What do you think?
Rate this book
The Happy Couple
Me and Will. Will and Me. A perfect match. He said he would always be there for me, but it’s been a year since he drained his coffee, walked out the front door and vanished.
Did he leave me? Or did something terrible happen? I’m scared someone finally found out about what happened on the drive home that night…
I lie awake at night trawling the internet for rental properties, desperate for an escape. Until I see my husband’s gorgeous face smiling back at me from a photograph on the fireplace in someone else’s home, and something inside of me snaps.
At the house, I find no trace of him and the woman who lives there has no idea who I am. But I’m certain she’s hiding something behind the locked door upstairs. I know that if I want answers, I have to stay.
You might think that what’s inside that room is the answer to all my questions and the end of all my pain. But it’s only the beginning…
Did he leave me? Or did something terrible happen? I’m scared someone finally found out about what happened on the drive home that night…
I lie awake at night trawling the internet for rental properties, desperate for an escape. Until I see my husband’s gorgeous face smiling back at me from a photograph on the fireplace in someone else’s home, and something inside of me snaps.
At the house, I find no trace of him and the woman who lives there has no idea who I am. But I’m certain she’s hiding something behind the locked door upstairs. I know that if I want answers, I have to stay.
You might think that what’s inside that room is the answer to all my questions and the end of all my pain. But it’s only the beginning…
328 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 6, 2020
2137 people are currently reading
2916 people want to read
About the author
Samantha Hayes
45 books1,420 followersHello!
Thanks for stopping by my Goodreads page!
My latest psychological thriller THE ENGAGEMENT is out on 10th January 2023 from Amazon, available in ebook, paperback and audio formats. I do hope you love it!
If you love a good 'domestic noir' thriller that will mess with your mind and keep you turning the pages, then my books are for you! You can check out all my titles on my Amazon page here:
https://amzn.to/3jZ83zU
I do hope you'll love getting stuck into my books and enjoy reading them as much as I love writing them. And do let me know what you think - it's great to hear from readers! You can get in touch via my website where you'll find lots of info about me and my books - www.samanthahayes.co.uk or come and 'Like' my Facebook page at www.facebook.com/SamanthaHayesAuthor or follow me on Twitter too @samhayes or @samanthahayes.author on Instagram.
Happy reading!
Samantha xx
Thanks for stopping by my Goodreads page!
My latest psychological thriller THE ENGAGEMENT is out on 10th January 2023 from Amazon, available in ebook, paperback and audio formats. I do hope you love it!
If you love a good 'domestic noir' thriller that will mess with your mind and keep you turning the pages, then my books are for you! You can check out all my titles on my Amazon page here:
https://amzn.to/3jZ83zU
I do hope you'll love getting stuck into my books and enjoy reading them as much as I love writing them. And do let me know what you think - it's great to hear from readers! You can get in touch via my website where you'll find lots of info about me and my books - www.samanthahayes.co.uk or come and 'Like' my Facebook page at www.facebook.com/SamanthaHayesAuthor or follow me on Twitter too @samhayes or @samanthahayes.author on Instagram.
Happy reading!
Samantha xx
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 329 reviews
May 6, 2020
Jo’s husband Will Carter has been missing for a year, friends are encouraging her to accept that he has gone, for whatever reason. As she’s strapped for cash, with friend Louise’s encouragement she signs up to a website for house sitters so that she can have a much needed change of scene and a cheap break. As she peruses the site, a cottage near Hastings catches her eye and she has a closer look at the internal pictures to see if it’s as pretty as it seems. To her amazement there are photographs of Will on display. She is obviously shocked but also curious as could it lead to answers? So she applies to the owner Suzanne who accepts Jo’s offer to look after her house and care for her pets. The story is told from Jo’s perspective and looks back to her meeting Will and their relationship and the unfolding events in the present.
I like the way that Jo converses with missing Will, often blurting things out to the consternation of those around her. She ‘sees’ him too and so you question her mental health although the stress of Will leaving with no explanation is equally an explanation. I like Jo as a character, as one clumsy girl to another I empathise as she sloshes, spills and trips. Her first date with Will is funny and made me laugh as it reminded me of mine with my future husband when I fell flat on my face tripping over fresh air. It’s dangerous stuff, air. The setting mostly in Sussex is lovely too and Simon who she meets there is also very likeable. The dog, Spangle totally stole my heart. The book is a slow burner which I like and you get hints that Will is not what he seems and that things have occurred in the past which might explain the situation in the present day.
However, I think it falls apart as we reach the conclusion of the book as one event piles on top of another often literally, it has the feel of a farce at times and so I’m disappointed.
Overall, much of the book is very enjoyable, there are some good characters and I hope others will like the ending more than me.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC.
I like the way that Jo converses with missing Will, often blurting things out to the consternation of those around her. She ‘sees’ him too and so you question her mental health although the stress of Will leaving with no explanation is equally an explanation. I like Jo as a character, as one clumsy girl to another I empathise as she sloshes, spills and trips. Her first date with Will is funny and made me laugh as it reminded me of mine with my future husband when I fell flat on my face tripping over fresh air. It’s dangerous stuff, air. The setting mostly in Sussex is lovely too and Simon who she meets there is also very likeable. The dog, Spangle totally stole my heart. The book is a slow burner which I like and you get hints that Will is not what he seems and that things have occurred in the past which might explain the situation in the present day.
However, I think it falls apart as we reach the conclusion of the book as one event piles on top of another often literally, it has the feel of a farce at times and so I’m disappointed.
Overall, much of the book is very enjoyable, there are some good characters and I hope others will like the ending more than me.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC.
May 14, 2020
SO many questions that I needed the answers to. Samantha Hayes captured my attention in the first chapter and had me furiously turning the pages. Jo’s husband Will has been missing for over a year. Jo does not think he is dead or he left her for another woman, but she will not have closure until she finds out what has happened. Unable to MoveOn Jo Bestie Louise suggests she gets a job as a housesitter and takes a little bit of a vacation. When Jo is searching the housesitting website she runs across the unexplainable, pictures of her husband Will on a fireplace mantle in a home she’s never seen before. Of course Jo applies and gets the house sitting job and that’s where things start going sideways and get very strange. What followed was a pretty wild somewhat unbelievable ride.
This was an interesting book. I was seriously all in, totally invested, needed to know what in the world was going on. There were some fairly unbelievable things that happened and I was OK with that. But then at the end things got a little frantic (for lack of a better word) and it just didn’t work for me. A good story that had me completely hooked, but perhaps with a little too much of a twist.
This book in emojis 🖼 🐶 🐱 🔑 🏡
*** Big thank you to Bookouture for my gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own. ***
This was an interesting book. I was seriously all in, totally invested, needed to know what in the world was going on. There were some fairly unbelievable things that happened and I was OK with that. But then at the end things got a little frantic (for lack of a better word) and it just didn’t work for me. A good story that had me completely hooked, but perhaps with a little too much of a twist.
This book in emojis 🖼 🐶 🐱 🔑 🏡
*** Big thank you to Bookouture for my gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own. ***
May 13, 2020
3 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️
While I really loved Samantha Hayes last book, Date Night, this one was just way too slow for my liking and did not “wow” me at all. I had such high hopes!
When I first saw this book on NetGalley, I knew I had to have it. I was super excited to start it. The premise sounds awesome: Jo’s husband - Will - has been missing for a year. Her best friend suggests that she “get back out there” and start dating or find a hobby, like housesitting. As much as she hesitates to jump on board with the idea, Jo finally caves and begins looking for houses online. Eventually, she finds a house that interests her. Here’s the kicker...she sees a picture of her missing husband in a frame on the mantle in the background of one of the photos. Why is there a picture of her missing husband on this woman’s mantle? Of course, she gets her application submitted immediately because she must start investigating as soon as possible! What does not sound awesome about that? Unfortunately, it sounds a lot better than it actually is.
Overall, the book was just okay for me. There were a couple of decent twists, but nothing like I was expecting. I rolled my eyes a few times, and got tired of Jo constantly seeing her missing husband everywhere she went when he wasn’t really there.
Even though I didn’t love this one, I look forward to her next book!
Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and Samantha Hayes for the advanced copy to read and review.
While I really loved Samantha Hayes last book, Date Night, this one was just way too slow for my liking and did not “wow” me at all. I had such high hopes!
When I first saw this book on NetGalley, I knew I had to have it. I was super excited to start it. The premise sounds awesome: Jo’s husband - Will - has been missing for a year. Her best friend suggests that she “get back out there” and start dating or find a hobby, like housesitting. As much as she hesitates to jump on board with the idea, Jo finally caves and begins looking for houses online. Eventually, she finds a house that interests her. Here’s the kicker...she sees a picture of her missing husband in a frame on the mantle in the background of one of the photos. Why is there a picture of her missing husband on this woman’s mantle? Of course, she gets her application submitted immediately because she must start investigating as soon as possible! What does not sound awesome about that? Unfortunately, it sounds a lot better than it actually is.
Overall, the book was just okay for me. There were a couple of decent twists, but nothing like I was expecting. I rolled my eyes a few times, and got tired of Jo constantly seeing her missing husband everywhere she went when he wasn’t really there.
Even though I didn’t love this one, I look forward to her next book!
Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and Samantha Hayes for the advanced copy to read and review.
April 20, 2020
This is an ARC review - release date is 6 May 2020.
I really really wanted to like this book. I tried to get into it. I really did. I tried to like the main character but I just couldn’t . I didn’t find the story thrilling or exciting. I found the heroine to be whiny and annoying for the better part of the book and the ending just left me saying “meh.” I was highly disappointed. I expected better from this author
I really really wanted to like this book. I tried to get into it. I really did. I tried to like the main character but I just couldn’t . I didn’t find the story thrilling or exciting. I found the heroine to be whiny and annoying for the better part of the book and the ending just left me saying “meh.” I was highly disappointed. I expected better from this author
May 11, 2020
“People go missing and what you have to remember is that sometimes they don’t want to be found.”
It’s been a year Jo’s husband is missing and the police have given up looking for him. But Jo still grieves and looks for her husband everywhere.
Has someone taken her husband by force? Did her husband leave her? Has he been in an accident and lost his memory? These are the questions she asks herself all the time.
Until one day, pressured by her best friend to take a vacation and rest her mind, she signs up for a house-sitting job and while browsing the photos of the house she sees her husband’s framed photos on the mantelpiece.
Are the photos real or is she hallucinating?
Now more than ever she is determined to go to that house and try to find the answers to her questions.
The plot was intriguing enough to make me continue reading but if it was any other author I would have given up on the book. I have read 4 books by Samantha Hayes and have loved them all. But this one didn’t work for me.
There were too many whinings and inner dialogues and long unnecessary conversations that became irritating after a couple of chapters in the book.
Thanks to the author, Bookouture and the NetGalley for my copy.
It’s been a year Jo’s husband is missing and the police have given up looking for him. But Jo still grieves and looks for her husband everywhere.
Has someone taken her husband by force? Did her husband leave her? Has he been in an accident and lost his memory? These are the questions she asks herself all the time.
Until one day, pressured by her best friend to take a vacation and rest her mind, she signs up for a house-sitting job and while browsing the photos of the house she sees her husband’s framed photos on the mantelpiece.
Are the photos real or is she hallucinating?
Now more than ever she is determined to go to that house and try to find the answers to her questions.
The plot was intriguing enough to make me continue reading but if it was any other author I would have given up on the book. I have read 4 books by Samantha Hayes and have loved them all. But this one didn’t work for me.
There were too many whinings and inner dialogues and long unnecessary conversations that became irritating after a couple of chapters in the book.
Thanks to the author, Bookouture and the NetGalley for my copy.
December 17, 2021
My thanks, to Bookoutre, Samantha Hayes, and Netgalley. To say that I despise psychological thrillers would be a vast understatement on my account. But, I keep trying them and end up not being able to finish them. They say psychological. I personally think they're mad! But, I had a few recommendations from friends about this author, so I gave it a go. I will confess that I truly hated the first 30% I usually only give a book 30%. Then, if I hate it, I quit! I hated this! Oh, Will! Where's Will? Blah, blah! But, I decided to stick around a bit longer. Yeah, I actually loved it! Once we got to the heart of the story, and past the angst, "so much angst!" Ugh. I was all in. This will be a mild book I suppose for those who like the messed up psych fests! For me? It was perfect! Even that ending saw a few tears 😢 rolling down my face. Two. It's often difficult for me to read anything other than horror, fantasy or mystery/thrillers! This was a nice change.
May 4, 2020
Quite a slow moving suspenseful read initially about a missing husband and a wife determined in her search for him. Author Samantha Hayes dealt with a tough subject of grief and betrayal along with mystery and tingles of paranormal.
Will Carter had been missing for more than a year, and wife Jo needed closure. A nudge from best friend Louise to take a break got her checking out the house-sitting site where certain photos of a house got her interested.
Having read many books by this author, I was quite amazed at how nearly half of the book had been written using a single character. The author got me quite wrapped up in the ruminations of the main character that all I wanted to do was to unlock the puzzles in her brain and know what happened.
The second half had the red and blue herrings (pun intended) like the flashes of the light, when suddenly my brain took over and analyzed all the clues laid down in the prose by the author. Certain twists got me reeling; whoa, I never expected that. The book was quite a twister where I too was taken in by the scenes of apparition and reality.
The author was wicked enough to keep me confused in most of the book until the end which revealed the final truth. Talk about escape from a locked brain. Whew.
I had quite a fun time in solving this puzzle which was the life of Jo who was one half of THE HAPPY COUPLE.
Will Carter had been missing for more than a year, and wife Jo needed closure. A nudge from best friend Louise to take a break got her checking out the house-sitting site where certain photos of a house got her interested.
Having read many books by this author, I was quite amazed at how nearly half of the book had been written using a single character. The author got me quite wrapped up in the ruminations of the main character that all I wanted to do was to unlock the puzzles in her brain and know what happened.
The second half had the red and blue herrings (pun intended) like the flashes of the light, when suddenly my brain took over and analyzed all the clues laid down in the prose by the author. Certain twists got me reeling; whoa, I never expected that. The book was quite a twister where I too was taken in by the scenes of apparition and reality.
The author was wicked enough to keep me confused in most of the book until the end which revealed the final truth. Talk about escape from a locked brain. Whew.
I had quite a fun time in solving this puzzle which was the life of Jo who was one half of THE HAPPY COUPLE.
May 9, 2020
The Happy Couple by Samantha Hayes is one that I struggled with my feelings really from the moment I began until the end. This is a somewhat slow paced thriller told from the point of view of the wife, Jo, in the present and looks back at the past.
Jo had thought her marriage was perfect and was deeply in love with her husband Will when one day Will simply did not come home from work. A year has passed since that day but Jo still cannot let go to the point she even hallucinates Will to be still with her.
Jo’s best friend is concerned about her and pushes Jo into trying to take a holiday somewhere to get away from it all. Jo however knows she cannot afford a trip so it’s suggested she try a house sitting site to still get away. Looking on the site Jo finds a home with photos on the mantle that she swears are of her husband so she applies to fill the house sitter opening.
What had me going back and forth with my feelings on this one was on one hand I didn’t particularly care for Jo or feel sorry for her. There was always this niggling thought in the back of my mind as to why she was so upset over her husband and as the story goes on the more I wondered. On the other hand though the book has some excellent twists and an intense plot/setting that I would have otherwise loved if I’d felt more for Jo leaving me at three stars.
I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.
For more reviews please visit https://carriesbookreviews.com/
Jo had thought her marriage was perfect and was deeply in love with her husband Will when one day Will simply did not come home from work. A year has passed since that day but Jo still cannot let go to the point she even hallucinates Will to be still with her.
Jo’s best friend is concerned about her and pushes Jo into trying to take a holiday somewhere to get away from it all. Jo however knows she cannot afford a trip so it’s suggested she try a house sitting site to still get away. Looking on the site Jo finds a home with photos on the mantle that she swears are of her husband so she applies to fill the house sitter opening.
What had me going back and forth with my feelings on this one was on one hand I didn’t particularly care for Jo or feel sorry for her. There was always this niggling thought in the back of my mind as to why she was so upset over her husband and as the story goes on the more I wondered. On the other hand though the book has some excellent twists and an intense plot/setting that I would have otherwise loved if I’d felt more for Jo leaving me at three stars.
I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.
For more reviews please visit https://carriesbookreviews.com/
June 6, 2025
The story centres around Jo, a young woman whose husband, Will just disappears without explanation. It has been a year and Jo decides to house sit a place that she sees online that may or may not have a clue as to where her husband has disappeared. What follows is an interesting journey to the truth. There is alot of internal dialogue in Jo's head, and at times I wondered if Will was a figment of her imagination. I honeslty didn't know the truth until the very end.
May 5, 2020
Jo adores Will, literally worships the ground he walks on, they are married, happy and trying for a baby
Well, they were until Will disappeared a year ago and Jo cannot move on not knowing what has happened to her true love
Her friend Louise encourages her to do some holiday house sitting and while she is on a site looking at various places she sees a home with pictures of her missing husband on display, you can guess her reaction as she is accepted as the house sitter and she begins to find out just what Will ( and others ) have been up to
The mystery is solved and with a surprising OHHHHHH moment the ‘twist’ reveals itself, literally
This was a book with fascinating premise but for me very weak and niggly needy irritating characters coupled with quite a few raised eyebrow moments but a readable story none the less
I look forward to the authors next book
6/10
3 Stars
Well, they were until Will disappeared a year ago and Jo cannot move on not knowing what has happened to her true love
Her friend Louise encourages her to do some holiday house sitting and while she is on a site looking at various places she sees a home with pictures of her missing husband on display, you can guess her reaction as she is accepted as the house sitter and she begins to find out just what Will ( and others ) have been up to
The mystery is solved and with a surprising OHHHHHH moment the ‘twist’ reveals itself, literally
This was a book with fascinating premise but for me very weak and niggly needy irritating characters coupled with quite a few raised eyebrow moments but a readable story none the less
I look forward to the authors next book
6/10
3 Stars
May 6, 2020
5 stars for this intriguing, thrilling escape! 🖤
Jo’s husband Will disappears without a trace, and after a year she’s still struggling with it. They had the perfect life and marriage, and were trying for a baby before he vanished. Her closest friend convinces her to take a vacation and use that time to relax. While looking at house-sitting jobs to use as a place to stay, she sees in one of the photo’s recent pictures of her husband on a fireplace mantle. Hmmm, interesting. How can his photos be in someone else’s home?
Jo jumps on it immediately - books the job, shows up, but the pictures are gone...she then second guesses herself as if they even existed at all. But then she finds one door in the house is kept locked, once again stirring up her curiosity and imagination. She’s thinking his personal items are in that room, or...maybe he is...
I enjoyed following along in this spellbinding mystery; I’m thinking where did he go? What happened to him?
Jo needs closure. She’s a mess, and is distracted as all get out...so much so, that’s she’s physically seeing him...or his ghost...
I was hanging by the edge of my seat then BAM. Surprise! OMG what an ending!!! I loved loved loved it!
Appearances are definitely deceiving in this thriller! A must read for all mystery thriller fans.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Jo’s husband Will disappears without a trace, and after a year she’s still struggling with it. They had the perfect life and marriage, and were trying for a baby before he vanished. Her closest friend convinces her to take a vacation and use that time to relax. While looking at house-sitting jobs to use as a place to stay, she sees in one of the photo’s recent pictures of her husband on a fireplace mantle. Hmmm, interesting. How can his photos be in someone else’s home?
Jo jumps on it immediately - books the job, shows up, but the pictures are gone...she then second guesses herself as if they even existed at all. But then she finds one door in the house is kept locked, once again stirring up her curiosity and imagination. She’s thinking his personal items are in that room, or...maybe he is...
I enjoyed following along in this spellbinding mystery; I’m thinking where did he go? What happened to him?
Jo needs closure. She’s a mess, and is distracted as all get out...so much so, that’s she’s physically seeing him...or his ghost...
I was hanging by the edge of my seat then BAM. Surprise! OMG what an ending!!! I loved loved loved it!
Appearances are definitely deceiving in this thriller! A must read for all mystery thriller fans.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
May 12, 2020
⭐️3.5 Stars⭐️
An intriguing thriller with a superabundant climax.
For nearly a year Jo has been losing her mind and obsessing about her husband. Will Carter, drama teacher/actor has been missing for almost a year now and each time Jo’s phone rings she thinks she could be a step closer to knowing where he is. They were trying to have a baby and now he’s vanished from her life.
Jo’s pregnant best friend Louise convinces Jo to take a holiday break but because Jo can't afford a regular holiday she makes the decision to holiday at a house-sit near the South Coast. There were lovely photos of the place on the website and what appeared to be photos of her missing husband Will on the living room mantelpiece there…….
The Happy Couple was defiantly a page-turner. I was left restless trying to unlock the mystery in the plot which I thought took too long to start coming together and falling into place but when it does wham bam there’s a lot going on!
I wish to thank Netgalley & Bookouture for a providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review
An intriguing thriller with a superabundant climax.
For nearly a year Jo has been losing her mind and obsessing about her husband. Will Carter, drama teacher/actor has been missing for almost a year now and each time Jo’s phone rings she thinks she could be a step closer to knowing where he is. They were trying to have a baby and now he’s vanished from her life.
Jo’s pregnant best friend Louise convinces Jo to take a holiday break but because Jo can't afford a regular holiday she makes the decision to holiday at a house-sit near the South Coast. There were lovely photos of the place on the website and what appeared to be photos of her missing husband Will on the living room mantelpiece there…….
The Happy Couple was defiantly a page-turner. I was left restless trying to unlock the mystery in the plot which I thought took too long to start coming together and falling into place but when it does wham bam there’s a lot going on!
I wish to thank Netgalley & Bookouture for a providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review
September 21, 2020
Jo's husband, Will has disappeared without trace. He's been missing for a year. She's always expected him to come home. Taking her friend Louise's advice,Ho decides to go on a house sitting holiday. But when she's searching on the internet, she spots a photo of her husband in one of the houses. The story has you questioning whether Jo really knew her husband at all.
This is another slow burner. Jo's conversations with her missing husband started to irritate me.i did guess part of the story but other parts were a surprise. It also got a little far fetched. The story is gold from Jo's point of view and looks back to the time when she met Will, their ensuing relationship and the current events. The second part of this book was much better. The ending was worth sticking with the book.
I would like to thank NetGalley, Bookouture and the Samantha Hayes for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This is another slow burner. Jo's conversations with her missing husband started to irritate me.i did guess part of the story but other parts were a surprise. It also got a little far fetched. The story is gold from Jo's point of view and looks back to the time when she met Will, their ensuing relationship and the current events. The second part of this book was much better. The ending was worth sticking with the book.
I would like to thank NetGalley, Bookouture and the Samantha Hayes for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.
May 10, 2020
‘The happy couple’… seems like a lovely romantic book when you hear that title, right?
When you take a look at the gorgeous cover next, you feel like striking out the ‘happy’ 🙂
You have found the one you have been waiting for and And you lived together happily ever after. The end!
No, no, no, no. That not how it went at all!
You start as the most happy couple in the world, but then things start to change and you don’t know why. You find yourself alone and a whole load of emotions fly through your head, because you are left in the dark. Why did he do this? Or did something happen where he had no say so about?
He lives on in your mind. You see him, you talk to him, but you can’t find him. And that’s when you see his photos in a home on a house sitting site … You know what you have to do.
The author tells the story in the present, but gives us an insight in the past too. I liked Jo. The author created a great character that made me smile when she blurted things out and created funny or sometimes embarassing situations.
Jo is not the only great character. Will, Lou, Susie and Simon are equally likeable.
I enjoyed the story and the surprising revelations. 5 stars.
Thank you, Samantha Hayes and Bookouture
https://bforbookreview.wordpress.com
When you take a look at the gorgeous cover next, you feel like striking out the ‘happy’ 🙂
You have found the one you have been waiting for and And you lived together happily ever after. The end!
No, no, no, no. That not how it went at all!
You start as the most happy couple in the world, but then things start to change and you don’t know why. You find yourself alone and a whole load of emotions fly through your head, because you are left in the dark. Why did he do this? Or did something happen where he had no say so about?
He lives on in your mind. You see him, you talk to him, but you can’t find him. And that’s when you see his photos in a home on a house sitting site … You know what you have to do.
The author tells the story in the present, but gives us an insight in the past too. I liked Jo. The author created a great character that made me smile when she blurted things out and created funny or sometimes embarassing situations.
Jo is not the only great character. Will, Lou, Susie and Simon are equally likeable.
I enjoyed the story and the surprising revelations. 5 stars.
Thank you, Samantha Hayes and Bookouture
https://bforbookreview.wordpress.com
April 22, 2020
4.5 Stars rounding it to 5.0 Stars.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Bookouture for approving me this book.
I actually didn’t expect this to be good. The first parts especially before she found the house where her husband’s photographs are, seem to be boring. It took me days to finally pick up the pace. It becomes really intriguing when she is finally in Suzanne’s house (where she is going to house sit for a couple of days) looking for clues about her missing husband.
The whole time Jo stays at Suzanne’s house is making me intensely nervous. I am actually not a fan of Psychological Thrillers. My past reviews of Psychological Thrillers always sits at 3.0 stars on goodreads. However, this one is actually good! Like I love it. I am always hungry for answers. There are things that I actually guess. I felt good knowing I was able to guess it but there are still more hidden facts.
At first the Point of View confuses me at the beginning. There is Jo’s POV, there is Jo talking to herself, and there is a third POV. As the book progresses it continues to use third POV. The reason why I can’t give it full 5.0 stars is how the story jumps from past to present on a single chapter. Even though the chapters have a written “THEN” & “NOW” at the beginning of each chapter, it continues to flashback things which confuse me most times. That’s the only thing off to me but overall it’s good.
The ending is actually a bomb. I never expected but woa it’s really good.
I’ll write a full review soon on my blog https://inkly.in
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Bookouture for approving me this book.
I actually didn’t expect this to be good. The first parts especially before she found the house where her husband’s photographs are, seem to be boring. It took me days to finally pick up the pace. It becomes really intriguing when she is finally in Suzanne’s house (where she is going to house sit for a couple of days) looking for clues about her missing husband.
The whole time Jo stays at Suzanne’s house is making me intensely nervous. I am actually not a fan of Psychological Thrillers. My past reviews of Psychological Thrillers always sits at 3.0 stars on goodreads. However, this one is actually good! Like I love it. I am always hungry for answers. There are things that I actually guess. I felt good knowing I was able to guess it but there are still more hidden facts.
At first the Point of View confuses me at the beginning. There is Jo’s POV, there is Jo talking to herself, and there is a third POV. As the book progresses it continues to use third POV. The reason why I can’t give it full 5.0 stars is how the story jumps from past to present on a single chapter. Even though the chapters have a written “THEN” & “NOW” at the beginning of each chapter, it continues to flashback things which confuse me most times. That’s the only thing off to me but overall it’s good.
The ending is actually a bomb. I never expected but woa it’s really good.
I’ll write a full review soon on my blog https://inkly.in
April 21, 2020
I like Samantha Hayes, I really do. But this book was underwhelming and predictable. There were no surprises until the twist at the almost end, which was, I thought, a bit silly.
There is no happy couple. When the book opens Jo’s husband, Will, has been missing for the best part of a year. She is frantic and miserable and ‘sees’ Will everywhere. Her best friend, Louise, persuades her that she needs a holiday and signs her up for one of those house and pet sitting websites so she can have a free getaway. As she’s browsing Jo sees a place near the beach that she and Will had talked about visiting. And she finds a house there, it looks great but – wait, what’s that on the mantelpiece? Photos of her Will?
Jo is immediately suspicious but energised and decides to stay there for two weeks and find out who this woman is who owns the house and has her husband’s photos on her mantelpiece. Of course nothing is as it seems. But, good grief, the contortions the poor plot was twisted into, it just came across as overwrought. The characters, with the possible exception of Suzanne, the house’s owner, were all horrible, self serving and whiny. The very end of the book – just no!
I didn’t like the book and I thought the writing lacked any passion or feeling, coming across instead as rather flat. Many thanks to Netgalley, Bookouture and Samantha Hayes for my review copy.
There is no happy couple. When the book opens Jo’s husband, Will, has been missing for the best part of a year. She is frantic and miserable and ‘sees’ Will everywhere. Her best friend, Louise, persuades her that she needs a holiday and signs her up for one of those house and pet sitting websites so she can have a free getaway. As she’s browsing Jo sees a place near the beach that she and Will had talked about visiting. And she finds a house there, it looks great but – wait, what’s that on the mantelpiece? Photos of her Will?
Jo is immediately suspicious but energised and decides to stay there for two weeks and find out who this woman is who owns the house and has her husband’s photos on her mantelpiece. Of course nothing is as it seems. But, good grief, the contortions the poor plot was twisted into, it just came across as overwrought. The characters, with the possible exception of Suzanne, the house’s owner, were all horrible, self serving and whiny. The very end of the book – just no!
I didn’t like the book and I thought the writing lacked any passion or feeling, coming across instead as rather flat. Many thanks to Netgalley, Bookouture and Samantha Hayes for my review copy.
April 16, 2020
Jo Carter is a seamstress and is married to Will, an actor and a school teacher. One day, Will disappears and Jo does not hear from him again although she has visual and auditory hallucinations of him all the time. After Will has been missing for a year, Jo's best friend, Louise, suggests she take a house sitting job so she can get away for a while. Louise sets up an account for Jo to look at homes available. While Jo is looking at homes in an area where she and Will had vacationed before, she spots his picture on the mantle in one of the homes. Jo applies and is accepted to house sit. From here, the story is very interesting with lots of twists and turns which makes it hard to put down. I wasn't sure at first if I was going to like this book but I was soon hooked. Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC of this very interesting book in exchange for an honest review.
May 5, 2020
4.5 stars, a thrilling exciting story that flew by. I was surprised that the reviews were so mixed on this one, but glad I took a chance on it.
This book was intriguing from the start. I was immediately pulled into the story, wondering where Will, Jo's husband, was, why he disappeared and how can he be in pictures on a mantelpiece of somebody else's house. I was completely fascinated with the mystery and I couldn't wait to pick up the book to learn more.
This was a super fast read, with short chapters, which I prefer. I had multiple theories for what was occurring and although I was right to some degree, there was definitely a big surprise that I didn't see coming. There were times it was a bit far fetched, but I decided to go with it and enjoy the ride!
Thank you Bookouture and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This book was intriguing from the start. I was immediately pulled into the story, wondering where Will, Jo's husband, was, why he disappeared and how can he be in pictures on a mantelpiece of somebody else's house. I was completely fascinated with the mystery and I couldn't wait to pick up the book to learn more.
This was a super fast read, with short chapters, which I prefer. I had multiple theories for what was occurring and although I was right to some degree, there was definitely a big surprise that I didn't see coming. There were times it was a bit far fetched, but I decided to go with it and enjoy the ride!
Thank you Bookouture and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
May 18, 2020
The Happy Couple started off really well for me. I enjoyed getting to know the characters & their backstories but the end somewhat fizzled out. I liked following Jo's quest for the truth about her husband. I also enjoyed the small twists along the way that made the story interesting. However, it got predictable & frankly I've seen many a book end in a similar way. So while I enjoyed the journey, I wasn't too happy with the destination.
Jo & Will Carter lived a happy life with Jo a professional seamstress & Will an aspiring artist. When Will suddenly disappears one day Jo is left distraught with no idea where Will is or why he's gone. As months pass Jo finds it increasingly difficult to process the fact her beloved husband might never return. Constantly pressured by family & friends to 'move on' Jo reluctantly decides to take up house sitting to take a break from her house, & her routine, both filled with Will's memories. While browsing through one of the apps connecting the sitters with the hosts, Jo finds Will's picture smiling back at her from a picture on a fireplace. Shocked, Jo decides she needs to find out why Will's picture is in a stranger's house & why. Jo knows following that path will lead to her heartbreaking but for closure, she knows she must uncover her deepest memories.
I liked the characters in this book especially Jo. I liked her journey through the course of finding why her husband disappeared. The plot was intriguing & I really loved how the other characters were defined. The only gripe I have is how the book ended. I was expecting a mind-blowing twist at the end- but the twist fell short of the wow factor for me.
Thank you NetGalley, Bookouture & Samantha Hayes for an arc!
Jo & Will Carter lived a happy life with Jo a professional seamstress & Will an aspiring artist. When Will suddenly disappears one day Jo is left distraught with no idea where Will is or why he's gone. As months pass Jo finds it increasingly difficult to process the fact her beloved husband might never return. Constantly pressured by family & friends to 'move on' Jo reluctantly decides to take up house sitting to take a break from her house, & her routine, both filled with Will's memories. While browsing through one of the apps connecting the sitters with the hosts, Jo finds Will's picture smiling back at her from a picture on a fireplace. Shocked, Jo decides she needs to find out why Will's picture is in a stranger's house & why. Jo knows following that path will lead to her heartbreaking but for closure, she knows she must uncover her deepest memories.
I liked the characters in this book especially Jo. I liked her journey through the course of finding why her husband disappeared. The plot was intriguing & I really loved how the other characters were defined. The only gripe I have is how the book ended. I was expecting a mind-blowing twist at the end- but the twist fell short of the wow factor for me.
Thank you NetGalley, Bookouture & Samantha Hayes for an arc!
December 18, 2020
Psychological Fiction / Domestic Thriller / Contemporary
Publication date : May 6, 2020
Jo's (39) husband Will went missing nearly a year ago. The police can't find him. No one has seen him since. Is he alive or dead? No one can seem to know the answers to his dissapearance. Then Jo sees picture of her missing husband on someone's mantle piece, and she decide to go to that house. What answers she will find there?
The beginning was a bit slow. We are introduced to Jo when her husband has been already gone missing, so we don't know much about their lives "before". We see Jo trying to cope with the loss and uncertainty. I could undestand the torment Jo was going through; not knowing is always hard. All the stress seemed to cause her some mental health issues, considering the way she kept talking to her missing husband and having visions of him. Was she going crazy? Was she lonely? Or guilty of his dissapearance?
When the story started to switch between past and present events, we learn that the couple had fertility issues and Jo's mother did not like Will. Sadly there was no good flow to those then/now switches, "then" events came randomly and didn't add much to the plot. Jo's "visions" of Will sounded weird, they were more like fillers than anything significant.
Overall not bad story but not something original or good. Dissapearing/missing husband/wife/child plot is kinda overused and start to sound a bit similar (thankfully in this one the wife wasn't accused of the murder like in some others!) Even some of the cover images look too similar. More original plots and cover images, please!
Publication date : May 6, 2020
Jo's (39) husband Will went missing nearly a year ago. The police can't find him. No one has seen him since. Is he alive or dead? No one can seem to know the answers to his dissapearance. Then Jo sees picture of her missing husband on someone's mantle piece, and she decide to go to that house. What answers she will find there?
The beginning was a bit slow. We are introduced to Jo when her husband has been already gone missing, so we don't know much about their lives "before". We see Jo trying to cope with the loss and uncertainty. I could undestand the torment Jo was going through; not knowing is always hard. All the stress seemed to cause her some mental health issues, considering the way she kept talking to her missing husband and having visions of him. Was she going crazy? Was she lonely? Or guilty of his dissapearance?
When the story started to switch between past and present events, we learn that the couple had fertility issues and Jo's mother did not like Will. Sadly there was no good flow to those then/now switches, "then" events came randomly and didn't add much to the plot. Jo's "visions" of Will sounded weird, they were more like fillers than anything significant.
Overall not bad story but not something original or good. Dissapearing/missing husband/wife/child plot is kinda overused and start to sound a bit similar (thankfully in this one the wife wasn't accused of the murder like in some others!) Even some of the cover images look too similar. More original plots and cover images, please!
April 19, 2020
Jo and Will are the perfect couple. She's a successful seamstress, he's an acting teacher and performer. Closest friends, Louise and Archie are pregnant and all is going well until Will disappears with no trace, leaving behind his car, his wallet, his phone and no note. A year later Jo is still grieving when Louise convinces her to apply for a house-sitting job where she can relax and re-group. Reluctantly, Jo agrees and is shocked when she discovers what might be a lead into Will's disappearance when she sees pictures on the house's mantle. That's all you need to know. Shocking surprises, twists, "what the...?" moments that have your head spinning up until the final moments. I've enjoyed Hayes's other novels and this one may keep you up at night as well!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!
April 20, 2020
This is an unputtdownable, roller coaster of ups and down emotions, thriller of a book! I love, LOVE LOVE Samantha Hayes' books and she hit it out of the park with The Happy Couple. There was so much I need in a psych thriller all wrapped up in this book with a jaw dropping twisted ending. The whole book was twisted and twisty so the ending was bonus shock value!!!
If you have this in your TBR, read it now!
5 stars!
Thank you to Netgalley, the author Samantha Hayesand the publisher for my free ARC in exchange for my honest review.
My honest review: 5 MESSED UP STARS :-)
If you have this in your TBR, read it now!
5 stars!
Thank you to Netgalley, the author Samantha Hayesand the publisher for my free ARC in exchange for my honest review.
My honest review: 5 MESSED UP STARS :-)
October 10, 2023
~4.25~
Samantha Hayes does it again!
I absolutely loved 'Date Night' by her and was expecting the same suspense from "THE HAPPY COUPLE". Gladly, it didn't disappoint at all.
The twists and revelations until the last moment just blew my mind. Although the initial part of the story felt a little tricky(is the word I guess) and that may be due to the fact that I wasn't really fond of Jo up until a certain point.
But as the slowly proceeds I just couldn't stop reading and ofcourse I STARTED PREDICTING, and some of my guesses fit the puzzle but as usual Hayes stole the limelight with the perfect TWIST.
LOVED IT!
Samantha Hayes does it again!
I absolutely loved 'Date Night' by her and was expecting the same suspense from "THE HAPPY COUPLE". Gladly, it didn't disappoint at all.
The twists and revelations until the last moment just blew my mind. Although the initial part of the story felt a little tricky(is the word I guess) and that may be due to the fact that I wasn't really fond of Jo up until a certain point.
But as the slowly proceeds I just couldn't stop reading and ofcourse I STARTED PREDICTING, and some of my guesses fit the puzzle but as usual Hayes stole the limelight with the perfect TWIST.
LOVED IT!
September 27, 2020
I really wanted to like this book. I tried to. I really did. I didn't even give up on it like I do with most books that don't hold my interest past 20%...but it was just so slow from the outset. Too slow. And Jo...well, she just annoyed me. The fact that there were so many questions I wanted answers to that made me keep reading...and I guess I was rewarded to some extent, as it DID get better.
Jo's husband Will has been missing for a year. One day he just went to work...and didn't come home. And Jo has spent the past year searching for him. Trolling through missing person websites in the hope she will see Will's familiar face on there. But now it's been a year and there is still no sign of him. Her best friend Louise has tried setting her up with various friends but Jo isn't interested. She just wants Will.
Jo adored Will. She thought they were the perfect couple with the perfect marriage. They were happy...blissfully happy...but there was something Jo wanted more. A baby. And try as they might, they had failed to fall pregnant. Then three months after Will disappeared, Louise announces she's pregnant...and Jo is speechless. I mean, she is happy for her friend but she is also devastated that she and husband Archie had managed something she and Will never could.
Now it's approaching a year since Will's disappearance and Jo is no closer to finding him. After being roped into another matchmaking dinner at Louise and Archie's, Jo takes her friend's advice and decides to take a "house-sitting" holiday. But as she searches the "House Angels" house-sitting website Louise initially signed her up for, she comes across a house that has photos of her missing husband on display. Not one, but THREE photos of Will displayed along the mantle-piece. Three photos she recognised. Two which she had taken and the third that had included her but she had been cut out of to display just Will.
So why were there photos of her missing husband at this random house? Near Hastings, of all places? Where she and Will had planned to spend a weekend break before he disappeared? Is this where he has been living for the past year? Shacked up with another woman?
The house is Hawthorn Lodge. The owner is Suzanne. She has one cat and one dog who require looking after in her absence, and her application is accepted.
Arriving at the house late on a Friday night, Jo is welcomed by the neighbour Simon who lets her in. All at once she is eager to see the photos on the mantle but as soon as she enters the living room, she sees that they have gone! Had she just imagined those photos of Will? Surely not. She screenshot the image that displayed those three photos prominently and she kept checking to see that they were still there. And they were. But now they are not.
And then there is the locked spare room for which she has no key. What is behind that locked door that the owner doesn't want her to see? Then when Jo discovers spare keys to Hawthorn Lodge between the cushions at Simon's place when he nips to the bathroom, she quickly pockets them after clocking there are an extra two keys to the set than she had been given. But when she unlocks the door to the room one night, nothing will prepare her for what lay behind the door.
Even more so, she is even less prepared for the early return of Suzanne who goes as white as a ghost and faints as soon as she sees Jo.
So who is Suzanne? Why does she have photos of Will? And why does Jo's presence send Suzanne into an almost catatonic state? And what has any of this got to do with Will's disappearance? Does Suzanne know something she's not saying?
A slow burner that was a little too slow, THE HAPPY COUPLE is anything but. Jo thought they were happy and she was obviously devastated by his disappearance but as the story progresses it left me scratching my head as to why she held on to such an image. They clearly were anything but happy. In the flashback snippets we saw of Will, I didn't like him at all. He appeared to use coercion to maintain an element of control - of situations and of Jo. How she could not see that is beyond me. And then there was Jo herself. I did not like her at all. Her constant whining and excessive dialogue with the apparition of her missing husband were somewhat irritating. As was she.
Told solely from Jo's perspective, THE HAPPY COUPLE sees the present day woven with flashbacks of the past from before Will disappeared as the bigger picture begins to slowly unfold and secrets start to unravel. There were several eye rolling moments and I quickly tired of Jo's whining and constantly seeing her missing husband everywhere she went to conversing with him! There were some twists which had me ruminating over as I puzzled out where everyone fit into this not entirely discombobulated story. The big reveals, when they came, were no great shock as I had managed to figure them out myself...but even so, I wasn't wowed by it at all.
The ending was a little disappointing as well when I know the author is capable of so much better. However, although I didn't love this one I didn't hate it either. It just took longer to get interesting and the main character was excessively irritating. And though I didn't love it, I look forward to her next book.
I would like to thank #SamanthaHayes, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheHappyCouple in exchange for an honest review.
This review appears on my blog at https://stinathebookaholic.blogspot.com/.
Jo's husband Will has been missing for a year. One day he just went to work...and didn't come home. And Jo has spent the past year searching for him. Trolling through missing person websites in the hope she will see Will's familiar face on there. But now it's been a year and there is still no sign of him. Her best friend Louise has tried setting her up with various friends but Jo isn't interested. She just wants Will.
Jo adored Will. She thought they were the perfect couple with the perfect marriage. They were happy...blissfully happy...but there was something Jo wanted more. A baby. And try as they might, they had failed to fall pregnant. Then three months after Will disappeared, Louise announces she's pregnant...and Jo is speechless. I mean, she is happy for her friend but she is also devastated that she and husband Archie had managed something she and Will never could.
Now it's approaching a year since Will's disappearance and Jo is no closer to finding him. After being roped into another matchmaking dinner at Louise and Archie's, Jo takes her friend's advice and decides to take a "house-sitting" holiday. But as she searches the "House Angels" house-sitting website Louise initially signed her up for, she comes across a house that has photos of her missing husband on display. Not one, but THREE photos of Will displayed along the mantle-piece. Three photos she recognised. Two which she had taken and the third that had included her but she had been cut out of to display just Will.
So why were there photos of her missing husband at this random house? Near Hastings, of all places? Where she and Will had planned to spend a weekend break before he disappeared? Is this where he has been living for the past year? Shacked up with another woman?
The house is Hawthorn Lodge. The owner is Suzanne. She has one cat and one dog who require looking after in her absence, and her application is accepted.
Arriving at the house late on a Friday night, Jo is welcomed by the neighbour Simon who lets her in. All at once she is eager to see the photos on the mantle but as soon as she enters the living room, she sees that they have gone! Had she just imagined those photos of Will? Surely not. She screenshot the image that displayed those three photos prominently and she kept checking to see that they were still there. And they were. But now they are not.
And then there is the locked spare room for which she has no key. What is behind that locked door that the owner doesn't want her to see? Then when Jo discovers spare keys to Hawthorn Lodge between the cushions at Simon's place when he nips to the bathroom, she quickly pockets them after clocking there are an extra two keys to the set than she had been given. But when she unlocks the door to the room one night, nothing will prepare her for what lay behind the door.
Even more so, she is even less prepared for the early return of Suzanne who goes as white as a ghost and faints as soon as she sees Jo.
So who is Suzanne? Why does she have photos of Will? And why does Jo's presence send Suzanne into an almost catatonic state? And what has any of this got to do with Will's disappearance? Does Suzanne know something she's not saying?
A slow burner that was a little too slow, THE HAPPY COUPLE is anything but. Jo thought they were happy and she was obviously devastated by his disappearance but as the story progresses it left me scratching my head as to why she held on to such an image. They clearly were anything but happy. In the flashback snippets we saw of Will, I didn't like him at all. He appeared to use coercion to maintain an element of control - of situations and of Jo. How she could not see that is beyond me. And then there was Jo herself. I did not like her at all. Her constant whining and excessive dialogue with the apparition of her missing husband were somewhat irritating. As was she.
Told solely from Jo's perspective, THE HAPPY COUPLE sees the present day woven with flashbacks of the past from before Will disappeared as the bigger picture begins to slowly unfold and secrets start to unravel. There were several eye rolling moments and I quickly tired of Jo's whining and constantly seeing her missing husband everywhere she went to conversing with him! There were some twists which had me ruminating over as I puzzled out where everyone fit into this not entirely discombobulated story. The big reveals, when they came, were no great shock as I had managed to figure them out myself...but even so, I wasn't wowed by it at all.
The ending was a little disappointing as well when I know the author is capable of so much better. However, although I didn't love this one I didn't hate it either. It just took longer to get interesting and the main character was excessively irritating. And though I didn't love it, I look forward to her next book.
I would like to thank #SamanthaHayes, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheHappyCouple in exchange for an honest review.
This review appears on my blog at https://stinathebookaholic.blogspot.com/.
May 26, 2020
While this book kept me turning pages, I found the main character Jo very unlikable and not very stable.
Jo's husband goes missing one night, leaving no clues to his whereabouts and leaves his phone, keys and wallet at his office. One year later he is still gone without a trace and Jo sees him everywhere. She hasn't moved on and wants to know what happened so one day her best friend Louise signs her up for a house sitting website to take a holiday. Clueless, Jo agrees and ends up seeing pictures of her missing husband Will at this Women's home. She applies to sit for her and sets off on a journey to find her husband.
I was definitely interested in knowing what happened to Will so I kept turning the pages. However, many things that occurred in the story were so farfetched, it was simply unbelievable.
I've read many novels by Hayes and usually love them. This one was just okay.
Jo's husband goes missing one night, leaving no clues to his whereabouts and leaves his phone, keys and wallet at his office. One year later he is still gone without a trace and Jo sees him everywhere. She hasn't moved on and wants to know what happened so one day her best friend Louise signs her up for a house sitting website to take a holiday. Clueless, Jo agrees and ends up seeing pictures of her missing husband Will at this Women's home. She applies to sit for her and sets off on a journey to find her husband.
I was definitely interested in knowing what happened to Will so I kept turning the pages. However, many things that occurred in the story were so farfetched, it was simply unbelievable.
I've read many novels by Hayes and usually love them. This one was just okay.
May 10, 2020
What are the odds? Insert eye roll. I really enjoyed Date Night and this book sounded like it was going to be good but I just couldn’t get on board with it. I thank Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.
April 22, 2020
*Thanks to Bookouture + NetGalley for the ARC!*
Okay, this is another one that I'm feeling like I really can't review without spoilers. So. Spoilers ahead!
Okay, this is another one that I'm feeling like I really can't review without spoilers. So. Spoilers ahead!
May 6, 2020
3.5 stars
I typically love Samantha Hayes books so I was super stoked to receive an e-ARC of The Happy Couple. I mean, did you read that synopsis? It sounds deliciously gripping! The story is told in third person, however, when we are taken back to the past as Jo remembers times with Will, it’s told in first person. This format worked for me, but it might be irksome or confusing to some. The story starts a little slow, but it has steady growth and had me turning pages faster as the story progressed. The end might not have been as shocking as it could have been, but there were still enough twists to keep me second guessing myself and that’s always fun!
I liked how I could relate to Jo and her absolute clumsiness. She talks to herself A LOT. I don’t know if that’s a bad thing or not? I’m sure it will drive some readers absolutely nuts. For me, it just made her even more relatable since I am always talking to myself, and just as she did, I often blurt out things and don’t even realize it until my husband looks me with a seriously confused look on his face lol. I also liked Simon and Suzanne and, of course, the addition of animals is never a bad thing for me.
A few things that didn’t work so well for me and left me rating this at 3.5 stars, closer to 3 than 4: 1) Jo clearly has some mental health issues that were never addressed. I really wish they had been, even if just in the smallest way.
2) There were a few times that reminded me of horror films where the audience is thinking, “oh come on, no way the person is dumb enough to do that...”
3) The ending was just a little too fast and unbelievable.
Overall, it was an enjoyable, quick read with some great characters. I would recommend it to anyone who likes a quick, suspenseful read, just go into remembering its entertainment and it's okay to have fun reading about the unbelievable. If you haven’t read any of her other books, I highly recommend you pick one up.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookoutre for my e-ARC and the opportunity to provide my thoughts.
I typically love Samantha Hayes books so I was super stoked to receive an e-ARC of The Happy Couple. I mean, did you read that synopsis? It sounds deliciously gripping! The story is told in third person, however, when we are taken back to the past as Jo remembers times with Will, it’s told in first person. This format worked for me, but it might be irksome or confusing to some. The story starts a little slow, but it has steady growth and had me turning pages faster as the story progressed. The end might not have been as shocking as it could have been, but there were still enough twists to keep me second guessing myself and that’s always fun!
I liked how I could relate to Jo and her absolute clumsiness. She talks to herself A LOT. I don’t know if that’s a bad thing or not? I’m sure it will drive some readers absolutely nuts. For me, it just made her even more relatable since I am always talking to myself, and just as she did, I often blurt out things and don’t even realize it until my husband looks me with a seriously confused look on his face lol. I also liked Simon and Suzanne and, of course, the addition of animals is never a bad thing for me.
A few things that didn’t work so well for me and left me rating this at 3.5 stars, closer to 3 than 4: 1) Jo clearly has some mental health issues that were never addressed. I really wish they had been, even if just in the smallest way.
2) There were a few times that reminded me of horror films where the audience is thinking, “oh come on, no way the person is dumb enough to do that...”
3) The ending was just a little too fast and unbelievable.
Overall, it was an enjoyable, quick read with some great characters. I would recommend it to anyone who likes a quick, suspenseful read, just go into remembering its entertainment and it's okay to have fun reading about the unbelievable. If you haven’t read any of her other books, I highly recommend you pick one up.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookoutre for my e-ARC and the opportunity to provide my thoughts.
January 5, 2021
Will Carter had been missing for more than a year, and his wife Jo is still looking for answers. When pressured by her best friend to take a vacation ,she signs up for a house-sitting job and while looking at the photos of the house she sees her husband’s framed picture on the mantelpiece. Now more than ever she’s determined to get the job but the answers she gets might not be what she was looking for
Happy Couple by Samantha Hayes is a twisty psychological thriller .Overall an OK read for me as I couldn’t connect to the main character but it did have some interesting twists and turns at the end .
I would like to thank Bookouture & NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest and fair review.
Happy Couple by Samantha Hayes is a twisty psychological thriller .Overall an OK read for me as I couldn’t connect to the main character but it did have some interesting twists and turns at the end .
I would like to thank Bookouture & NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest and fair review.
May 31, 2020
Could've been a great story
I was very enthusiastic and pulled into this story and the mystery, but the story line got so damn convoluted halfway through and I couldn't stop there. I had to find out what the hell happens. Well the ending sucked. Big time. I can't even believe that the author would end it with Jo taking Will's love child with her BEST FRIEND! Why?? Why would you end it like that? Not impressed at all. This was shaping up to be a great story...what happened?? Not believable at all
I was very enthusiastic and pulled into this story and the mystery, but the story line got so damn convoluted halfway through and I couldn't stop there. I had to find out what the hell happens. Well the ending sucked. Big time. I can't even believe that the author would end it with Jo taking Will's love child with her BEST FRIEND! Why?? Why would you end it like that? Not impressed at all. This was shaping up to be a great story...what happened?? Not believable at all
Displaying 1 - 30 of 329 reviews