The Golden Couple
Layered
Intense
Surprising

The Golden Couple A Novel

The Golden Couple is the next electrifying novel from Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen, the #1 New York Times bestselling author duo behind You Are Not Alone, An Anonymous Girl, and The Wife Between Us...
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Reviews

Photo of Amanda
Amanda @asteil
4.5 stars
Feb 25, 2025

Great thriller with lots of twists and turns. Very layered!

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Somya Verma@somyaverma
4 stars
Feb 26, 2024

I loved the storyline and ending but there were a few loose ends

Photo of Abigail Stutz
Abigail Stutz@abbiestutz
2 stars
Feb 24, 2024

Wasn’t a page turner but still filled fairly quickly. Interesting story but didn’t “wow” me

Photo of Kendall McClain
Kendall McClain@kendallmcclain
3 stars
Jan 29, 2024

Good, couldn’t put it down near the end! Lots of fun little plot twists that I love but I wish the “big reveal” was a bit more dramatic

Photo of Keely Calagos
Keely Calagos@keelymorgan
5 stars
Jan 18, 2024

Typically, I’m not interested in a book with infidelity as the main plot line, but this was an exception. The Golden Couple had me guessing until the very end. The perfect fast-paced summer read. What I loved: 🗣 reliable narrators but you’re not sure who isn’t telling the full story ✌🏼duel perspectives 😬 page-turning narrative While there were a ton of red herrings and a few storylines that felt like they ended abruptly, I’d still recommend this one. A solid 4-star thriller from me. 💁🏻‍♀️ More on my Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CfR9MlNvP...

Photo of Zoey Novak
Zoey Novak@zlnovak
3.5 stars
Jan 15, 2024

i hate that it was so slow in the beginning because by the end it was sooo page turning!! Good psych thriller nonetheless

+2
Photo of Macy Johnson
Macy Johnson@lunalovegoodreads
1 star
Dec 4, 2023

This duo has produced two of my favorite psychological thrillers, so I was super excited to find this one existed when shopping at a bookstore - but from the start, I was bored. The therapist had potential to be super interesting, but the "golden couple" (aka the Most Boring Counseling Couple Ever) literally never surprised me once. Wow, the wife cheated - that's never happened before! Look how unique you are, Marissa McBoring! The whole entire book just dragged painfully and there was zero legitimate suspense - so I was assuming that maybe this book had come out before An Anonymous Girl and The Wife Between Us? Like a first draft? But no. How is this at all Hendricks and Pekkanen level?????? I was so dismayed. AND IT WON AN AWARD???? Let's just say, I was shocked. Because this was not a thriller. It was a snooze-fest. The ending had no build-up and the connections between things were implausible at best; extremely bland and underdeveloped. So now I will have to question whether I'll read their fourth book or not... which is so depressing because their first two were incredible!! :'(

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Sara Uribe@sarareadsromance
4 stars
Aug 28, 2023

I received a copy of this eARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I can’t believe that I’m saying this but, this is my first time ever reading a book by these two authors and I’m very surprised! I haven't read a mystery/suspense/thriller in the LONGEST time and it felt so good to read one again. This book genuinely surprised me and kept me guessing the entire time. I loved the writing, characters and story. I thought the first half of the book was a little slow but the deeper and deeper you get into the book the harder it is to stop reading. I highly recommend going into this book without reading any reviews about it. I think, especially with thrillers, it's best to go in without knowing anything. I also had the pleasure of listening to this book on audio and it was such great narration. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Charlsy Sekyere@charlsy_s
2 stars
Jun 30, 2023

⭐️2 Marissa annoyed me to no end, so I have next to nothing pleasant to say about her. Throughout this book, I found myself not rooting for any character. I wasn't at all interested in whether Marissa and Matthew were able to rekindle their relationship and fix their marriage. In fact, I would have greatly appreciated it if they had divorced or decided to separate. This would have saved me a tremendous amount of time reading this book. I think Avery might have been the only character I cared about to some extent. Her perspective was much more intriguing to me than Marissa's. To the point where, I kinda wished the whole book was told from her POV, because at least she gave us new clues every chapter and constantly moved the plot along. Marissa, on the other hand, I found useless, whiny, overly panicky, and largely insufferable. Didn't feel any sympathy for her and simply couldn't stand her. In all honesty, the only thing I liked about this book was the premise. However, it was poorly executed, as the number of loose ends in the last 100 pages was mind boggling. It honestly seemed like the book wouldn't tie them up, leaving us with an ambiguous ending or cliffhanger. Although I'm glad that didn't happen, 80% of the book was simply meh. Another thing. The story has a lot of side characters. Most of them were either fillers or extremely irritating and dislikeable (I immediately thought of Skip, Polly and Natalie). The twist at the end. Unsurprising, almost anticlimactic. I mean, all that build up for that? Yikes. Overall, a plain book that is DNF-worthy. I'm honestly baffled by the 4.01 star rating.

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Kate W@katewoodson1
2.5 stars
Jun 13, 2023

I guessed the ending, so I could not give this higher than a 2.5 star

Photo of Haley Campbell
Haley Campbell @hales608
3 stars
Apr 22, 2023

A very slow start up. It was interesting and definitely surprised me in the end but I just didn't enjoy how long it took for something interesting to happen.

+3
Photo of Payten Bovat
Payten Bovat@paytenbovat
4.5 stars
Mar 3, 2023

SO good. The characters were so well developed and everyone had things about them that you loved and hated. I loved how Avery kept hinting that Matthew was taking to therapy a little too well—it was such a good foreshadower in ways I didn’t even realize. I really enjoyed the twists and back and forth with who to trust and who not to trust. Was not expecting the ending at all!

I definitely think that the book could have gone without the big pharma side plot. It felt distracting and took more away from the story than it added to it. Overall I really enjoyed this read though!

This review contains a spoiler
Photo of Erin Jensen
Erin Jensen@esljensen
4 stars
Feb 28, 2023

Honestly this book surprised me whereas I feel I. can usually predict the endings. Love a good psychological thriller

Photo of Kaitlyn Wendler
Kaitlyn Wendler@kaitlynwendler
4 stars
Feb 21, 2023

This one kept me on my toes. I was consistently reaching for this book, needing to know what happened next! Overall thoroughly enjoyed. The only piece that didn’t quite click for me was that the therapist slowly took on the role as a PI/trained assassin, which I found pretty implausible.

This review contains a spoiler
Photo of Ilham Usman
Ilham Usman@illey
3.5 stars
Feb 8, 2023

The only reason this books ending is shocking is because it’s a lie. There’s no characterization for the ‘bad guy’ that’s why it’s shocking.

The therapy thing was interesting but it was not developed to a finish right. I liked this book until the end.

+1
Photo of Melyssa Tromberg
Melyssa Tromberg @melyssat
5 stars
Feb 6, 2023

Avery Chambers, a recently unlicensed therapist, guarantees to fix your problems in 10 unorthodox mannered sessions. Marissa and Matthew are the "Golden Couple" who seem to have it all- weath, promising careers and an adored son. But when Marissa admits to having an affair she will do anything to save her marriage. If anyone can help, Avery can. Are there more secrets? This book is told in dual POV's between Avery and Marissa. The intertwining of these women was very effective in my opinion + not knowing who to root for or what to believe in made this book such a page turner. The lies, reveals and suspicions kept me hooked and even though I partially predicted a twist, I was still pleasantly surprised with the ending. Overall, I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a domestic thriller and a strong character driven book!

Photo of Mckenzie Tognarelli
Mckenzie Tognarelli @kzeerae
3 stars
Jan 30, 2023

The book was good, but pretty slow. It wasn't a page turner but some parts had me wanting to keep reading or to pick it up and read. The last 30 pages were probably the best. Pretty good ending and some decent twists.

Photo of Shreya Punj
Shreya Punj@theeditorrecommends
3 stars
Jan 24, 2023

After reading a string of badly written 'thrillers', I was happy to discover that at least The Golden Couple kept my brain occupied—even if for a short while. The premise was good, the writing wasn't too bad, and the twist would definitely shock you if you're new to this genre. Read it if you, like me, are looking for books that make your life seem marginally better.

Photo of Jennifer mitchell
Jennifer mitchell@jennmitchell16
4 stars
Jan 20, 2023

this was an extremely captivating thriller. it’s told from 2 perspectives which I love and each storyline interweaves with the other. my one complaint is that I expected more from the plot twist. not that I really saw it coming (but I guess I did a little), but I was simply underwhelmed by it.

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Bookworm@cheesecake
3.5 stars
Jan 18, 2023

I did enjoy this book, but found it quite boring. Nothing was there to entice me. The twist was kind of predictable. This was my first book by this author, so I was a tad let down. Nothing special about this book. I could see this being a good book for beginner readers of thriller novels.

+1
Photo of Molly Morgan
Molly Morgan@sarcasticlive
2 stars
Jan 2, 2023

** spoiler alert ** This book fell flat for me. I was very interested in it, then was confused, then was annoyed, then was bored, then was thankful it was over. The entire subplot of big pharma stalking the therapist was absolutely ridiculous. The conclusion of that subplot felt forced and just.. unnecessary. I kept waiting for a tie-in that would be a juicy twist, but it never came. I did enjoy Avery, her POV was intriguing and I enjoyed being in her thought process. She was unhinged, and read like someone who thought they knew everything and had all the answers.. but then would make really really dumb decisions. (the guy gave her bad vibes, but she let him in her home because he was good with her dog?) The main plot twist was so predictable that I was bored. The way the plot was weaved together was like a first draft, not a final product. Best part of this book was the dog, 10/10 dog.

Photo of Allie Gallo
Allie Gallo @alliegallo1
2.5 stars
Oct 19, 2022

I had such high hopes for this book. But I feel like plot was predictable and honestly I was bored the whole time reading it?

+1
Photo of McKenzie McWhorter
McKenzie McWhorter@cozyreadsandcoffee
3 stars
Sep 9, 2022

I really enjoyed the concept of Avery and her rogue therapy but I felt like the book as a whole fell flat. There was a ton going on trying to get you to look in different directions and by the end it just felt like chaos even after everything was revealed. I didn't care for the way it ended either, it felt predictable and forced.

Photo of Cheri McElroy
Cheri McElroy@cherimac
3 stars
Sep 5, 2022

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 A well-done, domestic thriller. I had to suspend belief a bit, but it was entertaining. I am grateful to #NetGalley for the ARC.

Highlights

Photo of Aubrey Erskine
Aubrey Erskine@shelflifechronicles

Grief isn’t linear. It isn’t logical. There’s no structure or civility to it; it grabs you when you least expect it and digs in its nails until you succumb.

Photo of Aubrey Erskine
Aubrey Erskine@shelflifechronicles

Sometimes, we need to look at our lives from a different angle to recognize the dysfunction and damage certain relationships are causing.