Full of twists, turns, and jaw-dropping shocks, “The Other Couple†by TrÃona Walsh bubbles with suspense in the very first chapter and quickly builds to a boil before the novel is even halfway through.
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About the Book
It was supposed to be the perfect weekend. Just you, me… and my chance at revenge. Until they arrived…
The fire crackles gently in the grate as my partner Finn fills my glass with red wine. Looking into his sparkling blue eyes, I feel a tug on my heart. Finn is my boss, and no one can know how hard we’ve fallen for each other. We thought this lighthouse keeper’s cottage on the wild Irish coast would be the perfect secret getaway.Â
Then there’s a knock at the door…
A rain-soaked couple tell us that they’ve booked the house for the weekend too. I look to Finn, but he steps aside to let them in. I stiffen. This trip isn’t just a chance for Finn and me to fall deeper in love. Nobody can know the real reason we’re here. My life is hanging by a thread. I have no choice but to welcome the couple with open arms, offer them a drink, and tell them we’ll have this all sorted out by the morning.
Finn doesn’t know the real me, but it seems I don’t know him either.
This other couple is here for a reason, and one of us won’t be leaving this place alive…
My Review
Alice Armstrong and her boyfriend Finn Tobin have booked a lighthouse-turned-Airbnb in Donegal for a romantic getaway. Hours from their home in Dublin, they can be a normal couple in love for the weekend. They can visit pubs, hold hands in public, and do everything they can’t do any other time. The CEO of TobinTech, Finn is Alice’s boss. Hiding their relationship is necessary to keeping it. The scandal it would create if it was revealed would tank the shares of the company Finn started and ruin him to boot. It’s no wonder the couple seems happy to finally be away and alone. But as Alice readies their bedroom on the first night, there’s a knock at the door. When Finn opens it, a couple steps inside and introduces themselves as Vivienne and Mac. They’ve booked the lighthouse too — for the same days — and they don’t intend to leave.
Alice is leery of them right from the start. Her suspicions grow when her phone goes missing, followed by Finn’s keys, and a hose on his scuba gear is slashed. But he doesn’t seem as alarmed by them as she is. In fact, she spies him chatting with their unexpected roommates in the kitchen the next morning. Something about his body language feels off. Does he know them? Either way, she has to get rid of the unwanted couple. Quickly. Alice has a plan for the weekend, one she’s had since she was a little girl. She needs to be alone with Finn to make it happen. But little does she know, the other couple has a plan, too. As a weekend of romance turns into one filled with lies, fake identities, and long-held secrets, Alice realizes the truth. However, is it too late? Did someone’s plan for the weekend include murder?
Full of twists, turns, and jaw-dropping shocks, “The Other Couple†by TrÃona Walsh bubbles with suspense in the very first chapter and quickly builds to a boil before the novel is even halfway through. It’s a maddening roller coaster ride in the dark. It’s the kind of book that creates a lot of questions for the reader early on, then dangles the truth over the chapters like a carrot. Every time you think you’re getting within reach of it, a sudden twist jerks you in another direction — and away from that dang carrot. It’s a little aggravating and extremely riveting.
Through Alice’s interior monologue, it’s revealed she’s anything but a reliable narrator. Likable? Yes. Just not reliable. She has a plan for Finn and, although she doesn’t reveal any details (and neither will this review), it’s clear she has an ulterior motive. The same is true for Vivienne. She comes across as stern and rude when she deals with Alice and Finn, but her interior monologue reveals what she’s keeping hidden — or enough of it to keep you reading, that is. You won’t be able to read it fast enough.
The characters in “The Other Couple†are as much of a mystery as the story itself. They’re well-developed and seemingly rise off the pages to act out their parts in front of your eyes. Yet, they’re shrouded in fog like the truth is throughout most of the book. Although they are believable as characters, you question who they truly are, as well as their motives for the weekend. It’s very much a character-driven story with a plot so twisty that it feels more like loopy-de-loops.
I didn’t love “The Other Couple†in the first few chapters. It seemed slow-moving, and I couldn’t quite get hooked. But, as it turns out, the problem was me. Not the book. Once I got a bite of chocolate to lighten my mood and settled into the story, I couldn’t put it down. “The Other Couple†is a fast-moving, gripping story that keeps you in suspense until nearly the end. You’ll be left slack-jawed by the explosive conclusion, wondering why you didn’t see it coming, and wishing it didn’t have to end because it was such a thrilling ride.
Thank you to TrÃona Walsh and Bookouture for the complimentary eARC in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.
About the Author
TrÃona Walsh loves reading and writing crime novels but is fairly law abiding in real life. A twice winner of the Irish Writers Centre Novel Fair competition she lives in Dublin with her four kids, three cats and one husband.
Author social media
Website: https://www.trionawalsh.com/
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