories.

Since I don’t want to spoil the exquisite tension, let me say, the reader won’t have a clue until the author decides to let us in on the underlying story.

I heartily recommend this book. I cannot imagine anyone not enjoying this extraordinary read.
There are few books that are as diverting as this during these stressful days. I feel so fortunate to have been a reader.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC. Obviously, I really enjoyed this.

Damn, this book is good. Damn good. While it sounds like a big focus would be on the perfect marriage and how things fall apart, Berenson delves more into each character, their back history, and what makes them “tick” than anything else. This built a story that I devoured. I loved it. Amazing characters, an amazing plot, and an amazing ending.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of The Power Couple.

When the Unsworth travel to Europe to celebrate their twentieth wedding anniversary they never expected tragedy to strike as their 19 year old daughter, Kira, is kidnapped from a Spanish club. Rebecca works for the FBI as the head of counterintelligence on the Russian desk and Brian works as a coder for the NSA but did their high power jobs lead to their daughter being taken?

The story is told from the three perspectives of the main characters and bounces between present day and the past. I really enjoyed the sections focused on present day and Kira's kidnapping. Some of the past story got a bit mundane and not very interesting and not all that relevant. I saw the twist coming very early on but the ending was still interesting. I wished it had stayed with the current situation and left out most of the past history. Overall this is an okay thriller.