Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book! This was a pretty good thriller with a lot of surprises, twists & red herrings. The author created an interesting dynamic between the protagonists, and the story kept me engaged.

Read this if you...
enjoy domestic thrillers
are into deception and lies
believe a picture isn't always what it seems

What I loved:
Talk about a fast-paced, "go-go-go" thriller! I haven't run into a book like this in quite a while, but from the moment I picked it up, I wasn't able to put it down. I finished this book in two days! You'll definitely be on the edge of your seat for the entire read.

This domestic thriller has so many twists and turns. You'll think you have it figured out, but soon learn you're not even close. You will follow Lucy, Adam, Scott, and Cora as lies get unwound and the truth is uncovered. How much can you really trust those closest to you? To what lengths will you go to protect the ones you love?

What wasn't my favorite:
I really enjoyed this book overall, and I wouldn't change much - the characters and plot are very well-developed. I'm a big fan of dual perspective narratives, and while there was some of this, I think adding more in-depth dual perspective dialogue could have made this book that much better!

Credit:
Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Decent thriller. Main character makes some decisions that make me question her judgement, and not sure why she and another character were teachers, as nothing about their career was really realistic or important to the story.

I also think it was way too obvious who was doing the alternative narratives in italics, and who killed Juliet. The why not so much, but even then yes, that was obvious too. The rest was a bit too convoluted to be realistic.

Having said all of that, the narrative was propulsive, and I was compelled to read it to the end.

The Couple in the Photo by Helen Cooper grabbed my attention from the first chapter. It was a fast passed and kept me guessing with teasers and twists throughout to keep you guessing until the end.

This is a twisty mystery involving four friends with a long history. Tangled webs come to mind. I enjoyed the story, although it got a bit boring in parts. I didn’t really identify with any of the characters and wasn’t rooting for anyone to “win” in the end. And really, there were no winners. Overall, a good read.

Lucy, Adam, Cora and Scott are all the best of friends. Adam, Cora and Scott went to University together and Lucy was quickly added to the group when she and Adam met and married. They have meals together frequently, heir kids are best friends, and they are close enough to have purchased a cottage together. So when Lucy is viewing a colleague's honeymoon photos, she's taken aback when she sees a photo of a man and woman together. The man is Scott, she's 100% sure of it.

What follows is a paranoid and fast-paced descent into the truth. This is the story of shared histories, of lost love and of the truth.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review.

Overall a great, easy read! I really got lost in the book. I enjoyed the characters and overall was not surprised about the ending. That is why I am giving this 3 stars as it was a bit predictable.

I enjoyed The Couple In the Photo. I will say, the protagonist was definitely super obsessive. As it turned out, she had ample reason to be!!

Told in dual timelines and in interview style I loved how the book was written. Her descriptions were amazing and only made me want to travel more. The story is evenly paced and easy to get lost in. I really appreciated the friendship this group was able to maintain but did spike the thought of how little you know about your closest friends! While I was surprised by the ending I still liked how it came together and seeing the story lines intersect throughout. Be on the look out for this book! Thank you Putnam books and NetGalley!

I flew through this one!! This seemed like a dark version of friends or how I met your mother. I could not put it down and was shocked at every turn.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Thank you Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Adam, Lucy, Cora, and Scott have been friends for years. Lucy is a photographer and comes across a picture of a co-worker's honeymoon to the Maldives that has her feeling uneasy. Her co-worker said that the lovely couple's names are Jason and Anna. So why does he look exactly like Scott, who's supposed to be on a business trip in Japan? A few days later there is a missing persons report of a woman named Juliet, only it's not Juliet.... it's Anna.

This was my first book by Helen Cooper, and I will definitely be reading more. It was well paced and kept you guessing.

I loved the way the story was told - a podcaster is interviewing her favorite author. As the interview goes on it is obvious that there lives are going to intersect. It takes a while to get there. The story is told in both the current day and the past. The author kept the story going with great locations and travel spots well described. There was some family drama. That made the story read a lot like a mystery. Todd and Ann's romance and multiple reuniting's seemed a little far fetched. But overall the conclusion made sense and the book was enjoyable.

This book was easy to get lost in. While the plot was somewhat predictable and cliche, it's still an engaging read that will hold your attention. Overall I gave it 3 stars, as I wasn't surprised at the outcome but I did want to continue reading to the end.

I am normally weary of main characters who spend the entire book tiptoeing and being upset that they're left out of the big secret. I loved this book because it felt like I was reading a Lifetime movie. I was kept on the edge of my seat trying to figure out who this women was, what happened to her and how much Adam and Cora know. I read this book right after reading a complicated friends in paradise and old secrets coming out book so I was a bit worried I'd be let down but it was just the right amount of drama.

I didn't have much fun reading this, even if it was an easy read. I love thrillers anchored in a strong setting or wild and twisty plot- this didn't satisfy those needs. Boring characters with no personality, didn't enjoy the ending.

This book is one of the most addictive edge-of-your-seat thrillers I’ve read in a long time. I inhaled it in one day. Thanks to @netgalley, @putnambooks, and @helencooperwriter for the opportunity to read this novel before its 12/5/2023 release in exchange for my honest review.

While looking at her colleague’s honeymoon photos, Lucy sees one of a couple that was also on the trip. The man in the photo is her best friend’s husband, but the woman he is with is most certainly not her best friend. Lucy is sure of it but desperately wants to be wrong. Is he having an affair? Something worse? As Lucy pokes around for information, lives are put at risk, and she begins to question what is true and false and who she can trust.

A fast-paced mystery with many twists and turns, it explores how much you can know anyone and the lengths people will go to to protect what’s most important. The characters are all richly developed, and the story is complex but not in a contrived way. I was guessing until the final few pages how all of the treads came together. I absolutely could not put it down.

3.5 overall, very fast and entertaining read. Would be a great vacation read - it’s straightforward, pretty evenly paced, likable main character, and no weird tangents to keep up with or plot holes to take you out of the story. I really appreciated that this was a thriller that didn’t try to do too much, it had a good concept and stuck with it. It can be hard to maintain friendships as an adult busy with kids, so watching the nuances of these two couples and how they still go about life was a fun read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital copy and a chance to read this early. All opinions are my own.

This was a solid book. Easy to read, well-developed and relatable characters, and a plot that moved at a comfortable pace. I figured out the twist about halfway through the book, but I view that as a good thing. I enjoyed sitting back and watching the story unfold. I liked that I felt sympathetic and understanding of what each of the characters and why—I felt like I was part of the story.

This was Ok. It was enjoyable at times and a bit redundant at others. The end was somewhat predictable. The ending was weak. Overall, it was just OK. Character development was adequate in some instance and good in others. The plot varied between engaging and dull and I think that could have been fixed by condensing the story a bit.

The Couple in the Photo was unexpectedly phenomenal! The characters were well developed and the storyline so grippingly twisty. It truly makes you question every person you know, every person you interact with. What secrets are hiding?