One Perfect Couple

I had the pleasure of meeting Ruth Ware at an author event a couple of weeks ago. She is a delight and quite funny, but truth be told, her books tend to be hit or miss for me and unfortunately, this book was a miss.

Reality TV settings seem to be de rigeur lately with Heather Gudenkauf (Everyone is Watching) and Clare Mackintosh (Game of Lies) also having books publishing with similar settings. Fans of that TV format (I'm a big Survivor junky myself) will enjoy the blend of different reality TV shows (Survivor, Big Brother, Love Island) when a gaggle of couples sign up for a mysterious new reality TV show but find themselves stranded on a deserted island with food running out and dead bodies piling up.

Sounds like a great read but it didn't come together, and I was left with an overall feeling of ennui. The story has some tension, a bit of adventure and a group of characters with lots of baggage but truth be told, not a lot actually happens, and I was left frustratingly stranded with a long-winded story that never had me on the edge of my seat. 

Not quite a thriller, kind of an adventure story but sadly not my cuppa tea, this book needed more tension and cohesion but was more of a fly-on-the-wall look at reality TV shows.

My Rating: 2.5 stars

Author: Ruth Ware

Genre: Suspense (?)

Type and Source: Trade paperback, personal copy

Publisher: Simon and Schuster Canada

First Published: May 21, 2024

Book Description from GoodReads: Ruth Ware, the powerhouse <>New York Times bestselling author with over six million books sold to date, returns with her ninth novel, which promises to be the summer’s most gripping beach read.

Lyla is in a bit of a rut. Her post-doctorate research has fizzled out, she’s pretty sure her contract will not be extended, and things with her boyfriend, Nico, an aspiring actor, aren’t going great. When the opportunity arises for Nico to join the cast of a new reality TV show, The Perfect Couple , she decides to try out with him. This is the big break she needs! A whirlwind preproduction process later, Lyla finds herself whisked off to a tropical paradise with Nico, boating through the Indian Ocean towards Ever After Island, where the two of them will compete against four other couples—Bayer and Angel, Dan and Santana, Joe and Romi, and Connor and Zana—in order to win a cash prize.

Alas, not long after they arrive on the deserted island, things start going wrong. After the first challenge leaves everyone rattled and angry, an overnight storm takes matters from bad to worse. Cut off from the mainland by miles of ocean, deprived of their phones, and unable to reach the boat and crew that brought them there, the group must band together for survival. Tensions run high and fresh water runs low. Then, one by one, contestants start to die. Lyla suddenly realizes she and Nico are trapped on the island with a murderer on the loose…and nowhere to hide.

A fast-paced, spellbinding thriller rife with intrigue and characters that feel true to life, this novel proves yet again that Ruth Ware is the queen of psychological suspense.