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The Perfect Child

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The Perfect Child

By: Lucinda Berry
Narrated by: Christine Williams, Erin Bennett, Dan John Miller
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About this listen

A Washington Post and Amazon Charts bestseller.

A page-turning debut of suspense about a young couple desperate to have a child of their own—and the unsettling consequences of getting what they always wanted.

Christopher and Hannah are a happily married surgeon and nurse with picture-perfect lives. All that’s missing is a child. When Janie, an abandoned six-year-old, turns up at their hospital, Christopher forms an instant connection with her, and he convinces Hannah they should take her home as their own.

But Janie is no ordinary child, and her damaged psyche proves to be more than her new parents were expecting. Janie is fiercely devoted to Christopher, but she acts out in increasingly disturbing ways, directing all her rage at Hannah. Unable to bond with Janie, Hannah is drowning under the pressure, and Christopher refuses to see Janie’s true nature.

Hannah knows that Janie is manipulating Christopher and isolating him from her, despite Hannah’s attempts to bring them all together. But as Janie’s behavior threatens to tear Christopher and Hannah apart, the truth behind Janie’s past may be enough to push them all over the edge.

©2019 Heather Berry. (P)2018 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved. Crime Fiction Domestic Thrillers Psychological Thriller & Suspense Fiction Crime Suspense Family Drama

Critic Reviews

"A mesmerizing, unbearably tense thriller that will have you looking over your shoulder and sleeping with one eye open. This creepy, serpentine tale explores the darkest corners of parenthood and the profoundly unsettling lengths one will go to to keep a family together—no matter the consequences. Electrifying and atmospheric, this dark gem of a novel is one I couldn’t put down.”—Heather Gudenkauf, New York Times bestselling author

“A deep, dark, and dangerously addictive read. All-absorbing to the very end!”—Minka Kent, Washington Post bestselling author
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Most relevant
I enjoyed the story, had me feeling all sorts of emotions. But feel like it left so much hanging in the end. So much more could have been shared. Definitely not a bad read, I would still recommend it. But wouldn't say it blew me away

Enjoyable

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I bought this book from the reviews. I seriously don’t know where to start. It was like a hallmark novel and then it turned really dark. A couple of the characters were totally unbelievable although the child’s behaviours were spot on (I am a foster carer and I have been witness to most of them) but it ended really badly, I had to rewind it a couple of times to see if I had missed something crucial. Don’t waste your credits.

Don’t bother

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Lots of twists and turns. Edged hanging moments. The only bad thing to be said was it had to end.
Highly recommend

Couldn’t stop listening and when I wasn’t listening I was think about The perfect child.

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The narration was great apart from when the male narrator did the voice of Janie. It made a mockery of the book in my opinion.

The twist was ridiculous and I figured it out within the first chapter unfortunately. Which was really a shame because other than that the book was quite good.

Botched 'twist'

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This is a good story, well read. But the ending (or lack of one) annoyed me enough to leave an overall bad impression which was a shame.

Great story, frustrating ending

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