Reviews with content warning for Gun violence - The Golden Couple

Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks, Sarah Pekkanen

47 reviews

cassiealexandra's review against another edition

mysterious tense medium-paced

4.25

This was definitely what I’d call a slow burn thriller. The pieces came together so gradually that, at first, it almost read like a family drama. I kept waiting for something to happen. I’ll blame my own recent television habits with crime procedural shows. Not all thrillers are the same as a “whodunnit.” This was more of a, “what is happening?” kind of book. Avery says there are “invisible threads” tying herself to the Bishop family that she is slowly unraveling; I felt the same as a reader.

I appreciated the interesting characters about whom I was constantly wondering. Which person is unstable here? Is anyone a reliable narrator or source of information? It had plot points that were hinted at just enough to keep me in suspense, hoping that I’d figure it out just before the characters did.

I also loved the points of view choices here with Avery being in the first-person perspective and Marissa’s chapters being third-person. This is the first I’ve read by Hendricks and Pekkanen and I wonder how their writing process goes and if this unique POV thing has to do with their team dynamic.

The narration on this was also excellent. I’d never listened to Marin Ireland on audio before, but I see why she’s popular.

My two slight issues were that after the slow opening, it sometimes felt like too much was going on by the end and that the wrap up was convenient by my gut feeling. But, after reflecting for a while, I realized the ending and loose ends made sense and weren’t as coincidental as I’d originally felt.

The bottom line: A solid slow thriller with lots of moving pieces to puzzle out, strong characters, and great audio narration.

— NOTES —
Genres: slow burn thriller
POV: dual—first-person, Avery; third-person, Marissa
Content: infidelity, murder, cannabis use, death, vague memories of romance

— MY RATING CONSIDERATIONS —
(all out of 5)
Pace: 4
Enjoyment: 4.5
Craft: 4.5
My Gut Feeling: 4
Total Stars: 4.25

Content Warnings

cyndi1966's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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plip08's review

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dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Meh. It took over 60% of the book for something to happen and then the good stuff happened too quickly, it felt rushed. The characters all suck, are extremely morally grey. The main character was so rude to her assistant and that bothered me a lot, but we were supposed to be rooting for her the whole time. I only liked her slightly bc she loved her kid. Of all the thrillers out there, I wouldn’t recommended this one.

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blueyogi's review against another edition

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tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Content Warnings

greatexpectations77's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I always enjoy this author duo, and I was very sucked into this story. It felt weird that it was set in an area where I've spent so much time! Will read more by this pair.

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prestonpre's review

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mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Content Warnings

eabh's review

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challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I found the premise of the book really interesting! A “perfect couple” seeking couples counseling from an avant-garde

ex therapist after an affair turns out to be much more complex and layered that their appearances let on. I was pretty sucked in to this thriller right up until the last 25 % of the book, where the ending fell off a little.

There were lots of little details to keep straight that lead to an underwhelming ending. Not bad, not great, just alright. Everything seemed too cleanly interconnected at the end. However, this book knew how to unnerve you and keep you asking questions, but I found engaging!

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