Jeneva RoseThriller · Mystery
The Perfect Marriage
Synopsis
Sarah Morgan is one of the finest criminal defense attorneys in Washington, D.C. — sharp, celebrated, and used to winning. Her husband Adam is a failed author whose resentment of her success has quietly curdled over the years. It is not, on the surface, a perfect marriage. But it is about to get much worse.
When Adam's young mistress is found brutally murdered at the couple's lake house, Adam is the obvious suspect — and he asks the one person uniquely equipped to save him to take the case: his wife. Torn between fury, humiliation, and a lawyer's instinct for the truth, Sarah agrees to defend the man who betrayed her, even as she begins to wonder how much she really knows about him, and about herself.
The first book in Jeneva Rose's Perfect series, The Perfect Marriage is a twisty, fast-moving domestic thriller told from shifting points of view, where everyone has a motive and no one can be trusted.
How it reads
- Writing4.0
- Impact5.0
- Characters2.0
- Plot5.0
- Atmosphere3.0
Content warnings (1)
Violence
Readers say (1)Fast · Moderate · Tense · Dark
Readers flagged (3)
ViolenceAbuseSubstance Abuse
- A marriage built on secrets, betrayal, and a whole lot of suspicion. I was hooked from the start. The pacing was fast, the twists kept me guessing, and every time I thought I had things figured out, the story gave me another reason to question everything. It was the kind of book that makes you want to keep turning pages just to see how much worse things can get. An addictive, gripping read that absolutely delivered on the entertainment factor.
- Whew. I almost gave this 1 star and I have NEVER done that with a book that wasn't a DNF. My opinion is it's got to be at least 2 stars if I finished it. But this one barely was. The reason I did go with 2 stars instead of 1 is because I did think that the story was quite clever - there were definitely some red herrings that maybe didn't need to be there, but I could clearly see what the author set out to do and I do think she had a great idea for a great story - I can see why this book has been optioned because a good screenwriter could have an absolute field day with this story. The story is the only good thing about this book. The execution is absolutely horrid. The writing. Oh my gosh, the writing. It was terrible. Awful. Childish. Vapid. Inane dialogue. A lot of lines like "She's the one person I can always depend on, the one person I can always trust" and you know, duh, she's obviously not. Lots of telling instead of showing. The plot has so many holes. The author clearly did not research either of the professions she wrote about. Her lawyers were terrible lawyers with no clear understanding of what their job entails and her law enforcement officers were even worse than the lawyers. And lots of issues similar to this: on one page Adam is thinking about how it's a shame he has no more scotch and then on the next page there's miraculously scotch that he's swigging at the wet bar. There was zero character development. You never really got a feel for who any of them really were because their actions were so inconsistent throughout the whole book. They're both confident and meek. Weak and strong. Smart and stupid. Brave and cowardly. It makes no sense. Characters would act one way and then turn around and do something completely different. Adam did stuff that any sane person would realize is RIDICULOUS. The DA is really kind to Sarah and she goes on and on about how he's so reasonable and then the next time he's a complete jerk. One character is there all over the place but realistically I kept asking WHY. He was not important to the story. He was taking part of an investigation he had ZERO reason to be a part of. One character takes a sip of Adam's coffee THE VERY FIRST TIME SHE MEETS HIM - and no, he didn't offer it to her, she just reached out and grabbed the mug and took a sip. I mean, who DOES that and why would an author make a character do that? Especially when it has nothing to do with developing her character. WHERE WAS THE EDITOR FOR THIS BOOK!?!
- Ooo this book got me pissy 😡. Did I really ate this up in one day? Yes 👏. I am also surprised myself 😳. I wanted to listen to more of Teddy Hamilton/Andrew Eiden. So I saw he narrated this audiobook, and I said you know what… palette cleanser 👀. A change of pace from romance? Why not? What could possibly… go wrong 👀🫠? Everything. Everything went wrong. When I first started this book, I have never been so irritated with the MMC, you really just jump into it on what this plot be about. Oh… but that build up though the more you go through this story between the FMC and the MMC’s development 👀, it is twisty. I was gritting my teeth and had to question am I reading this out of anger 😬, but your girl really had to know how does this end 👏. So yes… I ate this up, and it was worth. Personally for me, I enjoy the plot. I really could not put this book down as I needed to know more. The characters though, they are irritating in a nutshell 😅. I swear at least for me, there is no one likable in this book, it is messy 🙃. But in a good book plot way, of course! If you are craving some mystery thriller, check this book out! You will have your brain do some work wondering where is this story going 👌. And yes, there is a second book. For sure I will be looking forward to that.
- Primeiramente acho que finalmente vou conseguir sair da ressaca literária e esse livro me ajudou MUITO. Super fluido e com um passo que te instiga muito a continuar. Fiquei frustrada por não ter acertado o assassino, mas tudo bem. Nas outras coisinhas pequenas, pelo menos, eu acertei. Óbvio talvez? Sim, mas eu sendo meio sonsa pra suspense como sou, já é uma avanço KKKKK Enfim, gostei bastante da história. Só não entendi por que tem uma sequência... Só se for focado em outros personagens e não nos dois que eu acho que seja. Mas okay, tô curiosa pra ler. Mas agora eu PRECISO de uma fantasia.
- Okay, holy sh…. I was NOT expecting that ending. Not even in the slightest. Him figuring it out was heartbreaking to read. What a manipulative witch! Wow. I don’t know what else to say but WOW. Jeneva Rose, you are a genius. Kept me guessing all the way through and I was WAY wrong, literally a jaw dropping conclusion. I sat there with my mouth open for a good five minutes. Not even sure I took a breath I was that shocked. Holy cow
- <div>BLOWN AWAY🤯🤯🤯. <br>I suspected it,doubted it,and then BAM!<br>That jaw-dropping ending gave me goosebumps... absolute perfection! This book is a MASTERPIECE!</div>
- Fell flat for me but still pretty entertaining.
- 4.3 ⭐️