Rock Paper Scissors
Are you looking for a feel-good, heartwarming look at marriage through the eyes of a couple going on a romantic anniversary weekend getaway?
Yeah … you’re gonna want to look in a different book for that.
Adam and Amelia Wright are making a last ditch effort to save their marriage by travelling to Blackwater Loch, a remote, isolated chapel that was converted to a home in the Scottish Highlands .. a trip that Amelia won in a workplace raffle. The tension between them is thick - neither trusting the other. To make matters worse, Adam suffers from Prosopagnosia, or face blindness, as well as a raging case of ‘I’m an a**hole’-itis (I’m not sure the medical term for that), so in a figurative and literal sense, he never really “sees” his wife, or anyone else for that matter. His first love has always been his writing, and as a screenwriter, he’s been in the shadows, adapting other writers’ books for film … except for the original screenplay he wrote and hasn’t been able to bring to production: Rock, Paper, Scissors. That story, and the game that inspired it, play a repeated role in the story.
For all of Adam’s faults, Amelia is even worse, which is quite an achievement, considering the bar her husband set. She’s sneaky, insecure, and lies easily. It’s hard to feel sympathy for her. However, glimpses into the earlier days of the marriage give the reader hope that the two weren’t always this way, individually or as a couple, so you at least feel invested in the will they/won’t they stay together outcome of the weekend.
What should be a chance to reconnect and communicate quickly becomes something increasingly more sinister as Adam and Amelia realize they may not be alone on this getaway. What game is really being played, who exactly is playing it, which of them will be the winner, and what exactly is the prize?
The story is told primarily through the POV of Adam, Amelia and a third initially unnamed individual. The sense of impending doom was nicely amped up along the way, but I was never sure who should be afraid and who I could trust, which kept the suspense high throughout. The twists and reveals were very nicely done, and there were some great ones here, including an ending that actually worked! I listened to this on audio, expertly narrated by Richard Armitage and Stephanie Racine.
This was my first Alice Feeney novel, but it definitely won’t be my last. Thanks to my library and the Libby app for this wonderful audiobook. I highly recommend!
★★★★
Yeah … you’re gonna want to look in a different book for that.
Adam and Amelia Wright are making a last ditch effort to save their marriage by travelling to Blackwater Loch, a remote, isolated chapel that was converted to a home in the Scottish Highlands .. a trip that Amelia won in a workplace raffle. The tension between them is thick - neither trusting the other. To make matters worse, Adam suffers from Prosopagnosia, or face blindness, as well as a raging case of ‘I’m an a**hole’-itis (I’m not sure the medical term for that), so in a figurative and literal sense, he never really “sees” his wife, or anyone else for that matter. His first love has always been his writing, and as a screenwriter, he’s been in the shadows, adapting other writers’ books for film … except for the original screenplay he wrote and hasn’t been able to bring to production: Rock, Paper, Scissors. That story, and the game that inspired it, play a repeated role in the story.
For all of Adam’s faults, Amelia is even worse, which is quite an achievement, considering the bar her husband set. She’s sneaky, insecure, and lies easily. It’s hard to feel sympathy for her. However, glimpses into the earlier days of the marriage give the reader hope that the two weren’t always this way, individually or as a couple, so you at least feel invested in the will they/won’t they stay together outcome of the weekend.
What should be a chance to reconnect and communicate quickly becomes something increasingly more sinister as Adam and Amelia realize they may not be alone on this getaway. What game is really being played, who exactly is playing it, which of them will be the winner, and what exactly is the prize?
The story is told primarily through the POV of Adam, Amelia and a third initially unnamed individual. The sense of impending doom was nicely amped up along the way, but I was never sure who should be afraid and who I could trust, which kept the suspense high throughout. The twists and reveals were very nicely done, and there were some great ones here, including an ending that actually worked! I listened to this on audio, expertly narrated by Richard Armitage and Stephanie Racine.
This was my first Alice Feeney novel, but it definitely won’t be my last. Thanks to my library and the Libby app for this wonderful audiobook. I highly recommend!
★★★★
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