The Couple in the Photo was a very good book. Lucy Taylor is the main character along with her husband, Adam. Lucy had met Adam when she moved to Leicester for her job. He introduced her to his university friends Cora and Scott Waughs who become their best friends. Cora works for the National Health Service as an Admin team player and Scott worked for an international company. While looking at honeymoon pictures of an associate she sees a picture of Scott with another woman supposing honeymooning in Maldives. She tells Adam about it.

Later listening to the news when it mentions Maldives. A British woman was missing from a resort. A photo of the woman is shown and it is the same woman Lucy saw in the photograph. Her name is Juliet Noor. The police were now involved. This set Lucy on the edge, She needed to speak to Ruth and see the picture again. When she spoke to Ruth she was told that the picture had been deleted. Lucy was surprised as Juliet was missing and later she was washed ashore dead.

When at the Waugh's house Lucy asked to see the pictures of their time at the University. She found a picture of the three of them with Juliet and a man named Gus Everley. in the background. Juliet had gone to Leads University the same time Adam, Scott and Cora had gone there. Lucy became obsessed now trying to find out more about Juliet and why Scott was in Maldives. Lucy decides to go and tell the police what she suspects. After talking to them as she is leaving she sees Ruth's husband with the police coming into the station. He is covered in blood. Lucy decides to go and check up on Ruth but when she gets there she sees lots of police cars at the house and that Ruth had been found unconscious on her kitchen floor. When Lucy comes home she finds Adam, Cora and Scott at the house but Scott gets a call and has to leave. Later he comes back to their house upset as he had been at the police station being questioned.. He does admit that he knew Juliet and that he had an affair with her.

This is when the story takes all kinds of twists and turns as Lucy tries to find out what all is happening. I will let the reader find out everything as it is too much going on to put on the paper. Everything builds up to an unexpected and surprising climax,

I really enjoyed the story and all the suspense. The author holds the reader's attention throughout to the ending.

Thank you NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's and Sons for this ARC.

If you knew your best friend’s husband was having an affair would you tell them? What if you thought he actually murdered his lover? That’s the premise of this satisfying thriller.

Lucy and her husband, Adam, are best friends with Scott and Cora. They do everything together, and are even fixing up a vacation cottage.

Lucy is shocked when a coworker shows her a picture from her honeymoon and she sees Scott in a photo with another woman! When Lucy sees that woman has gone missing on the news, she starts to panic that Scott may have done something terrible to protect his marriage.

The Couple in the Photo is told from 2 POVs- Lucy’s, and short chapters from the killer’s perspective. While I figured out early on who the killer actually was, it was a fun ride all the way to the end!

Thanks you to G.P. Putnam's Sons/Penguin for this ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Helen Cooper weaves an intricate web of lies and deceit in this thriller. The shifting perspectives between characters, what was real and what was perceived, kept me guessing throughout.

Lucy sees a photo on her coworker’s phone and in the background is her best friend’s husband, Scott, with another woman. When Lucy confides in her husband, he tells her that it’s a mistake because Scott would never cheat on his wife. Lucy, though, could never unsee the couple in the photo, so she puts her amateur sleuthing skills to work to try and find out if Scott is actually a cheater or if she herself is seeing things that aren’t there.

The book expertly explores themes of infidelity, friendship, family and the unreliability of perception. I recommend this book to anyone who loves a great thriller with many surprising twists. I give this 4 stars. Thank you, NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the eARC.

Solid suspense/thriller from Helen Cooper. This is my first book by this author and will for sure be looking to read her back list. There were plenty of twists and the mystery was good I was surprised by the twists at the end. I would give this 3-3.5 stars and would recommend. I want to thank NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Another solid and satisfying slow burn thriller from author Helen Cooper!

Lucy and her husband Adam have been best friends with Scott and Cora for years--their kids are close, they own a fixer-upper vacation cottage together, and they know each other's dark secrets.

Everyone except Lucy, that is. So when a coworker shows her a picture from her honeymoon, Lucy is shocked to see Scott in it as well, looking rather cozy with a woman who is certainly not Cora. And when that woman later disappears, Lucy is terrified to think what Scott might have done to protect his secret--and his marriage.

The Couple in the Photo is told almost entirely in Lucy's POV (with some chapters from the killer's as well, craftily done to hide his or her identity until the end) as she tries to unravel the lies she knows her best friends, as well as her husband, have been telling her about their past and their knowledge of the woman Scott's seen in the picture with. Cooper keeps readers guessing about how much each character is involved and as we enter the second half of the book, there is a subtle sense of menace towards Lucy, as it becomes obvious that she's put her trust in the wrong people. This is going on the "highly recommend list" and Cooper will remain a new "must read" author.

Thanks so much to G.P. Putnam's Sons/Penguin for allowing me the opportunity to read a copy of this ARC through NetGalley in exchange for a review.

Lucy is talking her coworker, Ruth, about Ruth's honeymoon. Lucy is scrolling through the photos when she sees something amiss. In one of the the photos is her best friend's husband, with a strange woman. Lucy feels conflicted, because it just wouldn't be like Scott. He's madly in love with his wife. But Cora is Lucy's best friend. Things get even worse when the strange woman is reported missing. Lucy has to decide what to do with what she knows, and who she can trust.

I loved this book!!! It was written very well and I can picture myself in Lucy's shoes. The story unfolds in a brilliant way. By the end you don't know who to trust or look at. It was awesome!!!

My thanks to Penguin Group/Putnam, Helen Cooper and Netgalley.
This was one messed up story! And yes, I was all for it!
No trick or treat from me. Go into this one blind.
Again.....such a funked up story.
Recommended.

I went in blind so I didn’t know what to expect… I was so pleasantly surprised!! Great storytelling and descriptions!

I was really intrigued by this title and was excited to get improved for this advanced copy on NetGalley. The book had many twists and turns and was a solid read. I felt bad for Lucy as she tried to figure out who to trust.

I really enjoyed this fun read! The premise was great and right up my alley, keeping me intrigued the whole time. I look forward to reading more from this author. Definitely recommend!

Pub date: 12/5/23
Genre: suspense/thriller
Quick summary: Lucy saw a picture of one of her best friends on a tropical vacation - but the woman he's with wasn't his wife - and he denies the vacation when confronted. How far will she go to expose the truth?

If you like thrillers about groups of friends with secrets, definitely try this one. Lucy, Cora, Adam, and Scott seem like the perfect friend group - their kids are practically siblings, and they're renovating a vacation home together. But the cracks start to appear quickly after Lucy's discovery. I thought I knew how things would play out given past thrillers I've read, but the last 25% had so many twists! The ending really surprised me.

If you enjoy thrillers, this is a fun and fast read!

Thank you to G.P. Putnam's Sons for my e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Couple in the Photo is a gripping, can't-put-down domestic thriller. From page one, the book is packed with secrets, twists, betrayals, and murder. While I definitely predicted a few of the twists, there were still quite a lot that came as a surprise. Lucy has been best friends with her husband Adam and his two closest mates from college for the past 15+ years. Their families do everything together: movie nights, picnics, school drop offs, wine nights, and vacations. Lucy can't picture her and Adam's life without the other couple. Then, on a random school day, Lucy sees one of her colleague's honeymoon photos - a couple her and her husband had met at dinner. Lucy knew the man - Scott - but it wasn't Cora whom he had his arm around. As Lucy starts to dig into her friends' relationship, she discovers that there are many, many more dark secrets and lies, some of which involve her own husband. Just how close were Adam, Scott, and Cora at college? And what else could they be hiding? And who was the woman with Scott?

The Couple in the Photo was fast-paced and exhilarating. I honestly couldn't put the book down. I will definitely be recommending The Couple in the Photo to anyone who loves an exciting thriller.

This book was an easy read, but you could just about guess who did what or what was going to happen next.. I didn't feel like the story line had a reason or purpose.. I felt this book could have been better written then it was.

What. A. Ride.

Did not see any of it coming. Just when I thought I had it all figured out, BAM, I was wrong.

So many twists and turns. LOVED.

This book was hard for me. I wanted to like it so bad but it never really came together. There seemed to be three distinct storylines going on, and they didn’t merge until the end. It was very rushed and didn’t really make sense. There was too much filler about Lucy’s day to day life without it adding anything to the plot. Such as talking about work and her kids. More of the book should have focused on Adam, Cora and Scott, especially at school. Since it was important to the story’s conclusion.

Thank you Netgalley & Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved how things took off straight out of the gate in this book. It captivates you during the first few chapters. I enjoyed the plot-seeing a friend’s picture with your best friend’s husband in it was enticing!

However, I didn’t love any of the characters. Lucy is willing to wreck everything for a photo. It was odd how she just came to realize that Adam had feelings for Cora in this short period of time since they'd been friends for years. The twist was easy to guess but it was a quick, suspenseful read.

Very interesting premise for a book. Lucy is looking through a co-workers wedding pictures when she happens upon a photo that looks just like the husband of her best friend couple. Is it him? Is he cheating? As Lucy seeks answers she finds more than she bargained for, including - does she really know her husband and their closest friends. As more things happen Lucy isn't sure what or who to believe. Overall, this was a nice fast pace read that kept me wanting to read. Some nice twists thrown in to keep me a bit off-kilter. Very satisfying read.

Parts of this book were super intriguing and kept me turning the pages and other parts had me scratching my head. The overall premise was promising, but ultimately, it fell short for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Putnam for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately I would not recommend this one. This is a domestic thriller with an intriguing first chapter. You will crave explanation from the very beginning (the makings of a great thriller). However the releasing of information is far too slow to keep interest and when info is revealed, it’s not enough to keep the reader satisfied. I DNF’d this one at about 25% and re-started due to it being the only book I had downloaded on a camping trip. At that point I trudged through it to the end and wish I had never picked it back up. I really try not to provide reviews like this but in this case this book was just not a match for me.

Lucy, Adam, Cora and Scott. Two families who have built a life together as best friends. Lucy and Cora are each-other’s go-to’s and their kids are inseparable. They’re so close they’re even building a vacation cottage together. Life is good until Lucy sees her best friend’s husband in a photo with another person… what more? That woman shows up missing. Lucy desperately works to find answers. Is her best friend’s husband a cheater? Did he cause a woman to go missing? She unravels clues slowly but surely. Will she get the answers she’s looking for? And will she find them in time?

This one was just too much of a slow burn for me and I would not recommend it. There are too many other thrillers out there that are more interesting. The premise sounds fantastic but it’s just not a satisfying read.

The story line is very unique, but very believable and could happen to anyone. There were many twists and turns I didn’t see coming, which kept it interesting and hard to put down. Rich character development and plot development that made me feel so involved and invested into what happens next. This is the kind of thriller I live because I couldn’t guess what was going to happen next and I just had to know what happened next and couldn’t wait to find out. Absolutely loved this book! Such great work!