Even in the most luxurious world, there is no such thing as the perfect life or the perfect couple.

This is the premise of Elin Hilderbrand’s 2018 novel The Perfect Couple and a Netflix series of the same name, which will be released on September 5th.

Hilderbrand, considered the unofficial queen of beach reading, has written 30 books, almost all of which have been sent to the island of Nantucket, a refuge for New England’s elite.

Her 2018 novel was turned into a Netflix miniseries starring Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Eve Hewson, Dakota Fanning and Meghann Fahy.

Read on for a summary of what happened in Hilderbrand’s book.

What is “The Perfect Couple” about?

Elin Hilderbrand’s novel “The Perfect Couple” is set on the island of Nantucket, 30 miles off the coast of Massachusetts.

The groom’s mother, Greer, has planned an extravagant wedding with 170 guests for the Fourth of July weekend.

Then there is a twist that is as juicy as a tomato from Bartlett’s Farm: Maid of honor Merritt Monaco is found dead just hours before her best friend Celeste’s wedding.

The book switches between timelines and perspectives to reveal Celeste and Benji’s whirlwind romance and the police investigation as they try to discover Merritt’s fate.

Everyone is under suspicion, including the groom’s father, Tag, the best man, Shooter Uxley, the groom’s mother, Greer, and the bride herself.

What happens at the end of “The Perfect Couple”?

Warning: Spoilers for “The Perfect Couple” follow.

Merritt was found in the water with barbiturates in his system. Was it an accident? No, and Greer, a crime writer, is conveniently the only one to find out. Her revelation comes at the end of the novel.

The night before the wedding, Merritt, Tag, Tag and Greer’s older son Thomas and family friend Featherleigh Dale meet for a nightcap on the sandy beach of Nantucket.

Greer suspects that Featherleigh is having an affair with her husband. Merritt is having an affair with her husband (and is pregnant!) and Featherleigh is having an affair with her married son Thomas.

Thomas tried to end the affair, but Featherleigh continued to pursue him. Abigail, Thomas’ wife, noticed. Finally, Greer finds out that Abigail took pills from Greer’s own supply and crushed them into a drink intended for Featherleigh, “to put the old girl to sleep… so she wouldn’t fool around with Thomas.” Instead, Merritt drinks the Veuve.

The novel ends with Merritt, who is high on sleeping pills, taking Tag out in his canoe. On the way back to the house, she cuts her foot on the champagne glasses dropped by Chloe, a waitress and the police chief’s child. She goes to the water to wash the sand from her wound, relying on the healing properties of the salt water.

As she stares into the water, she sees the shimmering thumb ring that Tag gave her. She goes into the water with the intention of one day passing the ring on to their child, whom she desperately wants. In the water, the pills take effect and it seems as if she is drowning.

The novel ends here, without any conclusion as to whether anyone is responsible for Merritt’s death.

“Abby may even realize that it is her fault, and Thomas will never put two and two together. The secret is with Greer, and it will stay with Greer until she dies,” the novel says.

What are the biggest differences between the book and the TV series?

Fans of Hilderbrand’s New York Times bestseller will immediately notice some key differences between the book and the Netflix series, which was filmed on Cape Cod and Nantucket.

In Hilderbrand’s book, the main character is called Celeste Otis. In the new Netflix series, the bride-to-be is renamed Amelia Sacks and played by Eve Hewson.

That’s not the only change Hilderbrand’s protagonist goes through. In the book, Celeste suffers from a sudden onset of stuttering, apparently caused by the stress of wedding planning. Amelia does not stutter in the Netflix series. In the book, she is the director of the Bronx Zoo and Merritt is not only her best friend, but also her colleague.

Other small changes compared to the book are:

• Merritt and Celeste’s hair color is reversed. In the book, Merritt is brunette and Celeste is blonde; in the series, Merritt is blonde and Amelia is brunette.
• Tag and Greer have two sons in the book and three in the series.
• Shooter Uxley’s last name is changed to Dival in the Netflix series. His backstory is also different.
• The series introduces state detective Nikki Henry to the force and gets rid of a charming detective named “The Greek”.

There are other, deeper differences, such as the way the book treats Celeste’s relationship with Shooter and Greer’s career as a writer.

In the series, Greer is at her best, but in the book, her latest manuscript was rejected by her editor and she is struggling to hit the same numbers as before.

And will the series keep the ending of the book? Watch and find out.