Thomas and Viv Adler have a picture-perfect family. Affluent and attractive, with two well-mannered kids almost out of the nest, they live in a beautiful house in a well-to-do neighbourhood. Their jobs are fulfilling; their children are thriving; the world is their oyster.
Until one morning, when they wake up to find that their house and car have been pelted with eggs. Thomas dismisses it as the work of a few out-of-control kids, but when a smoke bomb is tossed on their front lawn, and the tires on their BMW are punctured, he begins to worry. Unable to identify the perpetrators, they are helpless as the assaults escalate. The police assure them that this is just the work of bored teenagers, but no one in the Adler family believes it. After all, each of them has a secret – kept not only from the outside world but from each other.
As the Adlers grapple with their guilt, fear and shame, the assaults grow deadly. Their ‘perfect’ façade is crumbling, and it may be too late for any of them to do anything about it.
Robyn Harding is the bestselling author of The Party and The Arrangement and The Swap – a smart, sexy, and compelling page-turner that astutely explores toxic friendships, obsession, and desire. The Perfect Family is her latest domestic thriller, exploring what happens when a seemingly perfect family is pushed to the edge by cruel, vindictive, and increasingly dangerous attacks.
Thomas and Viv appear to be the perfect couple, working in real estate and interior design respectively. But their kids – young adults – are dealing with issues they know nothing about. As are they. Told from each family member’s perspective in alternating chapters, everyone harbours a secret, big and small.
Harding doesn’t let up. She plays with the reader’s mind with each twist and turn, throwing in blackmail and danger and the unravelling of each character as we learn more about them. It’s impossible to guess who the culprit is, or what the outcome will be. And it makes for a fun read.
This twisty, addictive suspense novel about a perfect family’s perfect façade will keep you turning pages until you’re done. And just when you think all the loose ends have been tied, there’s one very explosive ending.
The Perfect Family is a great reminder that even the most perfect families have their issues. It’s also one hellova read.
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