Another one by this duo that didn’t disappoint! Lots of twists and turns, has you wondering what the mystery even is at times because there are so many unreliable narrators. Lots of red herrings to keep you guessing. A quick read for someone looking for a good thriller.

2.5 stars rounded up.

This is the first book I have read from this writing duo and I have to say I was kind of disappointed. While I think that the plotline was strong and had a lot of potential, I felt that the execution was super flawed. I didn't like any of the main characters, I figured out both parts of the mystery fairly early on in the book and it just fell really flat for me. I didn't find it suspenseful in any way.

I enjoyed the actual writing and that was probably the main thing that kept me reading the book. Also, the fact that I have a hard time DNFing a book.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Golden Couple was a fast paced novel with multiple subplots and characters. It was easy to follow and kept me eager to turn the next page. I did not expect the ending, but I also didn't think the storyline built up to it. The ending came about quickly and almost felt out of place. For me, there was just something missing, hence the 4 stars instead of 5. Overall, I enjoyed it.

I received this as an eGalley on netgalley.com. The description of the book had me hooked. Once again this was a book with a lot of characters and thankfully I was able to pay attention to them all. Not only are you following the main narratives of Marissa and Avery, but you have SO many others to keep track of and how they all tie together in the end. I’m stuck between 3 stars and 4 stars. I wasn’t blown away by any of the twists and no jaw dropping moments that I didn’t already anticipate, but it was a book I wanted to read more than just before bed. I found myself wanting to read on my lunch break and just making my way until the ties were connected and everything was wrapped up. I did enjoy this read but missed out on jaw dropping twists that I hope for in every book I start. Still recommend!

The Golden Couple officially releases today!

I absolutely loved this one! Thank you to @stmartinspress for my copies.

I’ve loved all of @sarahpekkanen and @greerhendricks books so if you haven’t checked out their books before you must!

This is a good one to go in blind so I am keeping it vague and just reminding you to pick this one up if haven’t already!

I really enjoyed this book! These authors did not disappoint!!! I would definitely recommend this book!

4 stars

You can read all of my reviews at Nerd Girl Loves Books.

This is a very good contemporary mystery/thriller set in the Washington D.C. area. Avery is a therapist that lost her license. Since then, she's developed a 10 step treatment method and has been using it to counsel those in crisis. She meets new clients Marissa and Matthew Bishop, a young couple that seems to have it all. But Marissa was unfaithful and she is desperate to repair her marriage, not only because she doesn't want to lose her husband, but for the sake of their 8 year old son.

Understandably Matthew is upset about the infidelity but agrees to work with Avery to save the marriage. But Avery's approach to therapy is much different than traditional therapists, and she slowly starts to infiltrate the Bishop's life to uncover all of their secrets. The more information she finds, the more complicated the situation becomes. As friends, family and enemies alternatively come under suspicion as more information comes to light, no one could imagine the amount of true danger they all end up in.

Once again, this writing duo hits us with a gripping, exciting story that grabs your attention from the beginning and doesn't let go until the explosive ending. The authors do a great job of building tension throughout the book and literally everyone in the book is suspected of doing something shady at one point or another. There are secrets upon secrets to uncover and the connections that are made at the end of the book are pretty crazy. The main characters are fairly well developed, and the minor characters are developed enough to support the main characters and move the story forward. The story bogged down a little bit in the middle, but it picked up again and didn't slow down until the end. I always enjoy this duo's writing and this book did not disappoint.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley and St. Martin's Press. All opinions are my own.

Marissa and Matthew look like they have the perfect marriage until a night fling that Marissa has. Marissa wants to repair their marriage and hires Avery, a professional therapist, who loss her license. Avery has a ten step program to success but soon big secrets are revealed.

There are so many twist and turns in this book that kept me turning the pages until the end. A tangled web of betrayal and lies through out the story that kept me guessing until the end, and I was still blown away. I highly recommend this .psychological thriller.

An Unorthodox Psychologist and Marital Secrets

Avery Chambers, a psychologist, lost her license because of her unorthodox approach to therapy. Still, she believes in her ten meetings approach and has been successful even attracting attention from the media.

Marissa Bishop has heard of Avery’s success and believes she can help her in reclaiming her marriage to Matthew. She cheated on Matthew. Of course, there’s more to the background, but that’s where the couple start. The problem for Avery is that for her methods to work she needs complete honesty, and she discovers that both Bishops are hiding things.

This was a fun read. The plot line is unusual and engrossing. There are plenty of twists to keep the pace lively and the characters are interesting. I started by not liking Avery very much, but as the story moved on, I saw why she trusted her methods and came to understand what she was doing. Marissa was a character I could relate to. I felt from the beginning that she loved her husband and wanted to work on her marriage. Matthew was more difficult. He was obviously upset by Marissa’s infidelity, but he didn’t seem as committed to putting things right as she did.

This is a good escapist book that’s enjoyable to read.

I received this book from St. Martin’s Press for this review.

Have major regret for not downloading and reading this one. In time. Will borrow the audiobook and listen to the duo tell me a story.

This book was another highly anticipated 2022 release for me because I have loved all of their other books. The thriller queens pulled together another twisted psychological thriller. This is the story of two women - Marissa, a woman who cheated on her husband and is desperately trying to mend things and Avery, the therapist that Marissa and her husband are seeing to repair their fractured relationship. There are so many creepy things going on, so many weird coincidences, so many red herrings, so many twists and so many distrustful characters. This was such a fun read that kept me guessing and at the edge of my seat the entire time.

Marissa and Matthew are known as a "golden couple" in D.C. -- they're rich, beautiful, and both successful in their own rites, Matthew with his law firm and Marissa with her upscale boutique. But even the perfect couples can have cracks... After a night she wish she could take back, Marissa enlists controversial therapist Avery to help her repair her marriage. Matthew is devastated by his wife's betrayal, but agrees to work with Avery to help keep their marriage together. But when strange things start happening -- cryptic messages, mysterious flower deliveries -- the situation begins escalating. Avery, Marissa, and Matthew all feel threatened, and from every angle. No life truly is perfect, and each one of them is keeping a secret that will shake even the most stable foundation.

Thoughts: Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen have been an auto-buy for me since I read their first book, The Wife Between Us. I enjoy the alternative POV and the twists always waiting to shock readers at the end, and The Golden Couple is full of the writing style and pattern that these authors are known for. There are a few really good surprises in this story, most of them waiting until the last few pages to make your eyebrows raise. But some surprises could be seen coming, to be honest. I also felt like the web they were weaving got a bit out of control and too much plot was beginning to weigh down the story. The authors tied everything together in the end - and in an interesting way, which I very much appreciate - but it almost felt exhausting to read at times. Maybe that was the point, though -- to lay stress onto the reader as if they were one of the main characters. The story was fast-paced given all of the plot points and I did appreciate the way everything is wrapped up.

Avery Chambers is an unconventional therapist who claims to be able to fix your issues in ten sessions. Her skills are put to the test when she takes on “The Golden Couple”, Marissa and Matthew Bishop. Marissa arranges to meet with Avery to confess her cheating with the hopes of repairing the damage, however not all the details are forthcoming, and Avery suspects her clients are withholding truths.

I loved Avery! She was one smart cookie and fast thinker, which was a good thing since she’s being targeted by fallout from another client, or two…

The story was told from two POV’s: Avery and Marissa’s and I enjoyed both. Even though I don’t condone cheating as the details were revealed I could understand why Marissa ended up straying and I thought she was a very likable and sympathetic character.

With the cliffhanger-type chapters, The Golden Couple is one that had me riveted! I finished it in one day because I had to know how it all turned out! There’s a few surprising twists and a couple I saw coming, and I loved how it all worked out. This is the second story I’ve read/listened to by Greer Hendrick and Sarah Pekkanen that I’ve loved. I need to check out their backlist.

I alternately listened and read The Golden Couple. The audio was fantastic! Karissa Vacker had a sort of soft-spoken quality that I think fit Marissa perfectly, and Marin Ireland sounded matter-of-fact, which I think suited Avery brilliantly. I listened at my usual 1.5x normal speed.

The Golden Couple
By Greer Hendricks; Sarah Pekkanen
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5

Awesome mystery book that kept me guessing all the time and hooked from page 1! Very well written, lots os guesses, and the connections are well done! The book is written in two points of view: Marissa, a wealthy DC woman that had it all before being unfaithful to her perfect husband Matthew and Avery, a therapist that lost her license and is now counseling her clients.

Marissa and Matthew seems like the perfect couple, the golden couple is how they were know for. Wealthy, nice house in Washington DC, and a sweet son. But, after Marissa betrayal, she seeks Avery the therapist for help to fix her marriage since she can't live with the guilt anymore. But the betrayal is just the beginning of their problems. Marissa didn't tell Matthew who she betrayed him with, and then notes and flowers start arriving at her store and home. Things are getting out of control and Marissa is scared (is she?).

Avery used to be a therapist, but she lost her license after helping a client by sharing some confident information. She's now a counselor and created a new 10 sections method to help her clients. When she met Marissa and Matthew during their first section she wrote down "appearances", the golden couple had more secrets than what they were sharing. Avery gets very personal with her clients, she even drove by their houses and jobs to find out more informations about them. Avery learns a lot and she has a big puzzle to put together that will keep you guessing the whole time. "Appearances lie", she wrote, and the perfect Instagram couple's secrets goes beyond Marissa betrayal.

The last couple of pages kept my heart pounding hard! Very good mystery!
I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review

Ugh. This writing duo. #thegoldencouple #greerhendricks #sarahpekkanen #stmartinspress things aren’t quite what they seem in this story. It’s a page turner that’ll leave you guessing till the end. Matthew and Marissa might have marital problems. But. What is up with the therapist? Definitely grab this one and get lost in their crazy world while forgetting your own problems. #fastpaced #netgalleyreview #bookstagram #readersofinstagram #marriage #therapy #cheating #domesticthriller

This book took me away for a few hours in which I was able to forget my day to day life. It moves along at a pace which makes for a comfortable read. It has characters that you feel as though you know and you want to be there for them, no matter what happens. This book needs to be on your list of books to be read. You will not be sorry that you did.

This is the fourth suspense / thriller novel by writing duo Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen that I’ve read. Up to this point, I have read all the books they’ve written and while all were good, none have lived up to their debut novel The Wife Between Us (which was one of those rare thrillers that actually blew me away to the point that I still remember most of the story several years after having read it). For me, what had set their debut novel apart was the fact that the “shocking twist” in the story was written in a way that truly and unexpectedly floored me — something that doesn’t happen often given the number of suspense / thriller novels I read. However, unfortunately, their subsequent novels weren’t able to capture that same level of “excitement” for me (don’t get me wrong though — I still enjoyed reading each one, just not to the extent that I enjoyed the first one). Given that context, I went into their newest release, The Golden Couple, already anticipating that it wasn’t going to live up to the “thrill” of their first book (and I was right). While the story definitely did have a lot of compelling moments that were unexpected (and I actually did not figure out the ending), I felt like the writing was a little less smooth this time around, which at times broke the flow of the story for me.

On the surface, the premise of the story sounds like one that we’ve heard countless times before: wealthy, suburban couple Matthew and Marissa Bishop live the perfect life, with a marriage that’s the envy of the town. However, their idyllic bliss is shattered when Marissa has an affair. Desperate to repair her marriage, Marissa seeks the help of Avery Chambers, a therapist whose unorthodox methods have proven so successful that she is still highly sought after despite having lost her professional license. As Avery embarks on her “ten sessions” therapy with the Bishops and enters deeper into their orbit, she begins to realize that there is more than meets the eye with this “golden” couple.

Not wanting to give away the story of course, I don’t want to say too much more about the plot other than what I mentioned above. I will say though, that Avery’s story arc was much more interesting than Marissa’s — partly because I felt there was too much repetition with Marissa’s sections that ended up dragging out the plot a bit more than necessary.

With all that said, I did enjoy this one overall and I think that those who are already familiar with Hendricks’ and Pekkanen’s previous works won’t be disappointed. If this is your first time reading this writing duo’s books though, I would definitely recommend going with The Wife Between Us, and then moving on to their other works after that.

Received ARC from St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley

I’ve enjoyed books from Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen in the past so I was happy to see another title from them. I’ve found their past books to usually have a quirky flavor to them, and this lends itself to a good story that is different from the usual story found on the shelf.

While the quirkiness is not present in this book, the story has an originality to it, something that drove me to read it in just a few sittings. This is a mystery/thriller, although the missing piece is the almost-always-obligatory detective. In his or her place is Avery, a counselor who has developed an offbeat method to help people with their problems.

We get to know Avery well, along with Marissa, as the two of them trade off telling the story to the reader. Marissa and Matthew have sought out Avery’s services, although Avery is soon to find out that as she gets involved with this couple, the more tangled the stories become.

For me, the most enjoyable item in the book is that the twists at the end don’t come out of left field. They are believable and not so obvious that I knew the truth halfway through the story. This is a fast read that may leave you hungering for more of the Avery character (although that is not something that the authors have done in the past…her characters tell their tales and then step aside for whoever stars in the next book). Five stars.

My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for a complimentary electronic copy of this book.

Thank you, NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, Greer Hendricks, and Sarah Pekkanen for the opportunity to read this book. It was released on March 8th, 2022.

“Grief isn’t linear. It isn’t logical. There’s no structure or civility to it; grabs you when you least expect it and digs in its nails until you succumb.”

THE GOLDEN COUPLE
I have read every single book by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen. From my experience, they are either a hit or just ok. My favorite book so far is The Anonymous Girl. I was so excited when I received The Golden Couple from St. Martin’s Press. In this book, we meet Avery. She is a highly sought out therapist even though she no longer has her license. She has a formula for her clients in order to see results and her ways are frowned upon. But she also submitted an anonymous tip when one of her clients admitted that the pharmaceutical company was pushing a medicine through that was killing people. Now the pharmaceutical company has Avery in its sights. But that won’t distract her from her new clients, The Bishops. Marissa has admitted to infidelity, but it won’t happen again. So Avery, Marissa, and Matthew have agreed to Avery’s 10-step process. But the Bishops have secrets that keep slipping out…one…by…one. And nothing is as it seems.

So this book wasn’t my favorite by this duo, but it wasn’t my least favorite. It did take a while to get going. However, the pace really picked up around 60%. I know a few people weren’t happy about that but being familiar with this duo, you have to stay the course. They are definitely slow-burn and all the clues will make sense towards the end.

Now, the characters. Are they likable? Not a chance! But I am not here for likable domestic thriller characters. I am here for the DRAMA. There is one character who really gets the short end of the stick and that is Marissa and Matthew’s son Bennet. Without spoiling the ending…how the community pulls through for him was amazing. There are a few characters that you hate and then BAM! They do one thing that puts them back in your good graces.

Overall, I did enjoy the twists despite the slow pace and I really enjoyed the ending. I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars.

“The Golden Couple” by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Release Date: 03/09/2022

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC! I was captivated by Marissa and Matthew’s story. Marissa is unfaithful to Matthew, but wants to fix her broke marriage. She hires Avery an untraditional therapist. She lost her license after using a method on a client that caused a complaint. She now using a ten step program that allows her to dive deep into her clients lives.
After Marissa and Matthew begin therapy strange things starts happening. Threatening notes are left, hang up calls, etc. Their past is here to haunt them. Can Avery help this couple?