10 Books of Summer 2017: The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena

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You never know what’s happening on the other side of the wall. Your neighbour told you that she didn’t want your six-month-old daughter at the dinner party. Nothing personal, she just couldn’t stand her crying. Your husband said it would be fine. After all, you only live next door. You’ll have the baby monitor and you’ll take it in turns to go back every half hour. Your daughter was sleeping when you checked on her last. But now, as you race up the stairs in your deathly quiet house, your worst fears are realized. She’s gone. You’ve never had to call the police before. But now they’re in your home, and who knows what they’ll find there. What would you be capable of, when pushed past your limit?

Review

Marco and Anne have been invited next door for a dinner party (no children allowed) but, due to a family emergency, their childminder cancels at the last minute. Marco persuades Anne that they could still go taking the baby monitor with them and pop back home every half hour to check on baby Cora. And so they do. They return home together at 1.30 am the front door is a little open, they get to the babies room…. She is gone!
I was moving along well through this book until about half way or so. Even the premise of leaving your baby by two supposedly intelligent people to go out, which I find appalling, even if it is ‘just’ to go next door; but this is fiction so no judgement – yet!
As I say it started of well, it was a good story. The detective has the right idea, this is one of the few characters who I actually liked in the book, not because he was given a great deal of depth (none of the characters are) but that he was working it out. However, this book is not a detective novel or police procedural. It’s pretty easy to work out most of what has happened but the number of twists, turns and added layers of issues only lends this story to need the reader ultimately to suspend reality. That said I would have been OK with the book until the final few pages, sadly the ending really did spoil this book for me.

Rating: 3*

Information

Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Corgi (20 April 2017)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0552173142
ISBN-13: 978-0552173148

Author: http://www.sharilapena.com