I loved this book, the way the story followed different characters in different timelines and time periods was well done. The pieces and characters of the story seemed totally unrelated at the start, however by the end they were all joined up and the story and picture completed. I struggled to put this book down, wanting to know what would happen next. Highly recommend.

This has a similar start to another book I've read recently, with bodies found accidentally during renovations. The similarities end there but I it certainly a thought provoking premise.

Super lucky couple Saffy and Tom are gifted a beautiful cottage in the Cotswolds after Saffy's mum is given the cottage but doesn't want to live in it. A few home improvements soon come to a halt once a body is discovered in the back garden.

A varied cast including Saffy's mum (who is presently shacked up with a toyboy abroad) and Saffy's nan (who is in a care home with dementia) begin to unravel the past to discover who the deceased is - especially as it seems they died while her Nan owned the cottage.

There follows a mix of family relationships and a cosy crime thriller - albeit with a few red herrings along the way.

There is what seems to be a subplot with Theo who is estranged from his cold and angry father. And also the story flits back and forth to when Saffy's Nan was a young woman, and the present day.

Well laid out and easy to follow, The Couple at No 9 is a cleverly plotted thriller that will keep you guessing.

My thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Michael Joseph Uk for a copy of “The Couple At No 9 “ for an honest review.
Claire Douglas has fast become one of my favourite authors.
I really enjoyed her latest book , I was gripped from the premise and I felt the tension built really well.
I believed in the characters and struggled to put the book down.
I will definitely be recommending this book to library users

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. Another great book from one of my favourite authors. Great storyline, great characters and had me hooked from the beginning.

Excellent crime fiction.

The book starts where a young, pregnant lady is gardening at her dream cottage. Builders are doing some work too. And then....... The workers had found something. A grisly discovery. I liked how this was in the first chapter- it gets straight to the story, and the pace was excellent throughout the book; keeping me guessing, and keeping me reading on.

Tom and Saffron had moved to a cottage in the Cotswolds. What follows is not what they expected when they moved to a quiet, quaint country village.

Another great book by this author. I think it's my third by her now? When I read the first, I hadn't heard of her-and thought, why not?! To me, she was up there with the best of them. Each book later, and I think the same. She writes some cracking crime fiction.

I read 98% non-fiction, particularly memoirs-so if I do read fiction, it has to be good, and believable. This is great.

I read and loved the author's debut novel The Sisters and was thrilled to be offered an advance copy of her latest. Did it live up to my expectations? Absolutely! It had me gripped from the start, and I whizzed through its 400 or so pages.
Throughout — from the early discovery of two bodies by builders in a cottage being renovated by young couple Saffy and Tom — to piecing together the strands of other characters' stories I genuinely had no clue where it was going. We have Saffy's somewhat flighty mother Lorna and her own mother, Saffy's beloved grandma, living in a home and suffering from dementia. She throws up random memories, but are they based on fact or simply the sad ramblings of an old woman struggling to piece together the past?
There are many excellent lines that stood out for me, in descriptive terms:

…Fury and disappointment grappling for prime emotion, guilt still found a way of slipping in, like a piece of shell falling into a bowl when cracking an egg.

Daphne had brought you up earlier to say goodnight and I had hugged you to me, as though your innocence could mend my dark, dark heart.

This book thoroughly deserves to be called a page-turner. Everything is woven together with skill and its twists are completely justified, as opposed to simply being random plot devices as is sometimes the case. Highly recommended.
My thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to read this thrilling book. All opinions expressed are my own.

Another brilliant read by Claire Douglas. When young couple Saffy amd Tom move into their inherited cottage their lives should be filled with happiness while they wait for the birth of their first born child. However, Saffy's is set to learn a lot about her mothers childhood in the cottage and secrets that were long hidden soon become discovered. Theo Charmichael , a retired fertility doctor's son also discovers secrets about his father..how are the two family secrets connected. This book will keep you hooked and turning the pages.

Saffy and Tom are expecting their first baby, like so many people right now she could never imagine owning a home of her own, but through circumstances finds herself living in her grandmother’s cottage. But she has inherited more than she thinks when remains are found in the house.

A great novel, pacy, thrilling and engrossing.

Young couple Saffron and Tom Cutler are absolutely delighted to have been gifted a cottage in the Cotswolds to ‘do up’ by Saffy’s mother Lorna who lives in Spain. Lorna had initially been given the cottage by her mother Rose Grey who has dementia and is now in a care home. The cottage has been rented out for many years by Rose and it is now in serious need of a make over. During preparation work for an extension the builders shockingly find a body, further police excavations reveal a second. Meanwhile in Yorkshire Theo Carmichael visits his elderly and very difficult father Victor. How do their stories connect? The story is told from several perspectives and over different timelines which works well with the strands connecting as the plot develops.

The pace of the novel is initially a bit slow but once it gets going it’s a good entertaining and easy to read book. The plot is well constructed and connects cleverly with the truth emerging a bit at a time. There are moments of tension and suspense with some unexpected twists and shocking discoveries. The characterisation is an especially good feature of the book. Initially Saffron seems a bit of a nervous wreck but the events that unfold seem to allow her to develop a strong backbone and she’s certainly kind and caring to Rose. Theo is a good character and an excellent contrast to his horrible father. Lorna is an interesting character and the progressing storyline helps us to understand and appreciate her wanderlust. My only slight negative is that some of the essential clues seem a bit convenient but they definitely help advance the plot forward.

Overall, this is good escapist reading and a compelling page turner.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially Penguin Michael Joseph for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

I thought this was a really enjoyable book. No it is not a fast paced read. The story unfolds gradually and the plot is clever and intriguing. I think the denouement comes just a little early, giving just a bit more suspence but it did not significantly detract from my enjoyment of the book. I found the book to be well written and the characters interesting and well drawn. Would recommend.

This has been a read filled with tension and suspense and I have been completely hooked. I have adored the way this has been written and fully engaged in this novel.

Another excellent book by Claire Douglas! I enjoyed this from the first page to the last. It’s well-paced, full of interesting characters and lots of intrigue. I liked the story being told from multiple viewpoints and thought this worked very well, especially as the characters were so individual, from elderly Rose, suffering from dementia, to feisty Lorna and kind Theo who is determined to discover the truth about his father. The young couple, Saffy and Tom, are also believable characters, horrified at the discovery of two bodies in the garden of their beautiful cottage. I enjoyed read about Saffy’s very different relationships with her grandmother and her mother. There was so much to keep me turning the pages in this twisty thriller and I highly recommend it.

A very easy read but just not for me. Great to see that I’m in the minority with my rating and review as I can reflect on what I read and see it as a personal preference as opposed to a reflection of the book.

I enjoyed the style of writing and I loved the way in which the story unfolded. But I just didn’t find it pacy enough to truly capture my attention.

Told from multiple characters perspectives and across two timelines the story begins when Saffy and Tom discover two dead bodies in their back garden.

Saffy’s grandma, Rose, is your unreliable witness as she suffers from dementia. But through the unveiling of her past the reader is able to decipher the muddle of her present mind.

I liked that the book is set right on my doorstep, I could picture the village and house easily as it has strong echoes of Castle Coombe. And Saffy’s trips into Bristol (Filton) were like reading some of my own commutes!

I struggled a bit with the finer details in the book. Like for instance, Saffy’s age. It’s made out as quite a big thing in the first part of the book but we’re not actually given her age until much later. Minor things like that throughout the book I felt tripped up my reading as I like to keep track of small, seemingly important details and it was hard to find them when they were relied on heavily.

This book is a slow, but enjoyable read. There’s a few little twists along the way but if you’re looking for big shocks then you’ve picked the wrong read.

Thanks to NetGalley for my advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

A very easy read told from the perspectives of several characters.
I devoured this over a bank holiday wet weekend and it kept me company throughout.
I didn't see the twist coming at all but if I had one criticism it would be that it arrived a little too early and I rushed the ending. It would have been lovely to have been kept guessing right to the end.
That said, I thoroughly enjoyed it and would highly recommend to friends and family.

Wow what a gripping read! I’d always enjoyed Claire’s books but this one is her best yet! It had everything from terror, sadness, fear, romance, comedy, it really ticks all the boxes.
I read it in one sitting. The twists and turns kept coming but they were all strong and certainly packed a punch. I liked most of the characters and disliked some but still wanted to know more about each of them as they were so interesting in their own right. Claire could certainly write about a book about each character and I would want to read them all, I’ve never felt this way before about all the characters.
Usually you can see what is going to happen and a couple of times I can predict but the major twists CM’s rout of the blue which was refreshing as it wasn’t predictable at all!
Well done Claire, it’s going to be best seller!

Wow, I don’t think I’ve quite recovered from this yet. It’s gripping, chilling, addictive and absolutely addictive. Loved this so much!

So many intriguing ideas; bodies under the patio, stolen identities, fractured relationships, abuse of trust. Perhaps too many ideas for one book? That said I did enjoy this book and it kept me guessing until the end but there was a lot going on. If you like a fast paced interesting suspense this is the book for you.

I've read a couple of Claire Douglas books and enjoyed them all so I couldn't wait to read this one.

I loved the pace of this book. Whilst it was far from slow, the author takes the time to drip feed us clues and information. The book was told from different perspectives and timelines, but it managed not to be too confusing.

I found the characters to be really realistic and their relationships showed how complex family bonds can be. Claire Douglas cleverly intwined the different stories whilst also keeping the reader guessing to the end.

It’s a suspenseful read full of twists. I found myself thinking I had figured it out and then something else would happen to prove me wrong! I did predict one of the developments midway through but there were more elements to the story that surprised me.

You can read my full review at https://mmbbookblog.com/the-couple-at-no-9-by-claire-douglas-book-review/

With the weather being rubbish I thought I would curl up with a blanket and start this book. What a good idea that was! A well written storyline with dark and creepy elements to it, I couldn’t read it quick enough. The ending was a bit sad but I sort of expected it although it didn’t take away the enjoyment of the book. I would highly recommend this book.

The perfect book for a rainy weekend! Totally engrossing and a brilliant page-turner. The ending was really sad but it made all the pieces fall into place. Loved it and would (and will) absolutely recommend this.