Quick Synopsis

In a last ditch effort to save their marriage, a couple becomes snowed in on a weekend away in Scotland. But their secrets come back to haunt them, and someone does not want them to live happily ever after.

Publisher’s Synopsis

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.

Book Review

Rock Paper Scissors is a wintery, atmospheric domestic thriller that will surprise you. At this point, I have read so many domestic thrillers that I am generally tired of them. However, this book proved to be different and refreshing for the subgenre.

I am glad I waited to read this after it was published, because it is the perfect thriller for winter. There have been a lot of thrillers in the last year that use the snowed in trope (e.g., The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse). Rock Paper Scissors utilizes the trope without it becoming a crutch for the plot. Alice Feeney crafts a strong, suspenseful plot where the snow keeps the couple in one location and adds to the story’s atmosphere.

Otherwise, the plot is original, complex, and full of twists you will not see coming. Rock Paper Scissors ended up messing with my head in a way only great thrillers can. I was blown away by the big reveal and had to take a break to fully process it.

Alice Feeney’s writing was easy to read and become lost in. While Rock Paper Scissors is not a thriller than will give you whiplash due its breakneck speed, it will keep you immersed even with a slower unfurling of the story and twists. Alice Feeney really made the short chapters and alternating point of views work in this story – both for pacing and holding interest.

Overall, I loved Rock Paper Scissors and highly recommend it. This novel will definitely be on my list of best thrillers of 2021.

Rating

Overall Rating

Writing

Plot

Character development