The Perfect Family by Lorna Dounaeva
Genre: Domestic Suspense, Psychological thriller
Read: 27th April 2022
Published: 24th April 2022
★★★★ 4 stars
DESCRIPTION:
Victoria has the perfect life. And she’ll do whatever it takes to keep it.
For Victoria, image is everything. And on the surface, she has it all - a big house, a successful husband and two beautiful children.
But behind the scenes, things are very different. Because Victoria and her husband have a dark secret and she lives in terror of it being discovered, of her perfect facade being shattered forever.
Under massive stress, but still desperately trying to keep up appearances, this is a family that is falling apart. Husband Kit is unable to work. Teenage daughter Anna grows ever more rebellious. And nine-year-old Joey seems increasingly different from other kids.
Victoria realises she has to act now or she will lose everything. And that’s when she has to ask herself - how far is she willing to go, how much is she willing to do, to preserve her perfect family?
The answer is beyond shocking and will plunge them all into a nightmare from which they may never wake.
The Perfect Family – the gripping psychological thriller ideal for fans of K. L. Slater, Mark Edwards, Daniel Hurst.
MY REVIEW:
No family is perfect but this one certainly wasn't. Desperate to keep up appearances, Victoria tries her level best to maintain the "perfect family" facade...not matter the cost, it seems. For her, image is everything. She has so much going on with a husband who works long hours down in London, a rebellious teenage daughter and a son who is clearly showing signs of autism that Victoria continually ignores so that Joey won't be segregated and her family ostracised. Because clearly, the town in which they live is full of shallow people who thrive on the keeping up of appearances...oh, and money.
But on top of all this turmoil, Victoria harbours a dark secret that, if it got out, her life, her goals and her dreams for her family will be ruined. But Joey knows...and he is struggling with his knowledge and how to make logical sense of it.
The bulk of the story is of Victoria trying to maintain the facade of a perfect family. She refuses to believe that there is anything wrong with her son Joey, citing that he is just brilliant and advanced for his age. But even I could see from early on that he displayed signs of ASD. You'd think that any parent would do anything for their child; anything that would help make life easier for them. But not Victoria. Although, she actually thought that everything she was doing was for them, as she stated many times "Everything I do, I do for you" (and I would have Bryan Adams singing those same words as she uttered them...lol) And then there was Anna, her fourteen year old daughter who evolved into this rebellious person overnight, it seemed. But even she begins to struggle with her own moral compass. And her husband Kit, who came across as weak in some ways compared to Victoria's strong personality. Everyone was struggling with this secret...except Victoria.
And then along comes Belinda Solomon and her son Ricky, who have the propensity to throw Victoria's world into an even bigger chaos. She wants nothing to do with her, but Belinda will not take no for an answer as she pleads with Victoria to take on Ricky for piano lessons. Victoria wants to scream no but finds herself agreeing to teach him. How can she get out of it? But it seems fate has other plans as Joey, who has no friends or social tendencies, and Ricky seem to hit it off and flee up to Joey's room to play. Joey even asks if Ricky could stay for tea. How could Victoria refuse when Joey has never asked for a friend to stay? And in the midst of this chaotic tale, Belinda begins to see Victoria as a true friend. Oh the irony.
It was difficult to feel any sympathy for Victoria. She was vain and shallow and cared only for appearances. She had this dream that worked her poor husband to the bone whilst denying her child's special needs, all to see them have the biggest most beautiful house one day. She cared far too much about how others saw her and her family rather than what was truly important. Her refusal to accept that Joey needed help, despite meltdowns that she saw as tantrums, she dismisses others' concerns. But Joey has been keeping a secret diary into which he pours his own logical set of emotions. But can he articulate the secret he knows his mother is hiding?
THE PERFECT FAMILY is anything but. It is certainly not a family I would care to be a part of of, that's for sure. A thriller that verges on the edge of domestic suspense there is no real mystery here but there are a few tense moments. Told through the eyes of Victoria, Anna and Joey's diary, the story unfolds in perfect synchronicity with a gamut of emotions from shock, horror, sorrow, anger and surprise throughout. The ending was a bit of a surprise but I think it was a fitting one all the same.
Overall, THE PERFECT FAMILY is an engaging domestic tale of suspense where none of the characters are really all that likeable but the story was enjoyable just the same. This is my first by this author but the premises to some of her others are just as compelling. I look forward to reading more from her in the future.
I would like to thank #LornaDounaeva, #InkubatorBooks and #ZoolooTours for an ARC of #ThePerfectFamily in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Lorna lives in Surrey with her husband and three children, who keep her busy wiping food off the ceiling and removing mints from USB sockets.
Social Media links:
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads
Thank you so much for taking part in the tour today and sharing your review x
ReplyDelete