Yes, you've seen those stories in the newspaper. A couple who slip out for just a bit, leaving their sleeping child in the house or room. Close by of course....
That's what Marco and Anne do. They go next door for dinner with their neighbours. They even take the baby monitor with them. And run back to their own home every 1/2 hour to check on little Cora. It will be fine......right? Yep, you've got it - Cora goes missing.
As the search for Cora mounts and the investigation progresses, so do the lies, omissions and secrets. Every character in the book has something to hide. Lapena carefully doles out those secrets, adding a change to the direction of the plot - and to the reader's suspicions with every new revelation.
I had my suspicions - and they did indeed change with every new exposed secret. As the book drew close to the final chapters, I was pretty sure I had it figured out - and I was right. But that in no way detracted from my frantic page turning. I really could not put the book down! And then Lapena hit me with one last gotcha on the final page. Well done Ms. Lapena!
Lapena's previous two books have been of the literary bent. This is a new direction for Lapena - and I really hope to see another in this genre from her. Read an excerpt of The Couple Next Door.
This book grabbed me at the start but the ending kind of let me down. It felt a little too contrived to me.
ReplyDeleteI still like to read this one. Lots of reviews on the blogosphere on this one.
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