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Would you defend your husband if he was accused of murdering his mistress?
Summary
At 33 years old, Sarah Morgan is a successful and powerful defense attorney in Washington, D.C. She has been named partner at her firm and her hardworking is paying off.
Unlike her husband Adam, who is a struggling writer. Adam has very little success in his career and begins to tire of his relationship with his wife, Sarah, as she is constantly working.
In the secluded woods is where Adam and Sarah’s second home is located. A cabin on a lake, meant to be a vacation spot. Instead, it is a place where Adam is in what appears to be, a passionate and loving affair with a woman named Kelly Summers.
Then, Adam’s and Sarah’s lives are changed forever. Adam is arrested for Kelly’s murder after she was found stabbed to death in the cabin.
Sarah then finds herself playing the defender in Adam’s case, a man accused of murdering his own mistress.
But did he really commit the heinous crime like Adam says? Or can he no longer be trusted and Adam and Sarah’s lives are truly changed forever?
My Thoughts
I read The Perfect Marriage right after reading One of Us Is Dead and let me tell you, this book is definitely not as good.
The plot goes in a few different directions and sometimes what we think is a clue, turns out to be nothing.
The author also gives Kelly a backstory where she has moved and changed her name, something the author also did in One of Us Is Dead. Though it made more sense in One of Us Is Dead. In The Perfect Marriage, it just added more unnecessary layers to a non-main character.
Which gave way to the many, many plot holes this book ultimately suffers from.
I also despised the ending. The character’s motivations kind of sucked if I am being honest. You won’t be rooting for anyone in this book.
The Characters
This book is in line with Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney for being filled with a cast of characters where literally every character was horrible.
The characters are all very one-dimensional and dismal. They lack any real depth and it is apparent whenever Adam or Sarah narrates their thoughts to us, the readers.
The problem is mainly with the fact that Adam is a hot-head who can only think about sex and Sarah is high-strung and can only think about her job.
Even the side characters are despicable. Adam’s mother, Eleanor, is essentially the boomer embodiment of an incel. Sarah’s assistant Anne gives major wannabe Single White Female vibes. I’m also pretty sure that Sarah’s longtime (and also a lawyer) friend Matthew, is just thrown in to include some LGBTQ representation.
Don’t even get me started on the law enforcement characters. We hate messy and unreliable law enforcement characters on this blog.
I did also notice on Goodreads that a lot of commenters took issue with the amount of swearing. But as someone who has a very dirty potty mouth while driving, I didn’t find that aspect as distasteful.
Final Thoughts
Reflecting back on this book, I really dislike so much of what happened in this book. There were a lot of filler plot points that went nowhere. Even though I did enjoy the book while I was reading it.
All of the characters were incredibly dislikable.
The writing was okay and the book made for a quick read. But if you’re looking for a good domestic thriller, look elsewhere.
Overall, I’d rather this book 3 out of 5 stars.
You might also like: One of Us is Dead by Jeneva Rose // 56 Days by Catherine Ryan Howard // We Used To Live Here by Daniel Hurst
