Are you one of those people? One of those people who looks at a photograph in its entirety? You know...everything...not just what is being focused on. I am. When on vacations, or just walking down the street, I often wonder how many photos I am in. I am also a firm believer in "everything happens for a reason"! I mean, how crazy is it that Lucy looks at a photo of a colleagues honeymoon. Just a colleague too, not a friend, or even in someone she is really interested in. That chance "spotting" sets off a WHOLE turn of events that takes you down a rabbit hole. This book is so good!! It had my mind swirling throughout the ENTIRE thing. Who did what? Who was doing what? I was feeling all the feels right along with it!!

Two couples that are best friends, vacation together, and raising their children together seem like the ideal couple goals for adults. Lucy and Adam. Cora and Scott. Always together.
Things go awry when Lucy spots Scott in a photo on a tropical island, with another woman. Lucy is determined to get to the bottom of this and ultimately wants to protect her best friend. When a news report states that a woman has disappeared - the same woman from the photograph - Lucy goes into investigative mode. Is she imagining things or is there more to Scott than it seems?
Fast-paced, fun, and will keep you guessing until the end!
Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC.

Wow, this books grabs you from the very beginning and doesn't let go. Sometimes I struggle with books that alternate perspectives but this one I had no trouble with which I really enjoyed.

Imagine your whole life flips upside down because of a photo. This is what happens to Lucy and she is left grasping for the truth. Lucy and her husband Adam are close friends with another couple, Scott and Cora. All four of their lives are intertwined. This also changes when Lucy sees her colleagues honeymoon photos. She sees Scott with another woman in a country he isn’t;t supposed to be in. Lucy now falls down a rabbit hole to try to find the truth and protect her best friend Cora. But not everything is what it seems and soon the other woman is found dead. Now Lucy is in a down ward spiral trying to figure out what is true and what is real. Who can she trust and is Scott dangerous? Will she be able to protect her best friends heart?

What I enjoyed:
-this started off slow at first. But a little before half way through, I was flying through the book. I felt like I was along side Lucy trying to piece together the truth.
-this kept be guessing the whole time! I had theories but was pleasantly surprised at a few things.
-this was a quick read that I was able to finish in a day!
-the twist at the end!

Overall, this was a fun and quick thriller read! I liked the themes of photos and how much meaning they have to our MC. I enjoyed discovering the truth alongside Lucy as well. I will definitely be peeking at the authors other works. 3.5 stars out of 5! Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Friendships, murder, deception, & infidelity oh my. 🫣This book had me sucked in from the very start & it kept me on my toes the entire time. I felt so connected with Lucy that I was just as curious, anxious, & stressed out as she was the entire book. She couldn’t think about anything else until she fully figured out what was going on & I know I would be the same way. I had so many theories & when I finally thought I had it figured out another bombshell would drop. It was SO good!!

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of The Couple in the Photo.

Lucy and her husband, are a happy couple with two daughters. Their close friendship with Cora and Scott have entwined their families and children together and they wouldn't have it any other way.

But, when Lucy sees a photo with Scott with another woman, years of lies and deceit begin to unravel, and Lucy discovers her marriage and friends are not what they appear to be.

First, the novel forces the reader to take a big gulp of disbelief suspension right from the start; that a coworker of Lucy has snapped a photo of Scott with another woman because out of all the people in the world, Lucy's coworker has spent her honeymoon on the same island as scumbag Scott.

Seriously, what are the odds?

The novel begins slowly, and the pace is gradual, steady, as Lucy ruminates and obsesses over Scott's involvement with this mystery woman.

Her anxiety increases when the mystery woman goes missing and is found death.

All the drama and deceit is revealed at the end, and it's a Lifetime-y cornucopia of outlandishness, ridiculousness, love triangle drama mama.

I wasn't a fan of the third person narrative, nor was I a fan of Lucy, Adam, Scott or Cora.

I liked Lucy's doggedness in seeking the truth, but like most spouses in these novels, she was the odd man out.

The only one not privy to the secrets and deep rooted jealousy and unrequited love that bound her husband and his college friends together.

The twists and revelations are both predictable and hilariously, overly dramatic, especially what happens to Cora in the end.

I felt the novel could have used more editing and less filler, but overall I just couldn't suspend disbelief to believe Lucy's coworker would be vacationing on the same island as Scott.

Thank you netgalley and penguin group putnam for giving me early access to this book!

I really move thrillers so I was super excited when I got this as an ARC. The very first page had me hooked and wanting more. This book was very fast paced and I did not want to put it down. Each chapter had be guessing more and more until the end!! As soon as i thought I could guess the ending there was another twist.

I read for 5 hours straight .. what else can i say.

It was riveting, took me in from the start! The characters are interesting. Told from the outsider of the group of 4 which is a great perspective. The other three all had something to hide so it was hard to figure out who did what ahead of time!!

If you like fast-paced plot, likeable characters, and mysterious communications, this book is for you! From the start, Cooper hooked me with the sweet family of Lucy and Adam and their two kids. They seem real and likeable, and even more so when we are introduced to their long-time friends, Scott and Cora, who have 2 kids of their own. These two families spend many of their evenings and weekends together, and have even purchased a vacation home together that they're fixing up. But when Lucy happens to see a picture of Scott with another woman in the Maldives, it starts her insistent search for answers, leading her to shocking revelations that will change them all. It makes you wonder, do we ever really know someone?
Cooper's pacing, sparse description, and beautiful characters will pull you in to this mystery and won't let you go until the explosive conclusion.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for an early copy of The Couple in the Photo. I moved this up from my list of ARC’s because of the cover and wow am I glad I did. This was a PHENOMENAL book!!!!!! Sad how sometimes you really don’t know people even your husband and best friends!!!!! Soooooooo many twists, my head was spinning trying to figure it all out and I LOVED that it took awhile to know the culprit. Soooooo many good parts and the cover and synopsis was FABULOUS! Thank you again.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of "The Couple in the Photo."

This book turned out to be about much more than just a couple in a photo! The main character, Lucy, often feels like the outsider in the best friend dynamic she is in with her husband and another couple, Cora and Scott. Her husband, Cora, and Scott have been friends since university. They have all become best friends, but she isn't privy to the past connection the other three have. Then, randomly sees a photo of a couple from a colleague's honeymoon. She is certain that the man in the photo is her best friend's husband and her husband's best friend, but the woman is not her best friend. When the woman she thought she saw in the photo is then on the news because she is missing, Lucy is sure something is awry.

The foursome, who are completely entrenched in each other's lives and families, start to feel the strain of Lucy's suspicion. The more Lucy digs, the more she realizes that the other three have some deep secrets from their time at Uni and the relationships unravel as she tries to determine what has really happened in both the past and the present.

I was thoroughly engaged in this story from the start. The back story and the past really propelled the plot. It makes you wonder how well can you ever really know anyone? I'll be adding this author to my list of favorites!

Wonderfully written and depth of characters! The MC should have gone to her friend in the first place, but I love that the secrecy built up the reveal at the end! Well crafted!

This is a Wow of a book! You have 2 perfect families that have blended together into one unit, the adults best friends, the children best playmates, and activities shared by all. This perfect life is shattered by one picture ... one of the husbands with another woman in a vacation setting. What seems heartbreaking at first quickly descends into the unthinkable when the other woman goes missing and is later found murdered. Lucy becomes an amateur sleuth, investigating her friend and the other woman; she even approaches the police with her suspicions. She then lives a dual life maintaining her current lifestyle while continuing her investigation. When she finally learns what actually occurred, it is more like she stumbled into the truth. However, Lucy's dogged efforts produce life-shattering results for everyone. This story has layers of suspicion, obsession and deceit with a surprise twist at the end!

Have you ever had a couple friends that become family? The wives are friends, husbands are friends, kids are friends--one big happy group! Lucy loves her life and her tribe-life is good. It all comes crashing down when she recognises her best friends husband is a vacation photo with another woman. Her husband tries to convince her it is a mistake and can't be him but Lucy cannot shake the feeling something is very wrong.

She can't let it go and involves the police. As the whole truth slowly tumbles out, Lucy whole world shifts as she knew it.

The book is well written and keeps you guessing to the end.

The premise of The Couple in the photo drew me in and while it was okay it just fell a little flat for me.

Lucy lives an ideal life with her husband Adam and their best friends Cora and Scott. Everything is perfect until the photo loving Lucy is shown a photo from her co workers honey moon featuring Scott and another woman. The plot is thickened when the woman is named as missing not long after. On Lucy's determined search for the truth she learns that those closest to her may not be who she thought they were.

The issue with this one for me was just the pace was a little uneven and I was able to determine who the murderer and accomplice were pretty early on. I did still read the whole thing and I would overall recommend.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read and review The Couple in the Photo before the release date! This book follows two couples, Lucy and Adam, and Cora and Scott. They are close friends and often get both their families together until Lucy comes across something that will change everything! I really enjoyed this book! It was fast paced, kept you guessing and held my interest from beginning to end. I couldn’t put it down and I look forward to checking out more of Helen Cooper’s books!

Wow! what a rollercoaster ride. If you like fast paced, suspenseful thrillers, this is the book for you. Lucy and Adam and Cora and Scott are very close and do almost everything together. One day, Lucy was looking at a colleague's honeymoon pictures when she sees Scott with another woman who is not his wife and her best friend Cora. This moment makes Lucy's life unravel and break into pieces not knowing what's real and what isn't. She decides to investigate this before telling Cora but during her investigation, the woman in the picture disappears and secrets and lies come to the surface. This book will keep you on the edge. It has great twists and turns that will keep you enthralled the whole time. Highly recommended! Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with this arc for an honest opinion. .

While I did enjoy the journey, I felt it was easy to guess the WHO.

But Lucy’s commitment to finding out the truth was well worth the read.

The pacing fluctuates, but there are enough twists to keep the reader intrigued.

Helen Cooper is an author with all the tricks up her sleeve! This book tore me to shreds and kept me completely guessing the entire time. The suspense continues to build to the very end and then it all compiles to blow you away. The main character Lucy is such an endearing, hopeful gal and the tumultuous emotional rollercoaster she is quite literally thrown upon pulls you right into the upsidedown inside out along with her! Stunning suspense at its finest!

I really liked the premise and thought it sounded interesting and believable - how many times has someone's life changed because of something as innocuous as a photo?!? I also enjoyed the author's writing style and while third-person made it a bit hard to feel like a true thriller, it was an interesting way to hear the story. I thought it was well-paced and found it following a real-life tempo, which was also refreshing! I did find it kind of hard to get into in the beginning and found the twists predictable, but all in all it was an enjoyable read. I could see this being a fun poolside novel or plane travel companion for sure!