The Perfect Couple
by Jackie Kabler
Blurb:
The perfect couple…or the perfect lie?
A year and a half ago, Gemma met the love of her life, Danny. Since then, their relationship has been like something out of a dream. But one Friday evening, Gemma returns home to find Danny is nowhere to be seen.
After two days with no word from her husband, Gemma turns to the police. She is horrified with what she discovers – a serial killer is on the loose in Bristol. When she sees the photos of the victims she is even more stunned…the victims all look just like Danny.
But, the detectives aren’t convinced by Gemma’s story. Why has no one apart from Gemma seen or heard from Danny in weeks? Why is there barely a trace of him in their flat? Is she telling them the truth, or are there more secrets and lies in this marriage than meets the eye?
My Reaction:
I decided to read this after seeing it mentioned as a good thriller. I wish I had enjoyed it as much as that person did! Unfortunately, I found it less than wonderful.
My main problem was that the police detectives in this book are so... inept! More than once they moan to one another about whether or not they might lose their jobs, and to be perfectly honest, they deserve to be fired! They're terrible at what they do! The female detective, in particular, is just awful. She quickly makes up her mind that Xxxx is guilty (even though it's statistically very unlikely to be the case), and from that point on, she ceases to even try to be open-minded and only grudgingly considers anyone else as a suspect. The shoddy police work continues from there. It's very frustrating to read!
(There's a scene where the police detectives applaud... themselves? Their stupid leader? Not sure, exactly, but they decide to break into applause when they think they've found the murderer-- only it's painfully obvious that they're WRONG. Even if they weren't, though. It's so, so, SO OBNOXIOUS. I wanted to throw the book, but it's an e-reader, so I refrained.)
The protagonist, Gemma, is also a bit too stupid, at times. I mean, how did she not know that bleach destroys DNA evidence?! She was supposed to have been a serious journalist before going into the softer lifestyle/fitness arena, and the bleach thing has been common knowledge for decades, now. It's bizarre that she wouldn't have known that.
The pace was sluggish for most of the book, and certain themes are put on repeat a few times too many for my patience. Once something has been stated a time or two, that's enough! The mystery's solution was fairly predictable, too. With a couple of the "twists", literally the first thing that came to my mind turned out to be the "solution". It was the only thing that fit, and sure enough, that's what it was.
I appreciate that it can't be easy to write new thrillers with interesting, unpredictable twists, but this just didn't cut it, in my opinion. I wouldn't have minded the predictability as much if the police hadn't been so thoroughly incompetent. I found them so irritating that I resented it when we were expected to care about the detectives' personal lives. Get back to the story and waste less time on these bumbling idiots!
Actually, the book might've been better if it had been edited down. Either that or get in some more legitimate suspects, because this ended up feeling obvious, as well as bloated with repetition.
It's time for some spoilers... If you think you'll read this book and don't want to spoiled, you've been warned!
SPOILERS follow!
- Yes, it was obvious that Danny might be-- must be the murderer. And the explanation for the bloody scene at the old flat? Who didn't see that as the only possible explanation? I mean, you briefly wonder whether Gemma could have killed him and just blocked it out, but that's very quickly dismissed, so... That's the only possible explanation, right? And yet the police seemed not even to consider it, and Danny gloats over how clever he was to think of it. (I feel my blood pressure rising...)
- I couldn't believe it when Gemma still "loved" Danny after all the crap he so clearly decided to put her through. (This is before he tries to kill her. ...Ha.) It's obvious that he's been cheating on her, or at least trying to, and he's framed her for his murder, yet she still loves him. It's astounding. She's either very stupid or much more forgiving than I would ever want to be.
- The detectives let Danny go to the bathroom unaccompanied?! They didn't even bother to check that there was no possible escape route in the bathroom, first?! (AAAAAH! Someone, fire them immediately! No, wait. Let me do it!)
- The detectives didn't automatically post someone outside Danny and Gemma's home after Danny gave the police the slip?! What?! That's the very first place you'd post an undercover officer, isn't it?! (Nah, why bother? He wouldn't risk going there. Except he does, of course.)
- So, in the end, Gemma gives birth to a baby fathered by Danny. He looks just like dear old dad (and granddad). Danny is a known serial killer, has tried to murder Gemma before, is on the run, and has a history of serious "father-son issues" as well as a penchant for murdering men who look like his father. And she decides to stay in the same rental that Danny found for them-- the place where Danny tried to kill her. ...Yes, that sounds safe. I know, I know! Danny's IT-god status probably means he could track her down anywhere she went, but still. I think it's weird (and stupid) that she just stays at the same address.
- I think about five members of the police force are mentioned by name. In that group, we are carefully informed that one is a lesbian (with a horrible wife who doesn't allow chocolate in the house! 😲😲😲😒) and one is a gay man. So... congrats on ticking some boxes for "diversity", I guess? It just felt a little too like, well, box-ticking.
...Anyway. At least the dog was cute.
