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Lucinda Berry

The Perfect Child Kindle Edition

by Lucinda Berry (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

16,323 ratings

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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.

Print length

371 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Thomas & Mercer
Publication date

1 Mar. 2019
File size

2982 KB
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Review

“I am a compulsive reader of literary novels—but this has been a terrible year for fiction that is actually readable, and not experimental. I have been so disappointed when well-known writers came out with books that, to me, were just duds. But there was one book that kept me reading, the sort of novel I can’t put down…The Perfect Child by Lucinda Berry. It speaks to the fear of every parent: What if your child is a psychopath? This novel takes it a step farther. A couple, desperate for a child, have the chance to adopt a beautiful little girl who, they are told, has been abused. They’re told it might take a while for her to learn to behave and trust people. She can be sweet and loving, and in public is adorable. But in private—well, I won’t give away what happens. But, needless to say, it’s chilling.” —Gina Kolata, New York Times

“[O]n the nightmare scale, Lucinda Berry’s thriller may top the charts.” —Popular Culture Association

“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

From the Publisher

For eager adoptive parents Chris and Hannah Bauer, getting the child they always wanted is a dream come true. But be careful what you wish for. What they always wanted comes with chilling consequences.

When abandoned child Janie is brought into the hospital where Chris and Hannah work, it’s obvious she’s experienced severe trauma, and they know raising her will be hard. Yet they can’t help but fall in love with her. But once they bring her home, things quickly start to go south. As the pair slowly starts to uncover pieces of Janie’s past, the child’s behavior grows more disturbing.

I was spellbound as I started to unravel the mystery of Janie and watch a once-perfect couple struggle to keep their marriage alive. I love when a book leaves me in chills, and The Perfect Child did not disappoint.

- Megha Parekh, Editor

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07F6C3YYL
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Thomas & Mercer (1 Mar. 2019)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 2982 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 371 pages
Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1503905128

Best Sellers Rank: 4,927 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- 311 in Psychological Fiction (Kindle Store)
- 355 in Psychological Fiction (Books)
- 474 in Psychological Thrillers (Kindle Store)

Customer reviews:
16,323 ratings

About the author

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Lucinda Berry

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Dr. Lucinda Berry is a former clinical psychologist and leading researcher in childhood trauma. Now, she spends her days writing full-time where she uses her clinical experience to blur the line between fiction and nonfiction. She enjoys taking her readers on a journey through the dark recesses of the human psyche. Her work has been optioned for film and translated into multiple languages.

If Berry isn’t chasing after her son, you can find her running through Los Angeles, prepping for her next marathon. To hear about her upcoming releases and other author news, visit her on social media or sign up for her newsletter at https://lucindaberry.com/.

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Customer reviews

5 star		61%
4 star		24%
3 star		10%
2 star		3%
1 star		3%

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Contains animal cruelty which felt gratuitous and unnecessary

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 9 February 2019

Verified Purchase

This was my kindle first freebie choice. I enjoy psychological thrillers and as the author is a healthcare professional, I believed she’d be well placed to write with authority on a difficult subject matter. The premise is straightforward, the perfect couple want a child. They adopt a troubled child and as may be anticipated, there are problems.

The book is well written, although some of the dialogue is banal. I didn’t warm to the characters and felt no sympathy and very little interest in their plight. Overall, the plot became less and less plausible and way beyond where I could suspend disbelief. Also, rather than build tension and drama, there are a couple of scenes which are genuinely disturbing. I know child and animal cruelty goes on and I’ve worked professionally in situations where I encountered both. But in this novel, the graphic descriptions felt gratuitous. I don’t believe the detail was necessary and sometimes the skill of writing is that the author is able to build a mental picture for the reader, rather than spell out the horror. That, for me, is what builds tension and keeps you reading. I didn’t enjoy the book at all.

218 people found this helpful

Helpful

BigDog

Disappointing

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 3 February 2019

Verified Purchase

A husband and wife (male Dr/female nurse-hmm) adopt a seriously troubled little girl after she is brought to their hospital half starved and dehydrated. We have Christopher's story (husband), Hannah's story (wife) and the police/Piper (social worker). The book started well but rapidly became highly unbelievable. I just couldn't believe that two medical people could be so naïve. I also couldn't believe that a whole host of professional people who work with troubled and abused children wouldn't have worked out that they were seriously struggling and intervened. I didn't gel with the main characters and found them irritating. Well written but quite slow paced. Kill/torture an animal and you can guarantee that will lose stars It is never necessary to go into detail on this. Novels are allowed to be dark but if they are not believable then I have a problem. I got this book free as part of Amazon Prime

100 people found this helpful

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Erssie customer

Grim and Discouraging

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 February 2019

Verified Purchase

Its a surprise to me that a childhood trauma psychologist would want to write a highly emotive thriller that would discourage a lot of people from adopting and playing on their fears of the kid's own hidden history or inability to move on from their past. I didnt much like any of the main characters who clearly seemed to value being a "real mother" over an adoptive one. I do get that there are severely abused kids who are maladjusted but I always feel sad when fiction or drama wants to play on our fears and perpetuate the idea abused kids must inevitably become abusers. I have had various friends who were abused significantly and who are now the best parents their kids could wish for and wouldn't hurt anyone even if they suffered depression, anxiety, fears over parenthood or fertility problems as a result. Novels like this do those real life abused kids a disservice really. I did find the beginning of this book informative and enjoyable but had a hard time with the end of the book when it sort of veered off into involving the supernatural and a postnatal angle.

64 people found this helpful

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Kath2648

Poor ending

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 26 February 2019

Verified Purchase

This is a well written book by an author who obviously knows her stuff but I found it a very disturbing read. Hopefully none of us will ever encounter such a damaged a child in our life times or have to deal with the issues mentioned in this book.
I got increasingly annoyed with Christopher who put the child first beyond everything even when it was obvious they were getting nowhere with her.
I don’t want to add any more spoilers but if you are a reader who likes a good ending even if it’s not a happy one I wouldn’t read this book. It has one of the worst endings of any book I’ve ever read leaving you so frustrated and just hanging there you want to scream.!!!

56 people found this helpful

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Angie T.D.

Well worth a read if you are not of a nervous disposition.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 4 February 2019

Verified Purchase

This was a difficult read,not because it wasn't well written, but because it was.The subject matter and events as they unfolded in the book were terrifying ,how quickly can life change.No spoilers but you could tell that the book was written by someone who was very knowledgeable in the subject, as a former forensic social worker myself I can definitely say it was true to life.I almost felt like I shouldn't have been reading it, it felt like coming across a car crash and looking when you know you shouldn't really be gawping .It was very believable and quite frightening .Well worth a read if you are not of a nervous disposition.

54 people found this helpful

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Book addict

Disturbing

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 2 February 2019

Verified Purchase

Sick of reading reviews where the word ‘gripping’ is over used. Unfortunately I was gripped by this tale. Read it in an afternoon. A melange of hope, grief, love, exhaustion and horror......all caused by one little girl. Suspend your belief in the innocence of childhood.

57 people found this helpful

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Chattahoochee Tern

Compelling but disturbing

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 3 February 2019

Verified Purchase

Desperate for a child, a couple adopt a seriously damaged little girl. What happens next? Why is there a homicide investigation?

Utterly compelling yet disturbing. I put my Kindle down at intervals to take a break, but each time soon felt bound to pick it up again. Horribly realistic, well plotted with very well drawn characters. It reminded me of Lionel Shriver's "We Need to Talk About Kevin".

Strongly recommended.

41 people found this helpful

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L T

Couldn’t put it down

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 2 February 2019

Verified Purchase

Received this as a Kindle First freebie and started reading it immediately. Found it so engrossing that my plans for the entire day were put on hold until I’d finished the whole book

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The Perfect Child Kindle Edition

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