This book was on my NetGalley radar, but despite submitting a request, I wasn’t approved for an ARC. The blurb sucked me in the first time I read it, so it was a no brainer to purchase the book when I didn’t get approved for an ARC. Hey, it happens. Rejection aside, I’m thoroughly jazzed I followed through on this one. Below is my five-star review.
BOOK BLURB:
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.
MY REVIEW:
What a twisty, atmospheric, and haunting read! Amelia and Adam are a married couple who take a trip to a converted old chapel in a remote area of Scotland. Right from the start, the reader knows their marriage is in trouble, hanging by a thread. Adam is a workaholic screenwriter who suffers from facial blindness—he can’t see or remember people’s faces, including that of his wife. I won’t reiterate the rest of the blurb but will say this book twists and turns in ways I never saw coming. The chapel is wonderfully eerie with an old supernatural history, locked doors, a creepy wine cellar, unheated rooms, and a crumbling bell tower. The remote location is made even more ominous for its winter setting and raging snowstorm.
Chapters alternate between Amelia and Adam, and another woman, Robin, a recluse in a small cottage nearby. There are also letters that Adam’s wife writes to him every year on their anniversary, and a unique spin on the game of rock, paper, scissors. This is one of those books where it’s difficult to say much without giving away spoilers. I will say that I was mesmerized from start to finish, gobsmacked by the twists, and enamored of the creepy, snowbound setting. I read late into the night to finish it, then found it disturbing, haunting, and utterly satisfying. What a winner!
I’ve got this to read, I’m looking forward to reading 💕
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Jenny, I can’t wait to see your review. It’s awesome!
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Dammit. That sounds good! Sigh.
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OK I just kindled it and gets this message ‘Soon to be a Netflix series from the producer of The Crown’ so there’s a thing! ALso go on holiday again please so I can get through the books I’ve already got!
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Ooo! I had no idea about the Netflix series. I can’t wait. It’s going to be so eerie and odd. Happy Kindle reading.
Oh, and you’re stuck with me a bit until the next vacay, LOL!
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You need more bookstuffing Fraggle. It’s a good one 🙂
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I do like snowy settings. They make things feel isolated and more haunting and dangerous. Good review!
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I so agree, Priscilla. And this one did exactly that. Even the opening with sheep crowded on the road at night, eyes glowing in the darkness, sent a shiver up my spine.
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Sounds like a great read. I just recommended the book to my local library. Hopefully, they’ll get a copy or it will go on sale sometime in the future.
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Fingers crossed, Joan. It’s an excellent book. I hope your library is able to get it!
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The title immediately grabbed my attention. The blurb and your review sparked my interest enough to buy the book.
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Yay! I really liked this one, Karen. And the ending caught me completely by surprise. I wish you happy reading.
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Sounds like it sets the mood for what’s coming quite well.
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The winter setting and isolated surrounding really did it’s job, Craig. Very moody and atmospheric!
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Sorry you didn’t get the ARC. This does sound like a great read. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Mae 🙂
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In this case not getting the ARC worked out, Harmony. Sometimes I buy a book because I didn’t net an ARC, only to be sorry I spent the money. In the case of Rock Paper Scissors the book was so good, I didn’t mind!
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Message from Harmony’s TBR … Mae, please don’t review any more great reads … my owner is a bookaholic and just bought this book … groan, grumble, mumble, mumble 😂
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LOL! You sound like Fraggle, Harmony (or should I say Harmony’s TBR). 😀
I get excited about good reads. I can’t wait to hear what you think of this one. It’s so awesome!
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I also requested this and was denied. I guess I’m going to have to get it anyway. Sounds great.
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I was bummed I didn’t get approved for an ARC, Staci, but I’m glad I picked it up. It’s engrossing and different.
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This sounds intriguing, Mae. The setting, the premise – I’m going to have to pick this one up. Thank you for sharing it!
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The setting really added to the story, Gwen. I think you’ll enjoy it. It’s different with plenty of twists involved!
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You could have knocked me over with a feather when that first big twist was revealed. It’s such a wonderfully crazy story. I’m so glad you enjoyed it as much as I did. Wonderful review!
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Tessa, I love your description of a wonderful, crazy story. That’s exactly what it is! I’d been waiting for NetGalley approval, but once I saw your review, I knew I was going to have to grab it regardless. So glad I did!
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Didn’t you want to go back and reread it once you knew what was going on? I did.
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Yes. Absolutely! It was soooo clever!
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I saw this one on Tessa’s blog also and think she also gave it five stars. Love the idea of the setting, and you just know that facial blindness plays into the plot somehow.
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Yep, facial blindness certainly does play into the plot, Teri. And the setting is perfect. I devoured this one!
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Mae, you had me at “twisty, atmospheric, and haunting”! Domestic thrillers are my absolute favorites, so your review has inspired me to head over to Amazon on this one. Thanks for the review – and for not giving too much away with spoilers. – the sign of an expert reviewer!
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Aww, thanks for the compliment, Maura Beth. It was difficult to write a review for this one without spoiling anything. I’m excited you’re going to pick it up. I love domestic thrillers too, and this one is exceptional. Happy reading!
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I love the plot but what really caught my attention was the face blindness. I read “The Man Who Thought His Wife Was a Hat” which is Oliver Sachs clinical discussion of that. Fascinating. I hope in this story she wears a bright red hat!
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Jacqui, I had never heard of face blindness before reading this book. It’s mind-boggling to think such a thing exists. I bet Sachs clinical discussion was fascinating!
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It is boggling! She wore a red hat (as I recall) so he could find her. Helps but not for all the other people.
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Wow! It’s so bizarre to think that such a thing as face blindness exists.
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Hooray! Another book to add to my list. The face blindness is certainly a twist.
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I think you’ll enjoy this one, Noelle. Hooray for overflowing TBRs, LOL!
The face blindness was such a unique plot device. I’d never heard of it before reading Rock Paper Scissors. It’s difficult to imagine going through life that way!
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I am intrigued and would like to know why ARC copies are denied to regular readers and reviewers! I am not a member of net-gallery though. I am glad you found this book worth buying. I am reading Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson, a totally immersive, blood-boiling non-fiction.
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I don’t how NG approvals work either Balroop. Sometimes I’ll request a book and get approved the next day. Other times, I request and the request is neither acknowledged nor declined (such as in this case), but the book gets published and the request eventually disappears. Other times a book may sit on my NG shelf for months waiting approval. I have one I’m still waiting to hear back on that publishes later this year, but which I request in July. Strange!
I don’t read a lot of nonfiction, but every now and then I delve into a subject that interests me or someone I want to research. Your description of “blood boiling” has me thinking it’s an eyeopener. I’ll be looking for your review.
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Thanks for the explanation, much appreciated. Caste is more of a historical that records the treatment meted out to blacks in America and there are many comparisons that the author makes with Nazi atrocities and caste system in India. It would be quite difficult to write a review of such a vast subject but I would try.
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I did look it up, Balroop. I commend you for reading it. I’m not sure I could, and I imagine writing a review would be most difficult. A book like that is something I’d really have to be in the mindset to read.
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I do love these type of settings. I will have to check it out.
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The setting really enriched the book, Denise. It was awesome!
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This sounds like something right up my alley. I do love a good suspense novel. Nice review, Mae.
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If you enjoy a good suspense novel, you’ll like this one, Michele. It really delivered!
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Sounds amazing, Mae! I love books that are tough to review without spoilers. It means the story’s full of twists and turns.
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I completely agree, Sue. And this one was a definitely a twisty tale!
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Sounds like a good one, Mae. Thanks for the review.
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Thanks, John. I really enjoyed it.
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Ooohhh, this sounds like a compelling story from start to finish! I am going to put this on my radar. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on it, Mae! What a great recommendation!
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It’s a fantastic story, Jan. I couldn’t put it down, especially with all the twists and snowbound setting. Glad it’s on your radar!
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Ooh, this sounds good! I got a shiver just by looking at the cover, lol
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The cover was the first thing that attracted me, Jacquie. And then that unique title…which definitely plays into the plot. So good!
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Mae, wow! This is a terrific review and you’ve sold it to me totally!! What a fantastic summary of how you feel about it with ‘I will say that I was mesmerized from start to finish, gobsmacked by the twists, and enamored of the creepy, snowbound setting.’ One I look forward to reading!
I hope NetGalley see this and learn not to reject you for a book again! 😀
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LOL! Thanks, Annika. NG didn’t actually reject me, but they didn’t approve me either, which means the book published and was/is still sitting in my pending shelf. Sometimes they still do approvals afterwards, but I believe it’s rare and I really wanted to read this one. I’m so glad I did. If you pick it up, I wish you happy reading!
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Wow, disturbing, haunting, and utterly satisfying. That comment really draws readers in, and you stayed late to finish the book. I’ve read some of those kinds of books. I also like the chapters alternate between Adam and Amelia. I could hear them talking but not with each other!! Wonderful review, Mae!
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Thanks, Miriam. This book really delivered. It will likely end up being one of my top reads for the year!
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I wonder why you couldn’t get an ARC of this book. It sounds very intriguing. I’ve never heard of facial blindness before.
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Facial blindness was new to me too, Robbie, but I found the way it worked into the plot riveting. The whole concept is mind boggling to me.
Sometimes I think publishers only part with so many ARCs from NetGalley. I’m not 100% sure, but I am glad I went the extra step and bought this one when it was released. It was awesome!
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Your comment about ARC’s makes sense to me. They want a certain number of advanced reviews and that’s enough for a launch.
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Yay! This one sounds like it wins on all counts. Thanks for finding such good books:)
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I am so thankful for NetGalley and the reads I discover there. Even though I didn’t score an ARC of this book, that was the first place I spied it.
An excellent mystery!
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This one sounds deliciously chilling!
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It’s definitely that, Mark!
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Sounds like a great read, Mae. I love gob-smacking twists. 🙂 And the setting is cool as is the mystery of those unwritten letters. Thanks for sharing your review and recommendation. 😀
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I really liked this one, Diana, That setting added so much to the story, and the twists were mind-blowing. Thanks for checking out the review!
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My kindle is gorged, but I so much want to pick this up!
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Mine is the same way, but I caved on this one, LOL!
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Mae, this sounds really intriguing– the story and especially the Scotland setting!
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The setting really added to it, Flossie, but the whole but was fantastic!
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You basically had me with the title, but the entire book sounds very good!
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It’s an awesome read, Betsy, and very curious how the title (and the game) play into the story!
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Oooh, can’t wait!
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