Trying to clear that tbr pile is going too slowly, but it is going. And, the latest choice off that pile was ‘The Guilty Couple’ by C. L. Taylor. I needed something of a palate cleanser, and this was just that. I hope nobody takes that as any kind of slight, as it is not intended as one, it just means a book that did not need a lot of concentration or focus, but that would have me hooked from the moment I started reading. Often, thrillers are just the book I need, or crime fiction – I find them pacy and that, for me, allows me to reset for other reads.
‘The Guilty Couple’ was a book that I received as part of a ‘Wordy and Wild’ box last year, so it was time I read it. Liv has spent time inside for planning a hit on her husband, apparently with the support of her lover, Jack. She has always denied the charge, and is convinced her husband set her up. But now she is out and wants to get her life back on track and her daughter back in her life. Of course, it is not going to be quite as simple as it sounds, and it is not long before Liv is drawn into deceit and plotting as she tries to prove her husband’s part in framing her, with a little help from her friends.
This is told from multiple viewpoints so we are let into all sorts of secrets as we follow Liv’s story. However, there is still quite a twist at the end. I am not sure it was a complete surprise but it was a good one and it did make reading the book worth it.
This book does exactly what you need a thriller of its kind to do. It keeps you reading, and you do find yourself keen to find out what happens next. I am not sure it is full of likeable characters, but you do root for Liv because her husband is largely rather unpleasant, it seems. I did stay up past my bedtime to finish it, as once I hit the twist I need to have the full story. I can confirm it appropriately cleansed my palate before I continued to tackle the ever growing (still) tbr pile.