The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I think I have officially drained the "psychological thriller" well dry. Finishing this novel today proved it for me. It's not a new phenomenon - it happens anytime a few books from a specific genre blow up (re: Gone Girl and Girl on a Train in this case)... everyone decides they should abandon any new or creative storylines and just go with what has proven to work. Which isn't always bad, there are some familiar plot lines that can still hit it out of the park, and I can't blame writers for being inspired by someone else's ideas... But overall, I am saddened that I have become so unimpressed by this genre due to the over saturation of the same unreliable narrator "oh my heavens, can I actually believe what he / she is telling me?" theme.

While this novel isn't necessarily a bad read, it didn't excite me the way I had hoped. Especially since it was up for Thriller of the Year on this site! I found the first half to be better than the second, but where the book really lost me and made me physically sigh with disappointment, was when the author threw in the "dissociative personality disorder" diagnosis of Anne. C'mon! Why does every character in this genre either have to have a drinking problem, a mental disorder or some kind of issue that makes them prone to memory loss or deceit? I really loved that concept the first twenty times I encountered it ... and why do authors feel the need to blatantly present these conditions to us? What happened to the good old fashioned liar who lies just for the sake of lying? I miss the crazies who own their crazy - and don't need the author to explain away their inconsistencies!

Anyway, the storyline isn't particularly unique, and the characters aren't especially likable (even the kidnapped baby, Cora, was made to seem like a dreadful pain in the ass), but I will give the novel credit for being an easy read that I truly did want to keep digesting in order to see how it would end. I normally have a hard time getting invested in a story that is told from multiple perspectives in third person style (I am admittedly hugely biased towards first person story telling), but I had no issue becoming involved in this book, which to me, says something.

Was I surprised by the "big reveal"? Meh, I could see it coming from 100 pages prior - but I was really hoping it would take a different route. The dad, the neighbors, the cop, even Anne and Marco all fell a little short for me. And the Cynthia character was pretty far fetched - especially the role she ended up playing in the whole thing. And not to mention her pervert husband...

But, on a positive note, I didn't mind the last few pages, even though I see from other reviews that part didn't seem to sit well with a lot of people. While it might not have been the most believable, it did make Anne's mental condition so conveniently plopped into the storyline seem like more than just a plot device to get us to question her memory / sanity through out the whole kidnapping investigation.

I'd recommend this novel to someone who enjoys this genre, but hasn't read a lot of it. I think had I not read so many other similar books recently, I could have enjoyed this one a lot more.



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