Rock, Paper, Scissors by Alice Feeney

 I have recently concluded that the best kind of audio-books are mysteries or thrillers. And psychological thrillers are definitely up there at the top. And so I stumbled onto Alice Feeney, hailed as the queen of the domestic twisty psychological thrillers ("His & Hers" ) and her latest, Rock Paper Scissors is again a domestic puzzle-box of a story with unreliable narrators, harrowing shocking twists and fabulous storytelling that goes deep beneath the layers presented. 

The story is about Mr and Mrs. Wright - Adam and Amelia, who have won a weekend getaway to the Scottish highlands, a stay at this romantic secluded church, known as the Black Loch Chapel. This is a last-ditch attempt by both of them to save their marriage, which is on the rocks. But once they get to this isolated church, they realize that the secluded chapel may not be the most romantic place on earth. While the views themselves are to kill for, the place is creepy, almost haunted, gothic. With a history of 'witches' burnt or killed within and a lot of locked rooms within. And to make matters worst, they both are being stalked by "a peeping tom" - peering in through the snow and dirt-laden windows who promptly disappears. A series of unfortunate events start to transpire, with the power getting cut, an almost skipped-step fall from the crumbling watch-tower and then, to make everything worse, their dog, Bob disappears. Or has he been kidnapped? 

While both Adam and Amelia have been hiding secrets from each other, this "trap" set in the storm-laden isolated countryside with no one around for miles and a crazy stalker who is willing to go to any extent to keep them terrorized is not something they have bargained for. 

In addition, each alternating view-point is interspersed with the secret 'anniversary' letters, each with a theme and a traditional gift (Made from earthy stuff like Cotton, Steel, Bronze etc) that the wife has written to her husband but never really revealed directly to Adam. This is how their ten year long marriage comes to the fore and we clearly see the cracks forming and the fissures widening as years go by. 

Alice Feeney has once again excelled at giving us an in-depth look at a domestic relationship, a husband-wife, how each of their ambitions gets in the way of their marriage as they drift apart, despite the professional success. The story of Adam, a struggling screenwriter who makes it big and how he makes it big felt real, nuanced and very well researched. The wife's past though, is focused on how lonely she starts to feel as her husband gets sucked into his words, his stories and his work. We feel the pain and the bitter loneliness of this person. The letters do an excellent job is setting up and fleshing out this failing relationship. 

Cut to the present, the tension within the chapel of how the lights and power goes out, the little accidents/incidents that terrorize them both seemed a bit too predictable but never over the top. Feeney feeds the reader the tension little by little, starting with the weather and the spooky chapel and then proceeds to ratchet it up. But the real deal of course, is when Feeney introduces the third POV - which I will not go into, for the sake of spoilers. 

In a mystery thriller like this, it is tough to actually pick apart the plot narratives without being 'spoilery'. But rest assured, Alice Feeney is a past-mistress at this genre and in her able deft hands, the reveals and the harrowing twists by three-quarters of the book, are well placed and socks you bang in the middle of your forehead. I admit, I never saw it coming and that was definitely the best thing about the book. But it builds up like a series of level 5 rapids and keeps coming at you, bam-bam, non-stop. Just when you think you have figured it out, she hits you with another shockwave. 

Cleverly plotted, dark and ingenious Rock Paper Scissors is your signature Alice Feeney story about failing marriages, unreliable narrators and an exquisitely constructed pandora's box of shocking secrets and twists. This one's already been optioned for Netflix but I suggest you catch this in print! 

Also a word about the audio book - Richard Armitage is GOD! ( Have decided to just about listen to any audiobook he has narrated now!)