The Other Couple

Diane Jeffrey really knows how to write a stunning domestic thriller - always. This one starts with a bang and the writing is tense, well thought out and thoroughly suspense filled. The twists and turns are unexpected and seem natural and real. You don’t know how this will end and the truth is I didn’t want this one to ever end!

They ruined your life...it's time to get revenge...

Just wow! This has got to be the best Diane Jeffrey book I have read to date! Oh my gosh...the adrenaline was pumping from start to finish. You just know who the villain is so how will it all end? Even I had no clue as to its direction until just before the final twist. And what a splendid twist it was. They say that revenge is a dish best served cold but Diane Jeffrey has dished this one up piping hot!! Where to begin?

THE OTHER COUPLE is about two couples - Nick and Kirsten...and Amy and Greg. And to make this thriller even more twisted, Nick is married to Edie and Kirsten is married to Jamie. They met five years previously when Kirsten, a high end real estate agent, sold Nick and his wife their stunning house. And a celebratory dinner ended up being a five year long affair. Never mind that Kirsten had a hubby and 8 year old daughter Lily at home. No. These two are the most selfish narcissistic self obsessed people that they cannot (and will not) see beyond their own selfish needs and desires...and to hell with everyone else. Not least their spouses...but also Amy and Greg Wood.

Nick and Kirsten have just enjoyed a dirty weekend at a flat they've rented on the North Devon coast. Far away from their busy lives in London...and anyone who would know them. But as their weekend comes to an end and they must return to London, they round a bend in the pouring rain and hit someone walking their dog...who turns out to be the owner of the very flat they have just rented this past weekend - Greg Wood. Panic sets in and the couple decide they have far too much to lose and bundle the body into the car along with the dog. They return to London where Nick "takes care of things" and Kirsten goes back to her life with a dog now in tow.

Back in Devon, Amy Wood has a roast lamb ready for carving and awaiting Greg to return from walking Rusty, their dog. When an hour turns into two, three and four, she begins to realise something has happened. She calls his parents and friends and no one has seen him. When she finally does call the police, they begin to work on the assumption that Greg has left of his own volition. But Amy knows that not to be true. They just celebrated their tenth wedding anniversary the day before and were on the cusp of an exciting new chapter of their lives. Greg was excited. He did not leave her and take Rusty with him without a word.

But what happened to Greg? And if something did happen to him, then where is Rusty?

Told from the alternating perspectives of Amy and Kirsten, THE OTHER COUPLE begins as something of a domestic thriller but turns into something far twistier.

Kirsten is wealthy with a stunning home in an affluent neighbourhood, a loving husband and an 8 year old daughter - she has it all...and still she isn't satisfied. She wants more. She wants Nick. And he is nothing but an abusive controlling narcissistic sociopath. He controls her by ghosting her for days and weeks on end and then love bombing her when they reunite. I honestly don't know what she saw in him. Frankly they deserved each other.

Amy, on the hand, had all my sympathy. She had a loving husband that was taken away from her in an instant, lost her dreams and even her dog! This other couple took everything from her. My heart ached for her with the not knowing what happened to Greg. When the police fail to provide any results, Amy decides to do some digging of her own...and to find out the truth one way or another.

WOW! Despite knowing who was who and who did what, the tension in this book was so tight I thought I would snap from the sheer intensity of it all. I loved the letters peppered throughout the book that were tacked onto the end of selected chapters. They aren't signed and there is enough information for readers to glean that someone's in prison...but why? And how? And most of all, who? None of which become clear until just before the final reveal when everything begins to fall into perfect place. And oh what symmetry! That twist was just so delicious I just have to relish it, it's so perfect. I loved it!

Overall, THE OTHER COUPLE is an edge of your seat thriller that is addictive and compelling, despite knowing all the players and their roles, you still want to see how it all ends. It really is so good...too good to put down and I hated the times I had to because I just wanted to keep reading it! I loved it. A well deserved 5 stars!

I would like to thank #DianeJeffrey, #Netgalley and #HQStories for an ARC of #TheOtherCouple in exchange for an honest review.

This review appears on my blog at https://stinathebookaholic.blogspot.com/.

This is the second time reading a story from Diane Jeffrey. Loved every minute of it. Great story with fantastic characters. Looking forward to more from this author.

One of the best things i have read for a while!
All the ingredients for a great physiological thriller, several awful characters, a heart wrenching story, a few red herrings and a fantastic ending.
Really got my heart racing at points in the story and i was left sad that i had flown through the book so quick.
JUST SUPERB!
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for my copy.
Diane Jeffrey please keep them coming.

Thoroughly enjoyed the dark and compelling nature of this story.
The devastation wreaked by the accident and the ongoing impact it has on all three main characters is clear and the characters offer the full gamut of emotional involvement from empathy to sheer loathing for the reader!
I couldn't put it down!

While driving home from a getaway, Nick and Kristen accidentally hit a man named Greg walking his dog Rusty in the rain. Nick, being a lawyer, convinces Kristen to remove the body from the road and put him in the trunk. With no body, there is no crime. Amy, Greg's wife, is sick with worry when he doesn't return home. She calls the police, but they don't believe anything has happened to Greg and that he has left on his own free will. As more clues come to light, Amy discovers more about Nick and Kristen and decides to get revenge for what they did.

THE OTHER COUPLE was a riveting story from start to finish. The way Nick and Kristen went on with their lives as if nothing happened was mind-blowing. Poor Amy lost everything and they couldn't have cared less. I was happy with the ending and how Amy was able to plot her revenge. It was clever and smart! I highly recommend THE OTHER COUPLE, if you enjoy engrossing stories that are hard to put down.

Many thanks to NetGalley and HQ Digital for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This review will be shared to my Instagram (@coffee.break.book.reviews) in the near future.