Having escaped from an abusive relationship, Emily moves in with her friend Mags. Emily finds a job as a housekeeper working for Rupert who lost his wife Caro a year ago. The working relationship very quickly becomes romantic and then he proposes.

Emily becomes increasingly anxious, believing that someone is following her and moving things around. She receives nasty notes and someone kills her kitten. Has Caro's ghost come back to haunt her or is her ex, Harry, responsible?

Caro's best friend, Sadie seems to take Emily under her wing, but we are drip fed clues that she is not as nice as she seems.

There was a good twist at the end, but I didn't find this as engaging as Lisa Hall's other books. It was a good read though, which did keep me guessing.

This book really pleasantly surprised me. I thought from the blurb that it might be a bit formulaic with the typical whirlwind romance but I'm delighted to have been proved wrong.

I thought the pacing of the book was really good, I was never bored and I always wanted to keep reading to find out what was going on. I thought I had the plot worked out but I was completely wrong. I loved the ending.

I did dislike the introduction of a pet only for it to meet an untimely end. This is over-used in this kind of book and it doesn't add anything to the story, it's purely there for shock value and it's unnecessary. There was an error in the book where Emily's hen party was at one point in Bristol, then in Brighton, and then it reverted back to being Bristol again.

I would recommend this as the twists were really good and I enjoyed it.

This was not the best it could have been better, The middle got very boring and dragged on quite a lot.
Rupert and Caro were Married and happy most of the time until one day Caro abandoned her car and jumped over a cliff into the sea while pregnant.
Rupert was devastated until he advertised for a cleaning lady for his big house and Emily turned up for the job. He realised how lonely he was and realised he felt something for her, and Emily felt the same.
They got married, but how well do you know the person you marry, Rupert did not.
Thanks netgalley for this book, it was not the best book I have read during my lock down, but I finished it and it did get better.

Thank you to NetGalley, HQ General Fiction (Adult), Mystery and Thrillers and Lisa Hall for my ARC in return for my honest review.

This is not the first Lisa Hall novel I have read and I love her books because I am gripped from the beginning. This one was no different.

Emily has finished with an abusive relationship which has left her scarred and has few prospects. She lives in a flat with an anxious flat mate, Mags. Emily needs to get a job and turn her life around and applies to be a housekeeper to Rupert, who has recently lost his wife, Caro. She has committed suicide.

They are attracted to each other and appear to be the perfect couple. However, within a few months they are married. This is when strange things begin to happen and Emily isn’t sure whether she is paranoid or something much worse is going on.

Clever ending and a super read.

Excellent, highly recommended.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and found it really compelling so read it feverishly whenever I had time. Having said that I did feel frustrated at times with the same dilemna that happens in numerous novels, namely, why didn't she tell him. We find that the main character in a book learns something dramatic yet fails to share this vital piece of information and this goes toward shaping the conclusion and the plot. , I suspect this is because then there would be no more chapters. I'm not sure why Rupert failed to accept all the strange occurances that haunted Emily throughout their relationship. Unfortunately there were plenty of pointers in the last third of the book that led to what actually happened to Caro after the fateful party, it was too obvious I'm afraid.. I did find the denouement rather hard to accept as it went against all wew knew about Emily and wondered if this was a changed ending for effect, I felt it would have finished more satisfactorily if Emily and Rupert had survived all that came to light.

I've enjoyed many of Lisa's books and they are so incredibly easy to read - so much so that I flew through this one in less than 24 hours (thanks Coronavirus!) I liked that the chapters alternated between Emily and Rupert although I would have preferred if they were both kept in the first person. The majority of the characters are incredibly naive and there's no denying that it was pretty obvious where the plot was going. The pace of the story moved quickly which I appreciated, although there were a few elements that were pretty unbelievable. For example I found it slightly odd the lack of investigation into the death of Rupert's first wife. Very rarely would the police deem something so cut and dry. Or at least you'd hope not...! There wasn't anything particularly clever about any of the 'twists' in the story which was a shame but this was a light, enjoyable read that went down relatively well on a sunny day.

Thanks NetGalley for my ARC of this book.

I can see from most of the other readers reviews that this book is going to be very popular. Unfortunately I wasn’t too keen as the scenarios and situations Emma managed to get into seemed unrealistic to me. That said I did th8nk I had it all sussed and then the ending was t what I was expecting.

I read this book in record time! This was my first Lisa Hall book but it won't be my last!!!
Emily has the chance to start over as a housekeeper for a widower. They soon become close and Emily is asked to stay. They seem like "The Perfect Couple" Suddenly, Emily wants to know what happened to wife #1? This was an ultimate thrilling and suspenseful read with characters I enjoyed and an ending that made the book all worth it. It takes a lot for a thriller to impress me!

Thanks to the author &Netgalley for my advanced ebook copy.

An absolutely superb read which I have not been able to put down. This one has kept me guessing throughout and it is definitely gripping and unputdownable.

This is a fantastic author who has kept me pulled in from start to end.

Omg this is deffo up there with one of my favorite books it’s fantastic I love how the characters played out and the massive twist at the end never imagined that ending

A sincere thank you to the publisher, author and Netgalley for providing me with an ebook copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This is not my usual genre, I’m more into romance stories and girlie books therefore am extremely pleased and grateful to them for opening up my mind to something totally different.

I enjoyed this very much. 4 stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟

wow! that's all i can say after reading this book. loved it from start to finish. i think this has to be my favourite of lisas books. can't wait for the next one.

Another stonker of a novel!! So well written with great twists and turns, I read it so fast, such is the quality of the writing!

Oh this is good! Compelling and engaging story that keeps you guessing right until the end, with the most brilliant twist! Couldn't put it down and can't wait to read some of her other books. Many thanks!

This was a weird one ... I found the main character Emily to be a little annoying for the majority of the novel, but then at the end you see a different part of her, which to me hadn’t been hinted at all throughout the story, so it didn’t feel like a twist, or a shock/surprise, more just a bit unbelievable. Having said that, I did like the ending! A bit like The Half Sister (which I read last week), I thought I’d guessed the plot twist, only to be given something entirely different - this book certainly keeps you guessing at which friends and enemies you should keep closest!

Oh this was good!

Emily has come out of a bad relationship and needs to re start her life, she gets a job as a housekeeper for Rupert, a widower.

There is an instant attraction there and soon Emily becomes Rupert's second wife. She can't believe her luck to have found the perfect man.

Then weird things start happening, strange hand delivered notes calling Emily a bitch, threatening text messages, weird noises in the house. Someone wants Emily and Rupert to split up. Emily starts to question what really happened to Rupert's first wife because some things are not adding up.

Emily discovers what happened to her predecessor, Caro and there are surprises in store for Rupert too....

Great read, thanks Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book, this is my honest opinion.

I was so delighted to see Lisa Hall had this new novel in the pipeline as her previous novels have been SO good, no-one does plot twists better and this one absolutely follows suit. Such a good read, ideal for devouring in one immensely pleasurable sitting.

We are introduced to Emily, a young woman who sounds like she is not exactly heading for greatness - living in a flat share with clingy flat mate Mags, no obvious career prospects and scarred by a recent abusive relationship. She decides it is time to turn her life around - starting by getting a job and so applies to be a housekeeper for the recently bereaved Rupert, who tragically lost wife, Caro, to suicude.

Emily is instantly attracted to Rupert and when he makes a move on her, things quickly escalate and within months they are married. Emily finds herself welcomed into Rupert’s well-to-do social circle. Her happiness is short-lived however, as it seems someone is meddling with her - she smells Caro’s perfume when she enters a room, old wedding photos mysteriously resurface.... is she being paranoid.... or is something more sinister going on?!

Never in a million years would I have guessed how this novel would pan out! This is a huge selling point of Lisa Hall novels - so clever and unpredictable!

I’d unreservedly rate this with 5 stars and give immense thanks to Netgalley, author and publisher for the enormous pleasure of reading an advance copy of this gripping novel in exchange for an honest review.

Now called The Perfect Couple-
Emily answers a job advertisement to be a housekeeper to Rupert. Rupert is a widower living in mourning after the suicide of his perfect wife, Caro. Soon the lines get blurred and Emily becomes the new wife but someone is watching her and trying to ruin her life.
I think this is my favourite Lisa Hall book to date! Just when you think you’ve cracked it - nope! Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Firstly a big thank you hq for accepting my request to read on netgalley.

Lisa is one of my absolute favourite authors! She is a phenomenally clever writer who continues to write the unexpected. The cover and title really set the tone for the book.

Well shes done it again .

This is a amazing psychological thriller with both loveable and unlikeable charactars.

Twists and turns

Compelling and chilling.

You will race through this to get to the truth.

Obsessive behaviour in the pages makes for obsessive addictive reading!

Published 6th August.

After losing his first wife to a tragic death Rupert looks for a housekeeper, in walks Emily. A young woman with a sad past, they instantly hit it off and become the perfect couple.....aren’t they?


I thought things were maybe moving a little fast between the couple but that’s obviously a plot point! The antagonist was obvious but I think that was planned as well. Very clever writing.

I’m disappointed I felt no fear for Emily, I think some tension could have gone a long way. I did really enjoy this story, it’s probably the first I’ve picked up in the last week and I feel happier for having some chilled and thrills!