The Couple at No. 9 – Book Review

It was the house of their dreams. Until the bodies were found . . .

BODIES FOUND UNDER PATIO

When pregnant Saffron Cutler moves into 9 Skelton Place with boyfriend Tom and sets about renovations the last thing she expects is builders uncovering a body – two bodies, in fact.

POLICE INVESTIGATE

Forensics indicate the bodies have been buried at least thirty years. Nothing Saffy need worry herself over. Until the police launch a murder investigation and ask to speak to the cottage’s former owner – her grandmother, Rose.

OWNER QUESTIONED

Rose is in a care home and Alzheimer’s means her memory is increasingly confused. She can’t help the police but it is clear she remembers something.

A KILLER AT LARGE?

As Rose’s fragmented memories resurface, and the police dig ever deeper, Saffy fears she and the cottage are being watched.

What happened thirty years ago?

Why did no one miss the victims?

What part did her grandmother play?

And is Saffy now in danger?

Saffron “Saffy” and her boyfriend Tom move into a cottage, previously owned by her grandmother, who is now in a care home. While extending a part of the house, the builders discover two skeletal remains in the ground. Saffy was worried, although she knew that her grandmother has rented out the cottage many times and it could be one of those lodgers who might have put those remains. However as forensics and the police investigate, Saffy finds out that the bodies have been buried for more than thirty years, which means, her grandmother was at that time living in the cottage. Now Saffy must gently question her grandmother Rose although she is suffering from dementia. And someone else is also watching Saffy and the house…

This was a fast-paced page turning thriller in my opinion. The story is told in the POVs of several people–Saffy, Saffy’s mother Lorna, who spent some time in the cottage when she was a kid, Theo, who tries to find the reason why his father was hiding the newspaper article about Saffy’s cottage. The story is well written, dividing the time line–between the present and 1979-1980, told in Rose’s, Saffy’s grandmother’s POV. There are twists and turns, most of them in my opinion were unexpected. There were some parts of the story where I did predict that this would happen but most of the parts in the story were unpredictable. The whole book as a result was fast paced and unputdownable.

This is the first book I have read of Claire Dougla and looking forward to read more of her books–worth four and a half stars!