06/06/2022
In 2018, Saffron Cutler, one of the narrators of this intricately plotted puzzle from British author Douglas (Do Not Disturb), and her partner are enlarging the kitchen of their cottage in Beggars Nook, a quaint Cotswold village, when builders discover a human skeleton in their back garden. Further digging uncovers yet another body. Forensic evidence indicates that the two—a man and a woman—were killed sometime between 1970 and 1990, years that overlap with the period that Saffron’s grandmother, Rose Grey, occupied the house. Rose, now suffering from dementia, lives in a nursing facility. Her occasional flashes of lucidity seem to offer clues to what might have happened all those years ago. But danger isn’t confined to the past. The discovery of the bodies awakens the interest of a murderer who will do anything to protect his secrets. Tension builds as the characters’ backstories unfold through multiple perspectives, including that of one person whose relationship to the others isn’t immediately apparent. Douglas does a fine job fairly misdirecting the reader. This gripping tale is sure to garner her new fans. Agent: Jenny Bent, Bent Agency. (Aug.)
This gripping tale is sure to garner her new fans.” — Publishers Weekly
“The stories of the three women play out in a shadowy narrative that is tense and compelling and often touching until the horrifying truth is revealed. This mindbender from the best-selling Douglas will hit the spot with fans of Fiona Barton and Paula Hawkins.” — Booklist
"Featuring multiple points of view and realistic characters, the latest twisty thriller from Douglas will appeal to fans of taut page-turners like The Turn of the Key and The Guest List." — Shelf Awareness
"An emotion-churning series of twists and turns uniting two disparate sets of people in a hunt for the truth." — New York Journal of Books
"Marvelously well-written." — Seattle Book Review
"Gripping, twisty and hold-your-breath tense, this is Claire Douglas's best book yet." — Tim Weaver, bestselling author of No One Home
"A well-plotted tale. All the characters are hiding things and you're often waiting for the next secret to blow up. Intriguing. Twisty. Surprising. Touching. Enjoyed it." — Dorothy Koomson, bestselling author of All My Lies are True
"Secrets, skeletons, mothers and daughters—and some absolutely corking twists! A cracking thriller, I loved it." — Eve Chase, bestselling author of The Glass House
"This book has everything I love: murder, a taut and fiendishly clever plot and nail-biting tension." — Emma Curtis, bestselling author of One Little Mistake
"Combines a tight, gripping, plot and truly shocking twist, with beautiful writing and emotion. A thriller with a heart. One of the best I have read in a long time." — Nuala Ellwood, bestselling author of The House on the Lake
"Twisty, nail-biting, and utterly absorbing, you won't be able to put The Couple at No. 9 down." — Louise O'Neill, author of After the Silence
"Expansive, emotional, with one of the very best end twists I've ever read. Douglas at her heart-stopping best." — Gillian McAllister, bestselling author of The Evidence Against You
"Tense, twisty, fraught with emotion and packed with secrets, The Couple at No. 9 is Claire's best thriller yet." — Gilly MacMillan, bestselling author of What She Knew
"Claire is a mistress at weaving the reader into a web of domestic deceit." — Jane Corry, bestselling author of I Made a Mistake
"The perfect gripping holiday read." — Lesley Pearse, bestselling author of Suspects
"This book has everything I love: murder, a taut and fiendishly clever plot and nail-biting tension."
"Gripping, twisty and hold-your-breath tense, this is Claire Douglas's best book yet."
"Tense, twisty, fraught with emotion and packed with secrets, The Couple at No. 9 is Claire's best thriller yet."
"A well-plotted tale. All the characters are hiding things and you're often waiting for the next secret to blow up. Intriguing. Twisty. Surprising. Touching. Enjoyed it."
"Expansive, emotional, with one of the very best end twists I've ever read. Douglas at her heart-stopping best."
"Combines a tight, gripping, plot and truly shocking twist, with beautiful writing and emotion. A thriller with a heart. One of the best I have read in a long time."
"The perfect gripping holiday read."
"Claire is a mistress at weaving the reader into a web of domestic deceit."
"Secrets, skeletons, mothers and daughters—and some absolutely corking twists! A cracking thriller, I loved it."
"Twisty, nail-biting, and utterly absorbing, you won't be able to put The Couple at No. 9 down."
★ 06/01/2022
Douglas (Just Like the Other Girls) returns with a page-turner that flips between the past and present from multiple viewpoints that are all connected by a gruesome discovery. Saffron Cutler and her boyfriend Tom have just moved into the cottage once owned by her grandmother Rose. What was supposed to be the beginning of their lives together ends up being the beginning of an ordeal as two bodies are discovered in the garden. Rose, who has dementia, is unable to explain why they are there, leaving Saffron and her mother Lorna to piece together what happened. As the narrative takes its necessary twists and turns, Douglas leaves just enough bread crumbs for listeners to follow while keeping them hungry for more. VERDICT Narrator Nathalie Buscombe brings many of the book's women to life while Kenton Thomas brings a distinct voice and personality to Theo, whose connection to the three women becomes part of the larger mystery. All this and a mind-blowing plot twist that completely changes the whole complexion of the novel come together to create a mystery that gives listeners a punch in their collective gut and a tug on their heartstrings.—James Gardner
The two fine narrators of this compelling and intricate puzzle voice characters who don’t know each other, and certainly don’t know that they are caught in a single conundrum. Nathalie Buscombe’s Saffron is overseeing a remodeling project at her beloved granny’s Cotswold cottage when the contractors discover a pair of bodies buried under the patio. Elsewhere, likable, anxious Theo is estranged from his overbearing doctor father and increasingly troubled by some of his father’s behavior. But what does Theo have to do with the long-buried bodies, and who are they anyway? Buscombe’s portrayal of Lorna, Saffy’s feckless bolter of a mother, is particularly winning. Kenton Thomas gives Theo a strong country accent, nicely illustrating how little he and Saffy have in common. And yet. B.G. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
The two fine narrators of this compelling and intricate puzzle voice characters who don’t know each other, and certainly don’t know that they are caught in a single conundrum. Nathalie Buscombe’s Saffron is overseeing a remodeling project at her beloved granny’s Cotswold cottage when the contractors discover a pair of bodies buried under the patio. Elsewhere, likable, anxious Theo is estranged from his overbearing doctor father and increasingly troubled by some of his father’s behavior. But what does Theo have to do with the long-buried bodies, and who are they anyway? Buscombe’s portrayal of Lorna, Saffy’s feckless bolter of a mother, is particularly winning. Kenton Thomas gives Theo a strong country accent, nicely illustrating how little he and Saffy have in common. And yet. B.G. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
