Two Perfect Couples by Renita D'Silva (Audiobook)

 

Two families are looking forward to a dream holiday together in Goa, but disaster strikes on their first evening when one of the children goes missing. Fear, guilt and recriminations abound. The involvement of the local police brings lots of secrets bubbling to the surface.

Two Perfect Couples by Renita D'Silva is a slow-burn psychological thriller that puts you right into the mind of a mother wracked with guilt. Jo and are family are holidaying in the country of her husband Yash's birth. With them are their close friends, Lydia and Paul. The disappearance of Ajit, Jo and Yash's youngest child, throws the whole situation into turmoil. Has the boy climbed out of the window and wandered off, or has something more sinister happened?

Narrated well by Melissa Advani, you get a true sense of Jo's rising panic as the hunt for Ajit by the two families produces nothing. Jo is consumed by remorse, convinced she has failed her son. After the unsuccessful search of the beach and the surrounding area, the families know that they need to involve the police. 

The local police are convinced that Ajit has been kidnapped. As Inspector Sharma begins to question the adults, we discover that there are a number of possible suspects and that everyone is hiding secrets. There are plenty of shocks in store as secret after secret is revealed, leaving the friends questioning if they truly know each other. The burden of responsibility for Anjit's disappearance is placed firmly on Jo's shoulders, a combination of accusation and self-recrimination. Jo's mental state isn't helped by a series of taunting text messages she receives, which disappear after being read, and those around her fail to believe her.

I had a vague inkling as to the reason for Anjit's disappearance, but the author produced a twisty and shocking conclusion that left me gasping as the true motive behind the kidnapping was revealed.

Two Perfect Couples by Renita D'Silva is available in paperback, ebook and audio format. My thanks to NetGalley and Bolinda Audio for a review copy.

Author Details

Renita grew up in a picturesque coastal village in the South of India, the oldest of three children. Her father got her first story books when she was six and she fell in love with the world of stories. Even now she prefers that world, by far, to this.