What holds a strong and loving marriage together? Lies and secrets in a novel of twisting psychological suspense by a New York Times bestselling author. Los Angeles homicide detective Dinah Marino may have a complicated relationship with her family, but her psychiatrist husband, Joe, makes her feel safe, secure, and happy. She couldn’t want for a more loving or trusting man. But throughout their ten-year marriage, she’s been keeping a secret from him—a secret she’d take to the grave. Dr. Joe Marino loves his wife more than anything in this world, but there are things he’s learned to keep close to the chest. When a missing woman tied to his wife’s latest case is admitted to his hospital, doctor-patient confidentiality lands their marriage on some new and uneven ground. As Dinah digs deeper into her case, tension works its way inside their picture-perfect home. Now the carefully constructed lies between them don’t just simply threaten the delicate balance of their marriage—they could kill.
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2.75* A.R. Torre has been one of my go-to authors, an instant-buy for me every time. (And I say this regardless of whether the plots are a miss, because I'm just a massive fan of her writing style). So I was super excited to dive into A Happy Marriage. Only... it didn't quite hit it for me. I'm all about unhinged, toxic main characters; they're my absolute guilty pleasure (her book, The Last Party, for example, THAT was a WILD ride and I gave it a solid 5 stars!).
But this time around, the writing felt flat. The dialogue was kind of monotonous, making it hard to stay engaged. While the plot had some twists here and there, the characters felt pretty surface-level.
On that point, taking the FMC, Dinah, for example. One of the only few things we know about her, which is the absolute bare minimum, is that she's a detective with the LAPD. That's it. We don't know how, where, or when she got here. So when I say bare minimum, I mean it - there wasn’t anything interesting about her (my opinion, of course) that made want to empathize / relate / root for her. Unlike some of Torre's other books where the MCs have always been linked to some sort of monumental past trauma, Dinah's background feels underdeveloped. I felt like she kind of just 'fell' to her 'darker' side without much explanation or objective. There's no 'focus' or character development/background, so it was pretty hard for me to invest her the characters in this book, including Dinah.
I also noticed that the tone in this book might vibe better with readers who prefer simpler writing styles, kind of like what Freida McFadden does in her narratives. While that can work for some, it isn't for me. I really missed the author’s sharp wit and depth, which has always been present in her other books.
That said, if you're into stories that explore darker themes and complex relationships, you might find some gems here. But for me, it just didn't deliver the ‘crazy thrill’ I was craving.
***
Shout out and many thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for providing this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
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