The Golden Couple

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His grasp is strong and dry. “Matthew Bishop,” he replies. I take in his square chin, light blue eyes, and broad shoulders.

Avery Chambers won’t take you on as a client if she doesn't think she can "fix" your problem in 10 sessions. Her technique is unorthodox/controversial methods. She lost her license due to her methods but that hasn't stopped her helping her clients nor has it stopped people from seeking her out. This is an easy to read, entertaining novel – contemporary family drama rolled into psychological suspense thriller. Each new chapter keeps you guessing. Every time I felt I had it all figured out, the plot twist turned it on it's head. I could not put the book down until the very end. This story is not your typical mystery. There’s no dead body or traditional crime to solve. But that doesn’t make it any less suspenseful. The story unfolds through the alternating perspectives of Avery and Marissa, both smart, successful women, but all of the characters in the book, are well developed, and play a role in the outcome. Grief isn’t linear. It isn’t logical. There’s no structure or civility to it; it grabs you when you least expect it and digs in its nails until you succumb.

This story started off strongly, and despite the weaker third portion, I was totally invested in finding out how the story would end - and whether my preliminary suspicions were correct. (I wasn't too far off the mark. Maybe I've been reading too many thrillers?)

The preliminary phone call only reveals so much. In this case, it came from a woman who introduced herself as Marissa Bishop. If Avery Chambers can’t fix you in 10 sessions, she won’t take you on as a client. Her successes are phenomenal–she helps people overcome everything from domineering parents to assault–and almost absorb the emptiness she sometimes feels since her husband’s death. Thank You to St. Martin’s Press for the gifted copy provided through NetGalley. It was my pleasure to provide a candid review! Avery Chambers is a therapist with a unique strategy for "fixing" her patients problems. Despite losing her license, due to her controversial methods, her success rate is phenomenal but she won't take you on if she isn't certain she can fix you with her ten-step program. Marissa and Mathew Bishop, on the surface, appear to be the "Golden Couple" but Marissa confesses her infidelity in hopes that Avery can save her marriage but the biggest secrets are yet to be revealed...a dangerous web of deceits. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross described five common stages of grief, popularly referred to as DABDA. They include:

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When she is approached by the "Golden Couple," Marissa and Mathew Bishop, she knows she can help them. Marissa cheated but wants to work on her marriage, it was a mistake, and she will do whatever it takes to make things right. There are secrets in this marriage. Secrets have a way of coming out. Session one is only the beginning.... it's a really good time for an escape, and who doesn't love/need a one-day mystery read, all soapy with infidelity and seeeecrets and threats from all directions?

Avery Chambers has lost her license due to her creative, way outside of the lines and unethical practices. But she doesn't care, she's going to do things she thinks need to be done, in the way that gets the results she is looking for. Now she works out of her home, with her rescue dog, Romeo, as her constant companion. Avery cares about animals and people and she's good at reading both. But she's having doubts about her eccentric ten step program working with her new clients, Marissa and Mathew. Unless they are honest with her, she can't help them and these people are hiding a lot of secrets. I was so bored while reading this. I was just waiting and waiting and waiting for something to happen. When something finally happened, I was let down. It was what I guessed early on, and the way it played out was anticlimactic. I wish this had been more nuanced and the side plots simplified. i do have a baseline appreciation for the idea of a therapist who lost their license because of their UNCONVENTIONAL METHODS but still doing the same work as a 'consultant,' counseling folks with all the training but none of the pesky rules or oversight - nothing to rein her in AND THE TAGLINE IS: when 'do no harm' becomes 'do what thou wilt,' that's when the fun freaking starts.This is my favorite kind of thriller: a guessing game filled with characters you care about and twists you don’t see coming. The Golden Couple takes a deep dive into a marriage, where what you see on the surface is not necessarily the truth, and the results are mesmerizing. Add to this a therapist who doesn’t play by the rules and you have an utterly compelling, spellbinding read.” Marissa and Matthew are a married couple…the golden couple. They’ve chosen to seek out help from Avery. In their first session, Marissa comes clean that she had a brief affair but doesn’t divulge the identity of her partner. And Avery is all over it! She’s determined to identify just who this other man is. The next electrifying novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author duo behind The Wife Between Us. As you probably can suspect, Marissa’s one lie points to a lot more than one problem in their marriage.

When the Bishops glide through Avery’s door and Marissa reveals her infidelity, all three are set on a collision course. Because the biggest secrets in the room are still hidden, and it’s no longer simply a marriage that’s in danger. I rise and walk to my front door, peering through the peephole before I pull it open. Marissa and Matthew glide across the threshold as if they’re accustomed to making an entrance. It is still remarkable how the authors compensated for these negatives with the alternating perspectives of the characters and their amazing writing skills. Avery opens the door and Marissa and Mathew Bishop walks in. She starts the session the way she always does and asks the 'What brings you here tonight. She then takes three of the plastic cups out of her water cooler and fills each with a generous shot of tequila.The only criticism I would have about the book is that I didn't believe that Marissa and her husband would let their young son have a relationship with the estranged grandfather, Chris. Letting him go alone on outings with Chris just didn't feel authentic based on what I knew about the couple. The only thing Avery Bishop and the word "average" have in common is their first three letters. She is anything but your average therapist; in fact, "unorthodox" is a far better term to describe her, and her newest clients Marissa and Matthew Bishop are about to discover how far outside the box Avery is willing to go to help their marriage after Marissa confesses that she slept with another man. There's a reason Avery isn't licensed anymore, but her new freedom certainly lets her be more ... ummmm ... creative in her approach! anyhoo, i would love for her to be a recurring character for this authorteam. it was a terrifically fun read and avery chambers - you are a much more effective as a loose cannon without a leash. and your little dog too! <--- big hearts to marshmallowy pitty rescue dog romeo. However, as the synopsis states: “...the biggest secrets in the room are still hidden, and it’s no longer simply a marriage that’s in danger.”