
The Couple Before Us by Daniel Hurst
Genre: Psychological thriller, Domestic suspense
Read: 15th July 2025
Published: 17th July 2025
★★★★ 3.5 stars
DESCRIPTION:
‘Something terrible happened to the couple who lived here before…’ My hands shake as I read the warning note I’ve just found hidden in a forgotten corner of my brand new house. My husband told me we’d be the first people to live here. Did he lie?
Moving to this gorgeous house was meant to be a new start for our family. My hand rests on my growing baby bump as I walk through our home, the smell of fresh paint in the air, but my heart no longer feels full of hope for the future.
My husband Christian wraps his strong arms around me and tells me to forget the note; he wants this to be the perfect home for us. But as I look into his blue-grey eyes, I wonder if there’s something he’s keeping from me or if I’m just being paranoid.
Was there a couple who lived here before? And what happened to them?
I try to forget my worries like Christian asked, but then I see something in our next-door neighbour’s garden that I can’t ignore. I know I need to find out the truth if I’m ever going to feel safe again.
Except when I overhear Christian revealing a secret on the phone, I start to question: do I even know the man I married?
As I get closer to the truth of what happened to the couple before us, I realise one thing: I should have run when I had the chance…
Number 1 bestselling author Daniel Hurst is the king of utterly addictive and unputdownable psychological thrillers. The Couple Before Us is a completely gripping, pulse-pounding, keep-you-up-until-3am read perfect for fans of T.M. Logan, Freida McFadden and Lisa Jewell.
MY THOUGHTS:
If it seems too good to be true then it probably is...
That's the piece of advice I felt like giving couple Dionne and Christian as they looked around the newly built house on the new estate that still resembled a construction site. Simply put - if you don't feel the house isn't right, don't buy it. Why Dionne gave in to hubby Christian, I have no idea, except maybe to keep the peace and she was heavily pregnant and needed somewhere to call home and soon.
So Christian loved the house, Dionne didn't. Five year old Kai loved the yard in which he could kick a football around and that alone seemed to melt Dionne's heart. And yet she still didn't feel right about the house. Something didn't feel right. A bit like the book. Something was missing that I couldn't put my finger on. It just lacked the punch that Hurst is known for.
And so in their cramped motel room they've called home for weeks, Dionne crumbles and gives in. "Make an offer" she says. Words she will live to regret. And within weeks they are moving in and unpacking their boxes and furniture. But still Dionne cannot still the niggling feeling that something isn't quite right about this house. And then in the corner of the cupboard she finds a note.
"Something terrible to the couple who lived here before..."
This was supposed to be a new-build. They were supposed to be the first people to be living there. So what is the meaning of this note? Who wrote it? And where did it come from?
Suffice to say, Dionne was not going to let things lie and decided to do some investigating of her own. As the story unfolds, she looks to the observer like she's a bit unhinged as she does some really stupid things.
Despite this being a relatively quick and easy read that was predictable, it had plenty of eye-rolling moments that even I was shaking my head at. It lacked the thrills and tension of Hursts usual thrillers and Dionne was incredibly annoying.
But don't let this review turn you off Daniel Hurst. He is a great thriller writer and I have devoured over 40 of his thrillers, most of which are edge-of-your-seat entertaining thrill-rides. But even our favourite authors can write books that don't thrill us. That doesn't mean I'll stop reading him because I know the calibre he is capable of.
Not a bad read, but not his best. Still, it held my interest enough to read in one sitting.
I would like to thank #DanielHurst, #Netgalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheCoupleBeforeUs in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
He has been employed in several glamorous roles in his lifetime, including bartending, shelf stacking and procurement administration, all while based in some of the most exotic places on the planet, like Bolton, Preston and South London.
Daniel writes psychological thrillers and loves to tell tales about unusual things happening to normal people. He has written all his life, making the progression from handing scribbled stories to his parents as a boy to writing full length novels in his thirties. He lives in the North West of England and when he isn’t writing, he is usually watching a game of football in a pub where his wife can’t find him.
Since following his lifelong passion for writing in 2020, he has amassed a loyal and devoted set of readers, and regularly has several books in the top 100 of the Psychological Thriller Charts on Amazon. His title The Passenger became the #1 selling psychological thriller in the UK in October 2021. The Doctor's Wife is his first publication with Bookouture.
A prolific writer, Daniel likes to keep readers on their toes by self publishing even more books in between those released through his publisher.
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