Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Review of The Couple Next Door

The Couple Next Door
esjro avatar reviewed on + 947 more book reviews


Anne and her husband Marco are at a dinner party with the couple who live in the townhouse next door to theirs, when a parents' worst nightmare comes true: their baby Cora is kidnapped from her crib. Marco and Anne are not exactly nominees for parents of the year, as they left the child alone in their home, but they may have made the long list, as they brought a baby monitor to the party and took turns checking on her every half hour.

The detective in charge of the investigation (whose name I cannot remember because he was so one-dimensional) is immediately suspicious of the parents, particularly the father. The parents' stories and the circumstances of the crime don't seem to jive. As the story unfolds, there are twists upon twists upon twists.

Four stars apparently means that I liked this book. I did not like it, because all the characters were despicable, but I read it in one day. I wanted to see what happened. The character of Anne is fleshed out and her husband's is somewhat, but the rest of the cast is not described in much detail (other than what the women are wearing). This book is definitely heavy on plot and dialogue versus characterization. I wouldn't say that this book is an enjoyable read or particularly well-written, but the story is clever and the twists are engaging.

Thanks to Amazon and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.