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Writer's pictureJudith D Collins

One Perfect Couple


Narrator: Imogen Church

Simon & Schuster Audio

ISBN:978-1668025598

Publisher: Gallery/Scout Press

Publication Date: 05/21/2024

Format: Other

My Rating: 4 Stars (ARC)


Harkening to Agatha Christie’s classic And Then There Were None, this high-tension and ingenious thriller follows five couples trapped on a storm-swept island as a killer stalks among them—from Ruth Ware, the New York Times bestselling author who “is turning out to be as ingenious and indefatigable as the Queen of Crime” (The Washington Post).


Lyla is in a bit of a rut. Her post-doctoral research has fizzled out, she’s pretty sure they won’t extend her contract, and things with her boyfriend, Nico, an aspiring actor, aren’t going great. When the opportunity arises for Nico to join the cast of a new reality TV show, One Perfect Couple, she decides to try out with him. A whirlwind audition process later, Lyla find herself whisked off to a tropical paradise with Nico, boating through the Indian Ocean towards Ever After Island, where the two of them will compete against four other couples—Bayer and Angel, Dan and Santana, Joel and Romi, and Conor and Zana—in order to win a cash prize.


But not long after they arrive on the deserted island, things start to go wrong. After the first challenge leaves everyone rattled and angry, an overnight storm takes matters from bad to worse. Cut off from the mainland by miles of ocean, deprived of their phones, and unable to contact the crew that brought them there, the group must band together for survival. As tensions run high and freshwater runs low, Lyla finds that this game show is all too real—and the stakes are life or death.


A fast-paced, spellbinding thriller rife with intrigue and characters that feel so true to life, this novel proves yet again that Ruth Ware is the queen of psychological suspense.








My Review


The queen of crime, Ruth Ware, returns following Zero Days and The It Girl with her latest summer sizzler whodunit, ONE PERFECT COUPLE —In the theme of Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None,  with a contemporary modern take on a classic, following the cast of One Perfect Couple, a new reality show billed as Survivor meets Love Island.


Five couples are trapped on a storm-swept island, and a killer among them.


About...

Lyla's latest project has ended, and she is unsure if your contract will be extended. Her boyfriend, Nico, an inspiring actor (who is always waiting on the next big break bringing in no money), wants her to join him for the cast of the new reality TV show, One Perfect Couple.


Lyla thinks they can have a romantic holiday on a tropical paradise island—but things are not as expected. They will be boating through the Indian Ocean towards Ever After Island, where the two of them will compete against four other couples


~Bayer and Angel

~Dan and Santana

~Joel and Romi

~Conor and Zana

—to win a cash prize.


Lyla is not happy to learn that she and Nico will be matched randomly with the other couples. So much for the romantic getaway! Him with another woman and her with another man?


Things take a bad turn on the remote deserted island in the middle of the Indian Ocean. A violet storm rocks the island, and the cast and crew are separated, cut off from the mainland by miles of ocean. They have no phones and are unable to contact the crew. Panic sets in. It is SURVIVAL TIME.


The tension is high, and their water supply is running low. This game show is real, and the stakes are high - it's life or death. Then, the contestants wind up murdered. They are trapped on an island miles away from help with no way to communicate with the outside world. Lyla will have to live her worst nightmare. Who is the killer among them? Who will be the next victim? Who will survive Ever After Island?


Thoughts...

ONE PERFECT COUPLE is a captivating, fast-paced, modern-day emotional, psychological thriller whodunit with classic vibes from Agatha Christie. In true Ruth Ware fashion, she will keep you guessing with diary entries interspersed between chapters. Grab this one for the summer beach bag!


Recs...

If you like reality TV shows, Survivor, Love Island, locked room mysteries, tropical remote islands, high stakes, action, and fast-paced suspense.


Thanks to Gallery Books and NetGalley for a digital advanced reading copy for an honest opinion.


@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks

Pub Date: May 21, 2024

My Rating: 4 Stars












Praise


“Ware once again delivers the literary goods, with a cheeky sense of wit (including a “blink and you’ll miss it” nod to one of her own books), a propulsive sense of pacing, and a fiendishly clever conclusion.”

—Library Journal (starred review)


"The ultimate trouble-in-paradise thriller, One Perfect Couple is timely, gripping and all too plausible. The Love Island / Lord of the Flies mash-up you didn’t know you needed."

—Erin Kelly, The Sunday Times bestselling author of The Skeleton Key


“A fresh, adrenaline-fueled take on Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None . . . absolutely ingenious . . . Bound to be a top summer 2024 beach read.”

—Booklist (starred review)








About the Author



Ruth Ware worked as a waitress, a bookseller, a teacher of English as a foreign language, and a press officer before settling down as a full-time writer. She now lives with her family in Sussex, on the south coast of England. She is the #1 New York Times and Globe and Mail (Toronto) bestselling author of In a Dark, Dark Wood; The Woman in Cabin 10; The Lying Game; The Death of Mrs. Westaway; The Turn of the Key; One by One; The It Girl; and Zero Days. Visit her at RuthWare.com or follow her on Twitter @RuthWareWriter.



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