The Perfect Family by Robyn Harding

The bestselling author of the The Swap—praised by Samantha M. Bailey, author of Woman on the Edge, as “wickedly delicious, addictive, utterly compelling”—explores what happens when a seemingly perfect family is pushed to the edge by cruel, vindictive, and increasingly dangerous attacks.

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 beautifully restored Craftsman house in a well-to-do neighborhood in Portland, Oregon. Their jobs are secure; 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. The family installs surveillance cameras but they show nothing but grainy images of shadowy figures in hoodies. 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.

Seventeen-year-old Tarryn is dabbling in a seedy online world; her older brother, Eli, has dropped out of college and refuses to tell his parents why; and Thomas and Viv have their own secrets that began as harmless fun and relief from the pressures of everyday life, but have grown into something darker and more dangerous. 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 in this addictive and twisty suspense novel that will keep you turning pages until its explosive ending. 

Kindle Edition, 352 pages

Expected publication: August 10th 2021 

by Gallery Books

4/5 stars

The Perfect Family might look like the perfect family from the outside but as we all know looks can be deceiving.  I wouldn't exactly call this a thriller but rather a family drama where each of them has secrets that appears to be known to someone else.  But which someone else is the one wreaking havoc on the sanity of all four of them - Viv, Thomas, Tarryn and Eli?

Told from the POV of all 4  makes for a great view of how this family functions and their relationship.  I can't say that I liked them all, in fact Eli is the only one I actually felt some compassion for. As the story progressed and more of the past comes to light the tension ramps up.

This is my 3rd book by Canadian author Robyn Harding, I like her writing style with the shorter chapters that had me reading just one more chapter. She kept my attention throughout and also kept me guessing. I liked the ending, it was fitting and worked for me.

The Perfect Family releases on August 10th, my thanks to Gallery Books (Simon & Schuster CA) for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.