Lyla is a scientist, a virologist to be exact, but the research she’d been working on is going nowhere. She had spent months trying to replicate another scientist’s results, and she hadn’t been able to. Now she’s at the point where she has to write up her failure, and her contract is almost up, so with results like that she’s sure that her contract won’t be renewed, and she will be a 32-year-old scientist with no job.

She does have a boyfriend though. Nico is a little younger, someone she met at a Valentine’s Day party a few years back, or rather an anti-Valentine’s party, and they hit it off. Nico is an actor and barista, trying to find his big break before he turns 30. And then his agent calls. It’s a reality show where 5 couples will go to a deserted island. There will be challenges, and people will leave one by one until there is a winner. It’s called One Perfect Couple, and Nico being on the show can really boost his career.

Lyla agrees, as she can use the time to write her paper. And she can just fail one of the earlier challenges, get kicked off the island, and go back to her work while Nico works on becoming a reality tv darling. But when they get to the island, Lyla has a bad feeling. It’s a beautiful island, with white sand beaches and coconut trees, and their cabins all look beautiful. But the rest of the luxury buildings on the island aren’t finished. And the crew won’t be staying on the island. A lot of the filming is being done by remote. Nico tries to calm her down, reassuring her that a lot of entertainment is done on a shoestring, and that she is just getting a look behind the scenes. But she’s not convinced.

Their first challenge is to reveal how much the couples know about each other. And while Lyla does really well, Nico does not, and he’s the first one off the island. Before Lyla can even realize what’s happening, she’s alone on the island. But his tantrum is no match for the storm that arrives overnight. One of the cabins is down, collapsed under a tree that came down, and the only source of communicating with the rest of the world is a radio that no one knows for sure how to use. The production company had confiscated all their phones and computers, and the remaining contestants are alone on the island.

The contestants don’t know how much damage may have been done anywhere else. Did the boat with the crew and Nico make it back okay? Does anyone know they’re stranded there? Is someone coming to rescue them? The first day or two after the storm has the group trying to clean up a little and stay calm. But as the days go by, they start to get worried. They have limited supplies of food and water, and a couple of them needed medical care after the storm. Lyla did what she could, but she’s not a medical doctor and they didn’t have many medical supplies. They keep trying the radio, but they can’t get through to anyone.

The longer they are there with no communication from the production company, or anyone else, the more desperate they get. Factions start to form, and they start fighting over the supplies. Lyla and the other contestants who are left are no longer fighting for the prize or the notoriety of winning a reality show. They are just fighting to survive.

The master of suspense Ruth Ware is back with One Perfect Couple, a story that is part reality show, part Lord of the Flies, as she examines the inimitable strength of the human spirit. As these characters are put through the fight of their lives, readers are left wondering who will make it out alive and just how much they will have to struggle to get there.

One Perfect Couple is a powerhouse of a story, a combination of a locked-room murder mystery and a story of survival of the smartest. There are layers of secrets that get peeled back as these characters have to fight harder to survive, and just when you think that you know what’s going on, there is another twist coming at you. Reading through it again, knowing where the story goes, shows you all the bread crumbs that are there, leading you to all the answers, and reminding you again of the genius of Ruth Ware.

Egalleys for One Perfect Couple were provided by Gallery Books through NetGalley, with many thanks.