This was an absolutely brilliant read that had me gripped.

Lucy and Adam are best friends with Cora and Scott, and even the children from the two families are close. They do lots of things together and have even bought a seaside cottage in Norfolk.

Scott travels for business and has just returned from a trip to Japan. Lucy’s work colleague shows her the photos from her recent honeymoon in the Maldives, including a couple they met there. The man in the photo is Scott, but the woman he’s got his arm around is definitely not Cora.

Then all the secrets and lies start, with many unexpected twists and turns along the way.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for an advance reader copy in return for an honest review.

Thank you @netgalley for the ARC - I’m not a huge fan of thrillers but this one, I LOVED!! 🫶🏻

OH. MY. GOD. This was gripping until the very end - constantly guessing and the ending….WOW! Did not see that coming!!

The action starts on the very first page and the minute started reading, I knew I was going to love it and I did! Adam, Cora and Scott all went to college together and Lucy is married to Adam. These four are best friends. Lucy ends up seeing a photo of Scott and another girl. Lucy starts searching for answers when she finds out that the girl in the photo has gone missing.
This book has you guessing until the very end!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for this advance review copy. This is a very easy read, one that you can pick up and down and not worry about needing to concentrate too much. Unfortunately, I did find it quite predictable and prefer plots with a bit more depth and sub plots. I can see this book doing well as part of a kindle unlimited subscription.

Clever story. What starts by looking like one woman's irrational overthinking, takes unexpected twists and turns as each new step towards the truth is uncovered. An uncomfortable read showing how easily whole lives can fall apart when secrets and lies are found out.

I found The Couple in the Photo to be an intriguing read. It’s a novel of secrets, lies and betrayal. Fast paced and with a few twists thrown in, I found it to be a novel that kept me entertained and enthralled to the end. Thank you to NetGalley, Hodder & Stoughton and the author for the chance to review.

Woof. Definitely Helen Cooper’s best so far! I had no idea what was coming next and te twists were a genuine surprise.

A good thriller read which held my interest throughout, plenty of secrets to solve and a twisty read although not an edge of seater for me unfortunately.

It was well written with good characters not knowing what they were all up to until the ending.

Thank you to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for this ARC.

We meet Lucy on the day she sees her best friend Scott, married to Cora, in a picture smiling and happy with another woman.
Shock!
Lucy and her husband Adam have a very, very close friendship with Scott and Cora, although Lucy got to know them a couple of years after the other three left university. They are practically family, so Lucy doesn't know what to do. Tell Adam? Would he believe her? Tell Cora? Wouldn't she feel utterly betrayed if Lucy didn't tell her? Tell Scott? Wouldn't he deny it immediately?
Well, the reader will find out soon. And more, because there is a lot more behind a seemingly simple photo of a friend who's having an affair.

The whole story play out in just a couple of weeks and we see the lives of all four characters unravel by the day. By the minute sometimes. I just with Lucy tried a bit harder to express herself more clearly. No wonder more trouble is brewing after Lucy's actions.

Of course everything goes south but there are some surprises. It was a fast read (although it took me a few days because I was very busy) and it kept my interest so therefore it's a solid three stars for me.

Thanks to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for this review copy.

This was actually an interesting thriller.

The story starts with Lucy looking over at photos of her colleague’s honeymoon pictures. In one picture, she recognizes one of her friends Scott with another woman beside him. But Scott was in Japan for a business trip and there is no way he would be in Maldives. But few days later, news reached that a woman was found dead possibly murdered in Maldives and Lucy realized that was the same woman who was standing next to Scott on the photo.

This was fast paced, page turner and I was literally hooked into the book. The only thing was this book was predictable and by the end of the book I kind of predicted what was going to happen and my prediction was correct. Some parts in the book is unrealistic in my opinion. So overall this book worth four stars

Many thanks to NetGalley and publishers for the ARC. The review is based on my honest review only

I think this might just be Helen’s best yet!

I was hooked from the first page and positively devoured this masterfully constructed tale of lies and deceit. An absolute must-read for all thriller fans: I LOVED it!

Lucy, Adam, Scott, and Cora are a solid group of friends who do everything together. Their kids are all close. They are like one big happy family.

Until.....

One day, everything begins to unravel after Lucy sees her colleagues' honeymoon photos. In one photo, there is a couple that they met on honeymoon. The man is Scott, but the woman is not Cora!

As Lucy begins to question Scott's loyalty, little does she know just how much she will unearth.

Who are these people? What have they done? Is her husband Adam who she thinks he is? What happened when Scott, Cora, and Adam were at university, and where does Lucy really fit in?

There are so many questions and shock reveals in this book, which I really enjoyed.

However, I did find Lucy pretty obsessive, even before she started finding out the big stuff. I also found the pace of the book a little all over the place.

On the whole, this was an enjoyable read!

A fast-paced and twisty thriller with a great premise, lots of hidden secrets and interesting characters. I particularly enjoyed the dynamic between the couples (&the way it shifted throughout the book). Thanks for letting me read.

Helen Cooper always amazes me! This is the perfect book to keep you on your toes. I couldn't put it down!!


Many thanks to NetGalley and Hodder and Stougton for my ARC!

Deep Suspicion..
A seemingly innocuous photograph is the catalyst for the setting in motion of a disastrous chain of events in this slow burn, domestic suspense. Lucy and her husband do everything with friends Cora and Scott but when Lucy is shown a photograph by a work colleague everything is about to change. The man in the photograph with his arm around another woman is definitely Scott. As Lucy digs for the truth, more lies are uncovered and seemingly perfect lives may well come crumbling down. A cast of deftly drawn characters populate the slowly building plot as tensions ratchet up with plenty of twists and turns and an underlying vein of deep suspicion. Compelling and engaging.

3.5 rounded down

Lucy and Adam, Cora and Scott have been best friends for years and spend a lot of time together. Lucy loves photos and hones in on a work colleague showing honeymoon pictures in the Maldives she sees one that makes her sit up straight in shock and disbelief and she asks Ruth to show it her again. Why is Scott in a holiday picture with another woman and why does Ruth say their names are Jason and Anna? Lucy is determined to protect her friend Cora as much as she can but furtively try to establish if Scott has indeed been on business in Japan as he claims. The mystery deepens when Lucy sees a news item about a missing British woman on the island resort as to her shock it’s THAT woman from the photo, not Anna but Juliet Noor. The more Lucy digs the mystery hole expands and it all seems to link to the past.

The novel is slow initially but it works well as it demonstrates life jogging along at a steady pace, everything seems to be hunky dory and then bam, one innocuous thing like a photo can change a life which seems built on firm foundations but which is actually built on sand. Things don’t change immediately but there are some odd, uneasy vibes from several sources which puzzle and increase suspicion. There are some good twists, the pace picks up though it never achieves runaway train proportions despite some wreckage. Some twists are easy to predict though one is a surprise. The characterisation is well done though Lucy does have dog/bone tendency which is partly a credit to her tenacity but is also rather irritating! The dynamics of the couples friendship is a good element as is the increasing dysfunction.

Despite the creative premise, the pacing is ultimately too uneven, there’s repetition and some things get dragged out. However, it’s an easy, entertaining novel which would make a good beachside read.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Hodder and Stoughton for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

Lucy and her husband have been friends with his closest friends Cora and Scott for years. Their children have grown up together, they’ve all gone on holidays (even buying a beach house) together and it’s clear this is not just friendship, it’s family. But when Lucy’s colleague shows off her honeymoon photos, Lucy recognises one a face. Scott – in the Maldives. But he couldn’t have been there, as he was meant to be at a conference in Japan, not cosied up to another woman. Then news breaks that the new woman has disappeared and Lucy is convinced one of her closest friends isn’t telling the truth, not just to her but his family. What is he hiding and why is he hiding it? As the true begins to unravel – expect quite a few bumps along the road – Lucy can’t quite believe what she’s learning about the people she loves most in the world.

I really got sucked into this right from the start! I do love a good wee "caught on camera somewhere they shouldn't have been" type story and I was dying to find out exactly what was going on. Its a really quick and easy read. Granted some parts felt cliched or not the more believable but its a fiction book so it doesn't have to be entirely realistic! I found the characters well written, they were multi dimensional and had a level of reason and rationality about them. The book is very character based and there isn't always a lot of progression in the plot but It's worth sticking through the slower parts to get to the twists and turns at the end. It's one of those perfect easy summer reads

I really wanted to love this book, the characters were well written and believable, the plot had plenty of twists, it was just that the story line was so far fetched as to be believable

#TheCoupleInThePhoto #NetGalley
Lucy and her husband do everything with their closest friends Cora and Scott. They've even bought a beach house together to enjoy summers with their kids. They're more than friends: they're family.
When a colleague passes around photographs from her honeymoon in the Maldives, Lucy is shocked to see Scott in one of the pictures, his arm around another woman. . Then news breaks that the woman from the photograph has mysteriously vanished. Why was Scott there and what is he hiding?
As Lucy looks for answers, her whole life begins to unravel. If the lies start here, where do they end?
Brilliant book with so many twists. Loved it.
Thanks to NetGalley and Hodder & Straighten for giving me an advance copy.

A really well written thriller of a book. With plenty of twists and turns that will keep you guessing throughout the story. If you like thrillers give this one a go.