When adapting author Elin Hilderbrand’s best-selling novel “The Perfect Couple” for Netflix, series creator Jenna Lamia could have made it an intense murder mystery, or she could have focused on all the delicious bits that make the story an irresistible beach read. Lamia chose the latter. “The Perfect Couple” follows Amelia Sacks (Eve Hewson), a zoologist who marries into the wealthy and respected Winbury family. Unfortunately, when a body is found on the Winbury estate the morning after Amelia and Benji’s (Billy Howle) rehearsal dinner, the happy event quickly turns into a murder investigation. As clues are uncovered, long-held secrets about the Winburys are revealed in the most absurd ways possible, making for a pulpy, overdramatized, and utterly entertaining show.

“The Perfect Couple” premieres on Nantucket Island during a picturesque Fourth of July weekend. As the cameras roll, the audience is introduced to the guests enjoying the pre-wedding festivities under a massive tent in the Winburys’ beachfront backyard. Although Amelia’s parents and best friend/bridesmaid, Merritt (Meghann Fahy), are in attendance, this is very much a Winbury affair.

Amela’s fiancé, Benji, is thoughtful and kind, but his wealthy family is different. Benji’s older brother, Tom (Jack Reynor), is a braggart bro barely kept in line by his scheming wife, Abby (Dakota Fanning). Meanwhile, Will (Sam Nivola), the youngest Winbury, is emotionally disturbed and haunted by the past. Windbury patriarch Tag’s (Liev Schreiber) only passions seem to be rowing, golfing and smoking weed. And matriarch Greer (Nicole Kidman), an acclaimed novelist, rules her husband and sons with a seething calculation and sits atop this house of cards.

The rehearsal dinner seems glamorous and cheerful, but things take a turn for the worse in the early hours of the next day. Nantucket Chief of Police Dan Carter (Michael Beach) receives a call that a floater has been found. Chief Carter, a Nantucket resident who knows the Winburys' power, initially tries to wrap up the investigation as quickly as possible. But he's forced to face the truth when Det. Nikki Henry (Donna Lynne Champlin) is brought in from the mainland to work on the case. As the couple soon discover, there's much more to the Winburys than their impeccable facade.