The Couple at the Table – ARC Book Review

The Couple at the Table: The new, must-read gripping thriller by [Sophie Hannah]

Title:- The Couple at the Table

Author:- Sophie Hannah

No. of pages:- 364 pages

Date published:- will be published on January 27th 2022

Genre:- Psychological Thriller

Rating:- 3/ 5 stars

You’re on your honeymoon at an exclusive couples-only resort.

You receive a note warning you to ‘Beware of the couple at the table nearest to yours’. At dinner that night, five other couples are present, and none of their tables is any nearer or further away than any of the others. It’s as if someone has set the scene in order to make the warning note meaningless – but why would anyone do that?

You have no idea.

You also don’t know that you’re about to be murdered, or that once you’re dead, all the evidence will suggest that no one there that night could possibly have committed the crime.

So who might be trying to warn you? And who might be about to commit the perfect impossible murder?

I really like the plot and the story and I have to say I was looking forward to reading this book. I was also excited when the publisher granted the ARC and I was looking forward to reading this one.

But I am having mixed feelings about this book and it’s in my opinion an OK thriller so let’s start with the good ones.

The plot of the story was really good and unique. There are six couples at a table in a vacation house and each of them gets a note “Beware of the Couple Next to you,” then one woman, Jane Brinkwood, who is the wife of William Gleave who happened to be the ex-husband of Lucy, the main protagonist gets stabbed and murdered. Which of the couple is responsible for Jane’s murder? So as I said, the plot was interesting and unique.

But as I read the story, it got a bit boring. Too much dialogue and at times it was a bit confusing. It wasn’t fast paced, not much of twists and turns you would expect in a thriller and overall, the ending was nothing new. The writing was OK but nonetheless, I didn’t enjoy this book as I thought I should.

Overall, I give this book as three stars!

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.

Sophie Hannah is an internationally bestselling crime fiction writer whose books have sold millions of copies worldwide. Her crime novels have been translated into 49 languages and published in 51 countries. Her psychological thriller The Carrier won the Crime Thriller of the Year Award at the 2013 UK National Book Awards. In 2014 and 2016, Sophie published The Monogram Murders and Closed Casket, the first new Hercule Poirot mysteries since Agatha Christie’s death, both of which were national and international bestsellers. She went on to publish a third, The Mystery of Three Quarters in 2018 which was an instant bestseller, and her fourth Poirot novel, The Killings at Kingfisher Hill will be published in August 2020. Sophie helped to create a Master’s Degree in Crime and Thriller Writing at the University of Cambridge, for which she is the main teacher and Course Director. She is also the founder of the Dream Author Coaching Programme for writers which launched in September 2019.

Sophie is also an award-winning, bestselling poet, and her poetry is studied at GCSE level across the UK. She has co-written two murder mystery musicals with composer Annette Armitage: The Mystery of Mr. E and Work Experience. She has written a self-help book called How To Hold a Grudge: From Resentment to Contentment – The Power of Grudges to Transform Your Life, and hosts the How to Hold a Grudge podcast.

Sophie lives with her husband, children and dog in Cambridge, where she is an Honorary Fellow of Lucy Cavendish College.

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