By Tessa @TessaTalksBooks Posted on

The Perfect Family by Robyn Harding #BookReview #PsychologicalThriller #DomesticThriller #ThrillerThursday

Thomas and Viv Adler are the envy of their neighbors: attractive, successful, with well-mannered children and a beautifully restored home.

Until one morning, when they wake up to find their porch has been pelted with eggs. It’s a prank, Thomas insists; the work of a few out-of-control kids. But when a smoke bomb is tossed on their front lawn, and their car’s tires are punctured, the family begins to worry. Surveillance cameras show nothing but grainy images of shadowy figures in hoodies. And the police dismiss the attacks, insisting they’re just the work of bored teenagers. Unable to identify the perpetrators, the Adlers are helpless as the assaults escalate into violence, and worse. And each new violation brings with it a growing fear. Because everyone in the Adler family is keeping a secret—not just from the outside world, but from each other. And secrets can be very dangerous….

This twisty, addictively page-turning suspense novel about a perfect family’s perfect façade will keep you turning pages until its explosive ending.

Click here for the link to Goodreads.

What I Loved

I usually don’t say this, but I loved that there are multiple narrators. Each of the four family members tells their particular part of the story and gradually reveals the secrets they are hiding that may or not be related to the harassment they have been dealing with as a family. The chapters rotate through the four and are each short, making the book’s pace very quick. It also makes the story a complex web of deception and revelations that is just fun to read.

The characters are amazingly well-developed because you learn so much about them through the secrets that they are keeping. This adds an unexpected depth to the story, which could have easily stayed on the surface because of the quick pace and short chapters. Only one of the characters was relatable to me, but I could sympathize with all of them and the personal demons they face, not to mention the one they are facing together.

I also loved the ending, which is my favorite kind of ending. It’s an ending that will send a chill down your spine as you realize that one of the plot threads remains open-ended. I love the uncertainty of what the future will hold and the thousands of possibilities it leaves in its wake.

Reminds Me Of

I don’t know that I have read any psychological thriller quite like this one. It is such a mash-up of narrators and secrets. I can’t imagine this being pulled off by many authors. Karen McManus is the closest to this writing style that I’ve read but for the YA reader.

The Characters

My favorite character is Eli. He is the son of Thomas and Viv and brother to Tarryn, the four narrators of this delightfully crazy tale. Eli has dropped out of college all of a sudden, and he won’t tell anyone why. But when he finally reveals his secret, I felt a ton of sympathy for him and what he is going through. Tarryn is a very prickly teen in her junior year of high school. Viv is an interior decorator, and she got her start by helping her husband, Thomas, sell houses by staging them.

What I Wish

My one little niggle is how the harassment is handled pretty much by everyone that knew about it. From the police to neighbors to the Adlers themselves, I found the reactions and the consequences a bit too much for suspended disbelief to hold. I just kept thinking, “What is wrong with you people.” What does it even mean to excuse the harassment by saying, “It’s just kids being kids.” At what point do you have to stop making excuses and hold them accountable?

My Rating:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

To Read or Not to Read

If you are looking for a fast-paced psychological thriller based on a complex web of lies that will have you picking your jaw up off of the floor, The Perfect Family is just the book you are looking for this summer.

Trigger Warnings:

Violence

18 Replies to “The Perfect Family by Robyn Harding #BookReview #PsychologicalThriller #DomesticThriller #ThrillerThursday”

  4. Teri Polen says:

    I agree about the harrassment. If the attacks are escalating, it sure wouldn’t seem like bored teens to me. And a chilling, unexpected ending is always a fav of mine. Thanks, Tessa!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lady Tessa says:

      It was a very good story but that part did bother me. I’d like to think if I ever had a problem like that, the police would be more reactive.

      Liked by 1 person

  5. Mae Clair says:

    This is on my reading radar, and I love a book with multiple narrators. Excellent review, Tessa.
    Now to find room for it on my TBR!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lady Tessa says:

      I think you would enjoy this one. It’s the rare book that really makes good use of multiple narrators and I loved that part.

      Liked by 1 person

  7. WendyW says:

    Excellent review Tessa this sounds so good. I agree, there seems, from the blurb, to be a lot of property destruction for the neighbors and police to just chalk it up to teenage pranks!

    Liked by 1 person

  8. Grab the Lapels says:

    I do like multiple narrators if the author can make them all sound like different people — or objects; I’ve read books in which an object narrates. It’s especially cool if they narrate the same scene but with their own reactions, and they all feel so differently about one event, or interpret it differently, which leads to problems.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lady Tessa says:

      I completely agree. In many cases when it’s used, I’m not a big fan, but this book completely elevated the technique to a whole new storytelling place. ❤️

      Liked by 1 person

  9. Pingback: Links I’ve Enjoyed This Week – 22/08/2021 #WeeklyRoundUpPost 🔗📆 🔗 #SecretLibraryBookBlog – Secret Library Book Blog

Comments are closed.