Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney Published by Flatiron Books on August 19, 2021
Pages: 297
Genres: Mystery, Thriller
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Think you know the person you married? Think again…
Things have been wrong with Mr and Mrs Wright for a long time. When Adam and Amelia win a weekend away to Scotland, it might be just what their marriage needs. Self-confessed workaholic and screenwriter Adam Wright has lived with face blindness his whole life. He can’t recognize friends or family, or even his own wife.
Every anniversary the couple exchange traditional gifts – paper, cotton, pottery, tin – and each year Adam’s wife writes him a letter that she never lets him read. Until now. They both know this weekend will make or break their marriage, but they didn’t randomly win this trip. One of them is lying, and someone doesn’t want them to live happily ever after.
Ten years of marriage. Ten years of secrets. And an anniversary they will never forget.
Rock Paper Scissors is the latest exciting domestic thriller from the queen of the killer twist, New York Times bestselling author Alice Feeney.
Given all the 5-star reviews, I’m clearly in the minority here. At least the first third of Rock Paper Scissors is painfully slow, making this thriller less thrilling than I’d hoped. I found the anniversary letters to be rather dull and wanted to fast forward through the flashbacks.
This is the first book I’ve read by Alice Feeney, the purported “queen of the killer twist”, so I expected a plot twist or two. The story does deliver several twists and turns — some more clever and unexpected than others. Unfortunately, they all occur too late in the book to fully make up for the slow start, despite the faster—albeit choppy—rhythm in the last half.
Rock Paper Scissors is an intriguing story that is well written, but the pacing is too off and the characters are largely unappealing. Sometimes I appreciate an untidy ending, and I did enjoy the fact that this one left me thinking. I am definitely interested in reading more of Alice Feeney’s work.
Recommended for fans of:
Mystery
Thrillers
Plot twists
Remote settings
Complicated marriages
About Alice Feeney
Alice Feeney is a New York Times bestselling author and journalist. Her debut novel, Sometimes I Lie, was an international bestseller, has been translated into over twenty languages, and is being made into a TV series by Warner Bros. starring Sarah Michelle Gellar. His & Hers is also being adapted for screen by Jessica Chastain’s Freckle Films.
Alice was a BBC Journalist for fifteen years, and now lives in the British countryside with her family. Rock Paper Scissors is her fourth novel and is being made into a TV series for Netflix by the producer of The Crown. It will be published around the world in 2021.
I am not a fan of slow, but I’m hoping I am more toward 5 stars when I get to this one. I requested the audio from the library. I’m hoping speeding up the narration will help. Great review!
The wait at my library was crazy long! I wound up using an Audible credit. I hope you enjoy it more than I did.