The Perfect Couple by Jackie Kabler @rararesources #BlogTour #Review @HarperCollinsUK #ThePerfectCouple

The Perfect Couple by Jackie Kabler

Published by HarperImpulse, Killer Reads

Publication Date: 17th April 2020

My thanks to Rachel Gilbey, blog tour organiser and all round amazing lady for the opportunity to read and review this book as part of the blog tour.

Book Description:

The perfect couple … or the perfect lie?

A year and a half ago, Gemma met the love of her life, Danny. Since then, their relationship has been like something out of a dream. But one Friday evening, Gemma returns home to find Danny is nowhere to be seen.

After two days with no word from her husband, Gemma turns to the police. She is horrified by what she discovers – a serial killer is on the loose in Bristol. When she sees the photos of the victims she is even more stunned … they all look just like Danny.

But, the police aren’t convinced by Gemma’s story. Why has no one apart from Gemma seen or heard from Danny in weeks? Why is there barely a trace of him in their flat? Is she telling them the truth, or are there more secrets and lies in this marriage than meets the eye?

My Thoughts:

As I have never read any of this author's work before I wasn't sure what to expect regarding what her writing style would be. There are many crime writers on the market and not all of them work for me, but my first observation of this book was how well thought out the plot is.

Gemma and Danny O'Connor have just relocated from London to Bristol in an exciting new  chapter of their lives. Busy professionals, Gemma is looking forward to a quieter life in a smaller city as a freelance lifestyle journalist while IT whizz Danny will be moving in a week later as he has to finish up a work project before he can move lock, stock and barrel to the new house.  However things don't go according to plan when Gemma returns home from a work related night away to find no sign of Danny. She tries not to jump to any conclusions however time moves on and he's still not come home.

Gemma eventually goes to the police to report Danny missing - and that's where things start to get interesting. The police somehow make a connection between Danny and 2 men who have been murdered in the area recently. They are concerned for Danny's safety but are reluctant to share information with Gemma. Their questioning of her gets more intense but their attitudes towards her are getting cooler by the day. Why aren't the police listening to the theories she is suggesting? And why are Danny's family not more concerned for his whereabouts?

The plotting and pace of this book are excellent, the characters are very real, down to earth, fallible people. My understanding is that this is a standalone novel however I think there is so much more this detective team could offer and I would be very interested to follow them into a series of books. I did unfortunately guess the twist quite early on but the storyline is so well written that I wasn't 100% sure I was right and with several alternative possibilities creeping in my attention was held right the way through to the end.

About the Author:

Jackie Kabler worked as a newspaper reporter and then in television news for twenty years, including nearly a decade on GMTV. She later appeared on BBC and ITV news, presented a property show for Sky, hosted sports shows on Setanta Sports News and worked as a media trainer for the Armed Forces. She is now a presenter on shopping channel QVC. Jackie lives in Gloucestershire with her husband.