The New Couple by Alison James is a psych thriller that benefits from the method in which the story unfolds.
The setup is simple enough. A young couple wins a lottery for a house in a nice part of town. However, when they do move in, not everything is as it seems.
It seems as if several people in the neighborhood are hiding a secret. But who has the darkest secret of all?
Jane is the person who first notices that something seems off with the new couple. The entire first half of the book is from her perspective. As I read her suspicions and followed her actions, I could see myself thinking in the same manner she did.
I actually liked how her concerns were dismissed by people for various reasons. That made her relatable in my eyes. But she knew what she saw and what didn’t look right, and she ended up being more accurate than she imagined.
I don’t want to go into too many details, because it would be easy to give some of the secrets away. Suffice to say that the author does a great job of keeping the reader guessing.
I mentioned how the first part of the story belongs to Jane. The action unfolds in three sections. The second two belong to characters…who have something to do with the lottery.
But honestly, I don’t want to say what or who because it will give away part of the story.
There are a few moments and characters that seem superfluous. They appear for a scene or two and have nothing else to do other than that one moment. But that’s okay. The overall plot remains engaging.
If you’re looking for a psych thriller with a few surprises, I would definitely recommend The New Couple by Alison James.
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