Enjoyed this book – wasn’t too predictable and there were a solid amount of couples and characters to ensure a high level of suspicion on anyone involved! Having the amount of characters there were, it actually made it quite hard to pinpoint for certain who the killer was – but the ending was just completely ridiculous and watered down a lot of the brilliant build up. There were a few other bits such as a revenge game that one of the guests were playing that just made the story too far-fetched and silly, to the point it was actually a bit disappointing. But, overall, was still gripping enough to keep interest. While it was definitely a bit unbelievable and over the top, it was still a fun read – even if there were a few eye-rolls at the bizarre plot additions!

Meh. That's how I feel about this one. Nothing shocking or thrilling but there were moments of brilliance. Ultimately, my response to this was MEH.

The book was archived before our group could download it. We are sure that we would have enjoyed the book judging from the reviews it has received.

In lesser hands, this could have been quite prosaic, but Sophie Hannah is just brilliant at these close quarter whodunnits. Some great descriptive detail, and enough twists and turns to keep things really interesting.

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you for the ARC of this title. I wasn't overly impressed, but perhaps that's because I've been spoilt by complex thrillers lately. This was fairly basic reading.

Jane and William are enjoying their honeymoon at Trevendon Estate, an exclusive couples only resort. Until Jane receives a chilling note "Beware of the couple at the nearest table to you"
But all of the tables were as close to one table as another. How does this note help?

Someone in the dining room will be dead before breakfast. Who could have possibly committed this crime when all of the suspects have solid alibi's.

A great whodunnit that kept me guessing and continually changing my mind at who the suspect was!!

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this latest book from Sophie Hannah, a police procedural murder mystery, It was good to reacquaint myself with regular characters Simon and Charlie, but this could also be read as a standalone novel. You will need to suspend your disbelief at times but it builds to a satisfactory ending.

Just when you think its safe to go outside again.... The Covid pandemic made us all more aware of our surroundings, but never are we warned about other couples.... This was a thrilling read, really enjoyed it!

The latest instalment in the Spilling murder series. Sophie Hannah's writing has a unique style but I found this a difficult read and failed to.finish.

This is the eleventh instalment in the Spilling CID series.

Six couples are seated for dinner at six different tables an equal distance away from the others. One of the couples receives a note stating that they should beware of the couple seated the nearest to them. Who could they mean? When a death follows the note's arrival it seems that its contents were truthful and the race in discovering who the sender is and who they were referring to is on.

Sophie Hannah is a renowned thriller author who I have only sampled one or two books from before. Her name, my previous enjoyment of her work, and this title's intriguing synopsis prompted me to loan this book from the library, despite not ordinarily bonding well with police detective series.

I initially found this an absorbing read and enjoyed finding out the backgrounds for all of the couples as well as the twisted roots that bound them all. I soon discovered that the shared more than just their present surroundings.

My interest in solving the case remained but, for me, the focus on these interpersonal relationships started to dominate and, with so many characters involved in it, I sometimes lost focus and felt my enjoyment dwindling. This remained a solid read, which I flew through over the course of one day, but not my favourite thriller to have read as I desired more twists involved in it. This author still remains one I will return to in the future, however.

This one was so fast paced and entertaining! My mind was racing around with the characters as they worked to solve who did what! Loved it!

certainly reminiscent of Christie type murder mysteries and the author has stuck to what she does best. I enjoyed the mystery and twists of this plot.... I could not figure out how it would end and was certainly surprised. I am just not sure if the conclusion left me pleased or not. I dont want to give away too much but I am just not sure if the solution sits quite right for me.
I like though that the investigation revolves around Lucy and her thoughts and how she would be the most obvious suspect but you can't help but like her or even sympathise with her.
Almost a locked room type murder mystery and with a variety of couples at a resort it is almost impossible to compare to Agather Christie and considering Sophie Hannah has some experience on this I think she has done the genre a justice. The ending is everything though.

A well-structured and compellingly written mystery, with a good variety of possible suspects. Hannah keeps the tension nicely balanced and gives us a satisfying ending.

This was an enjoyable and intriguing read. I liked catching up with the returning characters and seeing how they have developed. The plot is good although I found it a bit slow in places.
Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for an advance copy.

I’m afraid this was a DNF from me, so has written much better books. This was for me.

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

It is six months since Jane Brinkwood was stabbed to death, and the crime remains unsolved. When new evidence comes to light, forcing DC Simon Waterhouse and his teams to re-interview the other people who were at the luxury Tevendon Resort at the time, it becomes obvious that many of them have been keeping important information to themselves or, in some cases, outright lying to the police. As the investigation begins to gather pace once more, Waterhouse begins to form a picture of exactly what happened on that warm July evening, and to understand the relationships between the people that were at Tevendon when Jane Brinkwood died.

I’m a newcomer to Sophie Hannah’s work but have heard good things, so was keen to read The Couple at the Table, despite it being the latest book featuring series characters Detective Constable Simon Waterhouse and his wife Sergeant Charlie Zailer. In this outing they find themselves at the centre of a murder investigation as someone offs Jane Brinkwood at the luxury couples-only Tevendon Resort while Waterhouse and Zailer are there as guests. Hannah sets up an impossible-to-solve mystery that wouldn’t feel out of place in the works of Conan Doyle or Christie.

While the story unfolds from multiple viewpoints, Lucy Dean is presented as one of the key characters, her chapters presented in the first person. And she’s definitely the most invested in the plot: Jane Brinkwood was her doula when she was pregnant with her daughter. Jane is also at Tevenden on her honeymoon after marrying Lucy’s ex-husband, William, who she stole while working for Lucy. There’s more motive there than you can shake a stick at, but Lucy has found a new man and has been friends with Jane and William for some time now. Lucy is the driving force behind the investigation, her interference providing fresh fodder for the police. She is an intensely unlikable character, and her interference feels forced and unlikely.

As I read The Couple at the Table, I got the feeling that it started life as a plot for one of Hannah’s Poirot novels. From the exclusive resort, to the class divisions between the various guests. And the most telling due? “The Gathering.” I can’t think of a modern police procedural where the lead investigator gathers all the suspects in a room and talks at them for a period of time. It almost feels as if DC Waterhouse, DS Zailer and the rest of the team were shoe-horned in at a later date, leaving the story feeling somewhat disjointed in places.

In the plus column, The Couple at the Table has an intriguing mystery at its heart. It’s difficult to read the premise and not want to find out the solution. This is enough to keep the pages turning. That aside, it’s a disjointed and – at times – poorly-written narrative with more than one inexplicable hole. This reader would have been a lot happier to see Christie’s Belgian detective in the driving seat. If you can get past the novel’s bad points, it’s a worthwhile read for the cleverness of the central mystery, but maybe one best left for the aeroplane or beach!

I have no idea how this ended up in my “did not download” section because I had thought I wasn’t approved for this title…
Anyway, I will gladly give feedback!
I absolutely loved this book and was riveted fron the outset. Sophie Hannah plots things so tightly and even when I don’t love the characters (and in this case we are not meant to) I always love the writing.
This is a proper keep-you-guessing page turner!
A true Agatha Christie heir, I will always read her books as soon as they’re released because they are such a pleasure.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a copy of this ARC. I went on to buy the book!

I had a hard time getting into the story and then it dragged on at times. Not the best book I've read by this author.

I have read all the previous books in this series, so was really happy to see that there was another book with DS Simon Waterhouse and his wife sergeant Charlie Zailer were back. This book can be read as a stand alone novel, so not to worry if you haven’t read the previous books although it does help in knowing the characters.

I loved the premise of this, as there was a puzzle to solve and if you like crime stories who doesn’t like a puzzle. DS Waterhouse is in charge of the murder investigation, but he is struggling to solve it, even a few months later as well as several hand drawn maps he is no closer to solving the case than he was at the beginning. His boss DI Proust is on at him demanding results, as there are other jobs that need doing.

The murder takes place at a luxury house resort, Tevendon Estate in the Culver Valley. It’s an exclusive couples only resort, Ithe people staying there are quite a diverse group of couples, Jane Brinkwood is on honeymoon with husband William Gleave. She receives notes warning her to beware of the couple at the nearest table, the problem is all the tables are in a circle with the same distance between them, so the notes make no sense. After a dramatic evening of events Jane is stabbed to death in her cottage. But who had warned her? Or were they just threats? Who wanted her dead? This actually looks to be the perfect crime, but we all know there is no such thing as a perfect crime. Each person is a suspect at one time or another until they aren’t.

The timeline is between July 2019 and January 2020, there are plenty of the usual secrets and lies, lead to suspicions which keep you guessing, just when you think you have solved it another spanner is thrown into the works and you are back to square one. I love it when a book keeps you guessing like this. The character who was murdered wasn’t the most endearing person in fact it was one of those times when you don’t care that they were killed.

There are some characters I liked and some I just didn’t. Some of the plot was a little bit disbelieving. But overall I found it to be an engaging read. If you like to try and solve a puzzle then this one may interest you. It’s not the best book in the series but it’s been a while since I last read one. I still like the main characters. It was nice to revisit them.

Thank you to #netgalley and #Hodder&Stoughton for an eARC in exchange for an honest fair and unbiased review.

Having read a couple of Sophie Hannah’s books before, I wasn’t sure what to expect from this one but the premise sounded intriguing and different so thought I’d give it a go! It took me a little bit to get into but once I had, the twists & turns kept on coming & kept me guessing until the end. Would recommend.