After reading Alice Feeney’s previous books I was really looking forward to her new release. An absolutely brilliant thriller which I loved from start to finish. There was plenty of twists and turns to keep me guessing throughout. Definitely one to read. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

Wow. I have just finished reading and I can say without a doubt this book is in the running to be one of my top thrillers of 2021! For a start Alice Feeney's writing in this novel is on point, I absolutely adored the vivid way she described the setting and characters while instilling such tension and atmosphere into the plot without weighing it down or making the story too clunky. Keeping to a steady and succinct pace nothing felt rushed, the little breadcrumbs of plot reveals were evenly spaced out and the foreshadowing was just subtle enough to keep you in the dark when needed.

Speaking of the story — this one was WILD. As a self-proclaimed winter lover, Feeney choosing to have the story take place in the literal middle of nowhere in snowy Scotland had me hooked. I like to think I'm quite good at being able to pick up on foreshadowing and predict twists but this book genuinely got me, it had me gasping and putting my phone down to take a breather and collect myself. The characters were so multi-faceted and layered that it was a delight to read about them and figure out all the secrets they were hiding. A 5 star read and one I would highly recommend to anyone who wants a creepy and twisty book that will keep you on your toes until the very end.

This was a sort of "impulse request" as I didn't know if it was my kind of book but kept on reading raving reviews.
They are right, this is a gripping book that i read in two setting.
It's a page turner, dark, twisty and enthralling. You cannot help loving the desolate setting, the secrets and the relationships between the well thought characters.
It's the first i read by this author and won't surely be the last as I loved it.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Amelia Wright is forty-two and it was the staff raffle at Battersea Dogs Home that gave her a weekend away in a converted chapel in Scotland. Her husband, Adam, isn't so keen on the idea. Like Amelia, he knows that their marriage has been under strain: he's a screenwriter and he's never shy of making it clear to Amelia that he'd prefer to spend time with the novels he's hoping to adapt than with her. Amelia's annoyed that he never enquires about how her day has been - and working with the dogs, many of whom have been abused, is never easy. Still - she's won the weekend away, even if it does mean driving for eight hours in her 1978 Morris Minor Traveller with Adam beside her in the passenger seat - and then doing the same thing to come back a couple of days later.

Adam's different. He suffers from prosopagnosia - the inability to recognise faces. He can - and has - walked past his wife in the street. He's more likely to recognise her by her shape or her perfume. He can't even recognise his own face in the mirror. It's one of the reasons why he hides behind his work: it's safe. Recently he's been trying to look after himself rather more - taking up running half marathons. Amelia thinks of it as him being good at running away, especially from reality. She got her own back though - she destroyed his running shoes. Adam doesn't seem to be the man that she married but his career-high happened when he sold his first screenplay at the age of twenty-one. Since then, he's been adapting other people's words for the screen.

So, the signs for the weekend away are not good but it wasn't always like this. We find out a great deal from the letters written to Adam, by his wife, every year on their anniversary - but they were never sent. What is obvious though is that husband and wife have secrets that they're reluctant to share.

It's a couple of years since I read Alice Feeney's I Know Who You Are but I remembered the story full of twists and turns where no one was who they seemed to be. Could Feeney do it again? Yes, she can - and I think this book is even better. There's a real talent for evoking location - I shivered when I read about the eerie Scottish chapel in the snow. When it became obvious that Adam and Amelia were there for a reason, I couldn't put the book down. Twist followed turn and you could never be certain what was going to happen next. It's another cracker and I'd like to thank the publishers for letting Bookbag have a review copy.

All I can say is holy cow, what an adventure!

I was hooked from the first chapter and read the whole thing in just over 24hrs.

The format is that of multi pov, which I am a complete sucker for, you follow Adam and Amelia who are married but their marriage seems to be on the rocks. Due to this they go to spend a long weekend in an isolated chapel in Scotland. But everything is not as it seems. and things go from bad to worse for the married couple.

The twists were insane, I had it all completely wrong and then there was an additional twist at the end!!!!! It all just had me floored.

The characters are both loveable and hateable in equal measure which I think is why I enjoyed it so much, I felt like I was part of the marriage and it's breakdown.

I cannot recommend this book enough for any lover of thrillers, just read it!!!!

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in return for an honest review.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this very strange book

remember what you read isnt all that you get....

a writer turned screenwriter and his wife living the dream

a bizarre storyline that has a wicked twist right in the middle that makes you sit up and take notice...no spoilers as if i write anything else will give it all away

Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney
Pub Date 19 August 2021
Soon to be a Netflix series from the producer of The CrownThe phenomenal new thriller from the bestselling author of Sometimes I Lie
Ten years of marriage.
Ten years of secrets.
An anniversary they'll never forget.
Adam and Amelia are spending the weekend in the Scottish Highlands. The remote location is perfect for what they have planned.
But when their romantic trip takes a dark turn, they both start to wonder – can they trust the one they're with?
Because every couple tells little white lies. Only for Adam and Amelia, the truth is far more dangerous.

Alice Feeney's books are always full of very clever twists, turns and red herrings, and this dark, compelling story is no different. Exciting, eerie and suspenseful right to the shocking revelations at the end.
I am looking forward to watching the TV adaptation when it is released.
I want to thanks NetGalley, HQ and author Alice Feeney for a pre-publication copy to review.

Alice Feeney has done it again, delivering yet another riveting, twisty, spine-tingler of a thriller. This time with a dark, gothic feel to it that adds an enticingly creepy edge to the reading experience. Smoke, mirrors, atmospherics — Rock Paper Scissors has it all. Throw in a bunch of dodgy narrators and you have the perfect recipe for delicious suspense fiction.

Can a weekend away in an isolated, converted chapel, deep in a Scottish glen save Adam and Amelia Wright’s marriage? They are both dissatisfied. They both have secrets. And neither seems to be invested in this attempted reconciliation.

Their accommodation is creepy and neglected. There’s a snowstorm raging outside and no heating, hot water or phone reception. Their beloved dog, Bob, has disappeared, and the tyres on their car have been slashed. Someone doesn’t want them there. But who? And why? It’s all very sinister and goosebumpy.

Feeney’s mastery of the narrative is superb: brief chapters, alternating between Adam and Amelia, as they try to make sense of their situation; snapshots of a deteriorating marriage exposed in a series of never-delivered letters to Adam from his wife; and a third narrator — the witch-like creature living in a nearby stone hovel — is she the puppet master or an innocent recluse?

The plot arc is typical Feeney. Hook ‘em, play ‘em, reel ‘em in, then toss in a last-minute jerk and twist to show ‘em who’s boss. Here, that final twist was so beautifully disguised and so casually effected, it spun me for a total loop. My eyes were reading the words, but my brain just couldn’t compute them. I was duped, pure and simple, and I applaud Feeney for her trickery.

This has to be one of my top reads of 2021 thus far. A brilliantly executed, twisty tale of love, deceit and cold-blooded revenge. Add it to your list!

This is a pacy,well written contemporary thriller.I found it enormously difficult to put it down. so ended up consuming it in two days. Impossible to see the twists and turns as they came. Lots of originality sets this apart from other thrillers.The yearly love letters give the years context but also build up the tension

Reading this story is like opening Pandora's box, compelling, creepy and full of unexpected consequences.

In an attempt to rescue their marriage after ten years, Amelia and Adam head to the remote Scottish Highlands. It's clear from the beginning both have secrets and that they dislike each other. The setting is atmospheric and claustrophobic, and the writer's excellent use of sensory imagery immerses the reader in the gothic setting.

Told from Amelia, Adam and later Robin's viewpoints, the reader has an omnipotent view of the character's motivations, but all three are unreliable, so who can you trust? There is also a series of secret letters which give the reader something to think about.

As the story progresses, the twists intensify. This story keeps you gripped until the very last word. You unravel part of the truth, but there is always more to discover. The characters are complex, damaged by their pasts, and have many unlikeable traits. Despite these, this story has a poignant ethos drawing the reader's empathy.

The ending is believable, impactful and thought-provoking.

I received a copy of this book from HQ via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Wow! This was a thrilling read with many plot twists that made it difficult to piece together what was actually happening until the final reveal. Very cleverly written to keep you guessing!

It is difficult to talk about this book without giving anything away. The book is full of hints and lies that the married couple have been telling each other, which leads to this terrifying encounter. The setting is the perfect backdrop: hostile weather conditions, bleak location rich with Gothic detail. Adam's prosopagnosia (inability to make sense of faces) was a new condition for me to learn about, but worked perfectly to enhance the potential for this situation to occur. I found it quite difficult to like either Adam or Amelia, and for a while could not decide what I wanted the outcome for their marriage to be.

The ending is quite unsettling, but in a way that will make you think - and want to reread this book again. What did you miss?!

📖 Review
Rock, Paper, Scissors by Alice Feeney @hq
Rating 5 🌟

Wow what an amazing thriller! This is undoubtedly the best book I have read this year. I was gripped from the very first page and I couldn't put it down.
This book has the most chilling atmosphere full of suspense and foreboding.
Husband and wife, Adam and Amelia have just arrived at the converted Blackwater Chapel in a remote village in Scotland.
They are having a weekend away in an attempt to save their marriage.
They arrive at the creepy Chapel in the midst of a hazardous snowstorm. One of them isn't going to return home... Both characters are hiding things. Which one is telling the truth? Which one can't be trusted?
The story is narrated by Adam and Amelia and the reader is made to question their marriage and what has led them to this point. A little further on in the story there is a third narrator, Robin who lives in a remote cottage near the Chapel. Who is she and why is she so interested in them?
There were just so many twists in this story. It was impossible to predict. Adam has prosopagnosia (he can't recognise people's faces) which I thought was a really interesting and clever element to the plot. I loved reading the anniversary letters written to Adam every year and slowly trying to unravel what had gone wrong with the relationship.
This is such a brilliant psychological thriller and so cleverly written. If you like creepy atmospheric thrillers with great characters then I would highly recommend this book. I am going back to read all of Alice Feeney's previous books. I'm so excited to have discovered such a brilliant new author.

Rock Paper Scissors is a compulsive and unusual cross between a gothic and domestic thriller in which Feeney asks: how well do you really know your significant other? Adam and Amelia Wright have been married for what seems like 10 long years and live in London together, but their marriage is very much on the rocks and things have been going wrong with Mr and Mrs Wright for quite some time. Amelia happens to win a weekend away in an office raffle and the couple have decided to put it to good use in the hope of rekindling their flagging romance. They head off to spend a few relaxing days at Blackwater Chapel in the picturesque Scottish Highlands situated at the edge of Blackwater Loch. Adam, a self-confessed workaholic and screenwriter husband has lived with face blindness his whole life meaning he can’t recognise friends or family, or even his own wife at times. Amelia, Adam and their dog, Bob, drive through a snowstorm to reach the run-down, freezing, recently converted church in which they will be staying, but it doesn't take long for them to notice that the place is more than a little strange and sits far from the beaten path.

Some rooms are permanently locked and the electricity supply is iffy at best, not to mention the enigmatic caretaker and neighbour, Robin, whose job it is to care for the property and who leaves them firewood to use to heat the place along with a pleasant note is slightly weird. She's reclusive and frightening and this only worsens when Amelia discovers her peering through one of the chapel windows eerily watching her. Will the couple make it back home safely? This is a wickedly twisted and enthralling read from start to finish and Feeney's creepiest book to date with a claustrophobic setting and oddball characters adding to the suspense. She delivers a pitch-perfect balance of dark, sinister storylines woven into a twisty, binge-worthy tale. The location is beautiful but spooky; it's next to a loch, in the middle of a valley surrounded by mountains – completely isolated with no phone signal, and the only shop for miles is closed because of the storm. Ripe with secrets, betrayal, lies and carefully constructed facades, the plot and the Wrights’ lives unravel between a spate of gobsmacking twists. Alternating between Amelia and Adam's first-person perspectives, this is a cleverly woven, convoluted and entertaining thriller.

I enjoy Alice Feeneys writing and was looking forward to reading this.

This book is eeire abs atmospheric and very well written to portray the feeling.

Twists and turns and easy to read.
A great book

Sorry couldn't get into this book, found the writing hard to get on with.
Did not like the subject and relationship
No review from me
Thank you for the opportunity to read early NetGalley

You just know as you're reading that something is going to happen - the chilling atmosphere of an old Scottish church in the middle of nowhere in a snowstorm. A weekend won in a raffle. Doors that open and close themselves. The setting couldn't be more perfect for an atmospheric thriller. I read with great anticipation, the teasing that one of them wasn't going to return home. The twist when it came, was excellent. And then more twists. The ending wasn't what I expected but I loved it. #netgalley #rockpaperscissors

Word of the year: disconcerting. adjective
causing one to feel unsettled.
A perfect word to describe how this book made me feel.

Filled with unreliable narrators and set in an old chapel with unrelenting weather battering at the door, this has the quality of a good horror story. But the real horror is their marriage.

Narrated by husband and wife Mr and Mrs Wright, the irony of which was not lost on me, and a third narrator Robin who lives on the grounds of the chapel. This is also interspersed with letters that Amelia has written to her husband every year on their anniversary but never given to him. This trip away is make or break time for their marriage but you quickly learn they are both withholding secrets and an agenda.

Word of the year: adroit adjective
clever or skilful. The plotting that has gone into this is immense. I don’t think I’ve ever highlighted so many paragraphs in a book before. All a waste of time as the author was always two steps ahead of me and I had no idea what was coming….

I really enjoyed seeing both perspectives of the marriage and both certainly had their foibles and I had to laugh at the author’s description of local shop worker Patty. “The woman wore her bitterness like a badge; the kind of person who writes one-star book reviews.” But it was Robin who really piqued my interest. Who was she and what was her role in the story? No spoilers here so you will have to read it to find out.

What really made this book for me though was the exquisite writing. I’m a lover of vocabulary and it’s the one thing other than my children that I feel I don’t have to be humble about. I’m proud to say I have quite an extensive range and I always prefer to use a good word rather than an abbreviated text speak version. This book increased my knowledge with some wonderful new ones and I’m now looking forward to sitting in my growlery.

Adam and Amelia win a stay in a creepy chapel in Scotland. All is not well in their marriage. The story is told from both their points of view as well as through letters written by Amelia each year. At times I found the plot a little confusing but as the book progressed I became more and more intrigued.

Thrilling and suspenseful, Rock Paper Scissors will keep you guessing right until the very end!

This is an intense psychological mystery thriller that gets inside your head. Packed full of twists and turns, expect the unexpected on every page!

The book instantly draws you in with an intriguing premise and excellent characters. The narrative is told from multiple perspectives, creating a layered, multi-faceted storyline with a strong flow and direction throughout the book. It's excellently written and undoubtedly compelling reading.

The main characters Adam and Amelia are an interesting couple - and of course, there are plenty of secrets to uncover about the pair. Nothing is ever as it may initially seem, and Mr and Mrs Wright certainly have a lot of skeletons hiding in their closet. This book makes you second guess everything, and with good reason, as the twists are executed to perfection. There are also some red herrings along the way to throw you off the scent!

All in all, Rock Paper Scissors is a brilliant story - mysterious, thrilling, and highly readable. It's bound to keep you up at night so you can read just one more chapter! Another outstanding novel from the talented Alice Feeney.

Wow! This book was creepy, eerie and had me hooked from the first page! I couldn't wait to see how the story developed and what would happen to the characters!
Alice Feeney has an excellent style of writing and came up with a fantastic storyline that left me with full body chills!
Thank you to Alice Feeney and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.