The Perfect Marriage

The Perfect Marriage is a psychological thriller by Jeneva Rose. It tells the story of married couple Sarah and Adam Morgan. When Adam is charged with his mistress’s murder, Sarah—a top criminal defense attorney—defends him. Adam is nonetheless convicted of his mistress’s murder and sentenced to death. At the book’s conclusion, shortly before Adam’s execution, the book reveals a pivotal plot twist: Sarah killed Adam’s mistress and framed him for it.

Jeneva Rose is a USA Today and Amazon #1 bestselling author. Her other works include The Girl I Was and One of Us Is Dead. This guide uses the 2020 Bloodhound Books edition of the novel.

Content Warning: The Perfect Marriage and this study guide discuss murder, suicide, capital punishment, drug addiction, partner abuse, and infidelity. The book also includes profane language and sexually graphic content.

Plot Summary

The Perfect Marriage is told via alternating first-person points of view, shifting back and forth between the voices of Adam Morgan and Sarah Morgan. A child-free couple living in Washington, D.C., Adam and Sarah have been married for 10 years. The book paints Sarah as a powerhouse lawyer, a top criminal defense attorney who defends elites—like a senator accused of rape—and Adam as a floundering author, still waiting on big success.

In addition to a home in Washington, D.C., Adam and Sarah have a lake house in Prince William County, Virginia. On the couple’s 10th anniversary, Adam has a rendezvous at the lake house with his mistress, waitress Kelly Summers (previously Jenna Way). Kelly/Jenna is married to a local police officer, Scott Summers, whom she claims is physically abusive. Kelly’s claims of abuse are never corroborated, and doubt is cast on them when it is revealed that Kelly may have lied about her past.

Years earlier, Kelly/Jenna lived in Wisconsin with her former husband, Greg Miller—who she likewise claimed was abusive. Greg was stabbed to death and Kelly/Jenna was accused of his murder. However, she got off on a technicality because evidence from the crime scene went missing. The first officer on the scene in Wisconsin was Scott. After the charges against Kelly/Jenna were dismissed, she and Scott moved to Virginia and started a new life together.

The truth about Kelly/Jenna’s identity and past comes out during the investigation of her murder. When Adam meets Kelly/Jenna at the lake house on his and Sarah’s 10th anniversary, they have sex and then fall asleep. Adam wakes up shortly after midnight to the sound of a car door slamming. He then hurries back to Sarah at their home in Washington, D.C. Sarah is already in bed after a night out with her legal assistant, Anne. Sarah tells Adam that she wants to have a baby, and they have sex.

The next morning, Adam and Sarah’s cleaning lady at the lake house discovers Kelly/Jenna’s body, stabbed 37 times, in bed and notifies the police. Sheriff Ryan Stevens and one of his deputies, Deputy Marcus Hudson, arrest Adam and charge him with Kelly/Jenna’s murder. Adam—who is innocent—is in shock.

Sarah is notified of the charges against Adam and appears surprised. In spite of his infidelity, Sarah decides to defend Adam. Sarah’s defense of Adam is complicated by Adam’s lack of cooperation: For example, Adam is put on house arrest before his trial but breaks free. Adam’s overindulgent mother, Eleanor Morgan, also complicates matters. Eleanor believes Adam is innocent and blames Sarah for not being an attentive wife to Adam, claiming she focused too much on her career. Eleanor argues that this is what drove Adam to the affair.

Sarah appears to go to great lengths to exonerate Adam. She pursues key clues, like the fact that Kelly/Jenna had three sets of DNA on her body, suggesting she had sex with three different men the day she died: Adam, Scott, and an unidentified third set of DNA. The third set of DNA appears especially troubling to Sarah; she asks her friend to obtain DNA without consent from key figures she thinks it could belong to. Although Matthew notes that the DNA would not be admissible in court, Sarah insists.

Despite Sarah’s apparent efforts to exonerate Adam, he is convicted of a double homicide, both Kelly/Jenna and her unborn child (Adam’s). In Virginia, this means he gets the death penalty. Following the verdict, the book flashes forward 10 years. Adam is on death row and it is his execution day. Sarah visits him to say goodbye.

The final chapters reveal the truth about Kelly/Jenna’s murder. Sarah was approached by a member of her law firm, Nicholas Robert (“Bob”) Miller, about Kelly/Jenna and Adam’s affair. Bob is the brother of Kelly/Jenna’s former husband. Bob had hoped to blackmail Sarah with the embarrassing information. Instead, Sarah suggested that she and Bob kill Kelly/Jenna and frame Adam for the murder. This plan allowed Bob to avenge his brother’s murder while Sarah avenged herself for Adam’s infidelity. Sarah also reveals that she found out who the third set of DNA belonged to and withheld this information: Sheriff Stevens, who was also sleeping with Kelly/Jenna. The Sheriff’s personal ties to the case explain why he bungled it on purpose, helping Sarah’s cause.

The book ends with Adam’s execution. Eleanor, Sarah, and Kelly/Jenna’s parents are all present to watch. Adam’s last thoughts are of Sarah, as he realizes that she is responsible for Kelly/Jenna’s murder, knew about the affair all along, and framed him for Kelly/Jenna’s murder. The book ends with Sarah leaving the execution and joining Bob, who is waiting in the car. Bob and Sarah are getting married the next day. Bob and Sarah have a six-year-old daughter named Summer. Finally, Sarah makes one last revelation: Sarah’s mother, a heroin addict who appeared to die from a self-inflicted overdose, was killed by Sarah herself.