Book Review: One Perfect Couple by Ruth Ware

 

Book: One Perfect Couple 

Author: Ruth Ware

Pages: 416 

Read on: Kindle 

Read in: ~4 hours 

Plot Summary: Lyla is in a bit of a rut. Her post-doctoral research has fizzled out, she’s pretty sure they won’t extend her contract, and things with her boyfriend, Nico, an aspiring actor, aren’t going great. When the opportunity arises for Nico to join the cast of a new reality TV show, The Perfect Couple, she decides to try out with him. A whirlwind audition process later, Lyla find herself whisked off to a tropical paradise with Nico, boating through the Indian Ocean towards Ever After Island, where the two of them will compete against four other couples—Bayer and Angel, Dan and Santana, Joel and Romi, and Conor and Zana—in order to win a cash prize.

But not long after they arrive on the deserted island, things start to go wrong. After the first challenge leaves everyone rattled and angry, an overnight storm takes matters from bad to worse. Cut off from the mainland by miles of ocean, deprived of their phones, and unable to contact the crew that brought them there, the group must band together for survival. As tensions run high and fresh water runs low, Lyla finds that this game show is all too real—and the stakes are life or death.

Things I Liked: 

1. The book is very atmospheric and well-paced. The author effortlessly brings the small island in the middle of the Indian Ocean alive along with the scared and exhausted state of its 8 inhabitants. The narrative is fast-paced and once the couples are on the island, the story moves ahead in breakneck speed. 

2. The circumstances leading to the couples' being stranded on the little island are nicely built up. As a part of a reality show, their phones and all electronic devices are taken away from them, so they have no means of communication at their disposal. Their families know they will be out-of-reach for a period of two months, so, no one thinks of raising an alarm. The resort where the show is being shot is brand new. So, it doesn't have any staff and so, there is no one else on the island but the 9 contestants at the end of the first night when the storm hits. The storm, of course, is what makes matters dire because it sets into motion the events of the book. 

3. Much like its source of inspiration- Lord of the Flies (and no, it is not like And Then There Were None)- the author does an adequate job in showing group dynamics and how some individuals assume leadership roles whilst some those of followers. Also, as days go by factions form and these factions are often at odds with one another. So, the group dynamics aspect was interesting to read about. 

Things I Didn't Like OR Wished Were Better Handled: 

1. Like most readers, I went into this book expecting some mysterious, behind-the-scenes murderer killing off the contestants one by one. However, that was not really the case. True, people die. Not just because of the storm damage but even after that, but these are not murders in the way all the pre-launch buzz about this book made them out to be. We all know who the killer is- that is no secret- which is, perhaps, realistic but also kind of disappointing. Look, I get that it is difficult to show a hidden killer on a teeny tiny island with not that many structures to hide in, but, at the same time, if we know who the killer is, then how is this book some kind of a murder mystery?! 

2. For all the comparisons and hat-tips to And Then There Were None, what was "common" between the five couples on the reality show was so flimsy. There was no real connection between them, there was no strong enough past wrong that was being avenged or corrected or anything of that sort. It was all very tenuous and this "connection" between the couples is something that the surviving members realise very, very late in the book. It is really of no real consequence and had nothing to do with the deaths in the book. So, that also was a bit disappointing. 

Rating: 3/5 

Mildly disappointing. The book is a decent, quick read but if you, like me, went in expecting a murder mystery, then you will be disappointed. This ain't a murder mystery at all.