What do you think?
Rate this book
The Perfect Marriage
James and Jessica Sommers are celebrating their first blissful year together, an unexpected second chance at true love. Unfortunately, their newfound shot at happiness is not without collateral damage.
There’s Jessica’s ex-husband. He pretends for all the world that he’s resilient and strong. If only for the sake of their teenage son, profoundly vulnerable in his own way. James’s ex has taken a different road. Bitter, vengeful, and threatening, she wants only the worst for the happy couple. And then there’s the couple themselves: Are they truly as in love as they seem?
When James enters into an extraordinarily profitable, if shady, transaction with a beautiful art dealer, Jessica and James’s seemingly perfect marriage takes a dark and tragic turn.
Amid suspicions, tested loyalties, revenge, and guilt, no one escapes unscathed from sins committed in the name of love.
There’s Jessica’s ex-husband. He pretends for all the world that he’s resilient and strong. If only for the sake of their teenage son, profoundly vulnerable in his own way. James’s ex has taken a different road. Bitter, vengeful, and threatening, she wants only the worst for the happy couple. And then there’s the couple themselves: Are they truly as in love as they seem?
When James enters into an extraordinarily profitable, if shady, transaction with a beautiful art dealer, Jessica and James’s seemingly perfect marriage takes a dark and tragic turn.
Amid suspicions, tested loyalties, revenge, and guilt, no one escapes unscathed from sins committed in the name of love.
292 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 1, 2021
4205 people are currently reading
8580 people want to read
About the author
Adam Mitzner
16 books533 followersI grew up in East Brunswick, New Jersey, which is about an hour outside of New York City. I graduated from Brandeis University with a B.A. and M.A. in politics, and from there went directly on to law school at the University of Virginia.
After law school, I joined the litigation department of a large New York City law firm, and after a few more stops, am currently the head of the litigation department of Pavia & Harcourt LLP, which is located in midtown Manhattan. Pavia & Harcourt.
I have written 8 novels -- A Conflict of Interest (2011); A Case of Redemption (2013); Losing Faith (2015); The Girl From Home (2016); Dead Certain (2017); Never Goodbye (2018); A Matter of Will (2019); and The Best Friend (2020).
Nothing pleases me more than hearing from readers, so please email me at adam@adammitzner.com
After law school, I joined the litigation department of a large New York City law firm, and after a few more stops, am currently the head of the litigation department of Pavia & Harcourt LLP, which is located in midtown Manhattan. Pavia & Harcourt.
I have written 8 novels -- A Conflict of Interest (2011); A Case of Redemption (2013); Losing Faith (2015); The Girl From Home (2016); Dead Certain (2017); Never Goodbye (2018); A Matter of Will (2019); and The Best Friend (2020).
Nothing pleases me more than hearing from readers, so please email me at adam@adammitzner.com
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 620 reviews
Read
April 6, 2021DNF @ 25%. No rating and will not be included in my reading challenge.
I do not like the writing style here at all. In the first chapter you're introduced to so many characters without any rhyme or reason. I was reading along about James and Jessica and then the next paragraph we're in Owens head and I'm like who is Owen. Then after a few paragraphs with Owen and it becomes Reed talking. Who is Reed? Then it's Haley? Then it's Wayne? etc. etc. It continues like this. I wish there had been chapter breaks distinguishing whose perspective your hearing from rather than jumbling them all up together on the same page. What a confusing and annoying way to write a story.
The real killer here though is the dialogue. Just terrible. Hayley (the ex-wife) and Reed (the business partner) were laughable characters that kept making me cringe every time they spoke.
This one definitely wasn't for me.
Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for my copy.
I do not like the writing style here at all. In the first chapter you're introduced to so many characters without any rhyme or reason. I was reading along about James and Jessica and then the next paragraph we're in Owens head and I'm like who is Owen. Then after a few paragraphs with Owen and it becomes Reed talking. Who is Reed? Then it's Haley? Then it's Wayne? etc. etc. It continues like this. I wish there had been chapter breaks distinguishing whose perspective your hearing from rather than jumbling them all up together on the same page. What a confusing and annoying way to write a story.
The real killer here though is the dialogue. Just terrible. Hayley (the ex-wife) and Reed (the business partner) were laughable characters that kept making me cringe every time they spoke.
This one definitely wasn't for me.
Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for my copy.
April 7, 2021
Jessica and James appear to have the perfect marriage. Okay you know going into this-the title is loaded... Both were married when they met..and well it went from there. When their son's cancer comes out of remission, they know they have to do whatever they can to save him. Legal or not they are going to pursue every avenue.
When James is seen out on the town with another woman, well people love to tell Jessica about it. Is it as innocent as James claims or once a cheater, always a cheater?! Is one year of wedded bliss the max for this couple? This definitely kept me guessing as to what James was really up to and who we could trust.
When someone ends up no longer able to hold up their end of the marriage...I couldn't figure out who was to blame. The ex's? The mysterious blonde stranger? Or one member of the "perfect couple?"
Thank you to Thomas and Mercer for my gifted copy!
When James is seen out on the town with another woman, well people love to tell Jessica about it. Is it as innocent as James claims or once a cheater, always a cheater?! Is one year of wedded bliss the max for this couple? This definitely kept me guessing as to what James was really up to and who we could trust.
When someone ends up no longer able to hold up their end of the marriage...I couldn't figure out who was to blame. The ex's? The mysterious blonde stranger? Or one member of the "perfect couple?"
Thank you to Thomas and Mercer for my gifted copy!
August 5, 2024
A Game of Clue...
Whodunit?...
THE PERFECT MARRIAGE
by Adam Mitzner
No spoilers. 4 stars. James and Jessica Sommers both divorced their spouses to marry each other...
Jessica's teenage son Owen wasn't too happy about this development...
And...
... their disgruntled ex-spouses (at least one of them) are out for revenge...
One night...
James, an art broker, was waiting for an art expert's arrival at his loft office to make a lucrative deal. The transaction never happened because...
... James was found murdered on the floor. This is not a spoiler since it happens fairly early in the story, but it leaves readers wondering...
... Whodunit?
Just like a game of clue, you follow the investigation. Was it one of the ex-spouses, or maybe it was James' crooked business associate Reid Warwick ...
... or are the police on the wrong track altogether?...
This was a decent crime/mystery taking place in Manhattan. I removed a star because I was easily able to deduce the murderer and I felt like the ending was a bit anticlimactic. I also disliked EVERY character in the story, but disliking characters doesn't ruin a story for me.
Whodunit?...
THE PERFECT MARRIAGE
by Adam Mitzner
No spoilers. 4 stars. James and Jessica Sommers both divorced their spouses to marry each other...
Jessica's teenage son Owen wasn't too happy about this development...
And...
... their disgruntled ex-spouses (at least one of them) are out for revenge...
One night...
James, an art broker, was waiting for an art expert's arrival at his loft office to make a lucrative deal. The transaction never happened because...
... James was found murdered on the floor. This is not a spoiler since it happens fairly early in the story, but it leaves readers wondering...
... Whodunit?
Just like a game of clue, you follow the investigation. Was it one of the ex-spouses, or maybe it was James' crooked business associate Reid Warwick ...
... or are the police on the wrong track altogether?...
This was a decent crime/mystery taking place in Manhattan. I removed a star because I was easily able to deduce the murderer and I felt like the ending was a bit anticlimactic. I also disliked EVERY character in the story, but disliking characters doesn't ruin a story for me.
April 2, 2021
Adam Mitzner is a great legal thriller writer. He’s one of those authors whose books I eagerly anticipate and pre-order without even reading the blurb. As an attorney and former prosecutor myself, I am a little picky about my legal thrillers. I want them to be more interesting and exciting than my real-life lawyer job, but also still in the realm of believability and legal accuracy. Mitzner ALWAYS delivers on this, with great writing, interesting and twisty plots, and fantastic and legally accurate courtroom scenes.
This book was good, especially the last 30 percent or so, but not one of my favorites of Mitzner’s. I felt it spent a bit too much time on the setup, with a lot of details and plot points about the underground art world that weren’t too dramatic or strictly necessary to the story. Or maybe this is just not an area that interests me. Regardless, it took until about 40 percent in for anything super interesting to happen. But from that point, we were off to the races.
At the end of the book is where the special Mitzner magic comes in. An ingenious and unexpected plot twist combines with Mitzner’s usual fantastic courtroom scenes to make this a really neat story. Here too, as always in Mitzner’s books, the reader gets great courtroom scenes peppered with accurate caselaw so that you might learn something new about the law. If the rest of the book had been like the last 30 percent, this would’ve easily been a 5* star book. (I also imagine Mitzner must be a fantastic trial attorney, because all his books are filled with these wonderful direct and cross-examination scenes.) I truly did not see this ending coming and think few people would. Really awesome.
All in all this was a very enjoyable second half of a book - just wish we had a little more magic in the first half too. I still definitely recommend this book, I think I just have high standards for one of my favorite legal writers. I highly, highly recommend Mitzner’s previous works, A Conflict of Interest and A Matter of Will (my fave!) for some more traditional and lengthy courtroom thriller action. And as ever, I eagerly await Mitzner’s next book!
3.75 stars rounded up for that ending that only Mitzner can perfectly deliver.
Thanks to Thomas & Mercer, Adam Mitzner and NetGalley for a very anticipated book to read in advance!
This book was good, especially the last 30 percent or so, but not one of my favorites of Mitzner’s. I felt it spent a bit too much time on the setup, with a lot of details and plot points about the underground art world that weren’t too dramatic or strictly necessary to the story. Or maybe this is just not an area that interests me. Regardless, it took until about 40 percent in for anything super interesting to happen. But from that point, we were off to the races.
At the end of the book is where the special Mitzner magic comes in. An ingenious and unexpected plot twist combines with Mitzner’s usual fantastic courtroom scenes to make this a really neat story. Here too, as always in Mitzner’s books, the reader gets great courtroom scenes peppered with accurate caselaw so that you might learn something new about the law. If the rest of the book had been like the last 30 percent, this would’ve easily been a 5* star book. (I also imagine Mitzner must be a fantastic trial attorney, because all his books are filled with these wonderful direct and cross-examination scenes.) I truly did not see this ending coming and think few people would. Really awesome.
All in all this was a very enjoyable second half of a book - just wish we had a little more magic in the first half too. I still definitely recommend this book, I think I just have high standards for one of my favorite legal writers. I highly, highly recommend Mitzner’s previous works, A Conflict of Interest and A Matter of Will (my fave!) for some more traditional and lengthy courtroom thriller action. And as ever, I eagerly await Mitzner’s next book!
3.75 stars rounded up for that ending that only Mitzner can perfectly deliver.
Thanks to Thomas & Mercer, Adam Mitzner and NetGalley for a very anticipated book to read in advance!
March 5, 2021
I was not at all impressed by this book. The plot and outcome are so contrived as to render it ridiculous. While the writing was pleasant, and the story of Owen, the teenage son of the two separated parents in the story, gently rendered, the reader is lulled into a false sense of contentment at a well-told story, only to be ultimately disappointed and really quite disgusted as the story fizzles out. This was an Amazon Prime Kindle first read for me.
April 28, 2021
This book was very hard to get into until half way through. There were too many characters and the way the author went back and forth between characters was confusing. I did not like who the killer eventually turned out to be. All in all a very average book.
March 9, 2021
I'm bored silly with murder-mystery books that rely entirely on either phone records or DNA to solve not very well crafted stories. It's lazy, predictable and totally against the 'rules' of the genre.
Add to this that it takes 50% of the book to 'set the scene' before anybody actually gets killed and about five nano-seconds for us to work out who did it - and then there's still another chunk of book to labour through.
Very poor example of its type.
Add to this that it takes 50% of the book to 'set the scene' before anybody actually gets killed and about five nano-seconds for us to work out who did it - and then there's still another chunk of book to labour through.
Very poor example of its type.
March 16, 2021
"Life’s too short to read books you don’t enjoy” and, for me, this book was one of them.
The plot, the dialogue, the characters, the whole thing did not work for me; it was clumsily put together, felt formulaic, and lacked depth. It was also, dare I say, pretty boring!
I ended up reading it until the end to find out 'what happened' and immediately regretted it because the ending did not make the experience of wading through the rest worth it. The ending was... ridiculous.
Why this book is titled 'The Perfect Marriage' is something that eludes me. This wasn't a study or dissection of a 'marriage' at all. Indeed, marriage hardly featured.
All in all, I'd say avoid reading this because it will leave you with nothing more than a sense of annoyance at having spent your time on it. There are better books out there, go pick one of those up.
The plot, the dialogue, the characters, the whole thing did not work for me; it was clumsily put together, felt formulaic, and lacked depth. It was also, dare I say, pretty boring!
I ended up reading it until the end to find out 'what happened' and immediately regretted it because the ending did not make the experience of wading through the rest worth it. The ending was... ridiculous.
Why this book is titled 'The Perfect Marriage' is something that eludes me. This wasn't a study or dissection of a 'marriage' at all. Indeed, marriage hardly featured.
All in all, I'd say avoid reading this because it will leave you with nothing more than a sense of annoyance at having spent your time on it. There are better books out there, go pick one of those up.
March 1, 2021
Rating: 2.9/5
I hadn't read anything by Adam Mitzner prior to this, so I had no real idea of what to expect from this. What I got what an entertaining crime novel that made for quick and easy reading and that combined elements of various sub-genres of crime fiction.
The first half of "The Perfect Marriage" reads very much like a traditional 'whodunnit', but in a modern setting. The dramatis personae are presented to the reader and one of them will meet with an untimely death. In true 'whodunnit' tradition any one of the remaining cast of characters could have been responsible. Each had motive and they all had opportunity. At this point the storyline was shaping up to be the kind of plot that wouldn't have looked out of place in an episode of "Murder, She Wrote". However, rather than continuing down the traditional "whodunnit" pathway, the book becomes more reminiscent of a police procedural, before ultimately developing into a courtroom drama.
Overall, there should be something for most avid readers of crime fiction to like and enjoy about this book, but without quite doing enough to make them rave about it.
I hadn't read anything by Adam Mitzner prior to this, so I had no real idea of what to expect from this. What I got what an entertaining crime novel that made for quick and easy reading and that combined elements of various sub-genres of crime fiction.
The first half of "The Perfect Marriage" reads very much like a traditional 'whodunnit', but in a modern setting. The dramatis personae are presented to the reader and one of them will meet with an untimely death. In true 'whodunnit' tradition any one of the remaining cast of characters could have been responsible. Each had motive and they all had opportunity. At this point the storyline was shaping up to be the kind of plot that wouldn't have looked out of place in an episode of "Murder, She Wrote". However, rather than continuing down the traditional "whodunnit" pathway, the book becomes more reminiscent of a police procedural, before ultimately developing into a courtroom drama.
Overall, there should be something for most avid readers of crime fiction to like and enjoy about this book, but without quite doing enough to make them rave about it.
March 4, 2021
For my full review, visit me at https://mrsbrownsbooks.wordpress.com/...
I found Mitzner’s writing style interesting and one that left me guessing to the final reveal. As such, this was a book that captured my imagination throughout. However, the child illness was the one element that lessened my enjoyment of the novel and I found I struggled to truly engage with the narrative as a result.
For my full review, visit me at https://mrsbrownsbooks.wordpress.com/...
I found Mitzner’s writing style interesting and one that left me guessing to the final reveal. As such, this was a book that captured my imagination throughout. However, the child illness was the one element that lessened my enjoyment of the novel and I found I struggled to truly engage with the narrative as a result.
For my full review, visit me at https://mrsbrownsbooks.wordpress.com/...
May 10, 2021
“Nothing born of sin ever ends well.”
oooh I wanted to love this one, I did. And the inner story, the mystery and the twists was actually very well done and I enjoyed that part. The part I struggled with was the writing/story telling style. The POV jumped all the time - it didn't seem to have any telltale signs to point out it was moving person to person, it just jumped. The beginning was overwhelming as so many characters are introduced in rapid, quick succession and I struggled to remember which was a wife, an ex and who they belonged to.
But the mystery was interesting, I didn't know quite what was going on until the trial and the ultimate reveal. It was interesting but I definitely struggled.
oooh I wanted to love this one, I did. And the inner story, the mystery and the twists was actually very well done and I enjoyed that part. The part I struggled with was the writing/story telling style. The POV jumped all the time - it didn't seem to have any telltale signs to point out it was moving person to person, it just jumped. The beginning was overwhelming as so many characters are introduced in rapid, quick succession and I struggled to remember which was a wife, an ex and who they belonged to.
But the mystery was interesting, I didn't know quite what was going on until the trial and the ultimate reveal. It was interesting but I definitely struggled.
March 9, 2021
The book started out okay but then totally fell apart about 40% of the way through. The narrative jumps quickly through a long list of characters, none of whom are compelling or well-developed. The ex-wife character in particular reeks of a female character written by a male: an entirely unrealistic trope of a scorned woman who spends her whole day seething with rage over her divorce. The climax of the entire story is... a hearing to subpoena the DNA of a suspect. Compelling stuff to nobody. I walked away feeling absolutely nothing for any of the characters.
May 28, 2021
I read this on my Kindle Oasis using Kindle Unlimited. It takes place in present time in NYC. Amazon has it categorized as a Medical and Domestic Thriller, justly so.
The price of true love is betrayal, suspicion, and murder in a thriller of twisting suspense. The title of this book ‘The Perfect Marriage’ is kind of misleading.... I guess the question is which marriage.
You have the present marriage of 1 year of bliss. You have 2 ex’s who both are very bitter, since both of them were cheated on. You have the post step-son who is caught in the middle and suffering from leukemia, so fun to be a teen-ager. Oh... yea... let’s not forget about the Art Partner who would do anything to make a buck for himself.
I found the book to be slightly interesting, but since the ‘blissful’ marriage was a results of 2 affairs, the only one I felt sorry for was Owen, the son and his leukemia.
Certainly learned much in the book about AML and DNA.... just a warning... if you only like books that have a happy ending... this certainly isn’t one of them! Lesson learned... yes, maybe your soul mate isn’t your present spouse... just don’t let your son pay the price of that love!
The price of true love is betrayal, suspicion, and murder in a thriller of twisting suspense. The title of this book ‘The Perfect Marriage’ is kind of misleading.... I guess the question is which marriage.
You have the present marriage of 1 year of bliss. You have 2 ex’s who both are very bitter, since both of them were cheated on. You have the post step-son who is caught in the middle and suffering from leukemia, so fun to be a teen-ager. Oh... yea... let’s not forget about the Art Partner who would do anything to make a buck for himself.
I found the book to be slightly interesting, but since the ‘blissful’ marriage was a results of 2 affairs, the only one I felt sorry for was Owen, the son and his leukemia.
Certainly learned much in the book about AML and DNA.... just a warning... if you only like books that have a happy ending... this certainly isn’t one of them! Lesson learned... yes, maybe your soul mate isn’t your present spouse... just don’t let your son pay the price of that love!
March 5, 2021
Depressing
This book is filled with unlikeable characters. The only one that is remotely likeable is the one that dies. The plot drags, and the entire book is depressing. I would recommend not wasting your time reading it.
This book is filled with unlikeable characters. The only one that is remotely likeable is the one that dies. The plot drags, and the entire book is depressing. I would recommend not wasting your time reading it.
August 5, 2021
I read this book via Kindle Unlimited.
This book starts with a wedding anniversary celebration. Jessica and James have been married for a year following a relationship scandal and two ex-spouses left in the dust. James is an elusive art dealer and after his stepson, Owen is rediagnosed with Leukaemia, he finds himself tangled in a complicated criminal art deal that could pay for Owen's full treatment. He then finds himself murdered. The main suspects are both his ex, who has been warned over and over by her lawyer to leave him alone, Jessica's ex Wayne who isn't over his ex-wife, Reid, the man in the art deal with James and the mysterious Alison, a woman who exists in rumours only. This is a sometimes complicated whodunit kind of story that I enjoyed. I think it was a good story, it made sense but it didn't necessarily shock me. I found the end a little predictable after a while which removed that mystery element for me, but I did enjoy this story and I would read more from this author.
This book starts with a wedding anniversary celebration. Jessica and James have been married for a year following a relationship scandal and two ex-spouses left in the dust. James is an elusive art dealer and after his stepson, Owen is rediagnosed with Leukaemia, he finds himself tangled in a complicated criminal art deal that could pay for Owen's full treatment. He then finds himself murdered. The main suspects are both his ex, who has been warned over and over by her lawyer to leave him alone, Jessica's ex Wayne who isn't over his ex-wife, Reid, the man in the art deal with James and the mysterious Alison, a woman who exists in rumours only. This is a sometimes complicated whodunit kind of story that I enjoyed. I think it was a good story, it made sense but it didn't necessarily shock me. I found the end a little predictable after a while which removed that mystery element for me, but I did enjoy this story and I would read more from this author.
March 8, 2021
Wildly popular big-name authors included, I can't remember reading four consecutive books by any one of them to which I assigned 5-star ratings. Until now, that is; this is the fourth book I've read by this author, and his winning streak continues. My up-front to end-of-story take? Loved it.
Every single character is flawed - most of them seriously so. And that's a huge part of the appeal, especially as they interact with each other and layers of their backgrounds and personalities are peeled back. Jessica Sommers, you see, is experiencing unadulterated bliss with her husband of just one year, art dealer James (oh wait, perhaps unadulterated isn't the best choice of words; she was married to another man - Wayne - when she started an affair with James, who was married at the time). Jessica and Wayne are the parents of teenage Owen, who has serious health issues; James's ex, Haley, is best described as a bitter, scorned royal witch with a capital B.
At the outset, James's friend Reid Warwick convinces James to help him sell a set of extremely valuable Jackson Pollock sketches; "sketch" may be the operative word here, since the provenance sounds more than a little shaky. But along comes a beautiful female art dealer who's hot to trot, so the deal is off and running, with both James and Reid hoping for a big payday. Then, tragedy strikes in a couple of ways, changing Jessica's family dynamic and outlook for the future as well as that of her son and ex-husband.
And herein is the problem in reviewing this book: There's no way to describe what happens from that point on without revealing too much. Suffice it to say it involves revenge, murder, suspense and a whole lot more - all of which kept me wanting to read nonstop from beginning to end (no, not possible, but know that I gave it my all). Thanks to Amazon First Reads for the chance to take it on a test drive before the official launch. It passed with flying colors!
Every single character is flawed - most of them seriously so. And that's a huge part of the appeal, especially as they interact with each other and layers of their backgrounds and personalities are peeled back. Jessica Sommers, you see, is experiencing unadulterated bliss with her husband of just one year, art dealer James (oh wait, perhaps unadulterated isn't the best choice of words; she was married to another man - Wayne - when she started an affair with James, who was married at the time). Jessica and Wayne are the parents of teenage Owen, who has serious health issues; James's ex, Haley, is best described as a bitter, scorned royal witch with a capital B.
At the outset, James's friend Reid Warwick convinces James to help him sell a set of extremely valuable Jackson Pollock sketches; "sketch" may be the operative word here, since the provenance sounds more than a little shaky. But along comes a beautiful female art dealer who's hot to trot, so the deal is off and running, with both James and Reid hoping for a big payday. Then, tragedy strikes in a couple of ways, changing Jessica's family dynamic and outlook for the future as well as that of her son and ex-husband.
And herein is the problem in reviewing this book: There's no way to describe what happens from that point on without revealing too much. Suffice it to say it involves revenge, murder, suspense and a whole lot more - all of which kept me wanting to read nonstop from beginning to end (no, not possible, but know that I gave it my all). Thanks to Amazon First Reads for the chance to take it on a test drive before the official launch. It passed with flying colors!
April 8, 2021
Nothing born of sin ever ends well.
If I have an Adam Mitzner book on my kindle, I will be quick to read it. Always a compelling read with interesting characters that drive the plot. This one asks the question what if you find your soul mate after your married. The emotional train wreck it leaves can be deadly ...literally.
James and Jessica Sommers left such a train wreck. They celebrate their one year anniversary with promise. Who shows up but James ex deranged angry bitter wife. She lets out the expletives'. Jessica's ex-husband is there to show support not for the happy couple but for their 16 year old son Owen.
When an art deal goes deadly wrong and accusations fly, the attention goes to the ex's. No one is cooperating with the police. It becomes where does the evidence lead. I enjoy this narration as it is engaging with the plot and the characters. There is a surprise twist at the end. It is meant with dilemma. We do live with our choices and the question is how do we survive.
A special thank you to Thomas Mercer and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.
If I have an Adam Mitzner book on my kindle, I will be quick to read it. Always a compelling read with interesting characters that drive the plot. This one asks the question what if you find your soul mate after your married. The emotional train wreck it leaves can be deadly ...literally.
James and Jessica Sommers left such a train wreck. They celebrate their one year anniversary with promise. Who shows up but James ex deranged angry bitter wife. She lets out the expletives'. Jessica's ex-husband is there to show support not for the happy couple but for their 16 year old son Owen.
When an art deal goes deadly wrong and accusations fly, the attention goes to the ex's. No one is cooperating with the police. It becomes where does the evidence lead. I enjoy this narration as it is engaging with the plot and the characters. There is a surprise twist at the end. It is meant with dilemma. We do live with our choices and the question is how do we survive.
A special thank you to Thomas Mercer and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.
November 2, 2021
James and Jessica are celebrating their second chance at happiness .... but not everyone is happy for them.
James' ex is bitter, vengeful, and threatening to ruin the relationship between James and Jessica.
Jessica's ex-husband is not happy, but he hangs in there, trying to be civil, because of their teenage son, which presents another problem as well.
And then there is the couple themselves .... are they really in love ... really happy with their new partner? When James starts working with a beautiful woman, Jessica begins to think maybe her marriage isn't that perfect after all.
This domestic thriller is filled with anger, betrayal, suspension, angst. guilt. I expected more character development, instead of a bunch of adults who all need some kind of therapy. It started out slow, but the pace did pick up. There were some interesting twists and turns, but none were totally unexpected.
Many thanks to the author / Amazon Publishing / Netgalley for the digital copy of this family drama. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
James' ex is bitter, vengeful, and threatening to ruin the relationship between James and Jessica.
Jessica's ex-husband is not happy, but he hangs in there, trying to be civil, because of their teenage son, which presents another problem as well.
And then there is the couple themselves .... are they really in love ... really happy with their new partner? When James starts working with a beautiful woman, Jessica begins to think maybe her marriage isn't that perfect after all.
This domestic thriller is filled with anger, betrayal, suspension, angst. guilt. I expected more character development, instead of a bunch of adults who all need some kind of therapy. It started out slow, but the pace did pick up. There were some interesting twists and turns, but none were totally unexpected.
Many thanks to the author / Amazon Publishing / Netgalley for the digital copy of this family drama. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
June 4, 2022
No Perfect Marriage...
It was no perfect marriage, in my opinion, the title was not a perfect title for this tale either. It is a bit misleading. I chose this book among the others for my free kindle unlimited offer of the month thinking this is going to be about exploring the relationship of a married couple's life's ups and downs and which would likely be the two main lead characters.
Far from it, this is more like a Perry Mason's whodunit. There were too many scenes & time spent focused on the lieutenant & his detective partner doing the probing, investigating & speculating which in the end didn't even pan out for them. The other characters, and oh, there are so many of them, I suggest you might want to write the names down describing who they are in the story or you might find yourself doing what I did in the first quarter of the book, flipped some pages back just to remind me. (lol) Also, if you are not a big fan of self-recrimination & self monologue, and I mean ALL of the characters have a galore of those moments, this then may not be for you.
All in all, I find this book just okay. In fairness, it is written well. This is my first read of this writer, Adam Mitzner, and I'm also certain I'm going to read another of his.
It was no perfect marriage, in my opinion, the title was not a perfect title for this tale either. It is a bit misleading. I chose this book among the others for my free kindle unlimited offer of the month thinking this is going to be about exploring the relationship of a married couple's life's ups and downs and which would likely be the two main lead characters.
Far from it, this is more like a Perry Mason's whodunit. There were too many scenes & time spent focused on the lieutenant & his detective partner doing the probing, investigating & speculating which in the end didn't even pan out for them. The other characters, and oh, there are so many of them, I suggest you might want to write the names down describing who they are in the story or you might find yourself doing what I did in the first quarter of the book, flipped some pages back just to remind me. (lol) Also, if you are not a big fan of self-recrimination & self monologue, and I mean ALL of the characters have a galore of those moments, this then may not be for you.
All in all, I find this book just okay. In fairness, it is written well. This is my first read of this writer, Adam Mitzner, and I'm also certain I'm going to read another of his.
April 21, 2021
I didn't find myself particularly moved by this book at all. It was a good story, but it wasn't much more than that. There was enough going on to keep me engaged as the plot moved forward, but I kept waiting for a moment that would make me feel hooked, and it never really came. Maybe it's because I felt disconnected from the characters. They had a lot of drama but not much depth. The fact that Owen is a student at my old high school added a personal touch of nostalgia that I appreciated, but I wanted more from these characters overall. I didn't hate the novel, but I didn't love it, either.
April 8, 2021
The novel opens with James and Jessica Sommers smugly celebrating their first wedding anniversary – and then it’s downhill all the way. So much so that I conceded defeat at 20% as nothing and no one in this dreadful book engaged me one bit. It has nothing to recommend it. It’s banal, bland, trite, jam-packed with clichés, with shallow characterisation, embarrassingly artificial dialogue and a predictable plot. Pointless.
June 23, 2021
I enjoyed this book and the storyline was great. Surprise ending. I did not think that would happen, interesting how it all played out. Karma, baby, Karma....
March 8, 2021
Ugh. The premise is pretty interesting - not the "perfect marriage" part but the son Owen's story. There was promise of some other interesting detours involving the art world, but overall it was pretty disorganized - which was an ok idea since there were more than a couple major characters with different stories but it didn't mesh nor did it fully develop. Subplots that weren't fully fleshed out, characters that could have been interesting but ended up being caricatures. The writing wasn't impressive, which is fine for me if I'm reading a junk food book, but too many other subpar issues with it to get a pass.
June 15, 2024
Unputdownable!
Having read all eight of this author’s previous books I was very pleased to be able obtain an early copy of The Perfect Marriage from Amazon’s Kindle First program.
For quite some time now Adam Mitzner has been on my list of “don't miss" authors -- meaning that if he wrote it, I'll be rushing to read it — and with The Perfect Marriage he continues to rise to near the pinnacle of this list. This is because Mitzner has once again demonstrated his consistently strong ability to further advance his skills for writing intelligent, credible, and very hard-to-put-down mysteries.
Without describing its plot, which can be read about in the Book Description above, The Perfect Marriage shares — and in some cases surpasses — many of the same qualities that has made me a big fan of each of Mitzner's eight previous highly recommendable books. These qualities involve: 1) excellent pacing, which starts off slow and steadily builds to a level that will have you turning the pages at a rapid pace to find out what happens next; 2) creating highly realistic flawed, yet sympathetic, characters; 3) providing such true-to-life prose that makes you feel you are actually hearing the characters speaking their words; 4) having the characters be so fully dimensionalized that you forget you are reading a book and not right there with them experiencing the turmoil in their lives; and 5) providing some interesting plot twists.
I think it’s obvious from my above comments that I highly recommend you rush out to get a copy of The Perfect Marriage on or soon after its April1st publication date.
Having read all eight of this author’s previous books I was very pleased to be able obtain an early copy of The Perfect Marriage from Amazon’s Kindle First program.
For quite some time now Adam Mitzner has been on my list of “don't miss" authors -- meaning that if he wrote it, I'll be rushing to read it — and with The Perfect Marriage he continues to rise to near the pinnacle of this list. This is because Mitzner has once again demonstrated his consistently strong ability to further advance his skills for writing intelligent, credible, and very hard-to-put-down mysteries.
Without describing its plot, which can be read about in the Book Description above, The Perfect Marriage shares — and in some cases surpasses — many of the same qualities that has made me a big fan of each of Mitzner's eight previous highly recommendable books. These qualities involve: 1) excellent pacing, which starts off slow and steadily builds to a level that will have you turning the pages at a rapid pace to find out what happens next; 2) creating highly realistic flawed, yet sympathetic, characters; 3) providing such true-to-life prose that makes you feel you are actually hearing the characters speaking their words; 4) having the characters be so fully dimensionalized that you forget you are reading a book and not right there with them experiencing the turmoil in their lives; and 5) providing some interesting plot twists.
I think it’s obvious from my above comments that I highly recommend you rush out to get a copy of The Perfect Marriage on or soon after its April1st publication date.
March 7, 2021
Momentum in books is a funny thing. Some are break-neck the whole time. Others plod along. This book's first half flew by. Then it got slower. And slower. I think part of the problem for me as a reader is that I simply didn't care about anyone in the book. It might have been designed that way, as they certainly aren't written as sympathetic characters. It was good enough to finish. Faint praise, that.
April 20, 2021
Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for my copy.
Adam Mitzner is a great legal thriller writer.
This book was good, especially the last 30 percent or so, but not one of my favorites of Mitzner’s. I felt it spent a bit too much time on the setup, with a lot of details and plot points about the underground art world that weren’t too dramatic or strictly necessary to the story. Or maybe this is just not an area that interests me. Regardless, it took until about 40 percent in for anything super interesting to happen. But from that point, we were off to the races.
At the end of the book is where the special Mitzner magic comes in. An ingenious and unexpected plot twist combines with Mitzner’s usual fantastic courtroom scenes to make this a really neat story. Here too, as always in Mitzner’s books, the reader gets great courtroom scenes peppered with accurate caselaw so that you might learn something new about the law.
Adam Mitzner is a great legal thriller writer.
This book was good, especially the last 30 percent or so, but not one of my favorites of Mitzner’s. I felt it spent a bit too much time on the setup, with a lot of details and plot points about the underground art world that weren’t too dramatic or strictly necessary to the story. Or maybe this is just not an area that interests me. Regardless, it took until about 40 percent in for anything super interesting to happen. But from that point, we were off to the races.
At the end of the book is where the special Mitzner magic comes in. An ingenious and unexpected plot twist combines with Mitzner’s usual fantastic courtroom scenes to make this a really neat story. Here too, as always in Mitzner’s books, the reader gets great courtroom scenes peppered with accurate caselaw so that you might learn something new about the law.
April 21, 2021
Tragic
This book started out so happy and full of joy. Then the unthinkable happed and joy quickly turned into tragedy. The plot was chalk full of whodunnits. I really didn’t like anyone in the book as the author did a brilliant job of exposing everyone’s flaws and because of this, it held my interest.
This book started out so happy and full of joy. Then the unthinkable happed and joy quickly turned into tragedy. The plot was chalk full of whodunnits. I really didn’t like anyone in the book as the author did a brilliant job of exposing everyone’s flaws and because of this, it held my interest.
January 10, 2022
Decent book. The ascending action was filled with suspense. The climax was unexpected but the descending action and resolution left me wanting more. More in the sense of twists and turns. There wasn’t enough sub plot. The ultimate ending was lacking gumption. It wasn’t an ending to vaunt about but nonetheless it was a pleasant read.
October 28, 2022
2.5 stars ✨
March 29, 2021
3.5 Stars rounded up
REVIEW TO COME
REVIEW TO COME
Displaying 1 - 30 of 620 reviews