The Secret Couple by J.S. Lark
Genre: Psychological thriller
Read: 30th May 2022
Amazon
Published: 13th May 2022
★ 1 star
DESCRIPTION:
Someone knows what they did…
A laugh.
A touch.
A lingering look.
A dead body.
An affair.
A crime years in the making.
Alice knows she’s in too deep. But behind closed doors, no one is who they seem…
MY THOUGHTS:
The premise for this book told little of what the actual story was about so I kind of went in blind...particularly with not knowing the author or their style. It was a risky move that sometimes pays off...and sometimes doesn't. In this case, it was the latter.
We meet Alice Johnston, a well-respected and successful solicitor who specialises in defending those who need a voice...specifically abused women. Her husband of three years, Joseph, is also a solicitor within the same firm. And unfortunately, he has just confessed to having an affair with their receptionist..."but it was before we were together" he stresses. Alice loses faith in both Joseph and the marriage she thought she had and in a fit of anger, packs a suitcase and boards a train out of Paddington to the West Country.
But what made Alice choose Bath for her impromptu escape? A few days before, she had received an email from an anonymous person asking for her help. There is no name, no details, no information as to who or what she'd be walking into. The person requested that she meet them in a hotel restaurant in Bath...hence her impromptu travel plans. She checks in and collapses on the bed and sleeps half the day away before preparing herself for her meeting.
After waiting for some time, Alice realises she has been stood up...or maybe the person changed their mind about meeting her. Had they contacted her to let her know she wouldn't know as she left her phone turned off and locked in a drawer in her room to escape the incessant text messages from Joseph. But then she is approached by the young bartender, Luke, who has been serving her who then discloses that it was him whom she was waiting for. He informs her that he wants her to represent him. For what? Nothing yet...but for something he wants to do.
Intrigued and puzzled in equal measure, Alice tries to question him further to which he replies "Not tonight. This isn't the place."
Luke then invites her out the following night but reveals even less about his plans and what he requires of her and seems more intent on showing her a good time, drinking and pub crawling. Inevitably, they begin a romance which is insane since she knows nothing about him and he still continues his line of "Not tonight. Later."
Honestly, it was all dribble in my opinion and I didn't care for either Alice or Luke. I have no idea what he intended doing and why he needed Alice's services because he seemed more interested in bedding her than anything else. If this is a thriller, it a slow one. And if it is a slow burn, it is glacial - both in speed and intensity.
I realise I am in the minority here with so many rave reviews but I've said it before than I don't care for slow burns unless they intrigue me. And this one didn't. The premise said very little and I wish I had just moved past it instead of choosing to step into its minefield.
If you like slow burns, then you may well enjoy this one. I honestly couldn't get past the first creepy 20% of the 437 pages I'd otherwise subject myself to. It was dark and depressing and if a book fails to grab me within that time, then I move on. Life is too short and my TBR pile too big to read books that I don't enjoy.
I would like to thank #JSLark, #Netgalley, #OneMoreChapter and #RachelsRandomResources for an ARC of #TheSecretCouple in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Jane's books may contain love, hate, violence, death, passion, a little swearing, and an ending you are never going to forget.
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