Are you a fan of reality or survival tv shows? “One Perfect Couple” by Ruth Ware combines the two genres in this summer thriller. This novel would be a good beach or vacation read.
Lyla is a lab research scientist, but has hit a dead end on her current project. Her actor boyfriend, Nico, proposes that they interview for a reality tv show – “One Perfect Couple.” The show will be shot on a remote private island in the Indian Ocean. Five couples will compete in hopes of winning a cash prize – and of course, gain lots of publicity in the process. But the first challenge goes horribly wrong for Lyla and Nico and then a monster storm hits the island – damaging huts, communication devices and leaving them isolated without any promise of rescue. The game show suddenly turns into a life or death struggle for survival – and Lyla isn’t sure who is on her team! Who survive long enough to be rescued??? There are some diary entries interspersed with the narrative chapters and those were the first major clues that trouble was brewing in paradise…
I thought this novel was entertaining, even if it was a bit far-fetched. The characters were interesting. At the beginning I had trouble keeping all of them straight, but once the island events begin, the characters became people I felt I knew. And I didn’t want to put the book down once I reached the second half of the novel! I wasn’t sure who the villain was in “One Perfect Couple” for quite a long time . . . and even once I did know, the tension continued. This was a good modern thriller!
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