Ruth Ware:
One Perfect Couple
Confronted with the end of her contract for a virologist position at University, Lyla reluctantly agreed to go on the new reality TV show, One Perfect Couple. Arriving on the small tropical island with her boyfriend Nico, she quickly notices some concerning technical issues and low budget. When a violent storm maroons the contestants, tensions rise and violence erupts. Will they be rescued before supplies run out?
(It was Okay.)
Quantity over Quality:
I hate to do this because I really loved Ruth Ware, but I have to be honest with myself. Ware is suffering from a quantity over quality issue. I know in another review I said she was growing as a writer, improving with each new publication, but I was wrong. The more I thought about it, the more I realized the breakneck pace Ware is pushing out books, (publishing a new novel each year) is taking away from their quality. It’s like she’s so rushed to get out a finished product that she’s cutting corners.
The most frustrating thing about this is that I KNOW Ruth Ware can write. The Turn of the Key may be one of the best thriller, horror I have ever read. No Notes. My brain is struggling so hard to comprehend that the same woman who wrote that perfect book, could be the one who wrote One Perfect Couple.
The Plot Hole: (Who is her editor and why did so many people miss the plot hole big enough to drive a semi through?)
After being pointedly consistent when mentioning the cameras in the villas still work but the microphones don’t, Ware seems to forget about it when the 4 surviving women are trying to create a story that will explain away all the events on the island without incriminating themselves. For instance, Lyla and Santana sneak out the bathroom window and crouch down to avoid the cameras on their way to kill Connor. At the conclusion of the book, when Zana is tasked with writing out journal entries to provide an alibi that matches up with everything caught on camera, SHE DOES IT ON CAMERA!! It’s one of the biggest plot holes of the decade. I cannot believe no one caught it. It’s such an easy fix too! Like she could have literally just had them go outside to write their fake journal entries. It’s almost more incriminating to have video evidence the journal that “started the night after the storm” was really written down all at once, then each of the survivors reads it over and is like “Yep, looks good. Let’s all agree to this version of events.” That’s so fucking suspicious.
Maybe pumping out a new novel each year may not be showcasing Ware’s best work. Girl, I know you can write well and put out a book with a tight plot and this was not it.
1. What do you think is each characters reality TV show stereotype?
2. Would you go on a reality TV dating/couples show?
3. How culpable was Baz for the contestants getting stranded on the island? Was he blinded by his desperation to get revenge?