'The Couple Next Door' Book Review

Just warning that there are going to be spoilers ahead, so if you haven't read this book please do not go any further! This book is about a little baby girl, Cora, that goes missing from the family home. It happens when the parents of the child are next door at a neighbors party.

While reading this book, there were so many twists and turns that it made me mentally think back and forth on who was the real culprit of the crime. A couple of chapters in, you start to dive deeper into the characters individually, starting with Marco, the husband. It reveals that he was the one who set up the whole kidnapping, but something eventually goes out of the plan and he is now forced to deal with his consequences. Why would Marco do this?

Well, he thought that if they publicly announced about his daughter missing, a money reward for finding Cora that he would get the half the money in return and save his failing business without alerting Anne to what was going on. Marco also planned that it would be Anne's father, Richard, that would pay the ransom since Marco had a mutual hate towards him. Anne, the wife, starts to find out about Marco and starts to wonder who she married. She finds certain things around the house like a burner phone that Marco used to call the "kidnapper" that he talked with at a local park. But we find out that the "kidnapper" that Marco had been working with eventually gets killed while having Cora in his possession. Which leaves everyone, including Marco wondering who had her, now that his plan had been defeated and ruined.

In the end, Cora is found safe and sound, while Richard is under arrest for being the real kidnapper of Cora and killing the other "kidnapper," Derek Honig. The ending really surprised me at the fact that it was Anne's father that had betrayed his daughter. I can personally know how I would feel if someone close to me did that to my son, I would be absolutely shocked and numb. It makes you wonder what other questionable things that Richard has done over the years and not told anyone.

From the beginning, I did not like Richard at all. He reminded me of the rich, selfish people who always get their way, no matter what the cost. The author did a fantastic job at how she let the events unfold. The only weird thing about the book was some very short chapters had what seemed to be very sexual scenes to where it was almost too vivid. But, I personally didn't want to put the book down because there were so many twists and new findings that it kept it interesting without getting long and boring. This is a book that people can easily read in one sitting.

There are only about 250 pages and the text is a little but larger than normal. This book will be one of my favorite books I have read in a long time. I would highly recommend reading this and sharing it with others. Overall, I would give this book 5 out of 5 stars!

There is also a surprise ending that leaves you wondering if the author is going to come out with a sequel to the book, but you will have to figure out that part for yourselves! But I will give you a little hint. It is about Anne and it is related to a violent incident when she was in school. If you have not read this book, please do yourself a huge favor and read it!