Book Review: A Perfect Marriage by Alison Booth

If books like Behind Closed Doors, The Couple Next Door and The Best Day Ever are some of your favourite books, then you just HAVE to read on!

A Perfect Marriage by Alison Booth centres around Sally Lachlan who has been haunted by a dark secret for the last ten years. When a chance meeting with Anthony Blake seems like it could develop into a romantic relationship and her daughter Charlie begins to ask questions about her deceased father, Sally knows it is finally time to face the past.

When the first scene of a book is set in a coroner’s office you know it has to be good! I was absolutely intrigued from the very first page down to the last. Booth has a great way of putting a thriller on paper. Her descriptive text had enough detail to keep me guessing Sarah’s secret but not so much that the pace and suspense of the book were bogged down in unnecessary detail. I also loved how the chapters alternated between ‘then’ and ‘now’. Each chapter gave just enough away that I needed to continue reading. However, I have to admit that about halfway through the book it became apparent to me what was Sally’s secret. That did take away from the suspense of the book but not my intrigue as I was still keen to know every single detail of the secret.

Sally was a really good character and had many traits which make the reader like her: she is smart, vulnerable, unsure of herself, a loving mother. She is also a good friend and I really enjoyed the friendship she had with Zoe. Unfortunately, I can’t go into much detail on their friendship as I am afraid it will lead to spoilers but it is heart-warming and helps touch on a very important issue and how different people can react to the same thing.

One character I was unsure of was Sally’s love interest, Anthony. I thought the scenes around him could be too fluffy at times and for most of the book, he felt too good to be true. However, nearer to the end, we discover some of Anthony’s flaws, which made him more human and relatable. He still didn’t leave me kneeling over in desire but then again this is a thrill and not a love story.

Overall, I loved A Perfect Marriage. I am even going to go as far as saying this is my favourite book of the year so far. Don’t miss out!

I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.