Rock Paper Scissors
Fiction
Flatiron Books
September 7, 2021
Hardcover
304
Purchased
Things have been wrong with Mr and Mrs Wright for a long time. When Adam and Amelia win a weekend away to Scotland, it might be just what their marriage needs. Self-confessed workaholic and screenwriter Adam Wright has lived with face blindness his whole life. He can’t recognize friends or family, or even his own wife.
Every anniversary the couple exchange traditional gifts – paper, cotton, pottery, tin – and each year Adam’s wife writes him a letter that she never lets him read. Until now. They both know this weekend will make or break their marriage, but they didn’t randomly win this trip. One of them is lying, and someone doesn’t want them to live happily ever after.
Ten years of marriage. Ten years of secrets. And an anniversary they will never forget.
My review:
My first book of 2022, and I picked a good one! As is always the case with thrillers, not a lot of details can be given to avoid spoilers, but this was the perfect kind of thriller for me. First, the atmospheric setting was perfectly detailed and added that creepy aspect to the story. This doesn't always work for me in thrillers, there were a few last year that I thought had the atmosphere, but then the stories let me down. Not so in this one. Second, the situations that the protagonists put themselves in seem more realistic than some thrillers. Nothing makes me more annoyed than books where supposedly normal people are doing crazy stuff that make you think "I would never do that or go there, you've lost me". Not true here. Sure they get in some creepy situations, but they aren't doing anything that their circumstances didn't warrant. Third, twists and turns occur throughout the book and they are plentiful. Don't make me read through 9/10's of a book only to have all the reveals in the last few pages. I love a slow buildup, but also need some nuggets along the way to keep me entertained and on my toes. Definitely accomplished in this book. And while I'm not usually a fan of inserting random stuff between chapters, the anniversary letters totally worked for me, and brought even more layers into the story.
A fast paced, super atmospheric novel with tons of twists and turns, and a super creepy ending to top it all off. If you are a thriller fan, I can't recommend this one enough!
