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anneschuessler's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
brooker35's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.25
This book is about a mother (Gemma) who has a lot of things that start happening to her involving her kids and husband. Her car gets spray painted, one of the kids seem to get lost outside their house, life is stress. Gemma and her husband (Robert) decide to hire a nanny and Gemma's life spirals.
This book isn't one that I needed to keep reading but I wanted to keep reading. It kept me interested enough as to know what was going on. I did not expect the ending, but wasn't shocked by it either. Definitely a good read, but probably not one I would recommend.
This book isn't one that I needed to keep reading but I wanted to keep reading. It kept me interested enough as to know what was going on. I did not expect the ending, but wasn't shocked by it either. Definitely a good read, but probably not one I would recommend.
berit08's review against another edition
5.0
Wow! Wow! Wow! This was one fabulously twisted psychological thriller!
Shalini Boland Has a way with taking the ordinary and turning it on its head... this was a well-crafted psychological thriller that completely sucked me in from the very first page! A book about the “perfect“ family finding themselves on one crazy twisted ride!
The book starts out with Gemma frantically searching for her youngest daughter Katie... katie is soon found wandering down the street by her grandmother and Gemma’s mother-in-law, Diane.... I don’t know about you but if anyone found my child wandering down the street much less my mother-in-law I would be mortified.... although there was the one time I found my youngest playing in the gutter across the street from our house, but he is my third kid😉
As anyone who has ever lost sight of their child those are some pretty long minutes in your life, and when you find your child you feel relieved, then a little angry, but the nightmare is over! Not in this case though Gemma’s nightmare has just begun... a vandalized car and a key that won’t quite fit are just the beginning... already doubting her capabilities as a mother Gemma is convinced to hire a tutor/nanny to watch the girls and help Ava with her entrance exams... Sadie comes with some strong recommendations, but Gemma is highly suspicious.... The girls seem too absolutely adore Sadie, but strange things start to happen and Gemma becomes more and more suspicious.... i’m sure you think you know where this story is going, And yet you’d be SO wrong! Can’t say much more about the plot, certainly don’t want to ruin it for you... just know that it is full of twists and turns that will definitely keep you furiously turning those pages!
This is a can’t miss psychological thriller buy one of my favorite authors... if you have read anything by Shalini Boland before this might be her best, and if you haven’t what are you waiting for? Perfect place to start!
*** many thanks to Bookouture for my copy of this book ***
Shalini Boland Has a way with taking the ordinary and turning it on its head... this was a well-crafted psychological thriller that completely sucked me in from the very first page! A book about the “perfect“ family finding themselves on one crazy twisted ride!
The book starts out with Gemma frantically searching for her youngest daughter Katie... katie is soon found wandering down the street by her grandmother and Gemma’s mother-in-law, Diane.... I don’t know about you but if anyone found my child wandering down the street much less my mother-in-law I would be mortified.... although there was the one time I found my youngest playing in the gutter across the street from our house, but he is my third kid😉
As anyone who has ever lost sight of their child those are some pretty long minutes in your life, and when you find your child you feel relieved, then a little angry, but the nightmare is over! Not in this case though Gemma’s nightmare has just begun... a vandalized car and a key that won’t quite fit are just the beginning... already doubting her capabilities as a mother Gemma is convinced to hire a tutor/nanny to watch the girls and help Ava with her entrance exams... Sadie comes with some strong recommendations, but Gemma is highly suspicious.... The girls seem too absolutely adore Sadie, but strange things start to happen and Gemma becomes more and more suspicious.... i’m sure you think you know where this story is going, And yet you’d be SO wrong! Can’t say much more about the plot, certainly don’t want to ruin it for you... just know that it is full of twists and turns that will definitely keep you furiously turning those pages!
This is a can’t miss psychological thriller buy one of my favorite authors... if you have read anything by Shalini Boland before this might be her best, and if you haven’t what are you waiting for? Perfect place to start!
*** many thanks to Bookouture for my copy of this book ***
clarkkk's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
qui2's review against another edition
3.0
Good book. I liked the writing & the characters. The story was interesting. I did figure out “who done it” ahead of time, but I really enjoyed the book.
julie_russell's review against another edition
5.0
What I really liked about this book was that ending was a bit of a surprise. Admittedly, it was also convenient, but kudos to the other for keeping my suspicions elsewhere.
earutherford's review against another edition
3.0
Excellent mystery read that sums up pretty much every woman's worst nightmare. The twist at the end wasn't much of a twist to me but that could be because I read too many of these types of books.
robinlovesreading's review against another edition
5.0
Please see all of my reviews on my blog at www.robinlovesreading.com.
Gemma Ballantine’s car was defaced with the words “bad mother” Her daughter is suspended from school. Her house key doesn’t work. If only those were the worst things Gemma was dealing with, then maybe she could have worked things out. But, no, it was much, much more. How did it all begin?
Gemma’s six-year-old daughter Katie has seemingly disappeared into thin air. This happens just before Gemma was to take Katie and her sister Eva to school. After frantically searching for several moments, Gemma heads to her car to look some more. However, she hears the voice of her mother-in-law and suddenly sees the tear-stained face of little Katie! Where was she? Why was Katie with her grandmother?
Gemma’s perfect little family may just be beginning to unravel. Before the reader is even able to see the drama unfold, another perspective is presented. This is by an unnamed narrator. As always with stories delivered by multiple points of view, many questions immediately begin to pop up.
Gemma is a busy wife and mother. She has a very demanding job and in some ways it is interfering with her family. She has been pressured by her mother-in-law to hire a nanny. It has come up before, but now more than ever. Would hiring a nanny to take the load off help Gemma so that she doesn’t doubt herself as a mother so much?
While Gemma is trying to sort things out, she has a critical business meeting. As if things weren’t interesting enough up until this point, there was a particular scene that made me say aloud, “Oh Snap!” That is the vein in which this story is delivered. Shocker after shocker.
As if my attention wasn’t riveted enough in this absolutely thrilling story by Shalini Boland, let me tell you that I literally could not put this book down. It kind of reminded me of a snowball being rolled down a hill. Well, what happens? The snowball gets bigger and bigger. Well, in comparison, this story gets better and better. At this point I felt like I was about to put the pieces of a 1,000 piece puzzle together.
Needless to say, not only is this book full of twists and turns, but boy, are the red herrings incredibly well thought out. All I can say at this point is that I was wrong in my guesses. Every. Time. Yes. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Well done Shalini Boland!
Run - do not walk - and get your copy of The Perfect Family. I have recommended many psychological thrillers this year. This is definitely one of them. Yes, indeed, this book is most certainly one of my favorites. This is the second book that I’ve read by the author, and I rated it 5 Stars as I did this one.
Gemma Ballantine’s car was defaced with the words “bad mother” Her daughter is suspended from school. Her house key doesn’t work. If only those were the worst things Gemma was dealing with, then maybe she could have worked things out. But, no, it was much, much more. How did it all begin?
Gemma’s six-year-old daughter Katie has seemingly disappeared into thin air. This happens just before Gemma was to take Katie and her sister Eva to school. After frantically searching for several moments, Gemma heads to her car to look some more. However, she hears the voice of her mother-in-law and suddenly sees the tear-stained face of little Katie! Where was she? Why was Katie with her grandmother?
Gemma’s perfect little family may just be beginning to unravel. Before the reader is even able to see the drama unfold, another perspective is presented. This is by an unnamed narrator. As always with stories delivered by multiple points of view, many questions immediately begin to pop up.
Gemma is a busy wife and mother. She has a very demanding job and in some ways it is interfering with her family. She has been pressured by her mother-in-law to hire a nanny. It has come up before, but now more than ever. Would hiring a nanny to take the load off help Gemma so that she doesn’t doubt herself as a mother so much?
While Gemma is trying to sort things out, she has a critical business meeting. As if things weren’t interesting enough up until this point, there was a particular scene that made me say aloud, “Oh Snap!” That is the vein in which this story is delivered. Shocker after shocker.
As if my attention wasn’t riveted enough in this absolutely thrilling story by Shalini Boland, let me tell you that I literally could not put this book down. It kind of reminded me of a snowball being rolled down a hill. Well, what happens? The snowball gets bigger and bigger. Well, in comparison, this story gets better and better. At this point I felt like I was about to put the pieces of a 1,000 piece puzzle together.
Needless to say, not only is this book full of twists and turns, but boy, are the red herrings incredibly well thought out. All I can say at this point is that I was wrong in my guesses. Every. Time. Yes. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Well done Shalini Boland!
Run - do not walk - and get your copy of The Perfect Family. I have recommended many psychological thrillers this year. This is definitely one of them. Yes, indeed, this book is most certainly one of my favorites. This is the second book that I’ve read by the author, and I rated it 5 Stars as I did this one.