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The Couple at No 9: The unputdownable and nail-biting Sunday Times Crime Book of the Month Paperback – 30 Sept. 2021
Claire Douglas (Author) See search results for this author |
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It was the house of their dreams. Now it's their worst nightmare . . .
THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER AND CRIME BOOK OF THE MONTH
'Spine-chilling' SUNDAY TIMES
'A well-plotted tale . . . Intriguing. Twisty. Surprising. Touching' DOROTHY KOOMSON
'Secrets, skeletons, mothers and daughters - and some absolutely corking twists! A cracking thriller, I loved it' EVE CHASE
_________
BODIES FOUND UNDER PATIO
When pregnant Saffron Cutler moves into 9 Skelton Place with boyfriend Tom and sets about renovations, the last thing she expects is builders uncovering a body. Two bodies, in fact.
POLICE INVESTIGATE
Forensics indicate the bodies have been buried at least thirty years, which leads the police to question the cottage's former owner - Saffy's grandmother, Rose.
OWNER QUESTIONED
Rose's Alzheimer's means her memory is increasingly confused. She can't help the police - but it is clear she remembers something.
A KILLER AT LARGE?
As Rose's fragmented memories resurface, and the police dig ever deeper, Saffy fears she and the cottage are being watched . . .
What happened thirty years ago?
What part did her grandmother play?
And is Saffy now in danger? . . .
_________
'This book has everything I love: murder, a taut and fiendishly clever plot and nail-biting tension' EMMA CURTIS
'Combines a tight, gripping, plot and truly shocking twist, with beautiful writing and emotion. A thriller with a heart' NUALA ELLWOOD
'A darkly absorbing mystery' CRIME MONTHLY
'Twisty, nail-biting, and utterly absorbing, you won't be able to put The Couple at No. 9 down' LOUISE O'NEILL
'Expansive, emotional, with one of the very best end twists I've ever read. Douglas at her heart-stopping best' GILLIAN MCALLISTER
'Devotees of domestic noir will love the multiple perspectives and shifts in time that Claire Douglas uses to complicate her nervy narrative' THE TIMES CRIME CLUB NEWSLETTER
'The perfect gripping holiday read' LESLEY PEARSE
Praise for Claire Douglas
'Few people do psychological thrillers as claustrophobic and as creepy as Claire Douglas' Tim Weaver, bestselling author of No One Home
'Thrillingly tense and twisty' B. A. Paris, bestselling author of Behind Closed Doors
'Stunning . . . with a killer twist' Closer
'Perfect for fans of The Girl on the Train' Marie Claire
'Twisty, exciting yet so very real' Gillian McAllister, bestselling author of Anything You Do Say
- Print length432 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherPenguin
- Publication date30 Sept. 2021
- Dimensions12.9 x 2.6 x 19.8 cm
- ISBN-101405943408
- ISBN-13978-1405943406
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Product description
Review
Spine-chilling . . . Douglas writes sensitively about dementia in this heartbreaking novel about how far a desperate woman will go to survive
― Sunday TimesThis book has everything I love: murder, a taut and fiendishly clever plot and nail-biting tension -- Emma Curtis
A darkly absorbing mystery ― Crime Monthly
Combines a tight, gripping plot and truly shocking twist, with beautiful writing and emotion. A thriller with a heart. One of the best I have read in a long time -- Nuala Ellwood
Secrets, skeletons, mothers and daughters - and some absolutely corking twists! A cracking thriller, I loved it -- Eve Chase, author of The Glass House
A well-plotted tale. All the characters are hiding things and you're often waiting for the next secret to blow up. Intriguing. Twisty. Surprising. Touching. Enjoyed it -- Dorothy Koomson
Devotees of domestic noir will love the multiple perspectives and shifts in time that Claire Douglas uses to complicate her nervy narrative ― The Times Crime Club Newsletter
Tense, twisty, fraught with emotion and packed with secrets, The Couple at No. 9 is Claire's best thriller yet -- Gilly Macmillan
This well-paced thriller never lets up the pace, and delivers a twist that it's unlikely you will have seen coming ― Choice Magazine
Dense and deeply creepy, this is a top-class chiller ― Real People
Expansive, emotional, with one of the very best end twists I've ever read. Douglas at her heart-stopping best -- Gillian McAllister
Gripping, twisty and hold-your-breath tense, this is Claire Douglas's best book yet -- Tim Weaver
Twisty, nail-biting, and utterly absorbing, you won't be able to put The Couple at No. 9 down -- Louise O'Neill
Another page-turner . . . Twisty ― New
Absolutely LOVED it. Twisty, turny and full of surprises. A definite 5 star -- Angela Marsons
Claire is a mistress at weaving the reader into a web of domestic deceit -- Jane Corry
Fabulous. It had me reading late into the night, desperately needing to see what happens ― Good Housekeeping
The perfect gripping holiday read -- Lesley Pearse
Praise for Claire Douglas ― -
Thrillingly tense and twisty ― bestselling author of Behind Closed Doors
Stunning . . . with a killer twist ― Closer
Perfect for fans of The Girl on the Train ― Marie Claire
Twisty, exciting yet so very real
Few people do psychological thrillers as claustrophobic and as creepy as Claire Douglas ― Tim Weaver
About the Author
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Product details
- Publisher : Penguin (30 Sept. 2021)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 432 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1405943408
- ISBN-13 : 978-1405943406
- Dimensions : 12.9 x 2.6 x 19.8 cm
- Best Sellers Rank: 29 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 24 in Women Sleuths (Books)
- 32 in Psychological Thrillers (Books)
- 45 in Literary Fiction (Books)
- Customer reviews:
About the author

Claire Douglas is the award winning author of seven stand alone thrillers, THE SISTERS, LOCAL GIRL MISSING, LAST SEEN ALIVE, DO NOT DISTURB, THEN SHE VANISHES, JUST LIKE THE OTHER GIRLS and her most recent, THE COUPLE AT NO. 9, which is a number one Amazon bestseller and reached number three on the Sunday Times bestsellers list. Her books have sold over 500,000 copies in the UK and have been translated into twenty languages.
You can find Claire on Twitter at @DougieClaire, Instagram as clairedouglasauthor, or visit her Facebook page clairedouglasauthor.
Customer reviews
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Top reviews from United Kingdom
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It is not particularly unusual for the marketing blurb to describe a book that they think people will want to read rather than the one the author actually wrote, but this is one of those more rare occasions where the story is a significantly better, more rounded (and certainly less melodramatic) affair than its blurb suggests.
This is the second book I have read in recent weeks that has been influenced to a degree by the real life story of Mary Bell. When young couple, Saffy and Tom, set up home in the former home of Saffy's grandmother, Rose, they have no idea what they are about to unearth and the shocking path of discovery that they will be led down.
If you are looking for an action-packed page turner that moves along at a rollicking pace, then this probably isn't the book for you. Whilst it is not exactly a slow-burner as such, the author has taken a considered approach and, for the most part, the layers of the mystery only unfurl very gradually. There are plenty of interesting twists and turns, but I suspect that the pace of the story may not be to everyone's liking. Even though there was never a point where I wasn't enjoying the read, there were times when I felt it could have benefitted from an increased tempo.
The characterisation is impressive throughout. Each individual protagonist is well-drawn and fully formed, making them entirely credible and relatable. The storyline has also been intricately plotted and holds together nicely. It has to be said that one or two events lean towards being a touch too convenient, but are necessary mechanics to move the plot forward. However, in the overall scheme of things, these instances are forgivable.
All in all, Claire Douglas has succeeded in producing an engaging and, at times, emotional mystery that held my interest and is easy to recommend.
I think that rose being daphne was a bit of a stretch but the actual plot was basically ok
It’s really a cold case scenario whereby two skeletons are found underneath a patio when the house owners are making renovations. The question is who were they, why were there and who was responsible for burying the bodies. The skeletons have been in situ for 30 years.
So follows the intricate details, particularly of the characters involved because there’s something very unsettling going on- more than dead bodies.
Really enjoyed this book and grateful to find a competent writer amongst the tripe turned out over the past months.
I loved this book and really enjoyed the twists and turns as the story unfolded. I had worked half of the plot out before I reached the end, but that wasn’t a disappointment. I was thrilled that it had turned out the way I thought it would. A great read and very entertaining.
Didn't enjoy this as much as other books I've read by this author.
Disappointing