Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney is a thriller I’ve seen on socials now for quite a few years – it appears to be a well-respected little thriller with enough going for it that people rate it highly over some other thrillers. I know Alice Feeney in general has a good reputation for writing solid thrillers and so I went into this with high expectations. And I wasn’t disappointed.
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Rock Paper Scissors follows the story of a couple called Adam and Amelia Wright as they venture on to a holiday getaway that Amelia won as part of a competition at work. Their relationship is a little on the edge and both have issues with one another that they’re hoping this weekend away may help solve. However, little do they know that one of them has quite the wealth of secrets they haven’t yet shared with the other.
Rock Paper Scissors plot – 4.5/5
Rock Paper Scissors is a ride. What starts off as a relatively slow thriller with two people who clearly seem to be keeping things from another quickly snowballs into so much more. Alongside the current day story being told, we read letters from Adam’s wife that she writes every year to him to open up about things they may not have discussed.
The book initially explores how Adam’s wife feels like his job began to get in the way of their relationship. She always supported him in it but in the letters she has to admit that it did become a problem.
However, later on we essentially get (minor plot spoilers) four plot twists. Yes, there are four aspects of this book that you think are initially going one way but by the end have gone another way. I was impressed with all four twists to be fair – one I guessed and another I was genuinely impressed by. So, go into this book with an open mind but make sure to enjoy it, don’t go looking for said twists.
Rock Paper Scissors characters – 4.25/5
Again, I’m going to desperately try not to spoil anything here, but one of the spoilers had be doubly impressed by the way that the dynamic in the characters was implemented and thus causes you as the reader to question things anyway. That’s about as vague as I can be – read it and you’ll likely understand what I mean.
Adam and Amelia are great protagonists who are both quite real and honest characters. They feel like a couple with things they need to tell one another and this comes out in the way that they speak to one another.
I wouldn’t necessarily say I fell in love with any of the characters in the book but this is a good example where you don’t necessarily need to for the book to still be considered to have “good characters”.
Rock Paper Scissors final rating – 4.25/5
So much of Rock Paper Scissors’ quality relies on the suspense and compelling (and sheer number of) twists so this review feels like it lacks any real depth. However, I can tell you that if you stick with it and immerse yourself in the story being told, Rock Paper Scissors will eventually impress you. Just when you think you have one thing figured out, Feeney throws another potential shock at you. Thrillers can struggle to impress me as often I spend the entire time trying to guess the plot, however, Rock Paper Scissors left me captivated with some unique storytelling and dynamic characters.
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