The Couple at Number 9 starts FAST and gets right into the action. Unfortunately, after the initial huge reveal, it's a pretty slow burn to get to the resolution. Despite that, it is a good read and I enjoyed how the mystery was slowly revealed, knowing from the first few pages that it wasn't any of the main characters.

Ok mixed bag this. I really liked the set up. The characters were fairly stereotyped but it worked alright on the beginning - until layer after layer of characters were added and it all became a bit of a jumble. It was a pretty bog-standard thriller for all that, and interesting and engaging enough, but it did become a bit of a slog for me after a while.

The multiple characters, timelines, and perspectives contributed to that not i also think it was simply WAY too detailed for the story being told. At one point, as a test, I started skipping 3-4 chapters (and therefore POV) just to see if I'd even notice. 20+% of the book later the characters were still having the same conversations and an interview referenced before I started skimming still hadn't happened... The story eventually picks up the pace as revelations start coming and it held my attention - it was too over-the-top not to! - from there, but I think a tight edit would have done the storytelling a big service and would have made the sudden rush of massive twisty-ness feel more coherent and less tacked on...

I enjoyed The Couple at Number 9. The author did a great job keeping the many characters clear and not confusing. It would have been easy, I think, for the story with all its convolutions to become muddied. It didn't. I did think the story got a little long due to the overuse of details and minutia.

In spite of that I can easily give 4.5 stars (rounded up to 5) because the plot and ending were phenomenal. Your interweaving of Rose's good-days-and-bad-days dementia was a perfect vehicle for building the story ... and my curiosity. The ending was totally unexpected by me. Well done.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review The Couple at Number 9. It was a good read.

The Couple at Number 9 was a fast-paced and fun read about a pregnant couple who finds two bodies buried into their yard while they are having their home renovated. The bodies have been there for several years, perhaps having been buried there when Saffy's grandmother was in residence.
The author did a great job at weaving the past and present together through multiple POVs. While I was able to guess the twist before it happened, it didn't keep me from enjoying the mystery!

A pregnant couple's lives are thrown into disarray when 2 bodies are discovered in their garden when they are doing renovations. As the police try to figure out who the victims are, the couple must come to terms with their family's questionable past as strange discoveries are made.

I thoroughly enjoyed this. Not only is there twist upon twist, but it is all entirely plausible, unlike some books in this genre. I did not figure out what happened, which is a major coup for me. I flew through this at breakneck speed. Multiple narrators and time frames add to the abundant suspense. I recommend this for fans of Ruth Ware and Gilly Macmillan.

I binged The Couple At No. 9 right on the heels of Just Like The Other Girls, thanks to Harper Audio. I guessed the big twist fairly early on, but the story was very well-written so I enjoyed the journey anyways. There were many other small twists along the way to hold my interest, and the book moved at a good pace. I actually think I enjoyed The Couple At No. 9 a little more than Just Like The Other Girls.

The story is told in the past and the present through many different POVs, but Rose’s perspective in the past was the most interesting to me. I thought she was strong and interesting. I liked Saffy a lot, and I couldn’t wait to see how Theo’s storyline tied into the rest of them. These were all very well-rounded characters that grew throughout the storyline. Some characters that I wasn’t the biggest fan of at the beginning became my favorites at the end, which is certainly a sign of excellent character development.

I love the home renovation setting, and imagining this unfinished house was the perfect creepy backdrop to the events that unfolded for Saffy and Tom. The house also had personal meaning, as it was where Rose raised Lorna as a young girl.

I’m a big fan of Claire’s writing, and can’t wait to see what she comes out with next.

My last book of January, and I am thrilled to rate it with five shiny stars. I am such a sucker for multiple POVs and timelines, and this Claire Douglas novel nailed it. The characters that you meet in this mystery are compelling and left me now wanting to put it down. It was also a puzzle that I could not solve so I have not one critique for this book.

Thank you to Harper Collins and NetGalley for allowing me to read an arc of this book.

This was the first book I've read by Claire Douglas, and it will not be my last. The writing and storytelling were so good. The characters were all so well written and likable.

I really enjoyed the multiple perspectives as well as the shifts from past to present. I'm typically pretty good on picking up on plot twists before they happen, but this book got me twice!

This was such a pleasant and enjoyable read. I can't wait to read more from Mrs. Douglas.

The Couple at Number 9 is Claire Douglas’ best work yet!!

This captivating thriller is the story of two generations: Rose and her daughter Lolly, and Lorna and her daughter Saffy. When Rose went to a care home due to her dementia, her daughter Lorna (aka Lolly) and granddaughter Saffy found out that she owns a cottage in the countryside that she has leased out for years. Saffy decides to move there with her boyfriend to start their family. While they are renovating, 2 bodies are uncovered. Piecing together what happened isn’t easy, as there were multiple tenants, and the timeline of the deaths as well as the identities of the deceased aren’t initially clear. As the police investigate, they have many questions for Rose, but she struggles to answer them with any clarity through the fog of dementia. Lorna Ajax Saffy tentatively mount their own investigation. After following up on a potential lead, Lorna is attacked on her way home. At this point, Lorna and Saffy realize that somebody besides Gran Rose has a vested interest in covering up the circumstances around the double homicide. Who was buried in the garden? Who else would want to keep these murders and the circumstances around them hidden?

The Couple at Number 9 is written from 4 viewpoints; primarily, from the viewpoints of Saffy, Lorna, and Rose. Theo is the fourth viewpoint, and initially I didn’t see how he fit in. However, Claire Douglas gives a few clues and I began to have my suspicious before the connection in the storylines is revealed. Each character is very much their own personality, and I appreciated how the character of Lorna developed throughout the book and how her relationship with her daughter improved. The unfortunate circumstances brought them closer together.

Thank you to Harper Publishing and Claire Douglas for the early copy! Coming to a bookstore near you in August - preorder using the link below!

𝑻𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒔𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝒐𝒓 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈.   
  
Snowy days call for staying in and reading thrillers. Saffy and her boyfriend Tom inherit a small little cottage from her grandmother, 9 Skelton Place. With a baby on the way they begin renovating the place only to find two bodies buried under the patio from over 30 years ago. When the police launch a murder investigation, they ask to speak to the cottage's former owner - Saffy's grandmother, Rose, who unfortunately has Alzheimer's which clouds her memory. But she does remember something and when she mentions the names, Jean, Victor, Sheila, they embark on journey to identify the bodies and the exact role her grandmother played in it all.   
  
The Couple at Number 9 absolutely blew me away with its stellar, nail-biting plot. I’ll admit I was a little skeptical at first because it started off slow and I immediately disliked one of the main narrators Saffy. She was gullible and whiny, and from the moment she discovered the bodies she too dismissive, there are dead bodies buried in your garden and your grandmother owned the place why aren’t you more curious?! I much rather like her mother Lorna who is a little more aggressive and proactive in the investigation. As they dig bigger they find a wed of dark and twisted secrets that change their lives. It felt like everyone was hiding a secret and you were just holding your breath waiting for the next truth bomb to go off. My favorite parts of the story were the Rose letter entries from 1980, telling what really happened.   
  
This gripping and shocking story is also an emotional story of the relationships between mothers and daughters. Trigger warning this story also touches on sexual assault and abusive, obsessive relationships.   
  
I highly recommend if you like:   
- Dark murder mystery   
- Generational story   
- Shocking ending   
- LGBT representation

I love thrillers so when I saw this book in Netgalley plus the creepy synopsis, I was hooked! The first few chapters piqued my interest but I wasn't fully hooked. Slowly though, between all the alternating people and timelines, I lost even more interest, found myself skimming and wishing the book would finish.

The tricky thing with thrillers is that the author needs to be able to suck in their readers within the first few chapters. I found the writing with this book boring and one dimensional. Some of the phrases that the author would write were so "matter of fact" that I found myself saying "wait that's it?"

I'm bummed but I don't think I was the right reader for this book.

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is the best book I have awesome plot great characters and great twist and no spelling errors or anything else

This book has a complex plot with lots of viewpoints and timelines. I didn’t read this book in one sitting so I got slightly confused picking it up again and again and trying to find where I was was. Overall, this book had a good plot.

Thanks for the publisher and NetGalley for a copy to honestly review.

What a wild ride! Loved the multiple POV with different timelines between past and present. All the twists and turns kept me wanting more! So many secrets with all the charters. Some were minor and others were down right heartbreaking and disgusting! Really kept thinking I knew what was going to happen until the finally twist at the end!

This was my first Claire Douglas book and I wasn't disappointed! The writing, characters, and multiple points of view propelled me through the story to a great and slightly unexpected ending! I really thought I had it all figured out and then it was like BAM! And I loved that the author explored other topics as well - family, love, childhood, and identity. Overall, a great read. Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC!

*I received an advanced copy from NetGalley & the publisher Harper Perrenials and Paperbacks, in exchange for an honest review.*

I almost like these type of books. The multiple character POV's, the different timelines. I like the fact that these types of stories keep you guessing. This book was no different. I thought I'd have it figured out and then something would make me double guess. I did figure out a little earlier than anticipated what was happening but I hadn't out everything together. It was a good book, though a little drawn out. Nonetheless, I enjoyed it.

This book had a very intimate and personal feel. Told in multiple perspectives and two timelines, you felt like you knew the characters by the end of the story. While the plot moved at a slow pace, the mystery and consistent reveals kept you guessing at how things would play out. Thank you to NetGalley for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Absolutely adored this book. At first I was a little lost at times with all the story lines but once they started to come together they were much easier to follow. I loved the ending and how all the different stories combined and you finally found out who the bodies found belonged to. I really wanted to move into a tiny cottage in a small village, like the one described at number 9. One of my favorite books I've read in the last couple months.

Saffron "Saffy" and her boyfriend Tom are the proud owners of a quaint cottage called 9 Skelton Place. Once owned by her loving gran Rose, Saffy inherits the house from her mother Lorna, who lives abroad in Spain. Saffy and Tom are in the middle of a large renovation project at the cottage that comes screeching to a halt when the builders uncover the remains of two bodies in the garden. When the bodies are deemed to have been buried when Rose lived in the cottage, Saffy wonders what happened all those years ago. Unfortunately, Rose has dementia and cannot seem to remember anything.

Told from multiple perspectives, including Saffy and Rose, throughout a long period of time, The Couple at Number 9 was a great thriller. Claire Douglas created such 3-dimensional characters and truly made the story come to live. Well worth the read!

I had a really hard time staying with this one. It’s not like it was bad. I did like the writing. But maybe it’s my frame of mind. I’m literally hustling to nest as much as I can before my son is here, and can’t concentrate on much else. I did end up giving up on this one about 75% of the way in.