✨ Saffy and Tom move into Saffy's grandmother's cottage and find 2 bodies buried in the garden.

💥Whew!!! This book was an amazing trip. The twists are not as shocking as you might think, but still have an impact. I love how Claire Douglas crafts the journey, with clues and characters to make a book un-putt-downable. I don't hear a ton of people talking about this author and I highly recommend them!

My face at the end: 🤪

🍪 I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to @netgalley and Harper Paperbacks for allowing me to read this ahead of publication.

💯 For more details on the books we read, be sure to follow me on TikTok (@zaineylaney). I will give you a list of reasons to read! Or listen to our podcast, Elated Geek, wherever you subscribe.

When Saffy moves in a begins renovations with her boyfriend Tom on her grandmothers old house, she find more than she ever could have expected. Two bodies that were buried over 30 years ago raise many questions, and the only one who may be able to give them the answers they are looking for is Grandma Rose, who is in a care home with dementia. This mystery is told from four different characters perspectives, all contributing to figure out these questions, who do these bodies belong to? Who killed them and put their bodies in the backyard? Did Grandma have anything to do with this?

I really enjoyed this suspense novel. The story was told well with many twists and turns throughout the story, including one pretty big surprise at the end.

I tried to read this one, I tried to listen to it and each time I only got to 20%. I wish the pacing was faster. It seems like some excitement happened at the beginning with the dead bodies and then there was some character development which I usually like but the suspense was lacking and the constant mention of who is Victor wasn't keeping it going for me.

This was a nice creepy dark story! I really enjoyed every bit of it. Such struggles and trials. The characters were so well developed and made me feel like a part of their story. Great tension and reveals. Highly recommend
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book

Saffron (Saffy) and her husband Tom have recently moved into and started renovating a cottage in the country that was owned by Saffy’s beloved Gran, who is now in a care home suffered from dementia. In the process, the builders discover two bodies buried in the garden that appear to have been there for a long time, as in back when Saffy’s Gran, Rose, lived there with her daughter, Saffy’s mom, Lorna. While they police try and uncover who the bodies are, Saffy and Lorna are left trying to figure out what Rose remembers when she has bouts of clarity.
There are lots of characters to keep up with and each chapter is told from a different POV, which normally I am fine with, but in this case the POV changed tenses so often that it was off-putting. It took me out of the story. None of the characters were exceptionally likable either. I’m rounding up from 2.5 star because I overall liked the story but it could use a few tweaks and about 50ish pages less.
Thanks to Harper Paperbacks and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my review.

This book got me straight from chapter one, I was immediately into the storyline. It unfolded pretty slowly but I thought it was a great pace for what was happening. Everything unfolded in a way where I was blindsided by the twists.

I always enjoy books told in multiple points of view. I wasn't a huge fan of Lorna's chapters, mainly because she annoyed me as a character. Of course, I feel like that was the author's intention. The layout of mother/daughter/grandmother was done in a wonderful way that made you get to know their dynamics so well.

Overall this was a book full of twists and turns I had no idea were coming. Up until the very end I was on the edge of my seat. I highly recommend this book.

Now this was something. I love some of the characters and the plot was very entertaining to read.

I would definitely be willing to read more of her novels. I found this one very riveting.

The Couple at Number 9 by Claire Douglas is a highly recommended psychological thriller.

Saffron (Saffy) Cutler and her boyfriend Tom are thrilled to inherit a home at 9 Skelton Place and start renovations immediately. When the builders uncover human remains, the police are called in and the investigation reveals that there are two bodies buried in their back garden. It seems that they have been buried there for at least thirty years. The investigation turns to Saffy's grandmother Rose Grey who owns the cottage and lived there during the time period that the bodies were likely buried. The problem is that Rose has been diagnosed with dementia and lives in a nursing facility.

What seems to be a horrifying discovery, but one that is removed from the current residents picks up the pace when it seems that not everyone who knows what happened thirty years ago is content to stand by and do nothing. And then Rose, whose memory seems to come and go, is being questioned by the police. She remembers something, but what exactly is unclear.

The plot unfolds through multiple points-of-view and in multiple timelines. The tension builds up as more information and background is revealed in both timelines. The interest is in how the stories from the past and present are going to explain the bodies and in the identity of the person who is trying to stop any information from being released.

Several interesting characters are presented and depicted as realistic individuals in the plot through their individual points-of-view. There are plenty of secrets among the characters and some of them pertain to the murders. This helps keep interest high and increases the tension in solving the mystery and discovering the identity of the killer.

I was totally engrossed until the narrative took a convenient turn and then a twist occurred that felt a bit too contrived. The pacing does seem a little slow at times, but it still held my attention and I kept reading. Basically this is an enjoyable, compelling psychological thriller. The multiple points-of-view work well in The Couple at Number 9 and keep the tension going right to the end.
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of HarperCollins.
The review will be published on Barnes & Noble, Edelweiss, Google Books, and Amazon.

Saffy’s always been close to her Gran. She and her mother, Lorna, have had a difficult relationship over the years. When Saffy and her husband, Tom, move into Gran’s cottage things take a turn. Two bodies are discovered in the garden when builders are digging for a kitchen expansion. This discovery takes the family down a road of secrets and mystery. Gran’s dementia makes it difficult to know truths. Saffy and Lorna suddenly question everything they thought they knew about their family.

I loved this book! It kept my attention from beginning to end. While there were big twists, they were well timed and were totally believable. Fantastic read!

“Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead.” -Benjamin Franklin

Saffron Cutler and Tom Perkins are the new occupants of Skelton Place cottage number 9 in the Cotswolds. When Saffron’s grandmother, Rose Grey moves into a nursing home after she is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, she gifts the cottage to her daughter, Lorna. However, Lorna allows her daughter to put it to good use while she is living in Spain.

Saffy agrees to start her life with her husband in the new cottage and makes plans to build out the kitchen. During the demolition, two skeletons are found buried in the garden.

Who is buried at 9 Skelton Place? Were they murdered? Does Rose know anything about them?

She can’t remember!

Told in alternating perspectives, the mystery of the dead bodies is revealed. There is a lot of questionable or non-existent work done by the police, so the investigation is left to the amateur sleuths to figure out. This part was not very believable.

However, while I initially thought for the first 50% of the book that the ending was going to be very predictable, I was pleasantly surprised by many clever twists. I am a fan of Claire Douglas and have read several of her thrillers, so I should have known better than to expect a predictable ending!

This twisty domestic thriller deals with real life issues. Themes of sexual assault, domestic abuse, and LGBTQ relationships are explored.

3.75/5 stars rounded up

Expected publication date: 8/2/22

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Perennial and Paperbacks for the ARC of The Couple at No. 9 in exchange for an honest review.

Saffy Cutler is newly pregnant and begins renovating her grandma’s cottage in country with her boyfriend. They are shocking when their renovations come to a standstill due to two bodies being found buried in the garden. Saffy is initially surprised but not worried - until the police question her ailing grandmother Rose, who is suffering from Alzheimer’s in a nursing home. Some of the secrets Rose divulges are so disturbing that Saffy’s mother Lorna travels from Spain to help untangle the mystery. Meanwhile, Theo, a chef from a nearby town, is dealing with a mystery of his own, involving his father.

This book started off slowly and I was initially confused by all the points of view telling the story. But it quickly picked up the pace and the perspectives became clearer. I admired Saffy’s devotion to her grandmother and her and Lorna’s evolving relationship too. I was able to predict one small twist to this story, but there were several others that made my jaw drop. The characters and their relationships were SO well written and their feelings described so tangibly that I found myself getting teary-eyed several times - I don’t remember that ever happening to me any time I’ve read a thriller before! Overall, a solid mystery with great, well developed characters.

Thank you to Netgalley, Claire Douglas and Harper Perennial for the ARC! “The Couple at Number 9” releases August 5, 2022.

This review will be shared to my Instagram blog (@books_by_the_bottle) shortly 😊

Holy twists @clairedouglasauthor they just kept on coming with this one! This one starts off a tad slow but once the ball starts rolling it is grooving right on down that hill. There are so many twists that I thought the plot was extremely well constructed and connects with bits of the truth a little at a time. It really helped build the tension and suspense!

I appreciated all the relationships and character development in this one. Alzheimer’s is a disease I am really well versed in. My MIL has it and we are her caretakers (my husband and I) my husband is also a Gerontologist and I felt this portion on the novel extremely well done, handled with care and plausible.

There are various POVs in this one and the timeline jumps back and forth between past and present but it really helped keep my interest and I flew through it! If you are looking for an entertaining read with some loveable characters this is it!

Thank you Netgalley for my advance copy!

This was a great who-dun-it mystery. You are left believing one thing and end up being totally wrong. At about half way through the book I suspected the true murderer but the ending had my head spinning 😵‍💫. While I wouldn’t consider this an unputdownable mystery, it was extremely atmospheric and a suspenseful read that I had to know how it turned out. The ending totally makes this book!

I loved the dual timelines and the multiple POVs, it all really enhanced the reading experience. The characters are developed wonderfully. While the pace was relatively constant, I felt that it dragged in some areas which is likely to happen with 400 pages. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

***** Many thanks to Harper Perennial and Paperbacks, Claire Douglas, and NetGalley for the gifted copy as it was provided to me in turn for my honest opinion.

This review will be posted to instagram (thriller_book_sisters) closer to pub date.

Claire Douglas's writing is brilliant, beautiful, insightful, and terrifying all at the same time. With the ability to draw you in and make you feel like you're sitting in a room with these characters this story enthralled me and kept me at the edge of my seat from the very beginning.

Three generations of women, one with dementia, not knowing what's real and what's not a lot of the time, one that has spent most of her life only thinking of herself before others and what she needs to be happy, and one pregnant, getting ready to bring the next generation into this idyllic cottage, the way these lives and the lives of so many others intersect is nothing short of mind blowing.

Three stories being told almost simultaneously through the one story, each woman having her own problems, her own loves, her own losses and the hope they all held for the future while trying to keep their secrets from being brought to light, there were moments I could empathize and understand each of them and then moments where I couldn't figure out what they were thinking or why they made the choices they did.

I watched my Grandmother go through dementia and I have to say that the authors compassion and accuracy while writing about what it's like both for Rose and her family is so honest and relatable, there were a few times during the visits with Rose that it felt so familiar, almost like a memory.

The mystery component of this was done brilliantly, it's twists and turns keep you guessing who's who and what do they know or even have to do with all of this till the end, I will be reading as much by Claire Douglas as I can get my hand on, the writing is phenomenal and the story is something that feels like it's completely possible yet something you don't want to believe all at the same time.

I will say our ending is something I didn't see coming and now find myself looking back at the pages, thinking about the little things that are said here and there and while our author never gives anything away before she wants to, she does leave a trail of breadcrumbs that spans generations as we try and find justice for the two people found behind Number Nine.

I think I may be in the unpopular opinion club here, but I didn't love this.

It was creepy, atmospheric and eery - which I loved, but it also was slow, dragged on, became convoluted and confusing and I could not differenciate the characters.

This was just OK - but I hope it is better for you!

The Couple as Number 9 is a creepy thriller that will hook readers from start to finish. When a couple inherits what appears to be their dream home and begins renovations, they never expect to find two dead bodies. The police say the bodies are over thirty years old, but they'd like to speak to the grandmother they inherited the house from. She's in a nursing home with Alzheimers, so getting answers won't be easy. Could she have been involved in the murder of these victims? Why did no one look for the victims? If you're interested in twisty psychological thrillers, The Couple at Number 9 is the one for you!

Many thanks to Harper Collins/Harper Perennial for gifting me a digital ARC of the new book by Claire Douglas - 4.5 stars rounded up!

Young couple Tom and Saffron, who is newly pregnant, move into a house given to them by their mother, Lorna, who inherited from her mother, Rose. Tom and Saffron are excited about the house and are busy making changes, including an addition to the kitchen which required excavation. When two bodies are found buried in the yard, everything changes. The bodies appear to have been buried over 30 years. The person with the most knowledge would be Rose, but she is currently in a care home with dementia.

What a great story, told from multiple POVs and timelines, as the mystery deepens around who the bodies are and how they got there. The fact that Rose had dementia made easy answers out of the question, so the reader, along with the characters, have to do some detective work. One of the best parts for me was the personal interaction between the characters - there are lots of back stories explored and relationships between couples and parents are intriguing. Lots of twists but all perfectly executed!

Wow, this book was creepy. The house was so eerie. I love a good whodunit story and this was done so well. Sometimes these books can be kind of cheesy and bland but this one was STUNNING.

We love a good thriller, and The Couple at Number 9 sufficiently scratched that itch for me. I will say that when I first started this book, I ended up setting it aside and initially thought I would DNF. But it turns out I was just in the wrong headspace at that time. I picked it back up a couple of weeks later and so glad I did. It took a minute to set the stage and introduce the characters, but once that was accomplished, the pace picked right up. And I was hooked.

The moment when I figured out the plot twist, my mouth just fell open – and I yelled. I really yelled.

This was a smart mystery and a quick, entertaining read.

Read if you like…
✨Creepy house setting
✨Whodunnit murder mystery
✨Multiple POV and dual timelines

My thanks to NetGalley and Harper for the opportunity to read this book before its publication date.

Saffron and her boyfriend moved into a cottage passed down from her family.

And hello, renovations just uncovered something they never expected…a buried body!😱

As the police launch their investigation they are heavily relying on Saffys’ grandmother to assist with her recollection of the past. Problem is, Saffy’s grandmother has Alzheimer's! So how helpful can she really be?💁🏻‍♀️

I had somewhat of a hard time with this one. The fact that police were relying on a woman who is in a memory care facility to help them solve the crime!? Hmmmm. More than just a bit of a stretch for me.

From there I gradually disengaged, eventually losing interest in the mystery as well as the characters.

Lots of mixed reviews for this book, so I hope it works out better for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Perennial and Paperbacks.