I honestly have found this a strange one to review.

I found the premise really intriguing.. set in a luxury resort, six couple but who comes out alive?

Told from different POVs over dual timelines of the murder and six months on..

I think my main problem was that I pretty much disliked ALL of the characters aside from Simon and Charlie. I'm definitely a reader who has to feel a connection but I just did not and would not connect with any of them in a way that made me feel engaged with them. I found there also wasnt enough depth to the characters that I think would have helped with that connection. I ended up not caring what actually happened.

Whilst it was easy enough to follow for the majority I felt like it maybe jumped between characters a little too often to fully understand who these characters really were.

Whilst I enjoyed parts of the book, if I'm being completely truthful I was rather bored through most of it. It dragged on for me and the twists that I was expecting just didnt happen. The identity and motive of the murderer ended up feeling like a real anti climax.

Sadly it felt like a chore to read.

Thanks to netgalley and Hodder and Stoughton for the ARC.

One of the most ludicrous books I have ever read. Filled with characters with no redeeming qualities (except perfect Pete of course), bizarre motives and random "twists".

At one point near the end, a character remarks that they do not follow what the lead detective, Simon, is saying. I must say, the reader is equally as bewildered.

Add to that, the lengthy expositions of facts, that have already been stated a million times before, and you have a very very slow and somewhat bewildering read. I started to skim at about 40% of the way through because it was rather tedious and boring. As it was a murder mystery I didn't want to DNF. However, the ending was as unfulfilling as the rest, and the motive was just bizarre.

I had heard such good things about the author too.

Not one of her better books
But I still read it as I enjoy reading Sophie’s books
Will still look forward to Sophie’s next book
Thanks NetGalley

My thanks to NetGalley and Hodder and Stoughton for a copy of “ The Couple At The Table “;for an honesty review.

I’ve not read any previous books by Sophie Hannah, and I must admit I started this book once and put it down again. When I began again I read a large chunk of it and after a slow start I was hooked !
I loved the characters , especially Simon and Charlie, and thought the plot was really well thought out.
It made no difference to my enjoyment of the book , not reading previous books with the married police couple.
The book was clever, Witty and entertaining and I can see why Sophie Hannah has been labelled the new Agatha Christie.
Highly recommended and so glad I didn’t give up on it !

Thank you Author, publisher and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange of an honest review.

I loved Sophie Hannah's Poirot series but this book just wasn't for me. I was bored and I felt it dragged a lot. There was parts which didn't make sense to me at all. It did not build any suspense but made the story lengthy. None of the characters were likeable and after a while I didn't care who the killer was and why. And it helped because the ending was anti-climatic as well. Overall, a disappointing read.

The Couple at the Table is a Whodunnit story surrounding the murder of Jane Brinkwood, who was honeymoon at The exclusive Tevendon hotel with five other couples including her husband's ex Lucy.

On the day of her death Jane was given a note telling her to be aware of 'the couple at the table nearest to yours'. However, Jane sat at a table which was of equal distance to five other tables; none of which were nearer or further to her than any of the others.

Having read and enjoyed Sophie Hannah's books before I really wanted to enjoy this. However, I have to say whilst okay it did fall a bit flat. The beginning was slow, the characters became a bit confusing and hard to keep up with & when the killer is identified there is no real shock factor.

Overall 2 stars. An okay read but not memorable.

Having heard good things about Sophie Hannah's previous books I was excited to read this one and it didn't disappoint, It felt like a modern day Agatha Christie with a full on who dunnit mystery to solve. I was puzzled most of the way through and was kept guessing and being thrown of the scent which was all very appealing as I don't like it if I can work out the mystery part way through. The cast of characters are quirky and unlikeable which makes them even more interesting and creates a great atmosphere throughout the storyline.
Overall I would definitely recommend this one.

This book was fun exciting and Agatha Christie style read. This book is well written and the characters are really likeable and the storyline is fast paced and well written. Looking forward to more from this writer as she is very talented.

I read a couple of Sophie Hannah's books several years ago and didn't like them much, but she has become such a popular writer that I thought I ought to give her books another chance. However I gave up with this one about a quarter of the way through. I can't get on with Hannah's style of writing. Perhaps a strange observation, but I feel like she is often playing with words in a way that is clever but somehow breaks the flow of the narrative and disconnects me from the story. That's what put me off her novel Kind of Cruel, and it started to happen again in this one, with "watch out for the couple at the table next to you" when all the tables are next to them. It's just a bit annoying.

I wanted to stick with it to find out how and why the murder was committed, but having got through so much of the book already with only a vague idea of the crime scene, it was just too slow for me.

With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

Always a treat to have a new book featuring Simon and Charlie, even if their inclusion in this one felt a little far fetched! I couldn't really warm to any of the characters but I was nevertheless gripped...trying to puzzle out how on earth one of them could have 'done it' if they were all together. Very enjoyable.

Have a pleasant enough read this was not a book that grabbed me. Is there relatively unmemorable but professional piece of writing. If you enjoy mysteries set around families and hotels you’ll enjoy this one. But it won’t change your life.

At Tevendon Hotel, an exclusive country hotel Jane Brinkwood is on her honeymoon but one night is killed; there are many suspects but seemingly none could have actually committed the crime, Will the murder ever be solved?

I really enjoyed this murder mystery; which at times felt a little like an Agatha Christie novel (which I love). The characters were flawed but likeable and the plot raced along so that it felt very fast paced.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review

What a strange story! In a good way of course. A brilliant murder mystery full of twists, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Lucy gets obsessed trying to find out who killed her ex husbands new wife , and she is determined to keep digging to uncover the secrets from that night at dinner.

I found this really interesting, and read it quickly. Different characters made it a fast paced book, but also with our favourite teams banter it made me laugh plenty. I'd highly recommend.

I love Sophie Hannah’s novels so was very keen to get my hands on this one and I’m really pleased to say that it did not disappoint! The premise of this novel is there are several people staying at a luxury resort and one night one of them is murdered. The person found with the victim is definitely not the murderer and everyone else in the resort were all dining together at the time of the murder. No one else was on the property! There was a note warning to beware of the table nearest yours but all the tables are exactly the same distance apart. I loved this novel, it was near impossible to work out what had happened but I had so many theories. It was so much fun trying to work it out and to follow the police investigation as well as the holiday makers as they also tried to solve the murder. I recommend this one!

The book starts out really strongly with guest Lucy‘s perspective being extremely lively and entertaining as she has internal debates with herself and on occasions she is extremely funny. The writing is engaging with several interesting images of the couples at the tables giving you plenty of food for thought. Some of the characters are really good, some are really annoying such as pedantic Simon and of some don’t really feature much. The dynamics are really good as the bunch at Tevendon are certainly an odd disparate bunch and there’s plenty to cast your eye of suspicion over especially as an abundance of lies eventually emerge. So there are plenty of positives.

Sophie Hannah has really outdone herself with this incredible mystery novel! A number of couples present at a restaurant are forewarned of each other, which sends them into a tailspin of mutual distrust and confusion.

It’s been a long time since I’ve revisited Sophie Hannah’s Culver Valley series, and it was great to dive back in with this brand new release. We’re reunited with our old favourite crime-solving, bickering married couple Simon Waterhouse and Charlie Zailer and the usual gang at Culver Valley police force. But, if you’re new to the series, I’d still recommend you get stuck in. They work as standalones and you can enjoy getting to know this quirky cast of characters and the genius sleuthing skills of Simon.

This one is a great place to start too. It’s got all the Agatha Christie, locked-room mystery vibes. A murder takes place at a luxurious UK holiday resort. The victim is Jane Brinkwood, daughter of the wealthy resort owner. The victim’s new husband has watertight blood spatter evidence that eliminates him, and he’s clearly madly in love with her. And the rest of the guests were all together at dinner at the time. There’s no way anyone could have entered the secure resort, so it has to be one of them. But who?

Of course, there’s more to this than meets the eye. Because another couple at the resort happens to include the husband’s ex-wife, Lucy, who is accidentally gatecrashing her ex’s honeymoon. Lucy is a prime suspect because Jane had an affair with her husband while she was pregnant, so she’s obsessed with finding the answers.

So we have a little domestic drama and a whole lot of murder mystery. There’s complex relationships, twists and turns, and red herrings a-plenty. I had reason to suspect absolutely everyone involved.

I have to admit, it definitely strays into the farfetched at times. The plot reveal near the end felt it might be better suited to a high school or YA murder mystery – the way the characters behaved and how were was a just a little unrealistic and stereotypical.

But, I really didn’t mind, because this did exactly what I expected – it was a fun, entertaining, thrilling murder mystery that sucked me in and had me completely glued to the pages, especially for the final third of the story. The last scene where Simon gathers the entire cast of suspects back at the scene of the crime is brilliant and feels like a homage to classic Christie.

I think this will appeal to both vintage and modern crime readers as it somehow feels like both! You definitely get the vintage crime vibe, but with lots of modern twists (n.b. all these twists and turns mean you need to pay attention).
I've since learnt that this novel contains characters from previous books and is therefore part of a series, but I haven't read any of them; it works just as well as a stand alone.

Everything you’d expect from Sophie Hannah and then more on top. This was thoroughly gripping and unputdownable. Totally unpredictable and a great read.

I have to admit I struggled with this one. I loved the idea of it, and I've read books bynthis author before, but I found it really difficult to connect with the story. Set in an exclusive couples only resort, this follows the investigation into the murder of Honeymoon guest Jane Brinkwood. The story is told from different timescales and character perspectives, and whilst this wasn't confusing for me, the style of writing made it very hard to concentrate on their stories. There are a lot of characters, which was hard to keep up with, and I couldn't even hazard a guess as to what was actually happening. Such a shame as I've enjoyed previous books. This does have good reviews from other readers, but it obviously wasn't the book for me.