This book had so many twists and turns. When I thought I knew what was happening new facts were revealed. I appreciated that everything could be traced back and made sense within a thriller. Douglas does a great job with her characters. They feel real. I enjoyed this book!

This book had so many twists and turns it was like a rollercoaster!

We get a few different POVs, Saffy, Lorna, and a guy named Tom, who at first seemingly has no connection to what's going on, but of course, he does, and Rose's POV from the past. I loved everyone's POV, but I especially loved Roses.

When bodies are found on Saffy's property during a home renovation, everyone wants to know who they were. Well to find those answers Saffy, her husband Tom, and her mother Lorna are going to have to ask some tough questions. It turns out the bodies date back to when her grandmother lived there, so asking her what she knows is the number one priority... Well, Rose has dementia so who knows when or if she will be able to help the investigation. Although every time they visit her they do get another small piece of the puzzle.
Lorna comes to help, and I could really get behind the way Saffy felt about her, she loves her mom, but there is a thing as spending too much time with someone, especially when you are two very different people.

Then not only do we have to figure out who the bodies are, but there is a guy coming around asking for something her grandmother hid, and he is threatening Saffy and her family to get it.

Every piece of the puzzle gives us a new twist and when we get the final one, Bam!.. I had no idea that was coming and it really just pulls everything together.

I really enjoyed this story, it was a page-turner that I couldn't put down until I reached the end!

The Victims . . .

When pregnant Saffron Cutler moves into 9 Skelton Place with boyfriend Tom and sets about renovations, the last thing she expects is builders uncovering human remains. The remains of two bodies, in fact.

The Investigation . . .

Forensics indicate the bodies have been buried at least thirty years. Saffy has nothing to worry about—until the police launch a murder inquiry and ask to speak to the cottage’s former owner. Her grandmother, Rose.

The Witness . . .

Rose is in a nursing home and Alzheimer’s means her memory is increasingly confused. She can’t help the police, but its’ clear she remembers something.

The Killer . . .

As Rose’s fragmented memories resurface, and the police dig ever deeper, Saffy fears she and the cottage are being watched.

The Truth . . .

What happened thirty years ago? Why did no one miss the victims? What part did her grandmother play? And is Saffy now in danger?

Such a great story. I felt this was more than a mystery. It was a lot about family bonds and relationships as well. And what lies and secrets can do to break those bonds.

I loved the character development with this one. I think it was a pretty solid mystery but did have a few different strings being pulled which did at times make it a little hard to follow for me but really came together in the end.

I really enjoyed mysteries and a puzzle to solve. One twist i did have figured out but it was still a good read. Really enjoyed it.

The Couple At Number 9 by Claire Douglas

A heart-pounding psychological thriller about a couple who inherit what seems to be their dream home until they make a horrifying discovery — and the danger begins!

This was an excellent thriller. The story was twisted at times, yet it gripped your attention. Many secrets, tense at times, and always hiding something. Enjoyable right up to the surprise ending. I recommend this book.

When I first read the synopsis for The Couple at Number 9, it seemed like it had everything I was looking for in a mystery thriller. I couldn’t wait to read it. Unfortunately, the book just wasn’t for me. There was nothing specifically wrong with it at all. In fact, it was written well, and the beginning presented an interesting premise. However, by around the halfway point I just wasn’t into the plot or the characters, and I kept easily putting it aside for other things. I wasn’t the right reader for it, and I encourage people to check out other reviews and make their own decision about the book. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the eARC.

The perfect page turner summer suspense novel that sucks you in from first page to last. Although I guessed two of the major plot twists ahead of time it in no way diminished my enjoyment of the novel.

Thank you to Harper Perennial and Paperbacks and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this digital ARC of The Couple at Number 9.

Give me all the mystery thrillers - and this one did not disappoint. It's a slower paced book but don't let that deter you - its filled with suspense, conflict/tension, and so many twists!

MC Pregnant Saffron Cutler moves into a cottage she inherited from her grandmother Rose. Saffron and her boyfriend Tom are living a happy life until two bodies are discovered buried on their property. According to forensic analysis the deceased were buried while Saffron's grandmother Rose owned the house. Rose has Alzheimer's and lives in a nursing home. She unable to provide reliable information. Will these murders ever be solved?

The Couple at Number 9 is told from 4 different perspectives with two alternate time lines. Initially, the multiple characters take time to get used to, but about half way through the book things really take off. You will be shocked by the plot twists that follow. The novel is definitely worth reading. If you think you know what's going to happen? Think again!

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Paperbacks for my advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

We follow Saffy and her husband Tom as they have recently moved into her grandmothers cottege that they inherited. It is perfect timing because Saffy is currently pregnant and they are trying to get the house in order before the baby arrives. They start some renovations in the backyard, but then the unthinkable happens, a body is found.
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Let me first start by saying that this book is definitely a slow burn the first like 50% of the way through. Don’t get me wrong, It was still enjoyable and I was becoming attached to the characters but there were definitely times that I found myself spacing out while reading. However, once things started happening, I couldn’t put the book down and was so invested in the characters lives that I wanted to know what was going to happen. I enjoyed all the twists and turns and a majority of them were so unexpected that it just kept me on my toes. I absolutely love Claire Douglas’s writing style and the way that she incorporates the different POV and timelines. Overall, I think that if you can get through the beginning, it is definitely worth it!
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This review will be posted to my Instagram blog (read_betweenthecovers) in the near future!

Claire Douglas' book The Couple at Number 9 is a slower paced novel filled with tension, suspense, conflict and twists. Douglas definitely tests the main characters and takes readers on a roller coaster ride.

Synopsis:
Pregnant Saffron Cutler moves into a cottage she inherited from her grandmother Rose. Saffron and her boyfriend Tom are living a happy life until two bodies are discovered buried on their property. According to forensic analysis the deceased were buried while Saffron's grandmother Rose owned the house. Rose has Alzheimer's and lives in a nursing home. She is unable to provide reliable information. Will these murders ever be solved?

The Couple at Number 9 is told from 4 different perspectives with two alternate time lines. Initially, the multiple characters take time to get used to, but about half way through the book things really take off. You will be shocked by the plot twists that follow. The novel is definitely worth reading. If you think you know what's going to happen? Think again!

The Couple at Number 9 by Claire Douglas is available on August 2nd.
(4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐)

Thank you, NetGalley and Harper Perennial and Paperbacks (Harper Paperbacks), for allowing me to review this intriguing multiple-layer mystery. Your kindness is appreciated!

This is a fast-paced novel full of twists. I must say that I saw the main one coming. The rest were very unexpected, and I cared enough about the characters that I wanted to find out what was going to happen, even after I saw my suspicions confirmed. No spoilers, but the final revelation made me think how I’d feel if something similar happened to me. Saff is very likable, she has a huge heart, and I loved her relationship with her husband Tom, and with her Dad. Lorna, Saff’s Mom, was harder to like, but she ended up growing on me, especially after some twists about her childhood were revealed. It’s a fast and addictive read and I really liked the ending.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, #NetGalley/#Harper Perennial and Paperbacks, Harper Paperbacks!

This thriller kept me reading for hours at a time and also kept me guessing. There were parts I didn’t like, a bit to slow at times, but the author still held my interest with her unique characters. The POV’s were easy to follow and the story came together with a satisfying ending.

Saffron and Tom inherit the Skelton Place number 9 from Saffron’s grandmother. After believing it’d take years and years to own their own place, they’re extremely grateful, and it came at a great time as Saffron is pregnant. They start some renovations in the backyard, but everything is halted as the workers find a body, and the police find another body. Two bodies have been dug up from their backyard, who could’ve put them there? Saffron’s grandmother has Alzheimer’s and Saffy and the police have questions for her.

It was kind of slow at a lot of times, I found myself putting it down a lot. The alternating characters was confusing in the beginning but everything came together in the end. After my confusion in the beginning, I did enjoy seeing the connections between the different characters and it genuinely kept me guessing until the very end. Overall, I did enjoy this book and it was definitely suspenseful! I’m glad and grateful I got the opportunity to read this book, I’m sure it’ll be on a lot of people’s radars when it comes out!

So many jaw-dropping moments in this thriller from Claire Douglas. The Couple at Number 9 does not hold back anything and will have any reader on the edge of their seat the whole time. Just when you think you know... you DON'T know. The plot is clever as hell and I was engaged the entire time. The multiple POVs in this worked to the story's advantage and just kept making everything better and more mysterious, priming the reader for those twists and turns. Well done!

I did not see the ending coming, and I absolutely loved it. I am a bid fan of Claire Douglas, and this book did not disappoint.

The story is a multi-generational mystery that follows a young couple who become heirs to her grandmother’s house. As they begin to remodel they find a surprising discovery: two bodies are discovered buried in their yard.

The skeletons appear to have been there for about thirty years. Why had no one missed the victims? What part did her grandmother play, who owned the house thirty years ago? And is the granddaughter in danger now that the skeletons have been discovered?

But would questioning grandmother, who now has Alzheimer’s, give them answers? Answers that they can trust to be accurate?

To read the description, this book sounds interesting. But I found I couldn’t handle each chapter being a different character, of many, and back and forth timelines that didn't feel all that clear, especially at the beginning.

Perhaps I would have been more interested in sorting it all out if the story had pulled me in. But It dragged along, felt repetitive and I struggled to keep engaged.

Four hundred pages felt w-a-y too long when I was confused by all the characters and not in the mood to untangle them.

Final Thoughts
It seems many do like this story, so I wouldn’t let my thoughts hold you back from giving it a try. I just struggled to care about any of it.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ability to review this and post my opinion without any stipulations.

I love multiple POVs and complex storylines so this one was definitely for me.

If you like a twisty thriller you'll enjoy this.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Paperbacks, and Claire Douglas for the advanced copy of The Couple at Number 9 in exchange for my honest review.

I found this one dragged on quite a bit in the middle. I enjoyed that the mystery was introduced right away, and that quite a bit happened at the end, but the middle made it hard for me to trudge through.

I did predict the big reveal about halfway through the book, but there were other smaller mysteries that I didn't see coming and that made me appreciate the ending that much more.

The Couple at Number 9 will be on US bookshelves August 2!

The Couple at Number 9 was creepy, sinister and everything I want in a suspense thriller.
Different timelines and multiple POVs are sometimes not my favorite but Claire Douglas wrote it with such ease that it kept me on my toes and turning the pages. Saffron, Theo and Lorna were incredible main characters that I rooted for the entire time. I usually love an unlikeable MC in a thriller but the fact was I wanted the best for these three. There was an underlying tension throughout the book as you try to figure out how all of these characters and circumstances connect together. And although I thought I had figured out the twist, I was still incredibly surprised at the end. Definitely worth the read and worth the stars!

This is a multi-generation mystery that follows a couple who inherits their grandmother's house only to find there are bodies buried in the yard when they start renovating.

I listened to this on audio and while I enjoyed it, it was hard to get into and keep track of the alternating POVs and timelines that may be easier to follow in a physical copy of the book. Once I figured out who was who, I was more engaged in the story, but it did drag on a bit and feel too long as the story slowly unraveled.

There were some twists along the way (some predictable and some more surprising) which helped keep me engaged, but I was a little bored and wish it was shorter.

Thank you Harper Audio for the advance listening copy.