In a first-person narrative this story would have been limited to the thoughts of Anne or Marco Conti, but the third person allows the extensive character development of Cynthia, her husband Graham, both Anne and Marco, Anne’s parents, and Detective Rasbach. The book is narrated in the third person, allowing the narrative to float seamlessly between the thoughts of each individual character. Each character has been developed to be realistic and believable. Every character in the novel, from the protagonists to the neighbour Cynthia and Detective Rasbach, is so complex. Lapena does a great job of developing the characters.
It maintains a sense of suspense in the novel, increasing the immediacy of the action.Įvery character in the novel, from the protagonists to the neighbour Cynthia and Detective Rasbach, is so complex. This tense is very apt as it fits the thriller genre – the reader witnesses the action unfolding at the same time the characters do.
The Couple Next Door swoops right into the middle of the action, half way through the dinner party on the fateful night, written in present tense. The book had me hooked from the first few pages. Through the voice and theories of Detective Rasbach, she suggests that people are capable of anything and everything in certain situations. Lapena uses the kidnapping of the child to explore how far people are prepared to go to get what they want. Reaching the top of the Sunday Times Bestseller list, Shari Lapena’s The Couple Next Door was labelled ‘the new The Girl on the Train ’ by i magazine. Lapena maintains a sense of suspense in the novel, increasing the immediacy of the action.
The police find prescription medicine for Anne’s postpartum depression and find bad business reports for Marco Conti, making both parents suspects in the kidnapping of their own daughter. But when they return, they discover the unthinkable has happened – somebody has taken Cora.Īnne and Marco understand their position looks bad – they left the child alone. Armed with a monitor and regular visits at half-hour intervals, they assume Cora will be fine. In The Couple Next Door, Anne and Marco Conti leave their sixth-month-old daughter, Cora, at home whilst they go next door for a dinner party.
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