Yeah, you’re reading this right. A book review from the man known for exclusively covering sports topics or music reviews. Honestly, I’m surprised that I’m sitting down and writing this to begin with. Nonetheless, here we are. 

I was scrolling through my suggestions on Apple’s “Books” app, where I listened to most of the audiobooks that I owned, and an eye-catching cover drew my attention. “The Perfect Marriage,” it read. A thriller that told the story of A DC Defense Attorney who is thrown into the job of defending her husband in a trial where his pregnant mistress is killed. 

Wild story, I know. 

Nevertheless, it caught my attention, and my local library had it in stock, so I went and rented it out (Support your local Libraries, by the way!) 

I got the book a few days ago, and just recently finished reading it, as of writing this, and boy, do I have some thoughts. 

There is major spoilers incoming so if you are planning on reading this or just don’t want to be spoiled, scroll away!!!!!

Now, to kick things off, we’re thrown right into the middle of the major driving force behind this story. Our main character, Sarah Morgan, is wrapping up her closing statements for a trial and is forced into the heart of the city for work. While she’s away, her husband Adam sneaks away to their lake house in the countryside to further engage in an ongoing affair with Kelley Summers. 

It’s here that we are immediately get thrown in a bunch of different directions. At the house, Adam confesses his love for Kelley, saying “It’s you. It hasn’t always been, but I know it’s you”. Only for him to immediately swing the other way when Sarah gets back to their DC home and tells Adam that she wants to start trying for a child, something Adam has desperately wanted. 

The next day, while Sarah is in town for work, Adam officially gets arrested for Kelley’s murder, which fully submerges us in the chaos. Despite all the emotions going through her head, Sarah takes his case.

After a roller coaster ride of emotions and storylines, we get to the ending. Sarah presents her case, and the jury reaches a verdict. Adam is found guilty and set to face a lethal injection. Hours before he’s set to meet his end, Sarah gets a well-justified goodbye and tells Adam off, right as he’s about to be killed. A very heavy tone shift? Absolutely. 

As she’s walking out of the prison having just watched Adam be killed, she finally explains everything. As it turns out, she was the one (with her soon-to-be husband Bob Miller) who killed Kelley and framed Adam for the crime. 

Jaw. Dropped. 

When I first read that ending, I audibly gasped, and my jaw was on the floor for several minutes. I literally couldn’t believe what I was reading. And for that, I have to give props to the author Jeneva Rose. Knocked it out of the park. 

With all of that being said, the ending did spark some controversy. Many readers thought the ending was rushed or sloppy. Do I agree? No. But I saw a comment online that I do want to share. “How is it expected we believe Sarah to be the bad guy when literally we hear her entire inner dialogue?” 

I’d say that’s my biggest gripe with the book. The ending, although very shocking and well done, was a little hard to grasp and left me with some unanswered questions. That, combined with a litany of plot holes is what weighed down this book’s score for me personally. 

On the flip side, there was a myriad of things that made this book very, very good. All of the characters in this book were very well done. The good guys were easy to get behind and the bad guys were so easy to hate. Pointing to a specific example, Eleanor (Adam’s mom) had me rolling my eyes on several different occasions. 

Not to mention Adam, who, despite literally facing the death penalty, escaped prison and house arrest (twice!). Now, why would he do that when he knows the alternative is more time in jail? All of that is just a perfect example of how well-written these characters were. 

Overall, I thought this was a very solid book. I really enjoyed the plot, all the twists and turns the author through us on in this story, and despite two glaring problems, I thought this was a very good book. 

Official Rating: 8.5/10