Jacey and Rob move to England for his job. Their home is huge but also increasingly scary. What secrets are the couple hiding and what is happening at the house…?
The Perfect Couple is a psychological thriller with a strong supernatural theme.
Jacey and Rob’s marriage isn’t as perfect as they pretend. He is short tempered and takes every opportunity to malign his wife. He is lying about his whereabouts and Jacey is starting to suspect an affair. She is starting to experience strange symptoms where she zones out and finds it difficult to concentrate. Her anxiety is heightened by the spooky house with creepy noises and strange visions of a young boy. Meanwhile she also wants to discover the truth about her grandmother’s move to America.
There are three clear layers to the plot: the deteriorating relationship between Rob and Jacey, the unsettling house and the mystery about her grandmother’s past. Poor Jacey really is under attack on all sides and is struggling with the pressure of her existence in a haunted house with a horrid husband. My heart went out to her and I was desperate for her to stand up to Rob and walk away.
There are lots of mysteries and secrets for Jacey to uncover: her husband’s secret trips to London, her blackouts and confusion, other people’s unsettling remarks about her home and grandmother. I didn’t particularly like Jacey but I felt sorry for her and wanted her to get the truth and find some happiness. There is a wonderful tension and dark atmosphere created and sustained over the course of the book.
The Perfect Couple is an intriguing book with lots going on!
Rob assures me it will be an adventure for us: a year in England living in a gothic mansion. He has a new job and, as his wife, I’ll support him. It will be good for our marriage.
But as soon as we arrive at the house it starts.
The noises.
The voices.
Why can no one else hear anything?
The boy.
Why can no one else see him?
And now Rob is acting strangely. Distant. Dismissive. When I raise it he gets angry. He tells me it’s all in my head. But I can hear the bells in the woods. I can see the boy.
I make friends but I feel they know more than they tell me. Worst of all, they freeze when I tell them where I’m from. Who I am.
I feel myself unravelling. I’m not wrong. There is a secret here that everyone knows. Everyone except me.
This trip of a lifetime is turning into a perfect nightmare.
Jane’s Bio
Jane McLoughlin was born and raised in the USA, but has spent most of her adult life in the UK. A former teacher, she has previously published novels for young people, which were nominated for various awards, including the Carnegie Award and the Branford Boase Prize. She has two grown up children, and lives in Brighton. The Perfect Couple is her debut novel for adults.
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