''Rock Paper Scissors'' is a 2021

psychological thriller Psychological thriller is a genre combining the thriller and psychological fiction genres. It is commonly used to describe literature or films that deal with psychological narratives in a thriller or thrilling setting. In terms of context and co ...

novel by British author

Alice Feeney Alice Feeney is a British novelist of the 21st century, writing in the mystery and thriller genres. Before becoming a published writer, Feeney was a producer and journalist at the BBC for fifteen or sixteen years. She started there at age 21 and ...

. The plot follows a couple in an unhappy marriage who take a weekend holiday to a repurposed chapel the

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

countryside. In April 2021,

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

announced that it would be releasing a six-part series based on the novel, to be produced by Suzanne Mackie.

Background and publication history

''Rock Paper Scissors'' was first published in the United Kingdom by

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Cor ...

on August 19, 2021, and was published in the United States by Flatiron Books, an

imprint Imprint or imprinting may refer to: Entertainment * ''Imprint'' (TV series), Canadian television series * "Imprint" (''Masters of Horror''), episode of TV show ''Masters of Horror'' * ''Imprint'' (film), a 2007 independent drama/thriller film ...

Macmillan Publishers Macmillan Publishers (occasionally known as the Macmillan Group; formally Macmillan Publishers Ltd and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC) is a British publishing company traditionally considered to be one of the 'Big Five' English language publi ...

, on September 7, 2021. Luke Speed of Curtis Brown Group and Josie Freeman of

ICM Partners ICM Partners is a talent and literary agency with offices in Los Angeles, New York City, Washington D.C. and London. ICM (International Creative Management) Partners represents clients in the fields of motion pictures, television, music, publi ...

represented the rights to the book. It is the fourth novel by Alice Feeney.

Reception

The novel was listed as one of ''Real Simple'''s "59 Best Books of 2021" and received positive reviews in ''The Concord Insider'' and ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

.'' It was also a

Book of the Month Book of the Month (founded 1926) is a United States subscription-based e-commerce service that offers a selection of five to seven new hardcover books each month to its members. Books are selected and endorsed by a panel of judges, and members ch ...

selection by author Megan Miranda.

Adaptation

In April 2021, five months before ''Rock Paper Scissors'' was published,

announced that it would be releasing a six-part series based on the novel, to be produced by Suzanne Mackie under her production company, Orchid Pictures. Feeney expressed her excitement at the adaptation, telling ''

The Sunday Post ''The Sunday Post'' is a weekly newspaper published in Dundee, Scotland, by DC Thomson, and characterised by a mix of news, human interest stories and short features. The paper was founded in 1914 and has a wide circulation across Scotland, N ...

'', "I don't write the books thinking this might be a TV series but with this one, it was the first time I did secretly hope it would make it to the screen. I really wanted that wish to come true." Filming for the series is set to take place in Scotland.

References

{{Reflist 2021 British novels Psychological thriller novels British mystery novels