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.

****
Saffy and her boyfriend Tom move into a cottage that belonged to her grandmother and start renovations to make it their dream home. That is, until the construction company unearths human remains in the process. This fast-paced thriller has plenty of twists and turns as Saffy and her mother try to understand the past from Grandma Rose, who has Alzheimer's. As she shares random memories when they come to her, we get little pieces of the past through two timelines. The author weaves a compelling story with a few surprising reveals.

Wow. I never expected a Thriller to leave me crying. What an amazing book, with all its twists and turns(some I figured out, others I thought I did, but nope!). So many past family secrets coming out after two dead bodies are found on the family property. Definitely an amazing read. And the letter at the end really got to me. There is nothing like a mother's love.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for my advanced eARC of this book!

I went into this blind. The beginning of this was super intriguing and piqued my curiosity but as the story kept progressing, it just wants for me. I felt like it was dragging, the time hops and the different POVs weren’t as smooth to easily follow. Although, it wasn’t a winner for me, there are a lot of great feedback on GoodReads.

This was an enjoyable read, though not as fast-paced as I would like, or expect from a mystery/thriller. The most interesting and compelling part of the story to me was the quiet English village setting and main character Saffy, though not much time is spent on the location itself or character development.

There is a lot happening here, and feels at times interesting and propulsive, but most of the time I felt its length without enough plot to fill it. There are a few twists and turns, but they did feel predicable to me, without much payoff.

Overall it was an enjoyable read, but not memorable to stick around long term.

To be honest, at 10% I almost stopped reading The Couple at Number 9 by Claire Douglas. I'm so glad I didn't! This is a great mystery with an unexpected outcome.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: August 2, 2022
Saffy and her new husband, Tom, are thrilled when they are gifted Saffy’s grandmother’s house- a cute cottage in the countyside. But when they begin digging out the backyard for renovations they make a grisly discovery- two dead bodies, one male and one female, are uncovered, having been dead for decades, around the time Saffy’s grandmother lived there. As the investigation into the bodies is taken over by police, Saffy and her mother, Lorna, decide to do a little investigating of their own. With Saffy’s grandmother in a care home due to her Alzheimer’s, Saffy is unsure if the random names and information her grandmother spurts out is actually part of a crime- or just a result of her disease. But as more and more is uncovered, soon Saffy must come to terms with the fact that her family had deep, dark secrets, and life as she knows it will soon be changed forever.
Claire Douglas, the author of “Then She Vanishes”, “The Sisters” and “Local Girl Missing” reunites her readers with the nail-biting, suspense-fueled plots and relatable characters only Douglas can provide. As Saffy and Lorna, a mother-daughter duo of broken promises, lies and secrets, come together to try and solve the family mystery, it was easy to root for the pair and to empathize with them.
This novel has various, complex POVs. Saffy is the primary storyteller, but we also hear from Lorna, Daphne, and the seemingly unrelated (at first) character of Theo. Theo and his family seemed incongruously thrown into the plot; a filler with his own mystery to solve. But as the story plays out, both Theo and his father play an important, albeit disturbing, role in Saffy and Lorna’s life. There are a lot of characters in this novel, and multiple timelines and although Douglas identifies them well, you can easily get lost in the shuffle of it all if you aren’t paying close attention.
The ending had a great twist, and it caught me off guard. As with other novels in this genre, I anticipated the plotline to go in the same predictable manner, with the same tropes. Douglas, however, upped the ante and added her own twisty-turny creativity to the novel, also upping the entertainment value. For someone looking for a page-turning, deliciously addictive, compelling read, Douglas’ “The Couple at Number Nine” is the hottest summer read going and it proves, without a doubt, that no secret stays buried forever.

I, too, live at #9 and after reading The Couple at Number 9 by Claire Douglas, I am not entirely sure that is a good thing. –Thankfully, I don’t have a backyard that could have possible human remains, because that is what happens to Saffron Cutler and her boyfriend, Tom as they are renovating their cottage at 9 Skelton Place. Two bodies are found in the process and the police determine they were buried there in the 1970s or 1980s, while Saffron didn’t live here then, her grandmother, Rose, sure did. Unfortunately, answers don’t come easily from her grandmother because she is in a care home with dementia. Saffron and her mother, Lorna can’t help but investigate Rose’s past but they aren’t remotely prepared for the answers they discover.

At first glance, this seems like a typical thriller…bodies are found and terrible secrets will be uncovered. NO. NOOOOOPE. The plot thickens with every chapter. Honestly, I forgot about the bodies because I needed to know what the hell Rose was up to! Some readers might be a little put off by the timeline jumps, and multiple points of view, but trust me, it is so worth it! This thriller is so complex but it is a slow burn, so don’t expect it to move quickly.

There are many factors that drive this plot but I try to write my reviews without spoilers, but let me just say that murder and betrayal are barely scratching the surface of this book. I did really enjoy the complexities of Lorna and Saffron’s mother-daughter relationship. They are very different people but it is amazing how this story drives them together. I also loved Theo and Jen’s relationship. They both have their difficulties but they communicate with each other and are a great example of a nontoxic relationship, as most thrillers have the most toxic relationships. Overall, I wasn’t sure at first but I ended up loving this book!

This book has it all. Great domestic thriller, solid character development, good writing. Throw in some life complexities and you've a solid 4 stars.

My first by this author. It's has a great plot with different Points of view and timelines. I was hooked from the beginning, love the way the character were introduced and the different timelines.,
Was totally involved with this story and it’s characters read it in two days.

Saffron and Tom are having a baby and are renovating saffron’s grandmother Roses house. While builders are digging out the garden for a kitchen extension two dead bodies are uncovered and the mystery begins. Who are these bodies, how did they die and why are the buried in Rose’s garden.

As we piece this mystery together using everyone’s point of view, we as an audience discover the whole truth.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

I read an advanced reader copy. A young couple moves into the small cottage in a quiet English village given to them by her grandmother who is in a rest home nearby with dementia. During renovations two bodies are discovered under the patio in the back garden, one man and one woman dated back to 1980. Plot driven narrative with good characters guides the reader through the past and present dangers. Good and evil characters, mother daughter relationships, murky familial relations and revelations, village busybody, and even a Westie named Snowball. Fun and enjoyable mystery read.

Loved how you jumped right into the mystery from the first page. This book checked all the boxes, multiple perspectives, dual timelines, mysteries all around. It was a bit slow at times but overall a wonderful read.

A young expecting couple has the chance to move into a serene cottage. Sounds like the perfect situation, until it's not. The house is under renovation, and when the builders discover two bodies, creepy events begin to unfold. The investigation begins, and there are many questions to be answered. There are many little twists and turns, but this was a slow read story for me. There are altering points of view, and different time settings. So what is the real story behind this house? A slow read, yet easy and enjoyable!
This was my first Claire Douglas read, and I will definitely be checking out more of her work.

This was a solid 4 star thriller!

When Saffron and Tom discover two dead bodies in their backyard of the cottage that Saffron’s grandmother owned the story takes off over multiple perspectives and multiple timelines to figure out who are the people buried in the garden and why? The one person who knows is Saffron’s grandmother, however she is in a nursing home with dementia.

I can honestly say I didn’t see the the twists coming and that is always a good thing. I would definitely recommend if you like a good twisted mystery.

Thank you to NetGalley and Killer Crime Club for a copy of this book.