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    The Power Couple: A Novel
    The Power Couple: A Novel
    The Power Couple: A Novel
    Ebook464 pages7 hours

    The Power Couple: A Novel

    By Alex Berenson

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    From #1 New York Times bestselling author and Edgar Award winner Alex Berenson comes a supercharged thriller about marriage and the dangerous secrets spouses keep.

    Rebecca and Brian Unsworth appear to have it all. A nice house in the suburbs of Washington, DC. Two well-behaved, healthy teenage children. Important government jobs—Rebecca working in counterterrorism for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Brian serving as a coder for the National Security Agency. Their lives stand to improve even more as Brian, in his off-hours, has just developed and sold a highly profitable app.

    However, the Unsworths’ marriage isn’t as perfect as it seems. After two decades together, they’ve drifted apart, talking little and having sex even less. Seeking to revive their strained relationship, they decide for their twentieth wedding anniversary to take their two kids, Kira and Tony, on a European getaway.

    They have a blast…until one night in Barcelona when Kira doesn’t come home from a dance club. She’s gone. Abducted. Over the course of a single weekend, the Unsworths will do everything possible to find her—as Kira herself discovers just how far she’ll go to break free of the trap that’s been set for her. And even as Rebecca and Brian come together for Kira, they realize their marriage is more tenuous than they realized.

    The Power Couple is both a fast-paced, globe-trotting espionage novel full of surprising twists and a nuanced look at modern marriage—the challenges of balancing career, parenthood, sex, and love.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster
    Release dateFeb 9, 2021
    ISBN9781982103712
    Author

    Alex Berenson

    Alex Berenson is a former New York Times reporter and award-winning novelist. He attended Yale University and joined the Times in 1999, where he covered everything from the drug industry to Hurricane Katrina and served as a correspondent in Iraq. In 2006, The Faithful Spy, his debut novel, won the Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for Best First Novel. He has since written twelve more novels and a nonfiction book, Tell Your Children. Currently, he lives in the Hudson Valley with his wife and children.

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    Reviews for The Power Couple

    4/5

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    • 5/5
      Couldn't put it down! Held my attention to the very last page.
    • 5/5
      Wow what a plot twist! Was on the edge of my seat the entire time reading this!
    • 5/5
      A wonderful read!!! Took a minute to pick up but it was a great story!!
    • 5/5
      Thought a few sections were draggy but they all made sense in the end. A satisfying read, page turner.
    • 4/5
      Outstanding read. In-depth knowledge of the FBI and NSA made the story feel like non-fiction at times. Completely riveting. I was in a race to get to the end. Highly recommend this!
    • 3/5
      This book dragged on way too long. I didn't like how the book went back to before after the main event (the kidnapping) took place. I felt it would have been better had the book been in chronological order, but I guess you wouldn't have been as surprised as to why Kira was kidnapped. Rebecca and Brian have been married for 20 years and decide to take their 2 kids on a European tour. Kira and Tony head out for fun in France, where Kira meets Jacques. They agree to meet the next night in Barcelona. Then Kira is kidnapped. Rebecca, an FBI agent, and Brian, a web coder/hacker, try to find Kira before it is too late. This novel is about blackmail, espionage, traitorous activity. It would have been better if it was about 100 pages less in length. Glad to see the ending the way it happened.
    • 4/5
      The *Unsworths are the power couple in this novel. Rebecca is the stronger spouse. She works for the FBI. Brian is the weaker one, the one without a specific purpose, the one not driven to success. When they are married, he has no real purpose in life nor does he have a permanent, well paying job. At the end, he is working for the National Security Agency, among other things. The Unsworths have two children, Kira and her younger brother Tony.Rebecca Unsworth is a trained lawyer and a workaholic. Her personality overshadows Brian’s. At one time, he was the house husband, caring for the children and preparing the meals. He never went to college and encouraged Becks to follow her own dream, putting his own future and dreams on hold, whatever they might be. It was pretty obvious that although he was a computer whiz, his future was not hanging in the balance. It was nebulous as was his ambition.Kira is 19. She is outspoken, outgoing, very social and seems to have the gift of gab. She wisecracks and flirts. She attends Tufts University. Tony is 17. He is shy and gentle. He adores his sister. He attends High School. Both siblings have noticed that their parents’ marriage is faltering. Rebecca puts her work before everything, even family. Brian seems to have a cold side to his personality. He sometimes has moments when his eyes get vacant and he seems to be someplace else. He is beginning to resent Rebecca’s success. She is now the head of the DC Russia Desk. Eventually, Brian’s penchant and talent when it comes to technology, brings him some notoriety, as well. Before long, he is in a compromising position, forced to make a choice, and none of his options are good.To restore their family to the days when their love for each other was unquestioned, a twentieth anniversary trip to Europe is planned. After they embark, foolish decisions and selfish choices put the family at great risk. Kira’s immaturity and impetuousness, Tony’s sense of loyalty to her, above all else, even when he questions it, Brian’s need for recognition and sexual satisfaction, and Rebecca’s ambition, combine to bring the family to a point of potential tragedy. Kira disappears. The only clue is that she had met a dashing young man in Paris who arranged a rendezvous with her in Barcelona. She secretly met him and never returned home. Both Brian and Rebecca wonder if their jobs are the cause of this possible kidnapping. Tony cannot forgive himself for not telling his parents about Kira’s secret plans. The drama and tension increase exponentially as the investigation into the missing Kira evolves. Secrets are revealed as each character is featured in a different section of the book. Each harbored different plans they did not reveal to each other. Each had had a secret life at one time. Each suspects the other of still engaging in clandestine relationships. For the most part, each excuses the other’s behavior, until each does not, which leads to the surprising conclusion.Where is Kira? Is she in danger? Did she just decide to stay overnight with Jacques, her Frenchman? She is precocious. She didn’t text which was her habit. Did she lose her phone? Was she taken to gain leverage over a case in which either of her parents were involved? Was she the target or was she a random victim, taken to be sold as a sex slave? Was she drugged? They do not think she would have gone willingly, but would have put up a fight of some kind. She had training in the martial arts. As the life of each character is explored, many secrets are revealed. Who or what was behind her disappearance? Was she still alive? Espionage and the growing mystery keeps the reader engaged until all the pieces of the puzzle fall into place and the mystery is resolved.*As an aside, does anyone think the name Unsworth is significant as a foreshadowing of what the author thinks of this family…unworthy perhaps of the fate that befalls them or unworthy because of their less than stellar choices and behavior. Was the name choice simply random?
    • 3/5
      I generally like Berenson's writing style and approach. He is able to make thrillers feel plausible. Since his John Wells series has gotten stale, I was happy to see him branching out. This book had a lot of potential. However, it didn't work for me. The plot has a big twist, as is required. But for me, the twist made the first half of the plot seem like a waste. I was more committed to the plot than to the characters, so the twisty upset turned me off from the rest of the (fairly implausible) book.
    • 4/5
      Alex Berenson's new novel, The Power Couple has just released. If you're looking for an action packed page turner (with a nice little gotcha), then you're going to want to pick up the Power Couple!The cover hints at what's inside. From outside looking in, Rebecca and Brian Unsworth seem to have it all. Jobs with the FBI and National Security Agency, nice house and car, two wonderful teenagers and a marriage that works. But after twenty years, cracks are showing. And the power struggle inside their marriage has added to that. In an attempt to rebuild, they decide to take the family to Europe for an anniversary trip. And that's where the unthinkable happens.....their daughter Kira disappears....What a great setup and premise! The Power Couple is initially told through two points of view - Rebecca and Kira. We're with Rebecca and Brian as they try desperately to get help in a foreign country. We're privy to flashbacks of Becks and Bri's lives together and how they came to be where they are now. It's real time chapters from Kira - which are just downright terrifying. Now, I did feel for Rebecca - what's happening is unthinkable. But, you know - I just didn't like her at all. And that's all good - unlikeable characters make for interesting plots. Brian? Nope, didn't like him either. I was on board with both of the teenagers though.Berenson has done his research. And I've found that in his other books as well. The details ring true in the espionage, the technology and the agencies and their methods. And underline how real all of these machinations are.I really enjoy the back and forth storytelling between the two points of view. It makes for addictive 'just one more' chapter reading 'til late at night. The suspense never lets up and just when it did, I realized there were still fifty plus pages to go in the book. What was left? A nice little gotcha that was a great ending! Berenson's melding of domestic noir and espionage absolutely works. Excellent escapist reading - definitely what I wanted. (I could see this one on the big screen too.)
    • 4/5
      OK Alex Berenson – this was definitely not a John Wells installment. This was a sneaky, clever, “gotcha when you weren’t looking”, kind of hard to put down book. The Power Couple - flawed as a couple, flawed as individuals and why would you expect their children to be any different. Canny, slick, and seamless - Berenson inserts the dissection of the main characters’ personalities amid chaos and a parent’s worst nightmare – the kidnapping of their child. Using the couple’s thoughts and memories worked so well for me that I turned a page and realized the action was gone and the introspection was front and center.There is a “with it” vibe to the writing, the setting, the dialog, and the action but there is also an underlying sense of diseased minds and souls. The two elements create and maintain a powerful and scary scenario. Power – Who has it? Who holds it? Who is going to lose it? Does anyone win?I received a complimentary copy of this book from Simon & Schuster and NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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    The Power Couple - Alex Berenson

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