6 books to read if you like ‘The Perfect Couple’ on Netflix

Books

Best-selling author Elin Hilderbrand shares what to read after you watch the Netflix show based on her 2018 novel.

Best-selling author Elin Hilderbrand’s 2018 novel “The Perfect Couple” has been adapted into a six-episode limited Netflix series starring Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Dakota Fanning, and Eve Hewson. The mystery drama series hit the streaming platform Thursday.

The plot of “The Perfect Couple” centers around Amelia Sacks (Eve Hewson, “Bad Sisters”), who is about to marry Benji (Billy Howle “Under the Banner of Heaven”), the son of novelist Greer Garrison Winbury (Nicole Kidman) and become part of the wealthy Nantucket Winbury family – to the disapproval of the novelist matriarch, Greer.

But when a body is found on the beach the morning of the wedding, an investigation ensues, secrets are revealed, and everyone becomes a suspect.

We asked Hilderbrand what books she suggests for fans of the book and show. Below, find her six book recommendations if you read, or are watching, “The Perfect Couple.”

Rufus Leung Gresham is the future Earl of Greshambury and the son of a former Hong Kong supermodel. But it turns out the glitz and glam of the family’s magazine covers, yachts, and manor houses is nothing but a façade: the legendary Gresham Trust has been depleted by decades of extravagant spending and the family faces a gargantuan mountain of debt. The only solution, put forth by Rufus’s scheming mother, is for Rufus to attend his sister’s wedding at a luxury resort and seduce a woman with money. But when a volcanic eruption burns through the nuptials and a hot mic exposes a secret romantic rendezvous, the Gresham family plans – and their reputation – go up in flames.

Critics say: “If you loved ‘Crazy Rich Asians,’ Kevin Kwan’s latest won’t disappoint … Alliances are made and unmade. Fortunes are won and lost. Rich people, trying to get richer, outwit themselves. Poor girls, armed with only their stubborn integrity, stake a claim on happiness. And the laugh lines arrive punctually … Kwan has a gimlet eye.” – The Washington Post

When Liv and Nora decide to take their husbands and children on a holiday cruise, everyone is thrilled. The adults are lulled by the ship’s comfort and ease. The four children – ages six to eleven – love the nonstop buffet and their newfound independence. But when they all go ashore for an adventure in Central America, a series of minor misfortunes and miscalculations leads the families farther from the safety of the ship. One minute the children are there, and the next they’re gone.

Critics say: “[Meloy delivers] a wild, propulsive plot with tight prose and a constant current of suspense. It’s a thrilling novel, well constructed and hard to put down, a sharp reminder that the tide can take us anywhere, even when the water looks fine.”  – Los Angeles Times

A 52-year-old photographer and a 41-year-old anatomy professor are jurors sequestered during a sensational three-week trial: a toddler murdered by one of his twin sisters. At the court appointed motel off the interstate, they fall into an intense affair, but it is only during deliberations that they learn they are on opposing sides of the case. After the trial, the photographer returns to her husband amidst an ongoing media frenzy over the case. But the judge has received an anonymous letter about the affair, and she is preparing to release the jurors names.

Critics say: “[The] deft orchestration of absurdity and existential dread distinguishes Ciment’s style. That’s why the situation of Ciment’s latest novel, The Body in Question, is so perfectly suited to her powers as a novelist … incisive … a profound story about mortality and the mysteries of human behavior… smart and disturbing.” – NPR

‘Siracusa’ follows two couples on vacation in Siracusa, a town on the coast of Sicily, where the secrets they have hidden from one another are exposed and relationships are unraveled. The book unfolds with the pacing of a psychological thriller and delivers an unexpected final act that none will see coming.

Critics say: “A seductive and edgy dissection of two imploding marriages—and an unhinged mother-daughter alliance . . . Each of these toxic relationships puts the characters on course to careen headlong into a dark place of deceit and rage in Ephron’s brilliant takedown of marital and familial pretense.” – Publishers Weekly

‘Swan Song’ by Elin Hilderbrand

Chief of Police Ed Kapenash is about to retire. Blond Sharon is going through a divorce. But when a $22 million summer home is purchased by the mysterious Richardsons – how did they make their money, exactly? – Ed, Sharon, and everyone in the community are swept up in high drama. The Richardsons throw lavish parties, flirt with multiple locals, flaunt their wealth with not one but two yachts, and raise impossible hopes of everyone they meet. When their house burns to the ground and their most essential employee goes missing, the entire island is up in arms.

Critics say: “Hilderbrand’s final Nantucket novel will draw old and new readers out of the woodwork … There are plenty of Easter eggs for longtime fans, but even those diving in to her exquisite writing for the first time are in for a treat: a story that feels like it’s being told over cocktails at the Oystercatcher, perfectly paced for maximum drama with characters you can’t get enough of. This is aspirational escapism at its finest.” – Susan Maguire, Booklist

Irene Steele shares her idyllic life in a beautiful Iowa City Victorian house with a husband who loves her to sky-writing, sentimental extremes. But as she rings in the new year one cold and snowy night, everything she thought she knew falls to pieces with a shocking phone call: her beloved husband, away on business, has been killed in a helicopter crash. Before Irene can even process the news, she must first confront the perplexing details of her husband’s death on the distant Caribbean island of St. John.

After Irene and her sons arrive at this faraway paradise, they make yet another shocking discovery: her husband had been living a secret life. As Irene untangles a web of intrigue and deceit, and as she and her sons find themselves drawn into the vibrant island culture, they have to face the truth about their family, and about their own futures.

Critics say: “With great verve, [Hilderbrand] has done it again with her latest novel, ‘Winter in Paradise,’ the first book in a planned trilogy. She is witty and engaging, and keeps her readers intrigued with a memorable set of characters … As always, she delivers a story with much detail, weaving her characters and storylines expertly … Be prepared to read a fast-paced and entertaining novel for several hours, which will keep you longing for the second book in the series.” – Bookreporter