This story has an intriguing premise but it fell flat in execution. It's a clunky story that is rushed and glossed over in some places while slow and overly wordy in others. I skimmed and skipped through to finish.

Psychological thrillers are one of my favorite sub genre of thrillers. Keeps you on your toes, and I liked the racial themes within the book.

The Perfect Affair
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Author: Angela Henry

I requested an audio advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Dreamscape Media and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: When Paige Nichols meets her husband’s glamorous new colleague at a faculty mixer, she instantly knows they’re having an affair. It’s the way he looks at her, like she’s the only woman in the world. Aaron used to look at her like that, too. And with her beautiful, knowing smile, Cara Morton seems to enjoy flaunting their romance right under her nose.

Paige believes Aaron when he says he’ll break things off. What else can she do when she’s determined to hold her family together? But then Cara makes a shocking accusation about Aaron that threatens to end his career as a college professor and shatter their barely patched up marriage. Paige stands by her husband, but doubts creep in. Is Cara telling the truth? Or is this all part of her dangerous game?

Then Cara Morton disappears without a trace.

Paige knows her husband can keep secrets. She’s keeping dark secrets of her own. But is he a killer? The police seem to think so. But they don’t know Cara. They don’t know about her past. They don’t know what she’s capable of…

My Thoughts: This was a creepy, twisty, compelling domestic thriller. When Paige meets her husband at a mixer his school is holding, she sees how Cara looks at her husband across the room and instantly knows he is having an affair. The way Aaron looks at Cara is the way he used to look at her. Paige confronts Aaron about the affair and he made her a promise that he would break it off. When he ultimately does break it off, Cara makes a shocking accusation that may end Aaron’s career and rock their marriage. Paige remains the devoted wife staying by her husband. Then Cara disappears. Will her disappearance be the death of their marriage? Or is Cara playing a dangerous game to get even with Aaron? No one knows what Cara is capable of. This follows a trope of whodunit.

The is narrated by Paige and Aaron, unreliable narrators, in their POV. The timeline was told in a present and past tense, each chapter was designated to either before Cara’s disappearance or afterwards. Paige is fiercely protective of her family and will do anything to protect them. Cara is very vindictive and manipulative and not a person you want to cross. Aaron, while devoted to his children, is not as solid as he should be in the marriage and strays. This dangerous cat and mouse game has an explosive ending. The characters were well developed with depth, mystery, secrets, betrayal, and were intriguing. The author’s writing style was complex, multifaceted, twisty, compelling, and gripping.

The characters are built in a slow burn manner. The plot is delivered in twisty unpredictable layers. While I had some of the plot lines figured out, there were a few surprises along the way. Some of the plots had subplots, which I found to be interesting. Then the ending is unpredictable, explosive, and amazing.

This was my first Henry book and I do not think it will be my last. I had the audiobook on this one. The narrator, Rachel Handshaw, did an amazing job. She nailed the voice variation with great character distinction, especially when switching from female to male voices. Her voice was smooth with excellent pitch and flow, allowing me to listen at 2x speed with no issues in understanding and keeping up. This thriller kept me on my toes while going down a rollercoaster reading journey, and I would steal time to listen as I had to finish to find out who done it. I love the spin on the classic whodunit. I highly recommend picking up this thriller today.

I absolutely loved the writing in this book. The author knows how to draw a reader in. It was the perfect balance of emotion, relatability and sass. The characters were well developed and came to life in the audio performance. The mystery kept me guessing with a powerful reveal at the end.

The story starts with a missing person investigation. The MC, a university professor, was having an affair with this missing woman who was also his new work colleague. He is a person of interest but claims to be innocent. The story is told using two perspectives - him and his wife - and in two timelines - before and after the missing person.

I had a difficult time pausing this audiobook as I was fully invested. As the story progressed, I became increasingly eager to listen and reluctant to put it down. I just wanted to keep going to know how it would end. My only complaint was that I wish there had been a male narrator for the MC’s perspective as it was at times confusing since he and his wife sounded so similar. Definitely recommend to readers looking for a domestic mystery.

Thank you #NetGalley for an advanced audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
#ThePerfectAffair
#DreamscapeSelect

This one was good… until the end and that epilogue hit and then it was mind blowing!! I never in a million years seen that coming!! Holy moly! So yes it may be a little slow in the beginning… but just wait!!

The narrator was good, she did well, her voice was deep and raspy.. not really what I was expecting but she played the characters well.

This was a great story and I really enjoyed it! This was the first time I had read something from this author and it will not be my last.

Rollercoaster of a read! I loved guessing my way through it, trying to figure out who (or is everyone?) is unreliable, and piece all the clues and characters together. The narration by Rachel Handshaw only enhances the strength of the plot line. I'm definitely looking forward to reading more from Ms Henry!

The Perfect Affair by Angela Henry
(Narrated by Rachel Handshaw)

Full of secrets and twists in this affair..!

I enjoyed reading this book. Different time line and POVs which needed to focus when listening to the audiobook. The complication between the characters create such a great vibe of the book. The tangles behind the relationship are shocking and jaw-dropping.

The narrator played the characters well. She, just herself, presented the story alive!

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for my copy.

Pub date: Jan 15, 2024

Paige has discovered her husband, Aaron, is having an affair with his colleague, Cara Morton. He has promised he is going to break it off. But, it does not go as he planned and their lives are changed forever.

These characters and their choices made me want to Gibbs slap each and every one. Everyone of them are keeping secrets and it just might cost all of them!

This is a 3 and 1/2 star read…rounded up. This is twisty and intense. It has just been done several times and it is not a very unique storyline.

The narrator, Rachel Handshaw, did a very good job. I enjoyed her cadence. She also had some great voices for the characters.

Need a good, twisted tale of marriage…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

While the characters were terribly unlikable I still enjoyed this one for all of the twists and turns!

Aaron never planned on having an affair, let alone one with a colleague. But he finds himself inexplicably drawn to Cara Morton, a new hire in the department of his university. Little does he know that her bright smiles and flirtatious glances are drawing him and his family into a world of pain, one that can’t end happily and might just end unhappily for everyone involved.

Part of what I liked most about this work was that the main POV, at least at the beginning, was the husband’s. This seems to be relatively rare in these types of books these days and added a much needed level of depth and insight to this book. However, I didn’t find the characters overall to be that compelling.

The multiple POVs and changes in timeline led to a disjointed read, which detracted from the flow of the work. There were many instances where it was impossible to remember if something had happened before or after the current chapter to the point where the story became muddied. There were also so many instances of plot-induced stupidity that it became frustrating – characters repeatedly did things that no one with any amount of self-preservation or common sense would have done, to the point that it detracted from the quality of the plot. There were also many instances where the book became repetitive and it became boring despite being a "thriller."

With the predictable plot and the mediocre characters, there wasn’t much to keep me engaged with this read. I can certainly see how others might find this one quite enjoyable especially if you don't think about it, but it wasn’t for me. My thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for allowing me to read this work. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! Receiving an advanced copy was a delightful surprise. I believe both existing fans and newcomers will find it equally enjoyable.

Can we say twist after twist after twist? Not what I expected going into this, but enjoyed it all the same. So many people have so many secrets and they all seem to intertwine.

The perfect affair - Angela Henry

Intense, suspenseful and wicked!
Everyone is out for everyone. Lots of secrets and lots of lies, which eventually come to catch up with you.

This was a fairly engaging thriller. I feel like I would have enjoyed it a lot more if I'd read the physical or ebook version rather than the audio. But overall appealing as far as psychological thrillers go. This book is just an example of how jealousy drives people out of their mind.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this audio.

This book was just ok. It was a bit of a struggle to keep up. But I think that was more of a me issue and not so much with the book.

ARC audiobook provided in exchange for an honest review.

Rachel Handshaw does a wonderful job with the narration on this book! All the characters voices fit perfectly and she was really able to bring them to life for me! The story is complex and interesting and has lots of twists and turns to keep you guessing. I’m always drawn to unreliable narrators and this book didn’t let me down! If you like psychological thrillers this book might be right up your alley!

Many twists and turns! Had a hard time keeping up with the characters some. And they were unlikeable at times. Which isn’t an issue! Lots of betrayal! Kept me intrigued and invested. J thought the narration was well done as well.

the story was ok. the characters were unlikeable I didn't connect to any of them really. the plot was one of betrayal and revenge. this was a twisty thriller submerged with a torrid affair.

"The Perfect Affair" is a quick and twisty thriller! I like the first half but went down the second! Overall is was ok for me 3.5 ⭐️
Aaron and Cara, are two colleagues embroiled in a steamy affair. But when Cara goes missing, Aaron finds himself the prime suspect. Will he be sent down for a murder he didn't commit? And can he somehow save his marriage after everything he's put his wife through?
Thank you to Netgalley, Dreamscape, and Storm Publishing for providing an advance copy of this book; this review reflects my honest opinions.