By Book Club Team 
A married couple on the brink of breakdown, Adam and Amelia Wright are fighting to keep their marriage intact in Rock Paper Scissors, a psychological thriller by Alice Feeney. A weekend away to a remote Scottish chapel seems within grasp when they win. But the snow strands them in this very isolated location, and long-buried resentments and secrets start to rise. Through alternating perspectives and interwoven anniversary letters written each year, Feeney peels the layers back one by one to disclose some shocking twists and deceptions in the marriage. This tense, atmospheric novel keeps readers guessing until its stunning finale.
| Author | Alice Feeney |
| Publication date | August 19, 2021 |
| Goodreads Rating | 3,91 |
| Page count | 294 pages |
| Genres | Thriller, Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Fiction, Suspense, Adult, Contemporary, Psychological Thriller, Crime |
Rock Paper Scissors Book Summary
Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney is a multi-layered psychological thriller centered around Adam and Amelia Wright, a couple teetering on the edge of marital collapse. For years, their relationship has been stretched to breaking point: Adam is a screenwriter who lives with face blindness-prosopagnosia-meaning he can’t recognize even close friends and family, while Amelia struggles with her husband’s emotional distance and a growing sense of unease about their future.
When Amelia wins a weekend stay at a remote chapel-turned-holiday-rental in the Scottish Highlands, the trip seems to her like a last-ditch salve to a marriage in decline. Weary of tension at home, Adam reluctantly agrees to go along, hoping that time away may restore his and Amelia’s relationship.
But that road trip soon becomes ominous. The chapel is situated in the middle of nowhere, with extreme weather, and is full of sinister features: electrical short circuits, hidden corridors, and disconcerting notes indicating they may not be alone. An unexpected snowstorm closes off any last hope of leaving and further heightens their isolation from civilization.
The foreboding atmosphere of the chapel and the menace that the storm represented became even more personal as anniversary letters, tucked in like flashbacks, began unraveling the history of the marriage. In each of the letters Amelia wrote on the anniversary of yet another year together, there was disclosed a little bit of those hidden betrayals, simmering resentments she had never quite made known to Adam-so blind to these changes because of his face blindness and so involved with his career.
Told through alternating perspectives, Rock Paper Scissors peels away the layers at the heart of Adam and Amelia’s personal struggles and shared secrets. What begins as a fraught getaway soon morphs into a nightmarish puzzle. The storm raging outside literally mirrors emotional chaos between them, forcing each to confront painful truths about themselves and their relationship. With uncanny twists and a peeling back of motives layer by layer, Alice Feeney weaves a claustrophobic atmosphere of dread that compels one to reappraise any interaction-who to trust and what is just a veneer?
The tension in the novel ratchets up as both Adam and Amelia start to suspect hidden agendas-perhaps theirs is no ordinary weekend retreat. Feeney’s signature plot reversals escalate to the final chapters, delivering a gut-punch of a reveal that forces readers to revisit the story’s events in an entirely new light. Ultimately, Rock Paper Scissors probes themes of deception, identity, and the limits of forgiveness, all while delivering a page-turning read packed with suspense and startling twists.
Rock Paper Scissors Ending Explained [Spoilers]
The shocking finale in Rock Paper Scissors reveals that the woman accompanying Adam Wright to the remote Scottish chapel is not his wife, Amelia, but an impersonator who has deceived him because of his prosopagnosia. The real Amelia has been the mastermind behind this whole getaway, keeping the environment hostile with power cuts and frightening notes, in which Adam and the impersonator find themselves stuck. Throughout the novel, anniversary letters detail Amelia’s growing resentment and feelings of neglect in their failing marriage. As the storm becomes more furious, the real Amelia presents herself to Adam and the imposter and the planned revenge she has committed because of the hurt she had suffered; from emotional pain down to suspicion over their dog’s disappearance. This forces Adam to confront the emotional and literal inability to recognize those closest to him, leading to a tense showdown that unravels the layers of deception and leaves their marriage in ruins, showing just how deadly secrets and mistrust are.
Rock Paper Scissors Book Characters
Alice Feeney’s Rock Paper Scissors is a psychological thriller that digs deep into the complications of marriage, trust, and deception. The novel has a close-knit cast of characters, each contributing to the suspense and unfolding drama. Here are the primary characters:
- Adam Wright – Protagonist: A successful screenwriter suffering from prosopagnosia, which is the inability to recognize any face, including his wife. This handicap has made him isolated and incapable of trusting people.
- Amelia Wright – Adam’s Wife: She is supposedly his wife, who wants to mend her troubled marriage by going on a weekend retreat. However, as the events unfold, her real motives and deep-seated bitterness are revealed, which become the driving force toward revenge.
- The Imposter “Amelia” – Villain: It is revealed that the woman accompanying Adam to the chapel is not Amelia but an impostor. She manipulates Adam and the situation for hidden agendas, using his face blindness to her advantage.
- The Real Amelia (Hidden Presence) – Back-end Mastermind: The actual Amelia, behind the scenes, engineers the action to make the setting hostile for Adam and to take revenge on the marital emotional neglect and infidelities.
- Supporting Characters:
- Chapel Staff/Locals: Smaller characters which add to the isolation and mystery of the isolated chapel.
- Anniversary Letter Authors: Letters explaining the deteriorating relationship between the couple and growing resentment of Amelia, used as one of the major storytelling mechanisms.
Character Dynamics
- Adam and Amelia’s Relationship: Central to the story, it is filled with miscommunication, emotional distance, and unresolved resentments that stem from Adam’s inability to recognize faces.
- Real Amelia vs. Impostor Amelia: Establishes a layered dynamic of deception and revelation that keeps both Adam and the reader guessing about true intentions.
Themes Through Characters
- Identity and Trust: Explored through Adam’s face blindness and the deceptive actions of the impostor.
- Deceit and Revenge: Driven by Amelia’s latent motives and orchestrated plans.
- Fragility in Relationships: Underlined by the dissolving marriage between Adam and Amelia.
Rock Paper Scissors Book Review
Alice Feeney’s Rock Paper Scissors is a thrilling psychological thriller that plunges deep into the complexities of marriage, trust, and identity. The novel centers on Adam and Amelia Wright, a couple at the breaking point who embark on a weekend getaway to a secluded Scottish chapel in hopes of salvaging their relationship. As a snowstorm traps them in isolation, the secrets unravel, and the lines of reality and deception blur into a shocking and unforgettable finale.
Pros
- Intricate Plot Twists: Feeney has constructed a storyline that is fully packed with twists nobody sees coming. This surprise about Adam’s face blindness and who the woman accompanying him actually is was just brilliant.
- Deep Character Development: The troubled marriage of Adam and Amelia is nuanced and powerfully explored. Feeney delves deep into their personal problems, giving quite a realistic exposure to the relationship dynamics stretched by miscommunication and unspoken resentments.
- Atmospheric Setting: A remote Scottish chapel, battered by an unrelenting snowstorm, forms an excellent backdrop to the unfolding drama. The setting enhances the novel’s suspenseful and claustrophobic atmosphere, with tension mounting as events escalate.
- Effective Use of Multiple Perspectives: Feeney told the story in a way that toggled between viewpoints and anniversary letters to give a multi-layered understanding of the characters’ motivations and backstories. This method enriches the story, as readers can piece together the puzzle along with Adam.
- Engaging Writing Style: Feeney’s prose is sharp and evocative, effectively building suspense and maintaining a fast-paced rhythm that keeps the reader engaged from start to finish.
Cons
- May Daunt a Few Readers: The multi-layered plot, with all the twists, calls for alertness. A reader who enjoys direct plot narration may feel a bit out of place in these many twists of complexity and unexpected disclosures.
- Other than the protagonists-Adam and Amelia-a few of the supporting characters were not fully fleshed out. The backgrounds of the rest of the characters are missing to make this story complete.
- Predictable Elements for Genre Fans: Those who enjoy psychological thrillers will find the elements of an isolated setting and a deceptive antagonist a bit too familiar-even bordering on tropes. For the most part, though, Feeney’s twists do keep these fresh.
- Emotional Intensity May Become Overpowering: The emotional intensity deepens in this novel, with dark themes of betrayal and revenge that might not agree with every reader. There are parts where the relentless suspense and emotional turmoil get overbearing.
- Resolution does come across a bit too sudden: The climax and resolution may arrive too fast for some readers to really reflect on the aftermath of the revelations and what is truly in store for the characters.
Conclusion
Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney stands out among psychological thrillers and really achieves what it sets out to do in terms of suspense, complex character dynamics, and plot twists. Its setting and narration make it really engaging to its genre readers. While the complexity of the book and the heavy emotional themes might not be to the taste of every reader, Feeney can certainly pull a tightly plotted story together, complete with some seriously impactful revelations that make Rock Paper Scissors memorable and one to think on. If you enjoy intricate thrillers that explore the darker aspects of human relationships, this book is well worth your time.