The Perfect Son

When Tess Clarke wakes up in the hospital the day after her son Jamies eighth birthday, shes sure of these things: Shes been stabbed, her son is missing, her brother-in-law and her grief counselor are involved. But no one is listening to her.

After her husband, Mark, died suddenly in a terrible accident a few months earlier, the only thing keeping Tess together is Jamie. As they struggle to make sense of their new life without Mark, they find joy in brief moments of normalcy like walking to school and watching television together. Life is hard without Mark, but Tess has Jamie, and thats what matters.

But there in the hospital, confused and surrounded by people who wont listen, Tesss world falls apart. To save her son, she must piece together what happened between Marks death and Jamies birthday, but the truth might just be too much for her to bear.

My Thoughts: From the very beginning moments of The Perfect Son, I was drawn in to Tesss grieving world through her internal monologues centering around her husband Mark and son Jamie. Her fears and her increasing sense of impending danger carry me along to the point where I felt what she was feeling. Her enemies were mine, and I didnt trust anyone either.

Alternating narratives from Ian, Shelley, and an interviewer at the hospital offer other perspectives, so as the pages turn, we sense a conflict and a questionable reality. Whose version of the truth should we believe?

What happened on Jamies birthday? How did Tess end up hospitalized with a stab wound? Would the truth set her free or thrust her into further darkness? I was stunned by the ending and how events played out. 4.5 stars.

It was just okay for me. Initially, the cover and synopsis is what drew me to wanting to delve into the story but it fell flat for me. It didn’t grip me from the start and it dragged on, but then picked up at the end. Although I understand why the main character, Tess was depressed she was basically that way the entire book and it made for a dark, gloomy, bleak read. Even the setting was always cold, dreary and rainy. There didn’t seem to be that many bright moments to balance it out. Honestly, I couldn’t wait to get to the end so I could see what the twist was which I have to say was a pretty good one. I usually tend to figure them out early on so that was a plus. Overall, not a bad story but just didn’t do it for me in way of suspense. I expected something more.

from the moment I picked up this book, I could not put it down. It was so well written. Great twist at the end that I kind of foresaw for a second but then thought “nooo they wouldn’t do that to me..” lol. It was such a page-turner. Highly recommend and I’ll be looking for more by this author!

I loved this book. This poor woman is going through a horrific time and youre not sure what is real and what isnt. And just when I was thinking that she should pull herself together and get on with life, I find out that she just might be able to do that. Almost made me want to re-read everything to spot where I missed the clues. Very thought-provoking!

Loved the book. Total surprise ending. Never saw it coming. Hard to put down! A must read!

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