THE POWER COUPLE

4 stars out of 5

For the first quarter or so of this book, I was thinking I might not make it to the end - the characters were barely likable, the writing borderline trite. But I'd just finished reading two of the best books I've read in a long time, so I told myself to hang in there. I did - and by golly, it soon started to get interesting - so much so that I even wondered if a different author was now doing the writing. By the midpoint, the pace really started to pick up, and the last few chapters were an edge-of-seat race to the finish.

Front and center are Rebecca and Brian Unsworth, married two decades and parents of teenagers Kira and Tony. Rebecca is a counterterrorism specialist for the FBI, and Brian is a coder for the National Security Administration. Living in the Washington, D.C., suburbs, their budget is strained to the breaking point even with two incomes and - like many couples - they've grown apart over the busy years. Perhaps, they reason, a European vacation is just what the doctor ordered - and off they all go.

Everything comes up roses in Barcelona, until Kira, a college student, meets a mysterious, attractive older French man. She agrees to meet up with him later for a couple of hours - unbeknownst to anyone except her younger brother - and doesn't come home as expected nor call to check in as is her custom. Her parents, understandably, are distraught, and they pull out all the stops to use their contacts and influence to find their missing child.

The story then shifts to earlier years - first on Rebecca, then on Brian - showing what each was thinking and doing over the years leading up to their marriage-saving vacation. Nothing I read made me warm up to either of them, though; mostly I was thinking that whatever they got was well-deserved. 

Of course, that part I can't share, because through these insights readers get a glimpse of what's really going on between the two of them and with Kira's disappearance. Interspersed are chapters focusing on Kira's plight and how she's dealing with the possibility that she might never see her parents (or for that matter, any other living human) again. The last few chapters are almost frenetic (and while exciting, not entirely believable). The ending ushers in two possibilities - neither of them good - but honestly, I didn't much care which resolution was reached.

All things considered, it's a solid book that except for the lackluster beginning held my attention throughout - one that espionage lovers should enjoy. Thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me to read and review a pre-release copy.

The Power Couple by Alex Berenson (Simon & Schuster, February 2021); 432 pp.