Book review: Apple Tree Yard

Title: Apple Tree Yard
Author: Louise Doughty
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Summary: Yvonne Carmichael is a renowned geneticist and happily married mother of two.  She meets Mark Costley in the hallway of the House of Parliament and begins an affair (yes, it is that random).  Then Yvonne gets raped and in a random act of chivalry, Mark kills the guy.  Then they get caught and go on trial.

Review:  The inside of this jacket says, "...Apple Tree Yard is a psychological thriller that calls to mind Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl even as it stakes out its own chilling territory."  I know the publisher is trying to sell books, but this melodrama makes me roll my eyes.  I'm usually able to forget these sensational statements, but in this event, it stuck with me.  Also, even though I remember reading that full sentence, I sort of trailed off at the mention of Gone Girl.  I loved Gone Girl and I kept waiting for the twist.  This book is no Gone Girl and the comparison to Gone Girl sort of ruined it for me.

The book was...fine.  Here are some of the issues I had with it:

1. The guy was clearly bad news.  He was vague about his job and all contact was on his terms.  
2. Hiding the affair after the murder was a terrible idea.  See #1.  If the two of you are on trial for murder and he asks you to hide the affair, it doesn't occur to you that he will use this against you?
3. Because of items 1 and 2, it made zero sense that he would kill the guy that raped Yvonne.  
4. I kept waiting for the plot twist.  When was it going to be revealed that Yvonne was actually behind the whole thing? 

Maybe I missed something?  But I don't think so.  Would I have liked it better if I could get around the Gone Girl comparison?  Probably not.