fantastic novel by a fab author. I honestly didn’t know where this book was going to end. I somewhat guessed the ending with daphne but still things I would never have guessed.
Every single time I put this book down I wanted to pick it up again. Each chapter left you wanting more and more. Absolutely fab!!

The Couple at No 9 is everything I love in a story, it’s twisty and dark with lots of suspense. I just couldn’t put it down until I’d finished! I kept thinking I had it figured out but then another twist and that big twist! Omg!

A fantastic read from an amazing author. Highly recommended,

A young couple are renovating their house when builders find human remains in the garden. The remains are historical, so the couple weren't living there when they moved in. However, the girl's grandmother was...

The Couple at No 9 follows several POVs from people interlinked in time and blood. As the book progresses, we learn that nothing is what it seems.

I really liked this book. The different point of views could be confusing in the hands of a lesser writer, but Douglas achieves completely separate, interesting narratives. The device works very well at slowly feeding information, while still being intensely gripping.

Characters are well rounded, and I was happy with the way the novel was resolved.

I would recommend this novel to people who enjoy twisty thrillers.

Thanks to Claire Douglas, Penguin Books and NetGalley for this copy.

What a superb read! Told from different characters and in different timelines to give real depth to the story. Lots of twists to the plot resulting in a very original tale.

Tom and Saffron are newlyweds expecting their first baby. They never dreamed that they would own their own home, but when Saffy takes ownership of her Grandmother's remote country cottage, they think that it could be the perfect family home and a chance to escape the rat race. That is, until, the bodies are discovered.

Two bodies are found in the garden - leading to several generations of secrets coming to the surface. We have Saffy, her mother Lorna, and Lorna's mother Rose, who owned the cottage. Unfortunately for Saffy and Lorna, Rose has dementia and seems especially muddled when it comes to the past. At the same time, we get chapters from a man named Theo, but how is he connected to the story?

Claire Douglas writes books that remind me of those pull-tie ribbons. You start off with dozens of different strands and gently pull them until they all come together into one big shiny bow. She really is a master at weaving an intricate, character-driven tale and keeping you on edge throughout. My notes for one of her books are always full of questions and angles, and I love that. Too often I guess an ending and I can categorically say that with Claire, there are always at least half a dozen ways a story can go. This is a solid thriller and I'd recommend you look at some of this author's other books if you like those thrillers that you can't put down because you NEED to see if your hunch was right.

Thank you to the publisher for the ARC.

Wow!! I love mystery/thriller books and this one blew me away!
My first Claire Douglas book, and certainly won't be my last. The Couple at No. 9 really is a page turner and I couldn't put it down! The suspense is always building and just when you think you know what's coming, there is another twist.
Utterly brilliant, loved the characters and following the two different timelines.
Highly recommend!

Thanks to Netgalley and Pengiun Michael Joseph UK for an ARC of this book.

Wow this book really does play with your mind. I kept thinking I had the whole thing figured out and then all of that would be turned on it’s head. This was definitely not the way I thought it would go. It was a great story with a great mix of characters and ultimately had a great ethos of love and family running all the way through. After all what’s a few dead bodies between family lol.

I have to admit I like Claire Douglas' books; they are easy to read, don't insult my intelligence, and have interesting characters. Like other writers in this genre, she has improved since her first book. This is probably one of her best. We start with a cottage given to Saffy, a pregnant married woman by her grandmother Rose. The only strange thing is that neither Saffy nor her mother was aware that Rose had a property.

But Rose now has dementia and is in a care home; she doesn't always make sense. Then two bodies are found in the cottage's garden. After the initial investigation, the police reveals that these bodies have been there for several years, possibly 30 or 40. Rose lived in the cottage up to 1980, and then she moved out. Does she know anything? But what she says is not always easy to interpret; she drops names of unknown people and confuses events.

There are a few big twists before we reach the end of this thrilling rollercoaster ride of a book. Highly recommended to people who like a bit of mystery and twists but still set in a realistic scenario.

Thank you to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in advance in exchange my honest review.

The writing is brilliant and the story is fast paced with good plot. There were some interesting and well-developed characters. I would definitely read more books by Claire Douglas. This book is not only amazing thriller as well as creepy and scary. Definitely it's an edge of your seat. Full of twists and turns interwove in a two different timeline. It linked the past and the present time. Surely it was a compelling and good read. You couldn't put it down that grabbed you so tight and you would want to go on till the very end. Since from the first page, it grabbed me and made me guessing throughout the whole story. It didn't let you go. Highly recommended if you are the fan of thriller. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Absolutely fantastic book which I raced through. Told from more than one perspective and in more than one time frame this book flowed well and wasn’t confusing. I definitely didn’t see the twist coming.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC in return for an honest and unbiased opinion.

Absolutely brilliant story that was gripping from start to finish. Could not put down until finished!!

WOW! Absolutely loved this book. So gripping. So well written with amazing characters and plot. Absolutely did not want this book to end! My head is still spinning. A fantastic read!

The Couple at No.9
Claire Douglas
Penguin Michael Joseph UK


To begin, I’d like to thank Penguin Michael Joseph UK for sending me an ARC of this book, and to NetGalley for facilitating. And (as always) a huge thank you to Claire Douglas for yet another thrilling read!

No spoilers as usual in this review.

Wow. What can I say? What a book to keep me entertained during the final stages of lockdown 3.0! This book has all of the elements I do love about Claire Douglas’ books - the intricate characters, the attention to detail, the suspense, thrill and wow - what a twist! I swear I thought I knew what was going on multiple times and then along came another twist to make me scratch my head and rethink my suspicions. Usually with thrillers, but (at the latest) 2/3’s of the way through I have cracked the case - and it’s still enjoyable reading to have all of the details filled in for me. But this one was a delightful surprise every time I was proven wrong - and I usually very much dislike being wrong!

I loved all of the characters in this book - they were so well written that I felt as if I knew them, and it really kept me on the edge of my seat. I really enjoy books where the narrative is coming from multiple characters because it keeps the suspense while you’re waiting to get back to that character. This book also does a time hop within the narrative and it worked really well to be able to tie the story together.

This was a real page-turner and exactly what I needed in my life at this moment! Thank you so much Claire Douglas, this was amazing escapism for me and the story will stay with me for a long time to come!

What a book!!! Read this in 2 days couldn’t put it down. 2 bodies are found under a patio of a family home that has been in the family for many years. The story evolves around the family and tells it from their different perspectives over a number of years. Fantastic character developments, great twists right until the end would 100% recommend

I got into this book very quickly, it was very well-written. Pregnant Saffy and husband Tom move into her grandmother’s cottage which she’d given to Saffy’s mum, Lorna, and she, in turn, gave it to Saffy. They are having an extension to the back of the cottage, and the builders find human remains while they’re digging.

Saffy’s grandmother had moved to Bristol and let the cottage out, but she’s now got dementia and in a care home so they’re not quite sure whether they can trust anything she says.

There are a few other main characters, but not so many that you get confused, and it was gripping to follow the story weaving in and out of the people, and their stories.

This was a brilliant book with an excellent plot, and I really struggled to put it down!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Michael Douglas UK for an advance reader copy in return for an honest review.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book, and what a book it was, absolutely brilliant story. This book had me hooked from the first chapter. Great storyline and characters. I didn’t want this book to end but I wanted to know the outcome. Not what I was expecting, the twist in this book was brilliant I definitely didn’t see it coming. Great POV from all characters. This should be on the big screen I would love to see it. Another great book from Claire Douglas.

I've read all books by this author. This one isn't their best, but that's subject to my opinion, and only a testament to the strength of her other books. I've read books by Douglas that I had to devour in one sitting. This one, I could put down and re-start fairly easily. That's not to say it's not gripping...it is! As usual, Douglas manages to bring in a cast of seemingly unconnected characters and weave them into a twisty story with a solid and satisfying resolve. A great thriller, worth reading.

Wow. Expect the unexpected with this one.
Saffy and Tom are planning a new house, baby and life in a family home when builders unearth a bit of shock. Cue a dual timeline, a few different narrators and plenty of twists and turns throughout to keep you guessing and gasping along the way.
A real page turner that delights, intrigues and challenges.

Saffy and Tom Cutler have hit the jackpot – Saffy’s grandmother Rose Grey has given her daughter, Lorna her cottage in the Cotswolds. Lorna is living in Spain with her somewhat younger lover, the latest in quite a few unsuitable Lotharios and that is why she has given the cottage to Saffy and Tom – plus they are expecting a baby. Life couldn’t be finer. A new home in the country and work on an extension to make the home perfect. Just two clouds in their sky. Saffy’s grandmother is suffering from dementia and lives in a care home in Bristol – and the builders have just excavated a huge hole in the back garden where human remains of, not one, but two bodies have been discovered. Investigations conclude that they have been there for decades. Clearly the police have to discover who these people were and then what happened to them and who was responsible.

Lorna returns to the UK to support Saffy and although she knew her mother (Rose) lived in Bristol but on visiting the cottage vague memories start to surface and the mystery deepens.

We are introduced to Theo and Jen. Theo is somewhat estranged emotionally from his elderly father who was an eminent doctor but now retired – a cold, unlikeable person. He visits him out of duty although he always feel somewhat bereft and his father is distant and unpleasant to him.

Then Saffy begins to be aware of someone spying on them, following them.

Meanwhile Rose is being questioned by the police who find little help from her as her concentration shifts in and out of lucidity and understanding.

Mix all these components together and the result is a really well constructed plot; a clever blending of past and present; good characters and good dialogue. Highly recommended if you enjoy a good thriller that is not too bloody but developed with finesse. Brilliant!

Thank you to the author, publishers and NetGalley for providing an ARC via my Kindle in return for an honest review.

Claire Douglas is one of my favourite authors and in this novel, she does not disappoint. Saffron and Tom move into her Grandmother's old cottage and have a great shock when builders discover 2 bodies buried in the back garden whilst renovating. Saffron's grandmother is in a home suffering dementia and is no help when it is found the murders must have happened whilst she lived there. A real roller-coaster of a read. The characters are great even Saffy who is at times, a scaredy cat, I found myself yelling at her to 'grow a pair!!' and Saffy's Mum, Lorna is brilliant. I loved this book.