The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena is a novel so full of suspense, I would have read it in one sitting had I not adult responsibilities to attend to. (Insert dramatic eye roll here.) At the heart of this book are our two protagonists, Anne and Marco. Anne comes from a wealthy family where mommy and daddy are always nearby with a million bucks in hand to rescue her from whatever trouble a privileged white girl can get herself into. Marco is the opposite of Anne in the biggest ways; he is from a poor family and even drives a motorcycle-gasp! The two fall in love and even the looming reality that Marco will never be good enough for Anne in her parents' eyes isn't enough to keep them apart.Enter Cora, Anne and Marco's adorable six month old baby who is probably even more spoiled than Anne. One night the sitter cancels and since the dinner party the couple are meant to attend is literally next door (the houses share a wall), they leave Cora in her crib at home. Alone. They take a baby monitor with them and check on her every half-hour, but still. When they return in the early morning hours, you guessed it- the baby is gone! Chaos ensues as a surly detective tries to figure out what happened to baby Cora and the doting grandparents offer to pay any price for the safe return of their beloved granddaughter. Anne and Marco start suspecting everyone and anyone of taking their baby-even each other. Dun, dun, dun!
This novel picks up almost immediately with the kidnapping and things just speed along from there. I never felt like the story hit a dry spot. Every chapter was filled with suspense as we learned about the characters' secrets and motives. It had several twists and turns that I never saw coming and I enjoyed Lapena's writing style. I thought it flowed smoothly and made reading effortless. I had much the same response during and after reading as I did with Gone Girl. Let me elaborate.
In both novels, the characters (pretty much all of them) are unlikable, but real. The couple in this story doesn't share quite the same level of maliciousness as Nick and Amy have towards each other in Gone Girl, but they are equally devious in their actions. They both center on a spoiled rich girl and a lying husband who are struggling within their respective relationships. Probably because of all that secret-keeping, but what do I know? The only character I felt was too flat in The Couple Next Door was the detective, but I'm able to overlook that. Mental illness seems to play heavily in both, as well as the fear that you can never truly know your spouse. And the endings! I will not spoil anything about either book, but let me say that they were both shocking and seemed to come out of left field. Both left me unsatisfied, but that's what I kind of liked about them. Flynn and Lapena had the guts to finish their books with a bang and weren't scared of upsetting their readers. I can respect that and I give them credit for being able to keep me guessing even up to the final page.
If you liked Gone Girl, then The Couple Next Door is definitely something you're going to want to check out! Honestly, I think you should check it out even if you didn't like Gone Girl. Lapena's novel is just that good!
My Rating: ★★★★★
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