A Happy Marriage by A.R. Torre
Well in typical A.R. Torre fashion, she had me hooked in the first few chapters. Told by different point of views, Joe, a psychologist, in chapter one will grab your attention straight away as he talks about a dead girl in the past and what if his wife ever had to die. Then you just have to keep going to see what the heck is going on. Dinah, Joes wife is clearly smitten with him and she’s a detective on the LAPD. So why is Joe saying that stuff in chapter one, he’s married to a freaking detective! Oh it just gets better as Dinah investigates a possible homicide/suicide case. Does Dinah know who Joe really is or is she in la-la land. My mind was continuously trying to put these puzzle pieces together. Hang in there it’s a wild ride.

A Happy Marriage by A.R. Torre is a gripping psychological suspense novel that explores the dangerous territory between love, secrets, and betrayal. Dinah Marino, a dedicated Los Angeles homicide detective, believes she has the perfect marriage to her psychiatrist husband, Joe. But beneath the surface of their seemingly flawless relationship, both Dinah and Joe harbor secrets that could shatter their lives. Dinah has kept a haunting secret from Joe for years, while Joe, despite his deep love for her, holds his own hidden truths.

When a missing woman connected to one of Dinah’s cases is admitted to Joe’s hospital, their world begins to unravel. The once-solid foundation of trust between them starts to crack, and the lies they’ve both carefully maintained threaten to destroy everything they’ve built together.

Torre masterfully builds suspense as the couple’s perfect marriage starts to implode, with each new revelation pushing them further down a dangerous path. The tension between Dinah and Joe is palpable, and readers are kept on the edge of their seats, wondering how far each character is willing to go to protect their secrets and each other.

This novel is an intense psychological thriller that explores trust, loyalty, and the fragility of relationships, all while delivering unexpected twists and a darkly compelling narrative. A Happy Marriage is perfect for fans of suspenseful, character-driven stories that delve into the complexities of human emotions and relationships.

This book was absolutely fantastic - I could not put it down. If I could give 11/10 I would.. It gave me "My lovely wife" vibes but was even better! Read this asap!!

This was an awesome story, and I wish reviewers could go into more detail but so much can’t be revealed! Dinah Marino is a detective who is married to a psychiatrist and they both keep dark secrets. Dinah is handed a new murder investigation, covering for another detective who’s out on leave, and she’s saddled with babysitting a detective in training named Freddie. She doesn’t really have time for him or his eager theories that he keeps throwing at her and she can’t wait for the case to quickly be closed out so she can be done with it and him. But of course, nothing goes as planned.

The reader also sees from the perspective of a new patient of her husband’s. We soon realize that the spouses may be working on the same case. The more we read from both points of view, the crazier the plot gets. The twists didn’t really surprise me, but it doesn’t matter because the story is so engaging and fast-paced. Even if I knew where things were headed, just how it would resolve kept me racing through the pages.

I love books like this, where you don’t know too much heading in so that you don’t form any preconceived notions. You can only jump in and wait to see what’s going to happen!

From the first chapter off the rip, I knew it was going to be a wild ride with lots of questions. Let’s just go ahead and say that Joe and Dinah are nuts. I kept trying to figure out their dynamic as a “happily married” couple because they were not adding up. I could not stand Dinah throughout the book. She deserved to have her ass handed to her, believed that she was the best at her job and covering her tracks. As the book goes on Dinah and Joe are terrible, awful people! They are delusional. This book kept me on my toes for the simple fact of where is Jessica and what will her fate be. There were so many secrets and lies. I was thrilled that justice was served, and that Dinah and Joe got what they deserved. This was the most effed up psychological thriller I’ve read in a while!!

I was pretty intrigued from the first chapter. Overall a decent book but it did feel a little rushed. I was able to guess the plot twist pretty early on.

I recently read A Happy Marriage by A.R. Torre and this was my first book from this author, definitely will not be my last! It was absolutely unhinged from start to end but I absolutely loved it!

It was a really addictive, diabolical, fast paced book and I managed to finish it in 2 sittings (well work interferred my reading 🤣) Throughout this book I never knew who to trust and I was on the edge of my seat.

I loved the writing style, short sentences, short chapters easy to read. I don't usually enjoy multi-POV books but I this one was great.

I would definitely recommend this book and it will be published on the 24th of June 2025!

Thank you to NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer and the author for an ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

A Happy Marriage is a completely addicting, bingeable, fast paced popcorn thriller that is impossible to put down. Torre has been k*lling it in the thriller genre with her new releases and this one is no different. It hooked me right from the start with its short snippy cliffhanger chapters. The multiple POV’s gripped me and made me take a deep dive into each character's psyche. There are definitely quite a few names thrown in the beginning which was a little confusing, but once I got all those sorted out, I was sprinting to the finale.

Unreliable, unlikable, untrustworthy, unhinged characters. I got them all in this book, was I here for it? I absolutely was! This is what kept me absolutely glued to the pages, I had no idea where the story was going, the motives behind it all. The plot was so fast paced, never leaving me with a dull moment. The storyline was super fun and entertaining. You will want to suspend disbelief for some things, but honestly it was super enjoyable.

Overall, this was a great little treat. Quick and easy to binge in one day, crazy characters and a highly entertaining plot. If you're a fan of A.R Torre, you'll definitely want to give this one a shot!

✨️Thank you to @netgalley, Thomas and Mercer & @alessandratorre for my gifted ARC in exchange for an honest review.

"My wife is my favorite puzzle to put together, and sometimes I like to rearrange the pieces of her mind just to keep it fresh."

What starts with a perfectly painted marriage unfolds into a web of secrets and lies.

I’m obsessed with how the author delivers such a wild, addictive story — this is the perfect mix of twists and juiciness and this book could definitely be my top pick after The Last Party! 🤌

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC for this crazy thriller !

Release date: June 24th, 2025

I really liked this book. From the start I was hooked, it had all my favorites short chapters and fast paced and hooked you with the chapters ending with you wanting to go forward.
We got different POVS from a few different characters

This book was twisted and I never knew what was going to happen next with the story line.

I thought I had it figured out and then I was wrong, there was one point where I guessed what was going to happen, but that’s minor it was laid out right there.


Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC copy of this book.

Baby. When it comes to Torre you gone be in for a ride. This book was no different. Twisted. I was on the edge of my seat from the beginning to the very last page. Very messy and ridiculous just like I like my books.

I am usually a fan of Torre's books. There hasn't been one I have not liked yet. So I guess there is a first for everything. I did not like this book one bit. The character development was non-existent. It felt to me like it was a "suface story", not really getting to the deepest core. By the time I hit 60%, I was just done. I will still read her books in the future, and I am sad that I did not enjoy this one. Based on other reviews I am seeing, I am not alone. 2 stars.

I have been in a reading slump and this was just the book to bring me out of it. Lots of great twists and turns that made you go back and reread the paragraph. A Happy Marriage is a quick read that surprises you so many times.

𝐈𝐟 𝐈 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐟𝐞, 𝐈'𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲. 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭. 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠.

It kills me to say that this was 2.5 rounded up. After absolutely loving THE LAST PARTY, I was eager to dive into the newest thriller from this author. Unfortunately, this one fell a little flat for me. Married couple Dinah and Joe Marino have an interesting dynamic--she's a homicide detective with a complicated relationship with her family; he's a psychiatrist who is obsessed with control.

While the plot had the potential to be unhinged in the best of ways, I just couldn't get fully on board. Neither MC felt fully fleshed out, and their motivations needed more depth and explanation. The plot didn't move smoothly but felt pieced together, and I was completely underwhelmed by the ending. I have enjoyed all of her other books, so this definitely feels like an anomaly. Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas and Mercer for the early read. This title is expected to publish June 24, 2025.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced digital copy of this book. All thoughts are honest and my own.

I loved parts of this book but also found it a bit predictable and all over the place. There seemed to be bits and pieces of information that were irrelevant to the narrative. However, overall a good read and I absolutely didn’t want to put it down!

As one of the biggest fans of Alessandra Torre’s darker works (though I’ve also enjoyed her romance novels in the past and hope she writes more in the future), I was eager to dive into this twisty thriller. Torre is known for crafting stories filled with deception, secrets, and couples with sinister agendas, so I had high expectations. Unfortunately, this time, I couldn't fully enjoy the wild, batshit-crazy ride, even though the book started off promising—especially the early pages detailing Joe and his future plans for his beloved wife.

The plot follows Dinah, a hardworking Los Angeles cop from a dysfunctional family, who carries deep-seated resentments toward her mother and sister, Marci. She dedicates herself to solving missing persons cases, which have been piling up lately, and finds solace in her marriage to Joe—a respected professor and psychiatrist specializing in treating troubled women. Years ago, Joe even helped Dinah during her darkest moments, pulling her back from the edge. She loves and trusts him completely, believing he is her safe place.

But behind Joe’s polished, hardworking psychiatrist façade, he harbors dangerous secrets—and he’s not the only one. Dinah, too, has a life-altering secret from her past. As she investigates a chilling case involving a terminally ill mother who was murdered just months before her expected death—and her now-missing daughter, Jessica—she’s faced with troubling questions. Did Jessica kill her mother? Was she abducted? Could she be a victim of sex trafficking? Meanwhile, a rookie detective is poking around Dinah’s cases, questioning her every move and putting her career at risk. To complicate matters further, Dinah realizes that the missing girl might have been one of her husband’s patients.

Now, Dinah must choose: does she cross ethical lines to do her job, potentially jeopardizing her marriage, or does she protect herself at all costs? With her deepest secret threatening to surface, she stands to lose everything she’s built.

Overall: I predicted Dinah’s secret early on, as well as the novel’s biggest twist before even reaching the halfway mark—it all felt too obvious. While the story started strong, things took a nosedive midway, with abrupt, underdeveloped twists that ultimately derailed the execution. I struggled to connect with any of the characters, including the victim, which made it difficult to stay invested. That being said, the ending, with its dark sense of humor, made some sense. Still, I expected more.

I’m giving this book a solid 3 stars (rounded up from 2.5) for its promising start and my love for the author’s work. However, I’ll be skipping this one in favor of looking forward to her future books, hopefully with stronger twists and better character development.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I finish this book so fast it was so good could not put it down but it’s no surprise this is one of my top 5 authors!!!! Period you have done it again this will be a great release I’m sure

Dinah is a homicide detective, Joe is a psychiatrist, they’re married and both absolutely insane. Not really a spoiler cause that’s something you get from the get go (the first line is quite something). They love each other but Dinah feels guilty about some secret she’s been keeping, and her current case is threatening to ruin everything she worked so hard to build over the years. The big twist wasn’t that interesting to be honest, even if I loved Jessica as a character. What I loved about this book was getting inside their heads, cause that’s one crazy place to be. There’s something thrilling about getting the vilains POV when they don’t actually see themselves as vilains at all.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. I'm always very happy about an ARC and being able to give it a review! <3

Unfortunately the book starts with a lot of characters that really confused me – I personally don't like it when so many characters are involved or names just appear in the story.

I love the writing style and also the short chapters. I could hardly put the book down.


The story itself was interesting, but it didn't catch me as much as her other books.
A solid thriller that I would still recommend.

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas and Mercer for an ARC and this is my honest review - I love Torre and I LOVED this campy thriller. The prose is perfect although I have to confess that at about the 60% my eyes flew over the text as I excitedly raced to the end.

(Psychiatrist) Dr. Joe and (Police Detective) Dinah have a happy marriage, if a little strange. They are perfectly attuned to each other, and share everything, yet Dinah has some secrets that she doesn’t want Joe to uncover and Joe is fascinated by the mystery of his wife, determined to learn her secrets. They are truly besotted with each other, even after 20 years, and Joe confides to the reader in the opening chapter that if he ever murders his wife, he will do so with the utmost respect due her.

Oh, what a tangled web we weave….The reader is already in for the ride!

Torre continually amazes me. She has a seemingly unlimited pool of creative themes upon which she draws, some erotic, some chaotic, and one in particular tragic (The Ghostwriter – definitely one of my favorite books). She has at least two pen names and when I wanted to learn how to use html on GR, she even popped up in my google search with an instructive tutorial. I’m still not really sure what html is but I sure do have fun with it, thanks to Torre.

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