The Couple Next Door
Marco and Anne have a beautiful baby girl, Cora. They live in a nice house in a good area, so when Marco suggests that they leave the baby sleeping in her crib while they go to a dinner party at their neighbours, Anne tentatively agrees. They'll have the baby monitor on the whole time and they'll also take it in turns to check on her every 30 minutes. What could go wrong? But, when they arrive home just after 1am, their front door stands ajar and the baby is missing from her crib. And this is only the beginning of their nightmare. Detective Rasbach, a senior detective assigned to the case, has learnt one thing from his many years on the force - people are capable of almost anything.
This is the author's debut thriller and all I can say is that I'll definitely be looking out for more by this author. This is a read that twists and turns and never lets up on the pace. And the main theme of the novel, being that people are capable of almost anything, is thrust onto the reader time and time again as the various characters do things that you would never expect. I loved the idea behind this book and the concept that people, no matter what their background or how much money they have, will do things that you would never expect from them. It's a book about people's flaws, and about whether it's possible to ever truly know someone. I've read numerous comments describing this novel as a "marmite" novel, and to be honest, I didn't know what that meant. I've now learnt that it means that you either love it, or you hate it. Well, I fall into the former category. If I had to criticize the novel on any level it would be that some of the character development seemed a little superficial, for example detective Rasbach. We never actually learn what makes him tick. That being said, this is still a great read that I gobbled up. I recommend it to fans of the psychological suspense / thriller genre.
My rating: * * * *
