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The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen: A Razor‑Sharp, Unputdownable Thriller (Hardcover Review, 2022)

ByInnoVirtuoso

What if the person you hired to save your marriage used tactics so radical they could destroy it? That’s the queasy, irresistible question at the heart of The Golden Couple, the 2022 domestic-suspense novel from #1 New York Times bestselling duo Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen. It’s a thriller that invites you in with the glossy promise of perfection—wealthy D.C. suburb, picture-perfect family, impeccably decorated home—and then peels back the layers until you’re not sure who, or what, is safe.

If you loved The Wife Between Us or crave twisty psychological fiction with a heartbeat, this book delivers the goods: compulsive pacing, elegant misdirection, and characters with so much to hide that every chapter feels like a trapdoor. And yes, it’s genuinely hard to put down. Let’s dive into why it works—and who it’s best for—without spoiling the surprises that make it a standout.

What The Golden Couple Is About (Without Spoilers)

At first glance, Marissa and Matthew Bishop are living a curated life: Washington, D.C. money, the right neighborhood, an eight-year-old son, and markers of success at every turn. But the marriage is fraying. As the book opens, Marissa confesses an affair and seeks help. She doesn’t choose a conventional therapist. She chooses Avery Chambers.

Avery lost her license. She’s not your typical clinician. She runs a ten-session program with rules of her own, a high-touch method that blends therapy with investigation. Think strategist, not hand-holder. The Bishops agree to play by her rules, which is the first twist of the knife: once you enter Avery’s orbit, you don’t keep your secrets for long.

As the sessions tick down, Hendricks and Pekkanen ratchet up tension. The consequences of Marissa’s choice widen. People connected to the couple—friends, colleagues, even rivals—start to matter in ways you won’t expect. And the biggest secrets don’t belong to the person you think they do. That’s the engine of the book’s suspense: every revelation points to a larger, more dangerous truth.

If the premise has you hooked, Check it on Amazon to explore formats and recent reader reviews.

Meet the Characters Driving the Suspense

There are three core forces in The Golden Couple: Marissa, Matthew, and Avery. Each one is an unreliable narrator—less because they lie and more because they’re complicated people under pressure.

  • Marissa Bishop: Not the perfect woman she projects, but not a villain either. She’s ambitious, flawed, and fighting for a family she believes in. Her voice captures the fear of losing everything and the pride that keeps her from telling the whole truth.
  • Matthew Bishop: Controlled, successful, outwardly calm. He’s the husband who looks steady enough to anchor a storm, and yet his stillness hides currents of disappointment and anger. The book keeps you guessing about his motives—and his limits.
  • Avery Chambers: The galvanizing force. She’s brilliant, boundary-pushing, and morally gray. Avery’s methods—surveillance-adjacent tactics, direct confrontation, and a refusal to let clients dodge responsibility—create much of the book’s forward motion.

What elevates this trio is credibility. The dynamics feel real: the bite of marital resentment, the weird politeness of fragile friendships, the brittle shine of high‑achiever circles. Avery’s methods also raise ethical questions that mirror real discussions in the therapeutic world about boundaries and power—the American Psychological Association’s Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct offers context for why Avery’s choices make your heart race.

Prefer to sample a few pages first? View on Amazon and use the Look Inside feature before you commit.

Themes That Make This Thriller Stick

The Golden Couple isn’t just a twist machine; it’s a story with teeth. Here are the themes that deepen the experience:

  • The Performance of Perfection: The Bishops’ life looks “Instagram ready,” but the cost of that image is isolation and secrecy. The book asks: when you build a brand around your relationship, what happens when it cracks?
  • Trust and Surveillance: Avery’s willingness to step over lines (for the “greater good”) raises questions about ends and means. Who gets to decide what’s best for a family? This thread lands for anyone who’s ever wondered how much privacy you trade for safety.
  • Power, Money, and Influence: Set among wealthy Washington suburbanites, the story examines how privilege shields bad behavior—and sometimes makes it worse. For a broader snapshot of the authors’ standing in the genre, see the New York Times Best Sellers list where their earlier work has appeared.
  • The Stories We Tell Ourselves: Each character justifies their actions with a story. The friction between those stories—husband vs. wife, therapist vs. client—is the source of the novel’s crackling tension.

Here’s why that matters: thrillers that resonate long after the last page usually give you more than surprises. They give you something to argue about.

Pacing, Structure, and Why It’s Hard to Stop Reading

Hendricks and Pekkanen are masters of momentum. Scenes are short, stakes escalate quickly, and the authors trade control between POVs to keep you slightly off-balance. The ten-session framework functions like a clock counting down in the background. It’s a simple device that creates natural urgency.

You’ll also notice the rhythm: personal confessions, investigative incursions, and subtle threats from the outside world. The book toggles between the sanctum of Avery’s sessions and the wider network surrounding the Bishops. Every time you think the danger is contained, it leaks into a new corner—school, work, social circles—and the fallout grows.

Want a domestic thriller that reads fast without feeling cheap? Shop on Amazon and have your weekend binge lined up.

Who Will Love The Golden Couple?

This novel is ideal for readers who enjoy:

  • Domestic suspense with morally gray leads
  • Smart, high-stakes relationship drama
  • Twists that land because the groundwork is solid
  • Washington, D.C.–area settings and upscale suburban intrigue
  • Author duos who write like a single, confident voice

If Lisa Jewell, B.A. Paris, and Shari Lapena are already on your shelf, you’re in the target zone. And if you prefer twisty relationship fiction with an emotional core (think Taylor Jenkins Reid’s propulsive storytelling energy), you’ll find familiar pleasures here—even if the tone is darker. For a sense of the authors’ professional backgrounds and creative process, visit Greer Hendricks’ site and Sarah Pekkanen’s site.

Hardcover, Paperback, or Audiobook? A Quick Buying Guide

Let’s talk formats and fit:

  • Hardcover: Published March 8, 2022, the hardcover is giftable and durable. The short chapters make it a great sofa read. If you’re building a thriller collection, it looks sharp on a shelf and holds up to re-reads or lending.
  • Paperback: Typically lighter and more budget-friendly. If you’re the type to annotate or toss a book in your commute bag, this is low-stress and portable.
  • Audiobook: The dual-POV structure is excellent in audio, especially if you enjoy voice performance that brings character subtext alive. Audio also maintains the book’s brisk pace—you can power through in a weekend.
  • eBook: Instant delivery, adjustable font sizes, and built-in highlighting for book club notes. Good if you read at night and don’t want to wake a partner.

Buying tips: – If you want the best “feel” experience, go hardcover. – If price matters most, go paperback or watch for eBook deals. – For multitaskers, audio is your friend—cooking, gym, school pick-up line.

Ready to pick your format and get the best deal? See price on Amazon.

What Sets This Duo Apart in Domestic Suspense

Hendricks and Pekkanen have carved out a brand: elegant plots, relationship-driven psyches, and reveals that feel earned. Their collaboration—once editor and author, now co-authors—gives them an unusual advantage. They understand structure and audience expectations at a granular level, and it shows.

  • Clean plotting: No messy deus ex machina twists; clues are placed like breadcrumbs.
  • Real stakes: Personal safety is on the line, but so is reputation, career, and parenting identity.
  • Tonal control: They keep the story tense without veering into cruelty for shock’s sake.

For publishing context and more from their catalog, you can browse the thriller catalog at Macmillan/ St. Martin’s Press.

Standout (Spoiler-Free) Moments

Without giving away the reveals, a few structural and thematic beats deserve a nod:

  • The first time Avery steps outside the expected “therapist” role, you feel both protected and uneasy. That moral friction fuels the book.
  • A confrontation at a social gathering that weaponizes politeness—few things sting like a public scene in a world built on perfection.
  • Several high-stakes scenes where private information becomes public leverage, creating that “my chest is tight” reading sensation.

These moments work because the authors seed them early with small, almost throwaway details. When those details reappear, they snap into place.

About Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

Hendricks and Pekkanen have become a must-read duo in modern psychological suspense. Before co-writing, Hendricks spent years as an editor, which informs the pair’s sharp structural instincts. Pekkanen, a journalist and bestselling novelist, brings emotional nuance and pace. Together, they’ve produced consistent bestsellers with crisp prose and sophisticated plots. You can read more about their careers and works at Greer Hendricks’ official site and Sarah Pekkanen’s official site.

How It Compares to The Wife Between Us and An Anonymous Girl

If you’re already a fan, you’ll want to know: How does The Golden Couple stack up?

  • The Wife Between Us: That novel dazzles with an all-timer twist and deeply unreliable narration. The Golden Couple offers a more procedural pulse, anchored by Avery’s ten-session framework. It’s slightly less “gotcha,” slightly more “watch this knot tighten.”
  • An Anonymous Girl: Ethics and therapy drive both books. If you enjoyed the psychological experiments and power play in Anonymous Girl, you’ll appreciate Avery’s unorthodox methods here—different setup, similar thrill of boundary-pushing psychology.
  • Voice and feel: The Golden Couple leans into upscale D.C. tensions—status, politics-adjacent careers, performative marriage. It feels contemporary without diving into tech gimmicks.

If you loved The Wife Between Us and want the duo’s latest twist, Buy on Amazon and queue it up next.

For Book Clubs: Talking Points That Spark Conversation

This is a stellar book club pick because the moral questions are so alive. Consider discussing:

  • Where is the line between “helping” and “controlling” in Avery’s approach?
  • Which character did you trust most at the start—and how did that change?
  • How do privilege and image shape the Bishops’ choices?
  • What would forgiveness look like in this marriage, on a practical level?
  • Did the ending feel inevitable in retrospect? Which clues did you miss?

Want to take it further? Pair the read with a short refresher on therapy boundaries—again, the APA’s ethics code is a useful touchstone—and consider whether your verdict on Avery shifts with that context.

Should You Read The Golden Couple? Final Verdict

If you’re in the mood for a sleek, smart domestic thriller that respects your intelligence and plays fair with its twists, The Golden Couple is an easy yes. It’s polished, emotionally taut, and designed to keep you up late. The characters linger, the reveals satisfy, and the themes give you something to chew on after you close the cover. For new readers, it’s a great gateway to Hendricks & Pekkanen; for returning fans, it’s proof the duo still has fresh moves.

Actionable takeaway: Read it when you can devote real time—you’ll want to keep turning pages. And if this review was helpful, consider subscribing for more craft-focused, spoiler-free thriller guides and curated reading recs each month.

FAQ: The Golden Couple (Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen)

Q: Is The Golden Couple part of a series? A: No. It’s a standalone psychological thriller with a complete arc, ideal for one-and-done reading or book club picks.

Q: How intense is it—any graphic content? A: The tension is high, but the authors rely more on psychological pressure than graphic violence. There are mature themes, infidelity, and moments of danger, but it’s not gore-forward.

Q: What makes Avery’s therapy approach controversial? A: She operates without a license and uses aggressive, investigative tactics that would violate conventional therapeutic boundaries. That gray zone is a major source of suspense.

Q: Is the pacing fast or slow-burn? A: Fast. Short chapters, multiple POVs, and a countdown structure keep the story moving with consistent cliffhangers.

Q: Will fans of The Wife Between Us enjoy this? A: Yes. While the narrative architecture differs, it delivers similar pleasures: unreliable perspectives, layered secrets, and reveals that land because the groundwork is meticulous.

Q: Is the audiobook good? A: Yes. The dual perspectives translate well to audio performance, keeping character voices distinct and tension tight during commutes or chores.

Q: Is this suitable for a book club? A: Absolutely. Themes of trust, secrecy, privilege, and ethical boundaries provide rich terrain for discussion without requiring spoilers to talk meaningfully.

Q: Where can I learn more about the authors? A: Check out their official sites for book lists, interviews, and tour info: Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen.

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InnoVirtuoso

Hello there! I'm passionate content writer navigating the digital landscape. With a deep love for words and an insatiable curiosity about technology.

With 10 years of experience in IT field, I write mostly about emerging tech, sharing news, informational articles and covering other topics I find interesting.

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