The Couple at No 9: ‘Spine-chilling’ - SUNDAY TIMES

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This well-paced thriller never lets up the pace, and delivers a twist that it's unlikely you will have seen coming Choice Magazine As Rose's fragmented memories resurface, and the police dig ever deeper, Saffy fears she and the cottage are being watched . . .

The more Saffy and Lorna dig into the mystery of 9 Skelton Place, the more ominous it all seems. There are entire chunks of Lorna's very early history that she knows nothing about. What has her mother, Rose, been hiding from her? Then came "Last Seen Alive" which I enjoyed thoroughly ... next up was "Then She Vanishes" - another winner which I found really gripping and well plotted.Told in alternating perspectives, the mystery of the dead bodies is revealed. There is a lot of questionable or non-existent work done by the police, so the investigation is left to the amateur sleuths to figure out. This part was not very believable. Okay now that I’m finished with this I am completely boggled by the 4.18 rating. The only thing I can say about The Couple At Number 9 is . . . . Investigations take place, but it’s ok isn’t it? They’ve been there for 30 years or more! Oh my god, no, not ok. I’d be having the eebie geebies for sure! I probably wouldn’t sleep. This book has everything I love: murder, a taut and fiendishly clever plot and nail-biting tension' EMMA CURTIS

Douglas also did a phenomenal job at creating a creepy and intense atmosphere, right from the start as we are introduced to our main characters as several buried bodies are discovered in their garden. I found myself wanting to finish this before nightfall to prevent any nightmares from finding me, and yet the book overall, was not very scary. I am extremely pained to say that even though I wished to give this a 4.5-star rating, I just couldn't. And I will explain why in a few paragraphs later. I loved this book! I don’t give five stars unless a book has absolutely blown me away and this one did just that. I liked this. It was a good time for me. It wasn't perfect, but I found the mystery, the characters and the family dynamics quite interesting. I was not too keen on the narrator for Theo who seemed to jar with the character but 5 stars for Nathalie Buscombe who made all the characters come to life in such a vivid and individual way.

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Early analysis indicates the bodies have been buried there for about 30-years. While their presence isn't the result of a recent act of violence, it's quite clear that a crime, or crimes, was once committed there. Saffy’s grandmother was Daphne/Jean/Shiela. She took Rose’s identity and kept Lorna as her own. The Ending: With her grandmother now suffering from dementia in a care home, her memories of that time are fragmented and hazy. As the police launch a murder investigation, Saffron worries her family may be in danger.

This book is so well thought out, so fantastically structured with never ending anxiety leading me away from my every day life into The Couple At No.9. I literally (in my head) was living in that house! As we discover more about Rose's past, it becomes clear that Claire is not going to make this an easy discovery. Just when I thought I'd figured it out, a spanner was thrown into the works and my mind was made to switch directions. Claire Douglas is a buy-in-yourself writer to me, and don’t worry that will change in the future. I have enjoyed every book I have read so far and with The Couple at number 9 he has delivered yet another intelligent, insightful and engaging novel. Twisty, nail-biting, and utterly absorbing, you won't be able to put The Couple at No. 9 down -- Louise O'Neill Twisty, nail-biting, and utterly absorbing, you won't be able to put The Couple at No. 9 down'LOUISE O'NEILL

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The story here is about soon-to-be-parents Saffy and Tom who are trying to get their fixer upper up and fixed prior to the birth of their baby. All construction gets put on hold, however, when a couple of dead bodies are dug up in the garden . . . . Rose suffers from Alzheimers and resides at a care home. Her memory is fuzzy and she is often confused. At first it seems she will be no help to the police. However, it becomes increasingly clear Rose knows more than what she is saying. This novel has various, complex POVs. Saffy is the primary storyteller, but we also hear from Lorna, Daphne, and the seemingly unrelated (at first) character of Theo. Theo and his family seemed incongruously thrown into the plot; a filler with his own mystery to solve. But as the story plays out, both Theo and his father play an important, albeit disturbing, role in Saffy and Lorna’s life.