Review: The Perfect Couple

Synopsis

Having a summer Nantucket wedding is the dream for most brides. Especially when the groom’s family is mega rich, owns an incredible magazine-ready mansion, complete with private beach, guest houses, pools, and every luxury one could dream. The Otis-Winbury wedding will be the wedding of the season, with no expense spared.

But when the maid of honour is found dead the morning of the wedding, that perfect dream is smashed, everything is thrown into chaos, and everyone is a suspect. As the investigation continues and deeply buried secrets are revealed, this perfect mirage comes crumbling apart. People aren’t perfect, nothing is as it seems, and most definitely, there is no such thing as the perfect couple.

Discussion

Without question, Elin Hilderbrand is the master of the intelligent, light fiction, beach read genre and I am addicted to her greatness.

After being massively impressed last year with Summer of ’69, I went into this novel expecting much of the same – intelligent women, a snappy plot, emotional depth, and fantastic, full-bodied characters. The Perfect Couple absolutely smashed these expectations and I found myself intensely addicted to this story … I couldn’t put it down (or stop listening to it, as is the case with this audiobook). Not being a major whodunnit/murder mystery fan I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but this was so compulsively readable, so immensely enjoyable, that I was just blown away.

While the pacing is fantastic and the secrets are delicious and the setting is awe-inspiring and envy inducing, it is Elin’s unparalleled ability to write incredibly flawed, emotionally intelligent, 100% real characters that truly shines in her novels. Especially women. Her women are always so dimensional, so imperfect, individual and strong. Her commentary on “perfection” and the myth of the “perfect couple” is thought provoking and very honest. While the conversation on the illusion of a perfect couple has been done before, Elin brings such an enjoyable and rich dynamic to this tale that it feels fresh and new.

Quick Take – A master of character creation with intelligent, strong, and real women, Elin Hilderbrand delivers a novel that just begs to be gobbled up in one sitting. The concept of perfection, idealism of wealth, the reality of true relationships, and dynamics of family are all expertly explored in this fast paced, whodunnit mystery, set against the gorgeous backdrop of a summer in Nantucket. Compulsively readable, this is the perfect beach read, sitting on the couch at home read, anytime read … if you’re a fan of smart, light fiction, romance and family drama, this one’s for you. (Audiobook is a pure delight)

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You can find it here: Bookshop.org