I found this book very frustrating. The story of her past made everything feel disjointed and only felt like it gave the ending a reason to feel a little plausible. I have no idea why she is with Angus, WHY?! They don’t ever seem to get along. How about Mark? They seem to hit it off but then don’t get along either. There is CLEARLY something else going on outside of the relationship and I wanted to yell at Claire to open her eyes and leave! If a guy you barely know gives you a GUN to hide. RUN AWAY FROM HIM! The the ending was too far fetched and overly convenient.

My biggest disappointment with this book is the use of the word Albino. Google: Is it okay to call someone Albino? To find out why this bothered me. Also the fact that the person following Claire aka the bad guy is referred to as The Albino over and over. I believe it is said 21 times. To villainize those with albinism with is a stigma we should be moving away from.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Full of twists and turns! Kept me guessing, and reading.. Very enjoyable and engaging, I definitely was surprised. Well written and excellent characters. Loved it!

This was my first read by Sarah Mitchell. It was quick and enjoyable, but not the best the genre has to offer. It's actually two stories woven together, of the same woman. One takes place in the present, the other approximately 8 years ago. While it was intriguing, the biggest mystery for me was trying to figure out the main character. She appeared awfully eager to jump into bed with someone other than her fiance, just because the dude looked like an old, dead boyfriend. If you need a quick, fun thriller, this will do the trick.

I’ve just finished reading The Couple by Sarah Mitchell. It’s a psychological thriller with the tagline, “whatever you think you know, you’re wrong”.

Claire works for the immigration service in the UK and is engaged to Angus who owns a chain of “boutique” hotels. Claire and Angus haven’t known each other for very long and it soon becomes apparent that Claire still holds on to a previous relationship she had with Daniel five years earlier. Wanting to buy a house to start their future together, Claire goes to a viewing of a house where the owner, Mark bears a striking resemblance to Daniel. Angus and Claire buy the house, and Claire suddenly finds herself in a tangled web of lies and deceit. The book alternates between the present day and 5 years earlier when Claire was with Daniel.

This was a good book that was a welcome break from the domestic thrillers I’ve read of late - as much as I love a good domestic thriller, I needed something different; and The Couple was. It was evident from the beginning that things are not quite what they seem. I didn’t find Claire (or Angus, Mark or Daniel for that matter particularly likeable) but I found the parts about Claire’s job interesting! I would have loved to see Agatha’s character developed a bit more and perhaps a bit more about the Claire/Daniel/Julia storyline. A quick and engaging read!

Thank you to #netgalley and #bookouture and Sarah Mitchell for the copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book. Very different from the standard suspense mystery novels that are out there. At times a bit humorous, overall riveting with a lot of suspense. Surprise ending with twist I didn't see coming. Highly recommend this one.

The Couple is a dark fascinating read of deceit! Once I got started I couldn't stop, I was dying to know how all the pieces fit together and the ending did not disappoint. I'm a sucker for books full of terrible characters and this one was a pleasure to read. 5/5 would highly recommend!

I tried to read this book twice. On my second try I got through 65% of it. I really did not care what happened to Claire, Angus, or Mark. If there was a single plot in this book, I was unable to follow it. I cannot remember the last time I struggled through a book that was actually published as much as I did this one. Although I have never read this author before, certainly she is not someone I would Recommend. In fact I cared so little about this book I did not even bother to go to the last few pages to find out how it all ended up. In spite of that I want to thank you for this advanced copy, and I have to say of all the books you sent me this is the very worst. In fact most of them have been four stars are better.

I received an ARC from NetGalley of this new psychological thriller.
The couple in this story are a woman who works for the immigration office in the UK and her fiance, who owns and manages a group of "boutique" hotels. This is a whirlwind romance. The character of both members of this couple is more than highly suspect. Neither seems up to any good.
The protagonist in this story is the woman (Claire). The author frequently flashes back 5 years to go over a previous Claire romantic interest. As a reader, it is hard to figure out where that aspect of the book is going.
In the present day, Claire never seems able to get out of her own way. She is both naive and dumb. As unlikable as Claire is, there are really no other characters that are appealing. It is odd when you, as a reader, are hoping that every character in a book gets their comeuppance, but that's how I felt reading this one.
Credit to the author for her descriptive writing and for expertly creating suspense. But this is offset by characters you grow to despise and a plot that becomes too far fetched.

Following a whirlwind four-month romance, lawyer Claire and hotel entrepreneur Angus are engaged to be married. Happy and successful, and ready to start their new life together, Claire and Angus find what they believe to be the perfect home.

But when Claire meets Mark, the man selling them the house, he looks eerily familiar. He looks exactly like the man she loved five years ago, the man she couldn’t bear to lose.
As Claire finds herself irresistibly drawn to Mark and crosses lines she never thought she’d cross, Angus’ behaviour becomes increasingly suspicious. Soon Claire doesn’t know whether she can trust Mark, Angus… or even herself.

I love a good psychological thriller and this one did not disappoint! I was so back and forth with deciding on who to believe or what to think. Excellent book with a great storyline.

Thank you #NetGalley for the ARC of #TheCouple
Pub Date: 05 Feb 2019

I didn’t connect with the plot or characters and was left hugely underwhelmed with this book. The story jumps about too much and the characters merge into each other. It’s disappointing as I was really excited to read this one.

Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC of the book The Couple by Sarah Mitchell.
I have to admit this book one difficult to hold my interest. I had trouble with Claire and Angus. I did not connect to either. Too many secrets, and abuse by both men.
Throwing in immigration services with the government just also just much.
It was just too much to find it a satisfying read.

The Couple by Sarah Mitchell is a thrilling psychological book with a strong protagonist supported by an equally strong cast of characters. Claire is a relatively likeable woman with a mysteriously deep, sometimes dark, personality. The other main characters, Angus, Mark and Daniel, are richly layered and Ms. Mitchell has explored and developed their personalities as intricately as she did Claire’s, adding a deepness to the novel not always found in books of this genre.

As the title suggests, the plot revolves around an engaged couple, Claire and Angus. But it’s also about Claire and Mark. And it’s also about Claire and Daniel. I love how the title is ambiguous – all three couples are integral to the story and no one of them has more sway or importance over the other. I also enjoyed the setting and found it interesting and relevant. I was interested to get a glimpse into the workings of the Immigration Tribunal in the UK and some of the difficulties faced by both legal and illegal immigrants.

The narrative alternates between the present and 5 year ago and remains easy to follow. I enjoy reading books written in this way, as it makes putting the pieces together more interesting and thought provoking and often less predictable. There are many twists – some were expected, while others were a shocker, and this makes for an overall great read!

5 stars for this twisted, twisty, dark, total mind game of a book. There wasn't one thing I did not like about this book. None of the characters were likeable or trustworthy but that's what made the book so awesome. I had no idea who was lying to me more or who was the "bad guy". The twists were unexpected and sprinkled throughout the book like little twisty surprises. I dont think I ever put my kindle down once I started this book. And that ending!
I CANNOT wait for more Sarah Mitchell books! The Couple is going to be HOT. Look for it on Feb 5th!

Thank you #NetGalley, Bookouture and Sarah Mitchell for my free advanced copy in exchange for my honest review. Posting on Goodreads and Amazon as well.

Thank you Net Galley and Bookouture for an early copy in exchange for an honest review. Why did I keep reading this book? Who is the couple? Did NOT like at all, it was all over the place, very confusing about the past in college towards the end of that plot. Very disappointed.

The Couples is an intense, fast-paced psychological thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat right until the last page. It has the most astonishing twists and turns which both shocked and disturbed me and kept me on tenterhooks right to the end.
Set in two time frames we follow the life of Claire who works for the immigration service. Although newly engaged after a whirlwind romance, Claire is not over an old relationship, and when she views a house where the seller bears a striking resemblance to her previous lover, Claire cannot help but become friendly with him. She soon finds herself being drawn into an underworld of deceit and betrayal.
Sarah Mitchell writes with ease and flair and this novel whips along at an intense speed. Whilst I didn’t particularly like Claire (I found myself at times wanting to shake her and at others yelling ‘don’t do that’) I could not put the book down and once I’d finished it, I was left exhausted.
I would recommend The Couple to anyone who likes this genre. It is unnerving and intriguing and throws up as many questions as it answers.

The Couple by Sarah Mitchell is a fiendishly smart psychological thriller, and I simply devoured it in a single day. As with all of the very best of this genre, the novel presents itself as a complicated puzzle where all of the pieces need to be slotted into place, and I could not turn the pages fast enough to do so.

The novel begins at the engagement party of Claire and Angus, with Claire acting as the story's somewhat unreliable narrator. Almost immediately, we are introduced to the character of Daniel, with whom Claire has shared a relationship five years previously. This sets the stage for a dual narrative that alternates between "now" and "five years earlier." In the now, Claire and Angus purchase a home from Mark Tyler, who proves himself to be a shady character from the start. Claire is attracted to him, however, because of his "Daniel-like intensity", linking the present to the past.

Set in large part at the Immigration Tribunal where Claire is employed as a lawyer, the story moves between past and present, both of which lead to questions regarding Claire's reliabilty in her accounting of events. As Claire herself points out, "if someone is lying about one element of their story, the chances are that the rest is made up too." The novel moves along at a heart pounding pace, and was suspenseful right to the end. Recommended.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for this brilliant ARC.

Thanks Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is an interesting if unusual novel with no likable characters, yet the surprises unfold in a manner that kept me entertained and wanting to know how all this will end.

Nice undemanding read that held my attention and stayed with me after finishing it.

This is a very unusual book and not remotely what I was expecting.

Claire, an immigration lawyer, is engaged to be married to Angus after a brief, whirlwind courtship. They look at a house in London and Claire is instantly attracted to the seller, a man named Mark, who reminds her desperately of Daniel, her past fiancé and the "one who got away".

None of the characters are remotely likable but in a market saturated with domestic thrillers this one breaks all of the rules and delivers some very unexpected surprises.

I'll be thinking about this one for awhile...

Thank you to Sarah Mitchell, Bookouture, and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Couple is the latest novel by Sarah Mitchell. I had a difficult time reading this. It's hard to enjoy something while you are constantly calling the "heroine" stupid. To me the best part was shortly before the ending and I can't say more without giving away too much information. I was given an early copy to review.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I thought this book was pretty good. This is about Claire, a woman who is engaged to Angus, a guy she just met 4 months ago. They buy a house and the guy selling it, Mark, reminds her of her ex boyfriend Daniel, that she really never got over. Pretty much everyone in this book is shady. I think Claire's job in the immigration office was pretty interesting, especially these days, although I didn't understand why we were getting quite so much detail on it until later in the story. I thought everything tied up pretty well in the end and there was a surprise toward the end that I did not see coming. All in all, a pretty entertaining book.