Publisher’s Synopsis:

Harkening to Agatha Christie’s classic And Then There Were None, this high-tension and ingenious thriller follows five couples trapped on a storm-swept island as a killer stalks among them — from Ruth Ware, the New York Times bestselling author who “is turning out to be as ingenious and indefatigable as the Queen of Crime” (The Washington Post).

Lyla is in a bit of a rut. Her post-doctoral research has fizzled out, she’s pretty sure they won’t extend her contract, and things with her boyfriend, Nico, an aspiring actor, aren’t going great. When the opportunity arises for Nico to join the cast of a new reality TV show, One Perfect Couple, she decides to try out with him. A whirlwind audition process later, Lyla find herself whisked off to a tropical paradise with Nico, boating through the Indian Ocean towards Ever After Island, where the two of them will compete against four other couples — Bayer and Angel, Dan and Santana, Joel and Romi, and Conor and Zana — in order to win a cash prize.

But not long after they arrive on the deserted island, things start to go wrong. After the first challenge leaves everyone rattled and angry, an overnight storm takes matters from bad to worse. Cut off from the mainland by miles of ocean, deprived of their phones, and unable to contact the crew that brought them there, the group must band together for survival. As tensions run high and fresh water runs low, Lyla finds that this game show is all too real — and the stakes are life or death.

A fast-paced, spellbinding thriller rife with intrigue and characters that feel so true to life, this novel proves yet again that Ruth Ware is the queen of psychological suspense.

Publisher: Gallery/Scout Press
Publication Date: May 21, 2024
Source: Review copy from Edelweiss
Rating: 4.5 Stars

My Thoughts:

ONE PERFECT COUPLE is Agatha Christie meets LORD OF THE FLIES meets…dating reality TV? I’m not too familiar with the names of those shows, but you know what I mean! I really enjoyed this survival thriller set on a remote island in the Indian Ocean.

Lyla is a scientist whose wannabe actor boyfriend Nico talks her into participating in an upcoming reality show where they compete with four other pairs to be named the “perfect” couple. When they first get to the isolated island location for filming, they notice something is not quite right. Next, a terrible storm hits the island and chaos ensues. Then, it’s truly a fight for survival as dead bodies turn up one by one.

There was a big cast of characters, and it took a minute to remember who’s who, and who goes with whom, but ultimately they each had a unique voice. While this was an entertaining, escapist thriller, it also touched on the seriousness of bullying and domestic abuse. This was a page-turner that I flew through in record time. I also loved the little nod to THE WOMAN IN CABIN 10.

Thank you to the publisher and Edelweiss for a copy of this book. Opinions are my own.