Authors Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen paint an ominous portrait of a marriage on the rocks in The Golden Couple, their fourth in a collection of suspenseful thrillers featuring strong female protagonists and wickedly clever subplots. Set in Washington, D.C., the story centers on a psychoanalyst known for her unconventional methods and the enigmatic couple who are counting on her to repair their relationship.
Therapist Avery Chambers, recently widowed, lives near the National Zoo with her rescue dog, Romeo, in a house protected by multiple layers of security. A client's wife has reported her for violating the ethics rules that govern her profession; as a result, Avery has lost her license and isn't technically a therapist anymore, so she is no longer constrained by traditional psychotherapy methods.
Even without a license, Avery's reputation for successful results means her services are very much in demand. When clients Marissa and Matthew Bishop arrive for their first session, Avery makes note of their enviable glamour, affluence and good looks, dubbing them in her mind the "golden couple." But darkness brews behind their perfect façade, beginning with Marissa's confession of infidelity. It turns out that Marissa's affair is just the tip of the iceberg in a marriage in which nothing is as it seems.
Hendricks and Pekkanen (The Wife Between Us) expertly build narrative tension as layers of Marissa's and Matthew's true selves emerge and Avery's own story comes into clearer focus, including the reasons for her elaborate home security system. Whether or not Avery can help the Bishops hinges on the success of her highly controversial therapy style, which borders on illegal. --Shahina Piyarali, reviewer