The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen is about a power couple, Marissa and Michael Bishop, the envy of everyone. Then Marissa cheats on her husband, and everything starts to fall apart. They seek the help of therapist Avery Chambers, she no longer has a valid therapists license, but that doesn’t mean she has stopped counseling those in crisis. Without the license, she can do things her own way, which often include unethical methods of help. But Marissa is determined to get help from Avery to repair her marriage, and she’s willing to do anything to make it work. Avery is intrigued, there is more going on than either of the Bishops are sharing, and she won’t stop until she figures it all out. As she peels apart the layers of this broken relationship, secrets are exposed that are much more dangerous than anyone saw coming.

This story will have you intrigued from the first page. What seems like a simple therapy session, is anything but simple. The characters morph throughout the story, just when you think you like a character, all of a sudden, you don’t. I didn’t think I liked Avery in the beginning, but she grew on me, she was very likable and knowledgeable in her work. More like a psychiatric detective. There are lots of twists and red herrings dropped along the way, and when you include the secondary characters and their imperfections, the ending with shock you.

I loved this book. Full disclosure, I’m a huge fan girl of both the authors, and this book is on the same level as their others.

I would like to thank Netgalley, St Martin’s Press and Hendricks and Pekkanen for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 5 stars!

Oh, how I love the Hendricks/Pekkanen combo. The Wife Between Us. You Are Not Alone. An Anonymous Girl. Receiving one of these ARCs is the delight of my reading year because, really, these ladies NEVER disappoint. So when I had the chance to grab The Golden Couple, I didn't even have to read the blurb to know that I wanted it.

Marissa and Matthew are having...issues. And they hope that Avery, a controversial yet effective therapist with "unconventional" methods, is exactly what can fix them. What they don't know is that letting Avery into their lives may just be the worst decision they've ever made. In alternating chapters between Avery and Marissa, the story unspools. And bit by bit, we discover that neither Avery nor Marissa are quite who we expected them to be on Page 1. Neither is anyone else in this story.

Well, it turns out I was right. I LOVED this one. 5 stars, kept me up LATE reading and kept me guessing until the very end. I read this one in 24 hours and I have two young children!! I could not stop.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Another great suspense thriller from writing duo Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen. One of the best writing teams there is today.

I really enjoyed this book by Hendricks and Pekkanen. I thought it was super fast paced and kept me guessing until the very end. I enjoyed all the characters we met were intertwined together and nobody was who they seemed. My only criticism is I wish we would have dived more into the main character's background.

This book was ok. I wasn’t super intrigued by Avery’s story line and thought that was more annoying than anything. I had the big plot twist figured out pretty early, but that wasn’t a terrible thing. I didn’t really care about what happened to any of the characters and wasn’t surprised by the eventual outcome.

The Golden Couple was just what I needed after reading an adult fantasy that gave me a major book hangover. This fast-paced thrilled was a fun and exciting read. While I guessed some of the twists and reveals, I still really enjoyed the climax of this story. It was predictable, but still exciting.
I will say that I was not a fan of the differing pov’s used. Avery’s chapters were first person, but Marissa’s were in third. It was just a bit jarring to switch back and forth. Otherwise I liked having the two perspectives.

I thought this was a really well-done thriller and there was definitely this kind of slow burn that gradually built the suspense and made me want to keep reading. Matthew and Marissa seem to have it all, but there are secrets that lead them to Avery, a "consultant" who lost her therapy license and now uses very questionable methods with her clients. She gets in their head, she plays mind games, she learns more about them than they ever thought possible and I really liked it. It took a while for the mystery to really get started, but that doesn't mean I wasn't super invested in the story of Marissa and Matthew's story. The ending was fantastic and very surprising. Great read.

I received a copy of this eARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I can’t believe that I’m saying this but, this is my first time ever reading a book by these two authors and I’m very surprised! I haven't read a mystery/suspense/thriller in the LONGEST time and it felt so good to read one again. This book genuinely surprised me and kept me guessing the entire time. I loved the writing, characters and story. I thought the first half of the book was a little slow but the deeper and deeper you get into the book the harder it is to stop reading. I highly recommend going into this book without reading any reviews about it. I think, especially with thrillers, it's best to go in without knowing anything. I also had the pleasure of listening to this book on audio and it was such great narration.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen excel at psychological thrillers that aren’t particularly gruesome or suspenseful, yet are compelling and relatable. I often gravitate to extremely dark and graphic murder mysteries, which if you’ve ever read anything by Karin Slaughter, you’ll know what I mean. I’ve previously read The Wife Between Us and You Are Not Alone by Hendricks and Pekkanen, and similar to The Golden Couple, their novels fall into a wholly different type of thriller that examines some of the closest relationships as people navigate completely ordinary obstacles. Sometimes, it’s those we trust the most that are the scariest of all.

In The Golden Couple, Marissa takes her husband Matthew to see a renowned therapist (Avery), revealing that she had a one-night stand. Told from differing viewpoints, Marissa struggles to mend her marriage while growing increasingly agitated by stalker-like gifts and phone calls.

What made this novel more intriguing was the various storylines within it. Besides Marissa’s marriage battle, Avery herself is also fending off attacks from a major pharmaceutical company looking to find a whistleblower within their organization. Additionally, a trauma from Marissa’s teenage years in which her best friend was brutally murdered continued to come up as Marissa analyzed the summer she met Matthew and how her friend’s death affected her relationships from that point forward.

The only thing that seemed unrealistic to me was how quickly Matthew went from completely enraged to being able to put aside the fact that his wife has cheated on him and try to move forward so smoothly. Everyone processes and moves on in their own way and for their own reasons, but even with all of his, his tune changed seemingly overnight.

I didn’t love these characters as much as I expected to, but I loved Avery’s daring independence and defiance. To be honest, I wasn’t surprised by the ending and had suspected who was “stalking” Marissa practically since the very beginning, but that didn’t make this book any less enjoyable. For me, Avery was the more compelling character and I loved the chapters that went dredged up her past and went into the history of her marriage up till her husband’s death.

Avery Chambers is a therapist who practices cutting-edge treatments to help her patients.

Marissa and Matthew Bishop have come to Avery because Marissa has confessed to cheating on Matthew. She wants to save her marriage and hopes that Avery can help them. Avery schedules them for 10 sessions that she hopes will help them through this difficult time.

Matthew works in DC and Marissa runs an exclusive boutique called Coco. They are the parents of a young boy named Bennett.

As Avery works with them, more information leaks out from the couple and she wonders how much they are lying.

This book just did not do it for me. It jumped from one thing to another and did not seem to put puzzle pieces together well. Quite frankly, I was becoming quite bored with it and was looking forward to the ending. I hope future books by these authors are better than this one.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The audio book of The Golden Couple is well done. The narrator has a pleasant tone of voice and uses a variety of inflections for the different characters. The reading pace is good as well.

In terms of the story, this one lacks the “big twist” I’ve come to expect from this author duo. The whistleblower plot line doesn’t seem to impact the plot enough to warrant its being included.

Thanks go to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read/listen to an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I thought it was a thriller before reading this book. It is more like a woman fiction; there is not much thrill in it. The story is told from two perspectives: Marissa, the wife and Avery, the therapist. I love how Avery give her best and everything to help all her clients. She also serves as a private investigator to unfold her clients’ secrets to help and protect them. No more spoiler. *giggle* Somehow all the characters just can’t let go of the past.

The narrators did an amazing narrating the book too. I actually did not they are actually narrated by two people until I look up the book. Conversations are easy follow since the narrators give each characters a consistent voices. Overall, it is very enjoyable.

4 our of 5 stars
Received a free audio and ecopy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I don't know how these 2 authors work so seamlessly together. This booked flowed and was hard to put down. I did not see the shocking ending coming. Full of interesting characters and real life situations. Even the rescue dog had an interesting personality. They appeared to be the perfect couple, but were they? I felt as if I was a part of their lives.

This was a great thriller. The authors were really good at creating tension and giving you the idea that something was lingering beneath the surface. For the longest time you're not really sure where the book is going or what the mystery is but you still feel that sense of urgency to keep reading. UNFORTUNATELY I had this book spoiled for me so the ending was not a surprise but I still enjoyed it.

The Golden Couple by @greerhendricks and @sarahpekkanen is the fourth book written by this duo. I have read all their previous books and they do not disappoint! This was one of my anticipated reads for 2022.
The Golden Couple will take you on a ride. It is full of twists and turns, secrets that will end up destroying people, and an ending that will leave you questioning everything.
I would highly recommend this book!

Could you imagine if therapy "cured" you in ten sessions? For Avery - well, she guarantees it. But it comes with a price, and some pretty shady steps to get there. And who needs a therapist license anyway?

Marissa and Matthew are her newest clients and although they may appear to be a golden couple on the outside - the secrets and lies run deep and Avery has her work cut out for her. She's unconventional and breaks all the rules but she knows there's a whole lot of tarnish underneath that shiny golden facade.

This one kept me on my toes and definitely had me guessing throughout. It was a really entertaining read that might have not had the twists and turns I was hoping for, but still had a fun mystery and all the drama one could ask for.

3 stars

An easy and entertaining beach read.

This domestic thriller revolves around a wealthy couple who are attending a unique form of marriage counselling.

I usually love stories involving therapy sessions and exploring the patient/therapist relationship. This one started off strong! I was intrigued by the “new” method of therapy this doctor had developed and how it would work out for the troubled couple. Unfortunately, as the novel progressed and the therapist took on more of a private investigator role, my attention wavered and I lost my connection. I wanted more of the therapist perspective rather than a private detective.

The characters were entertaining but lacked depth. I did find myself confused between the two main female characters a few times.

I enjoyed this for being a mindless, fun and entertaining story but not a believable or memorable one. It was missing the “wow” factor that this author duo usually delivers. It was easy to get lost in the secrets and suspense, but there were plenty of eye rolling moments along the way. This is my least favourite book by this author duo. It was a “like”, not a “love” for me. I was entertained but not invested.

Thank you to St Martins Press for my review copy!

The Golden Couple is the latest offering from the writing duo of Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen. I’ve loved every book they’ve published and this one is no exception.

Avery Chambers is of the firm conviction that losing her license as a therapist and the resultant necessity of doing independent life coaching/counseling is one of the best things that could have happened to her. Free of the restraints that typically bind psychologists, she has been able to come up with a ten-session approach that really helps her clients move forward. She can quickly direct them towards the best possible solution to their problems rather than taking the rather long, rambling approach a typical therapist utilizes, of endless conversations that respect the patient’s choices without ever calling them out for their bad decision-making.

All is not bliss, however. The two clients Avery broke the rules for, the people who ultimately cost her her license, had powerful enemies. People who have now become Avery’s adversaries as well. There have been break-ins at her condo and carefully veiled threats sent in various manners. She has to be careful what new clients she takes on – the last thing she needs to do is land herself in more danger.

Matthew and Marissa Chambers don’t really look like trouble though. They seem to be a golden couple – beautiful, wealthy, successful – who have simply hit a rough patch in their marriage after Marissa had a one-night stand while Matthew was out of town. But as the old saying goes, appearances can be deceiving.

Our story alternates between two viewpoints – that of the clever, street-smart Avery and the fragile Marissa. Marissa is horrified that she allowed a bit of wine, a sense of loneliness, and a wish to once more feel desirable to jeopardize everything she has. She adores her life running an exclusive boutique and taking care of her son Bennett. She loves that Matthew can afford to buy them the best of everything, that they can send their son to private schools and make sure he never wants for anything. Marissa is determined to hold on to all of that, no matter what it costs her – but she just may have invited a very dangerous person into her safe, perfect world.

Avery is everything Marissa isn’t. She is determinedly single and uninterested in the domestic bliss Marissa so clearly craves. She’s tough and suspicious of everyone, whereas Marissa is warm, open, and caring. Avery is also astute – she can tell Marissa and Matthew aren’t being completely honest with her but then, no client ever is. Her unique curative approach involves a lot of sleuthing, and so she begins to insert herself into Marisa and Matthew’s lives, determined to intrude into – and inspect- every aspect of their existence. But the more she tries to figure them out, the less she understands them.

The Golden Couple is a very readable mystery that revolves around a puzzle rather than violence. While threats of danger hover over the characters, the most graphic thing that occurs on the page for most of the tale is some slashed tires. The narrative centers on Avery outwitting her problems – both the people from the past who are threatening her and the possible issues surrounding her involvement with Marissa and Matthew. Avery can be odd, nosy, and tough as nails, but I found myself liking her a lot. She really is concerned with making a positive impact on her clients’ lives, with an emphasis on impact. She doesn’t just want to help them cope with their problems, she wants to help them solve those problems so they can be in a better place when their time together has ended. I appreciated her desire to be a force for good.

I think many women will relate to Marissa, a woman who feels that any passion in her marriage has been drowned by the mundane nature of everyday life and who only wants to recapture the magic of loving and being loved. Her mistake is easily understandable once we see the cold distance that has built up between her and Matthew, and her desperate desire to fix – and improve – what she broke can be very touching. It would have been easy for her character to come across as selfish and greedy but the authors do a great job of making her sympathetic, someone readers can root for in spite of her mistakes.

The authors also do a nice job of creating a wonderfully atmospheric, gentle suspense tale that kept me guessing till the very end. Several possible villains are presented, and we are never sure just who is doing what and why they are doing it. I did wonder at the fact that the ultimate villain had been able to disguise themselves so thoroughly and I frankly didn’t believe the transformation of some of the red herrings – they go from looking guilty to being not just innocent but a true friend too quickly. I also strongly disliked one particular character who comes across as a stalker with controlling and obsessive tendencies. The ending doesn’t deal with them appropriately but all of the above are quibbles – this tale is otherwise very, very good.

The Golden Couple will be an enjoyable read for anyone who likes mystery novels that revolve around competent, intelligent women. I would strongly recommend it to that audience.

This was a five star read for me tight up to the ending, no spoilers here, where the pieces fell a little too perfectly into place. The characters and premise are well thought out and fresh. An unconventional therapist and a seemingly perfect couple provided plenty of story fodder. A side story involving the identity of a whistle blower patient was unnecessary to the plot but threw some red herrings in the mix. Are people who they say they are? Finding out is a joy ride through these pages.

Copy provided by the publisher and NetGalley

Some good before the bad: this was a quick read. It kept my interest and I wanted to see if my predictions were correct.
The bad: I didn’t like any of the characters. It was pretty predictable and didn’t add anything new to the mystery/thriller genre. I know a lot of people are saying this is Henricks/Pekknen’s best novel yet but this is the second novel of theirs that I’ve felt meh about, so I think it’s possible that they aren’t for me.