The Golden Couple,

by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

Publication: St. Martin’s Press; March 8, 2022

About: Marissa and Matthew Bishop seem like the golden couple – until Marissa is unfaithful. But she wants to repair things for the sake of their eight-year-old son and because she loves her husband.

Enter Avery Chambers.

Avery Chambers is a therapist who lost her professional license. Still, it doesn’t stop her from counselling those in crisis, though they have to adhere to her unorthodox methods. And the Bishops are desperate.

As soon as the Bishops walk through Avery’s door, all three set on a collusion course that will change their lives forever.

Because the biggest secrets in the room are still hidden, and it’s no longer simply a marriage that’s in danger…

My Review

I have been dying to read this one based on other reviews and it absolutely did not disappoint! This is about Matthew and Marissa as they start unconventional therapy sessions with Avery. Marissa has been unfaithful but wants to save their marriage for the sake of their 8-year-old son, Bennett. Avery isn’t a normal therapist and has actually had her license revoked, but her 10 session methods are very effective. The problem is, however, is that no one is being honest.

What a fantastic thriller! This novel begins in a way to make the reader think that this seemingly perfect couple is struggling, which led to Marissa being unfaithful, which led to seeking therapy. But oh no, there is so much more. Matthew and Marissa have been together since they were teenagers but their marriage has grown distant with more time spent apart rather than together, thus prompting Marissa to take part in a one-time indiscretion. Marissa has a super-nosy and dishonest assistant who works for her at her boutique that seems about as unreliable and dishonest as they come. One of her and Matthew’s friends has always had a thing for Matthew, planting seeds of doubt there. Then there is the therapist, Avery, who has a ton of her own issues stemming from an issue with her previous client causing her to double-check locks non-stop and check the back seat of her car before getting in it – not to mention being followed and threatened.

So a ton of crap is going on, Marissa is overwhelmed with guilt, Matthew is overwhelmed with anger because she cheated, and the therapist who knows no boundaries and is completely unorthodox is fighting her own demons. Sounds great, right?

I loved everything about this novel from beginning to end with one exception. I didn’t realize this was a co-written novel until after I read it, but while I was reading, I felt like there were huge, disjointed sections that didn’t mesh with everything else. One chapter would be a page-turner where I was dying for the next word and then there would be a chapter that I would skim because it was overly wordy and honestly, irrelevant. Once I realized that this was co-authored it made more sense but was really unfortunate because, in the past, I have truly enjoyed co-authored novels and how they seamlessly blend.

Other than that, I have no complaints. I was shocked, surprised, confused, surprised again, and so on. The Golden Couple possesses everything I love about thrillers as far as planting seeds of doubt, changing your mind, and then planting seeds of doubt all over again. I was completely in the dark, overall, up until about the 85% mark – so thank you to the authors for making this one surprising! I highly recommend this one to any thriller fans and hope you love it as much as I did!

*Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!