The Guilty Couple: The must-read Richard & Judy Book Club pick for 2023 from the Sunday Times million-copy crime thriller bestseller
£2.80
‘Wow. Addictive. And what an ending!’ – Sunday Times bestselling author Claire Douglas
‘A red-hot, non-stop rollercoaster of a book’ – Sunday Times bestselling author Lisa Jewell
What would you do if your husband framed you for murder?
Five years ago, Olivia Sutherland was convicted of plotting to murder her husband.
Now she’s finally free, Olivia has three goals. Repair her relationship with her daughter. Clear her name. And bring down her husband – the man who framed her.
Just how far is she willing to go to get what she wants? And how far will her husband go to stop her?
Because his lies run deeper than Olivia could ever have imagined – and this time it’s not her freedom that’s in jeopardy, but her life…
Your favourite authors LOVE The Guilty Couple!
‘Shot through with a propulsive sense of gritty threat and high-stakes tension, this is bold, memorable, top-tier thriller writing.’ – bestselling author B P Walter
‘The Guilty Couple is a one-breath rollercoaster ride, with twists, turns, ups and downs… then just when you think it’s over, there’s another loop ahead! A proper, classy thriller.’ – Janice Hallett, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Appeal
‘CL Taylor has done it again. A fast paced, thrilling read that I couldn’t put down. I loved it!’ – bestselling author Heidi Perks
‘I loved The Guilty Couple so much. Twisty, compelling, tense and fast-paced and thoroughly unputdownable.’ – multimillion-copy bestselling author Angela Marsons
‘Wow, The Guilty Couple doesn’t let up for a moment – you’re in for ride!’ – bestselling author Sarah Pinborough
‘Twisty, taut, unbearably tense. Brava, C.L. Taylor, you’ve done it again!’ – bestselling author Emma Stonex
And readers love The Guilty Couple, too!
‘A hugely entertaining, tense and twisting read.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Pulse-pounding’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Thrilling and exciting…the ending was brilliant.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘My heart was in my throat throughout the entire book.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘This is the best book I have read in a long time.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Wow!’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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Additional information
| Publisher | Avon (23 Jun. 2022) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| File size | 1440 KB |
| Text-to-Speech | Enabled |
| Screen Reader | Supported |
| Enhanced typesetting | Enabled |
| X-Ray | Enabled |
| Word Wise | Enabled |
| Sticky notes | On Kindle Scribe |
| Print length | 337 pages |
by isi
Enjoyable and a good read
by Emma’s Biblio Treasures
Olivia Sutherland is on trial for plotting to murder her husband, Dominic, and is awaiting the jury’s verdict. Though she maintains her innocence, she is found guilty and sentenced to ten years in prison. Five years later, Olivia is finally released. Her priority is rebuilding her relationship with her daughter, Grace, but she also has two other goals: prove her innocence and bring down the man who framed her – her husband. But Dominic’s lies run far deeper than Olivia ever imagined and this time she is at risk of losing more than her freedom… I’m a big fan of C. L. Taylor but it’s been a minute since I read one of her books, so I was excited to start The Guilty Couple. And what a return to her books it was! Intriguing, compelling and suspenseful, I was hooked from the first pages and flew through it in under a day. It’s been a reminder of why I love her books so much and am now pushing some of her unread backlist higher up my TBR. Adultery, conspiracy to murder, false incriminations, injustice, betrayal, and even tween angst. This book has them all. It is a messy minefield that is ripe for conflict and suspicion, which the author skillfully explores to unearth as much tension, animosity, and distrust as possible. And as if all of that wasn’t enough, there is also the sense of something underlying; something sinister burrowed deeper underground than any of us can see which adds to the sense of foreboding (I’m looking at you, Dom). The clues are drip-fed slowly to keep the reader guessing but as things spin further out of control there is a sense of urgency that makes your heart race. It was also hard to predict and I didn’t see the truth until it was right in front of me despite my many different theories and suspicions. This is multi-narrative storytelling at its best. Ms. Taylor uses the various narrators to increase the tension and keep the reader on the edge of their seats, creating that perfect balance between giving us more information than the characters and holding enough back to keep our attention. The characters are all complicated, flawed and conflicted, with some being more likeable and sympathetic than others, and the background characters are as richly drawn, captivating, and vital to the story as the narrators. Olivia is a great protagonist because she isn’t perfect. She also isn’t immune to making foolish or reckless decisions that made me want to jump into the book and shake her. But we can see that her bad decisions are driven by sheer desperation, wanting to clear her name, and to get vengeance for what was taken from her. It doesn’t make it right, but it does make it more understandable and she was easy to root for. I also loved her relationship with Smithy, her former cellmate. I had a real soft sport for this character despite her many flaws and loved the bond between the two women. When it comes to deplorable characters, there is no one more abhorrent in this book than Dominic. God, I hated that man! Alarm bells rang quickly and I didn’t trust this slippery weasel of a man. Ruthless, cunning and vindictive, he made me so angry every time he was on the page and I couldn’t wait for him to get his comeuppance, especially because of how arrogant he was about everything he did. Intricately woven, enmeshed in drama, and nail-bitingly tense, The Guilty Couple is a riveting thriller you won’t be able to put down.
by Kindle Customer
Not as good as I was lead to believe,but a pretty decent story nonetheless. A bit generic and not altogether original. I liked it but didn’t love it.
by trixie
RIVETING…..This book is among the best books that I have recently read
by Alan Edwards
Good
by Rachael
This was a super quick read and I raced through the pages unable to put down.
Olivia is found guilty of arranging a hitman to kill her husband and is sent to Prison where she vows to prove her innocence once she is out.
Once released she sets about clearing her name, making some pretty silly choices in the process. Though more than proving her innocence she wants to have a relationship with her daughter who she hasn’t seen in over 4 years.
Will Olivia save her relationship with her daughter and who can she trust to help clear her name?
I’ve not read anything similar to this plot and I did enjoy it, although I found it quite predictable and frustrating at times. I didn’t particularly care for Olivia due to the poor choices she continued to make and they were pretty unbelievable but this is a book!
I will have a look at this authors other books to have a read!
by Earworm82
It’s always hard to review these types of thrillers without spoiling anything, but I will try!
Cally Taylor has once again produced another thriller of the highest quality. It has her usual trademarks – a small pool of charge Tera, a story told from different perspectives, a mystery to uncover and a whole lid of surprises along the way
This time the protagonists/antagonists are a husband and wife (or ex as the case may be); a police officer who links the two both personally and professionally; and a selection of their friends, some mutual others not.
The story is, as always, extremely well written and engaging. CL Taylor has a real way with words, a flair for similes and analogies that keep the pace going whilst making things relatable and adding a touch of humour. The story is perhaps more mysterious than gripping – aside from the real moments, I found it more intriguing than the normal level
Of intensity her novels have. That’s not a bad thing, but the time frame for needing a resolution for Olivia is brought in relatively late in the game, so the overall tension starts from that point.
Again, not wanting to give away any spoilers, but my only small gripe would be that perhaps the peripheral characters aren’t quite as developed as in other novels and so when the twists kicked in I wasn’t quite as shocked as I felt I should be. One character also just has a really tragic arc throughout which is rather miserable!
But overall it’s still superb and if you like The Lie/Strangers/Her last holiday/Sleep etc you will love this. It also has tv mini series written all over it!!
by Mark West
Five years ago, Olivia Sutherland was convicted of plotting to murder her husband, Dominic. Now freed, Olivia has three goals. Repair her relationship with her daughter, Grace. Clear her name. And bring down her husband – the man who framed her. But how far is she willing to go to get what she wants – and how far will her husband go to stop her? Because his lies run deeper than Olivia could ever have imagined – and this time it’s not her freedom that’s in jeopardy, but her life…
This starts with the verdict before jumping forward to Olivia’s last couple of days before release and is then told from her POV (first person), Dom and Dani, the PT trainer/police officer who was sleeping with him and helped with the framing. Olivia is a great character, sympathetic but with a steely core and as she revisits old friendships and tries to clear the air with Grace, we sympathise with her. None of the characters are black and white and Taylor does a great job imbuing them all with personality. The story moves at a good pace as we learn various different facts about not only what happened but why and it all comes together neatly at the end. I thoroughly enjoyed this and would very much recommend it.