The Marriage Counselor was a fast paced read with a lot going on. Unfortunately I found quite a lot of the action to be quite hard to believe and Adele was just the most unlikeable character I have ever come across. I am afraid this one just wasn't for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for my ARC.

The Marriage Counselor is a must read for sure! I read it in just a couple hours. This book was fast paced and attention grabbing, plus the twist was completely unexpected

Adele is a marriage counsellor, but when her husband does not turn up to work and the police turn up at her door, she realises the problems she helps other couples with may be a lot closer to home. Secrets will be uncovered and lies told.

This novel was very fast-paced and told in first person narrative with twists I did not see coming. One issue with this novel is that I had a few questions as some things were left unanswered, but this was still a great thriller and one I would recommend.

BLOG TOUR REVIEW

Review for 'The Marriage Counselor' by Dea Poirier.

Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Dea Poirier, Bookouture publishers and Bookouture anonymous

Publication date 24th April 2023.

This is the second book I have read by this author. I have previously read 'The Girls In The Fire' which I highly recommend.

I was originally drawn to this book by its eye catching cover and its intriguing synopsis and title. The synopsis stated that this book is 'A totally addictive psychological thriller about deadly obsession and twisted lies perfect for fans of Gone Girl, The Perfect Marriage, The Wife Before Me, and anything by Freida McFadden.' I am a huge fan of 'Gone Girl' and Freida McFadden so am looking forward to seeing if this lives up to this statement. I am also a huge fan of Dea and if this is half as good as 'The Girls In The Fire' it is sure to be a page turning read. I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being Bookouture. I have yet to read a book published by Bookouture that I haven't enjoyed. Hopefully this won't be the first... Watch this space! (Written before I started reading the book).

This novel consists of 31 chapters. The chapters are short to medium in length so easy to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!

This book is based in Orlando, Florida, USA.

This book is written in first person perspective and the protagonist is Adele Sutton-Johansen. The benefits of books written in first person perspective are as long as they are well written it makes you feel that you are being spoken to by the protagonist and it can create more of a bond between yourselves and them. If there are several protagonists you also get to see more of what is going on.



WHAT did I just read!!!! WOW!!! I mean seriously Wow!! I was NOT expecting that lot fair play!!! This has GOT to start with a MASSIVE WELL DONE DEA!!!! Ooopps sorry, yes, needed a minute to get over that but I've just left you hanging there... Sorry.... Let me tell you more...


Firstly let's start off with the writing style, etc!! This book is an extremely well written book by this amazing author which had me hook line and sinker!!! It is so smoothly and beautifully written with vivid descriptions I completely forgot I was even reading a book a few times. The blurb, title and cover really fit the storyline. to create an absolutely explosive and addictive storyline that had me hooked from the gripping first chapter to the absolutely shocking ending!!!

Adele is a marriage counselor and is married to Patrick. They seem like the perfect couple but when Patrick goes missing Adele discovers he isn't the person she thought he was. While this is happening Adele is being questioned and abused left right and centre when complaints of what problems her parents caused as counselors start coming out of the woodwork. There's also the question of their disappearance. This is one of those books where you have absolutely no idea who is telling the truth and who can be trusted and the ending was an absolute explosive bombshell of a twist!! I found the storyline to be realistic, very fast paced and I read/listened to it in just several hours!!! I loved the setting and atmosphere and just well... Everything!!! Twists after shocks after turns!!! Its so hard to NOT say anything about them as it will give too much away and spoil it for future readers but it definitely left me speechless over and over!!! I have read hundreds of psychological books and it gets harder and harder to keep my interest and to shock me but these fantastic authors managed it hook, line and sinker Just brilliant fair play and all links in and wraps up perfectly!!! Dea weaves the storylines together perfectly and leading the readers up to some extremely explosive twists that I woiuld never have seen coming. I cannot remember the last time I flew through a book so quickly. Each and every time I went to put it down to do something my fingers were itching to pick it back up as I just HAD to know what happened next!! Dea's evocative writing skills ensure you are sucked deep into the storyline seeing everything that is happening and feeling the tension, stress and suspense that Adele is going through. My heart was in my throat throughout reading this fast paced, gripping and gritty psychological thriller! It is ram packed with lies, twists, tension, stress, suspense and everything you could ask for in a psychological thriller. It really does make you wonder who you can trust, if anyone, both in the book and reality!! I can't say more than that as I don't want to spoil it for future readers so if you want to know you'll have to grab yourself a copy!! You won't regret it!!

This is one of the few books that I have listened 100% on Audiobook. If I listen to a book on audiobook I usually also read the physical book between but I listened to the whole book and I was impressed! I must say a HUGE congratulations to the narrator Stephanie Cannon who did a great job bringing this story to life. I would listen to it in the car and while walking at any opportunity and Stephanie did a fantastic job on both male and female characters voices!!! I'm not only looking forward to reading more books by Dea but also to listening to more books narrated by Stephanie! I have also listened to 'The Ex Wives' by Jenna Kernan and 'My Big Fake Wedding' 1005 on audiobooks which were also narrated by Stephanie. These are both fantastic reads and Stephanie does an amazing job narrating them as well as this book so I would highly recommend any books narrated by her!


Just like with the storyline the characters come to life with Theo's fantastic writing skills. They are well rounded, realistic and strong making them all the more believable. Adele's life falls apart as she discovers that she knows nothing about her husband, is accused of abusing her patients trust, is attacked for things her parents did and so much more!! I did feel for Adele but I can't say that I trusted her 100%. However, it must be heartbreaking to find out that you have been living with someone that you know nothing about. This is one of those books that is I won't go into more details in regards to the characters as I don't want to risk giving anything away but Dea really has done an amazing job constructing an addictive and explosive psychological thriller with fantastic and varied characters that you just won't be able to put down!!


Congratulations Dea on another explosive success!!! This is exactly why you are in my favourite author club!! Here's to many more successes 🥂!!!


Clear your schedules before picking this up as you will not be able to put it down!!! "


Make sure you read to the very end of the book to read the first two chapter of Dea's 'Find Me In The Dark' which looks just as addictive as this one and one I'm looking forward to reading myself!

Overall an absolutely page turning, addictive, gripping and explosive must read that will keep you addicted from the very start to the fantastic ending!!!


Genres covered in this novel include Women's Psychological Fiction, Women's Crime Fiction, Psychological Suspense, Domestic Thriller, Hard-Boiled Mystery, Crime, Domestic Suspense, Thriller & Mystery Adventures, Crime Fiction, Suspense Thriller, Thriller, Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Psychological Fiction, Psychological Literary Fiction, Thriller & Suspense Literary Fiction, Women's Psychological Thriller, Domestic Fiction, Crime, Thriller & Mystery Adventures and Mystery amongst others.


I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as fans of The Girl on the Train, Behind Closed Doors ,Gone Girl, The Perfect Marriage, The Wife Before Me, Freida McFadden. Miranda Smith, Sheryl Browne, Sue Watson, K.L. Slater. Nina Manning, Shalini Boland, Lisa Jewell, Ruth Ware, Gillian Flynn and anyone looking for an explosive page turner!!!


327 pages/ 7 hours 42 minutes


This book is just £1.99 to purchase on kindle, free on kindle unlimited, £7.99 in paperback and £16 for the audiobook at time of review via Amazon which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!


Rated 5/5 (I LOVED it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.


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⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Thank you NetGalley, bookouture, and the author for sending me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Adele, a marriage counselor, that discovers her husband is missing and no one can reach him, she called to check with his friends but they never knew before that he is married, but that was the beginning. The more time passes on his disappearance the more she discovers about his lies and secrets. Adele starts questioning if she ever knew her husband well.

When I read the synopsis I was intrigued and immediately wanted to read this and I was so excited when I got the audiobook and the ebook of this. I was in my own world while reading and listening to the book at the same time. I was intrigued throughout the whole book because I wanted to know what was happening.

Adele was an unlikeable character, I actually wanted to like her but it didn’t work. And Emma, omg! She was sooo frustrating, I don’t recall a time I hated a character when they started talking as much as I did with Emma(Adele’s assistant). Actually, none of the characters were likable

It was an enjoyable and interesting read but towards the end I felt everything was rushed and I got confused a little that I had to reread few parts.

But the twist! It was actually a surprise for me and I really enjoyed it I just wished for more. I wanted more clarification to what ACTUALLY happened. But that didn’t keep me from enjoying the plot and the audiobook narrator, Stephanie Cannon, was so good she actually helped me enjoy the book even more.

Where is Adele’s husband Patrick? Just as she discovers that is he missing, it appears that he has erased her from his life. The past two weeks especially have been a lie, making Adele wonder if everything about her life has been a lie. The detective handling this case is none other than Adele’s ex-boyfriend, Cameron. He is determined to find her husband.

As this story begins to unravel, it becomes clear that Patrick has had secrets. Even more, Adele may have had at least one of her own. As Adele lost her parents when she was a child, there are things about their deaths that are coming to light now. There is also a murder case, and it is curious to the police whether or not it is in any way connected to Patrick’s disappearance.

This fast-paced story was quite intriguing. The past kept colliding with the present. Everything came together in the end as the dots were connected. As I listened to this as an audiobook, I was drawn into the drama as things unfolded. This latest book by Dea Poirier had some exciting twists, none of which I saw coming.

Many thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

Adele is a marriage counselor and doing alright for herself, until one day she finds out that her husband is missing, and he’s been keeping things from her their entire marriage. To make matters even better, the cop that comes to her door to tell her is her old sweetheart who seems to still have feelings for her. When Adele finds a box of baby clothes, she begins to wonder what all her husband was hiding.

Adele’s whole career is distinguishing what is false from true, and the revelation of her husband missing and cheating threatens her entire career. When more secrets come out, and people end up murdered, Adele begins to wonder who all will end up dead before her husband is found.


This book was totally addicting and kept me guessing and on the edge of my seat the entire time. I was pulled into this story from the start. I loved the build-up and felt that overall, the book was paced well and held my interest the entire time. There was a lot going on in this book and I really think that it worked. Sometimes random things make perfect sense after a little while and that was the case here. This one was a quick read because I couldn’t wait to see how everything came together and I absolutely loved the final twist! So good.

If you’re looking for a delightful thriller, then I hope you grab yourself a copy of this one TODAY!

Thank you to Bookouture, @bookouture, and Netgalley, @netgalley for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Rounded up to 5 stars.

Adele is a marriage counselor in Orlando and sees clients out of her home. Her assistant, Emma, is in college working toward a degree as a counselor.

Adele opens her door one day to a policeman that she knows well. Cameron was her boyfriend many years ago in Naples and now he is a cop living and working in Orlando. Cameron tells her that her husband, Patrick, appears to be missing. His office called them for a wellness check on him. Even though he has been working in this job for three years, he never told them he was married.

As Adele and the police look into things, they discover a Patrick that is nothing like the husband that Adele knew. Lies and accusations continue to mount and Adele is realizing that he has taken their money as well.

Where is Patrick and why has he done these things? Before long, the bodies start to pile up and Adele realizes she is in great danger. How deep are Patrick’s misdeeds?

This book kept me on my toes. I was surprised to find a few twists as the story ended. I think readers will like this one. Enjoy!

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

2.7 rounded to 3✨ thank you netgalley and bookouture for a copy of this ereader that was released yesterday! 😁😇 i did enjoy it overall however i couldn’t get hooked where i wanted to keep reading on and on and on. It didn’t flow well for me and how it came to the ending was a little rushed and sometimes got confusing for me. To be fair, my mental health isn’t great right now and was just trying to get this one finished to submit this as close to the pub date as possible! Thanks you again so much for the honor in reading this early!!!

When you don't have anything nice to say...

Okay, I have to say something. I found this to be confusing, repetitive, and in need of a nice long edit.

The Marriage Counselor by Dea Poirier.
Working as a marriage counselor I’m used to the tragedies that come out of nowhere. People trust me to help them through life’s big moments. The things that leave you questioning everything you thought you knew about the person you love the most.But I never thought trouble would land on my own doorstep.As I start to piece together our last conversation desperate for any clues I can find, the cop standing in front of me reveals that my husband never told his co-workers he was married. He was seemingly living a double life right in front of me.Days later, as I search through our home, I discover a hidden box of baby clothes that suggest my husband was starting to build the perfect life without me.
Really good read. Slow to begin with but what a twist. Didn't see that coming. 4*.

Adele’s world is crumbling. Her husband is a cheat and and a liar who has left her in a financial mess. Now he is missing. But she doesn’t seem too concerned about it.
Adele is a cold fish who doesn’t suffer fools. But people she’s associated with keep dropping dead so what’s her role in all of this?
I didn’t know just exactly who was behind all the shenanigans until later in the game.
One has to be careful about pulling fast ones over on others because the same may be done to them.
Must ask Adele.
It’s a good, twisty story that will keep readers on their toes.

BOOKWORMS REVIEW:
Adele and Patrick seem like the perfect couple. Until one day he goes missing. Secrets are revealed about Patrick's past life,and Adele learns she's been lied to for their entire marriage.
This book has alot going on..including the death of Adeles parents,Patrick's disappearance,his affairs and lies,an exboyfriend of Adeles who is now working Patrick's case..and lots of dead bodies!
All in all a good read,albeit a little haphazard in places.
With thanks to Bookouture NetGalley and Dea Poirier for an arc to read and review.
Bookworms Rating: 📒 📒 📒

What would you do, if you found out your marriage was a lie?

Adele is a marriage counselor who just found out her husband, Patrick, is missing. While searching for clues that may help find him, she discovers her marriage is a lie and he has been living a double life.

Rating: 2 stars

The Marriage Counselor was an intriguing idea and concept to write. I was enticed by the synopsis of the story alone. I’m rating this 2 stars because this story lacked clarity and it was very predictable. There were too many characters to follow and some of the details didn’t make any sense.

Adele was a horrible main character and she irritated the shit out of me the whole story. The sub-characters were more interesting than her. I wanted to scream at her the entire time because of how boring she was.

I believe that this story needed to go back to the drawing board because as I said before, a lot of the events in this book did not make sense. The plot twists were very predictable and I was underwhelmed.

Great concept, it wasn’t for me.

Thank you Netgalley, Bookouture for the arc!

This was an easy writing style, and the premises piqued my interest for sure. Adele was a definite conundrum for me. Was she sad that her husband had disappeared? Did she love him? I was never sure right up until the end. There were a lot of storylines on the go and I will admit I got a little confused in parts. However, it was an entertaining read that definitely kept me guessing.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

I LOVE Dea Poirier's Detective Harlow Durant series, and was so surprised to see this new book, so I immediately had to request it! I went between the eARC and the audiobook, and enjoyed both!

Adele was such a captivating main character. There were a couple of flashbacks of her past and life growing up with parents who were famous psychotherapists. I wish there had been a little bit more added to this book regarding this because it would have given the reader more perspective, and I also wish there had been more about her marriage with her husband before he went missing. I would have liked to have known him better since he was such an important part of the plot.
I really enjoyed this fast-paced psychological thriller! There were many twists and dark secrets that I enjoyed! The ending was satisfying and had a twist I didn't see coming!

★★ 2.5 stars

"You trust her with your darkest secrets...you shouldn't..."

I really don't know what to think of this book. On the one hand it seriously messes with your head...yet on the other, it seriously messes with your head! Seriously, it is twisted and not always in a good way. And yet all throughout you don't know who you can trust. And the main character, Adele, was so completely unreliable I didn't know if I could trust her either!

The premise for this book had me hooked right away. Missing husband of a marriage counsellor? Sign me up! No, not for one of her sessions...somehow I don't think she'd be the best fit for marriage counselling under the circumstances. But for a peek into her own troublesome marriage? Now that I'd be interested in.

Adele is no stranger to fame. Her parents were daytime TV pop-psychologists of the nineties who went on to make a killing...before being killed in a car accident themselves. Now two decades later, she's married to Patrick and opens the door one morning to a police officer who was once her boyfriend, some fifteen years ago. More cheesy daytime TV plot? It seems so. Anyway, Cameron the cop has come knocking for a welfare check on her husband Patrick who apparently hasn't turned up for work. In fact, today was his first day back after a two week vacation. Which was news to Adele who had seen hubby off to work every morning and returning every night. So where was he going every day, if not work? And where was he now if not at work?

But that's not all of it. Apparently, none of his colleagues know anything of Adele's existence. They've only been married seven years and he's worked at the company for three, so what did he tell them of his private life? But this secrecy was only the beginning. The more Adele delved, the more she discovered Patrick lied, cheated and stole from her...and others. Did she even know him at all?

What amazed me was that throughout all this going on Adele continued to meet clients, with the help of Emma who worked as her assistant. I'm not sure what else Emma's role was besides a grade A bitch. The way she spoke to Adele was just mindblowing and the fact that Adele just let it go like water off a duck's back just made my head hurt.

And then just when things couldn't get any worse...someone is out to trash Adele's reputation by digging into her parents' deaths and the cloud that apparently now surrounds their celebrity status. It doesn't matter that Adele doesn't talk to them, they hash it out on national TV anyway. And Adele's business begins to suffer and Emma becomes even bitchier (if that's possible).

And then things start to get a little confusing. Bodies begin to start piling up at such a speed I wondered if there would be any characters left by the end of it!

I still don't even know what to think of of this book. I feel I must give it a good review (being on the tour and all) but how? The plot was just ridiculous. It revolves around the disappearance of our main character's husband, who we don't know anything about beyond being a liar, a cheat and a scammer. There's no depth to his character; no narrative from him (even just one chapter from him would have sufficed to give him some kind of depth). And in the end we just get a brief description of what happened in a couple of paragraphs. Like what? His disappearance was meant to be the main plot focus and that's all the answers we get? And don't get me started on Adele. She had about as much depth as a puddle. She just drifted through the entire book without much of a fight beyond "Patrick is not getting away with blah blah blah".

The premise was good. The concept was intriguing. But the execution was so completely lacking I was left with the only positive thought being it was a nice quick read. Oh, that and the delicious twist at the end. Now that I really did like!

I would like to thank #DeaPoirier, #Netgalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheMarriageCounselor in exchange for an honest review.

This review appears on my blog at https://stinathebookaholic.blogspot.com/.

The Marriage Counsellor by Dea Poirier Narrated by Stephanie Cannon was a good book, However, it did start off slow but once you got into it, it was really good with lots of great twists and turns throughout.

“Adele, we believe your husband is missing.”
Everything around her starts to blur, Adele goes over the words once more: “Your husband is missing.” Just four simple words with the power to shatter her whole world in a split second.

Adele works as a marriage counsellor and she is used to the tragedies that come out of nowhere from her clients. People trust her to help them through life’s big moments of their lives. The things that leave them questioning everything they thought you knew about the person you love the most.

But she never thought trouble would land on her own doorstep especially with her marriage!

Adele starts to piece together their last conversation, so desperate for any clues she could find, the Policeman standing in front of her reveals that her husband never told his co-workers that he was married. Why!
He was seemingly living a double life right in front of her and she never knew!.......WoW!!!!

Days later, Adele search through her home, discover's a hidden box of baby clothes which suggests her husband is starting to build another life without her.

What would you do if that happened to you????

And where is he? Is he alive?

This book was so good I could not put it down until I had finished listening to it.........I highly recommend this book I loved it.

The narrator Stephanie Cannon was excellent and just drew you in

Big Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture Audio, for providing me with this audibook ARC in exchange for an honest review.

As a marriage counsellor, Adele prides herself on separating the truth from the lies. After her husband, Patrick, goes missing and she learns he was living a double life and the depth of his deception has her questioning everything.

The first few chapters of this book were SO good and I was preparing for a binge read. It was a bummer that the story kind of lost me about half way through.

Adele was just so unlikable and something was telling me that I shouldn’t trust her. Other prominent characters were Ella and Emma. I cannot understand the choice to have two characters with such similar names. I had a hard time remember who was who and it honestly drove me bonkers.

I can look the other way when it comes to questionable police procedures for the sake of a good story. There is NO WAY that a civilian would be able to stay with the police officer working their case, even with an existing personal relationship. I just couldn't get over that.

I got Freida McFadden vibes from this story which might give an idea of what to expect.

This book has an interesting setting, and it was a nice, smooth read, but the story itself wasn’t believable. I didn’t particularly like any of the characters, and for a reason. I think this book is good for people who want more drama, and something more than real life. It is a bit too much soap opera meets trust no one reality show. The ending took me by surprise though, so that was a nice twist.