The couple in the photo - Helen Cooper

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this eARC.

This story begins with a couple who are close friends with another couple, they've all been best friends for over a decade, and all their kids are as close as siblings.

One day, the main character (one of the wives) is looking at a friend's vacation photos at work when she sees a picture of her best friend's husband in an intimate photo with another woman. It turns out her coworker and her new husband befriended the couple while vacationing in Manilla I believe it was...

The odds of this really happening have got to be about a million to one, so that alone requires a huge suspension of disbelief.

Confused, but not wanting to destroy her best friend's marriage over a potential mistake, the wife of the non-cheating spouse becomes her own private investigator, picking at the extremely numerous "loose threads" in her best friend's marriage as well as her own, as they are both strongly entwined.

The situation rapidly becomes a Peyton Place of misdirection that finally cumulates in the discovery of numerous lies, crimes, and oddly symbiotic involvement in each other's lives. When the truth came to light (or as much of the truth that was ever going to be revealed) I felt I needed a Cliff Notes to keep up with all the characters to comprehend who did what to whom and why.

The novel was compelling, but when it came to the end of the novel, there were too many storylines and people with extreme and oddly misguided loyalties.

Attempting to follow every deceit or omission to a somewhat convoluted conclusion began to have more in common with solving a complex issue at work, rather than the passive enjoyment of reading a clever novel for its entertainment value.

Until next time...

I was given this book by NetGalley for an honest review-
What a book- Cora and Scott - Lucy and Adam have been friends forever. There children play together, They are always together - but when Lucy sees a picture a coworker has of Scott with another woman- she begins digging for answers. What’s startling is the more she uncovers the stranger the relationship between her husband and Scott and Cora, There are secrets they have tried to bury —- now what happens when they are uncovered and each one is more shocking than the other!

Thank you to NetGalley for the early review copy! This book kept me hooked and I flew through it quickly, although I did guess the twist from the beginning. It didn’t stand out for me but it overall was entertaining and I enjoyed following the journey of this one. 3/5 stars for me!

This book! This 👏🏻 book!!
Just when you think you have it figured out, another plot twist comes into focus. (Focus… like a photo…).
I absolutely loved this book. When I finished the last sentence, I literally sighed and said “So good!” out loud to myself.
Helen Cooper has a way of writing that pulls you in and keeps you guessing.
Scott and Cora. Adam and Lucy. Two couples who are like family. Yet secrets come out that makes everything they know about each other feel like they don’t know each other at all.
Read this book if you like thrillers or mysteries. It will keep you on your toes.

THANK YOU PENGUIN GROUP PUTNAM AND NETGALLEY FOR THIS ARC!

Looking through a colleagues honeymoon photos, Lucy spots a familiar face. Scott, who is married to her best friend Cora, is with another woman. Who is this woman and is Cora aware of what's going on? Lucy immediately goes into detective mode. After a series of events Lucy begins questioning weather or not she is imagining things. Some things are a little predictable and easy to figure out, but overall it was a good read.

Thank you to Netgalley, PENGUIN GROUP- Putnam, and Helen Cooper for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Publish date for The Couple In the Photo December 5, 2023

Two couples who are inseparable. A friendship that goes to great length to protect each other.
A seeming perfect marriage begins to fall apart when the wife's friend finds a picture that portrays a cheating husband. Keeping quiet to spare her friend until the woman in the picture turns up missing.

How to find out if the husband is a killer and just how much danger is there for the woman he is married to?

This is a twisty page turner that will keep you reading late into the night.

This started off promising and full of mystery! I hate having to write reviews on books that fall flat. It started losing steam and my attention around 1/3 of the way through. It was just too easy to figure out and piece together. I was left feeling like I just wanted to be finished with the book, because there were no more surprises or suspenseful moments.

How far would you go to uncover secrets but also keep their friends secrets?

This was a pretty fast read of a book however I felt like something was missing as I was reading it. All the suspense felt very surface level and it was like the characters didn't connect for me. Lucy is POV main character in this book and I felt like her character was written to be annoying and full of self doubt.

That being said this story was very layered with a lot of moving pieces. There is enough foreshadowing that you know the ending at about 70% through the story so armchair detectives would like it from that aspect.

This was a fast paced easy read. I guessed a lot of the twists early on which was disappointing but overall I still enjoyed the book.

Firstly thank you to Helen Cooper, Penguin Random House and NetGalley for the ARC of The couple in the photo. I’ve never read this author before and let me tell you, I’ll be reading more. So many twists and turns. You know the saying, you think you know but you have no idea? Yep, that fits in well with this book. It just shows that secrets will tear families apart.

I really enjoyed this thriller! I liked how the action started right in the first chapter, though I did feel at times through the middle the pace slowed down a bit as Lucy obsessed over certain things. The character development was great in this book, but I did find myself wanting Lucy's point of view to be first person instead of third. I was very interested in how the dynamics between Scott, Cora, and Adam unraveled throughout the book. I thought I had the twist figured out, but I definitely did not see the ending coming!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC!

I enjoyed this book and have recommended it to friends. There were enough twists to keep me entertained.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the early-read opportunity.

Good, but not outstanding in any way. I liked the premise and the writing style was easy to follow. I'd consider reading more from this author if anything from them ever catches my attention.

Thank you @netgalley for the ARC of The Couple in the Photo. This book is a fast paced thriller that will keep you turning the pages. I liked it because the plot was different from most domestic thrillers. I found it to be predictable and a little convenient to make the plot work, but overall it was a good read.

Lucy and Adam live next to their best friends Scott and Cora.
Lucy sees a picture of Scott with another women that a coworker took.
As she tries to determine if is him and why he was there, she uncovers secrets and murders from her husband and friends.

The minute I started reading this book, I knew I was going to love it and I did! Adam, Cora and Scott all went to college together and Lucy is married to Adam. These four are best friends. Lucy ends up seeing a photo of Adam and another girl, who isn’t Cora. Lucy starts searching for answer when she finds out that the girl in the photo has gone missing. I just couldn’t put this book done. Lucy learns so many things, things I didn’t see coming. It had it guessing until the end.

This is the first book I’ve read by Helen and it was amazing. I’m looking forward to reading more books by Helen! I would definitely recommend this book!

Thank you NetGalley, Helen Cooper and Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC!

I received this book as an ARC. So let me just start off by saying I read books and I listen to books. When I am reading, I am super slow but this book I finished in 2 days. Why? Because I was up at 3 AM reading it rather than sleeping. I requested it even though I have never heard of Helen Cooper just for something different. I read a lot of Thrillers and appreciate light reading and short chapters but I wasn't overly excited about the whole cheating spouse storyline but goodness this book was not what I expected at all. I really did think I had it all figured out and just thought the main character was just taking things too far but I was wrong. I was definitely surprised at the end. I don't want to give any spoilers but if you like page turning thrillers this is a great read. Similar in style I would say to Frieda McFadden and Daniel Hurst.

The Couple in the Photo by Helen Cooper is an addictive, twisty thriller that is sure to hook readers from start to finish.
This book is wonderfully written; a gripping storyline with strong characters.
Helen Cooper built up the twists and turns, pulse pounding, and page turning excitement... and it delivered!
This book kept me absolutely hooked until the very end with a wild ending.
A page turner of a suspense novel that will suck you in quickly so sit down read, and enjoy the ride.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank You NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley. This book was so much more than I expected! The suspense had me diving back into the story as often as I could and reading as fast as my eyes would allow!

This was my first novel by Helen Cooper and let me say I absolutely loved it. Full of twists and turns, I was obsessed with figuring out the ending. This finally got me out of my reading slump, I could not put this down.
Lucy and her husband Adam have been friends with another married couple, Scott and Cora, for years. Every thing seems perfect until Lucy sees a coworkers photo from her honeymoon of Scott and another woman who is not his wife. Lucy is determined to put the pieces of the puzzle together, but everybody keeps telling her she is imagining things and it is not what she thinks.. but is it?

Thank you Netgalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC.

Another great book by Helen Cooper. This book will not disappoint. She has such a great writing style that keeps you on the edge and wanting to read just one more page. A well written story with great characters. A must read for sure!