Reviews with content warning for Murder - The Perfect Child

Reviews tagging 'Murder'

The Perfect Child by Lucinda Berry

123 reviews

casaphaletook's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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katiearcher's review

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dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No

4.0

This is probably my favorite Lucinda Berry book so far! Despite the title and knowing Lucinda Berry, I was almost fooled at first. This book does go to very dark places though, but it is so interesting!

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mrsrjg's review

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challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

*This review is based on the audiobook.*

This book is the most frustrated I've been with a book in a while, it just felt so pointless.

I'll start with what I liked about the book; I really enjoyed the short chapters and the multiple POVs as it made for a quick read, I actually sat up far too late to finish only to be disappointed. The story in itself was actually very thrilling but almost too much as I could feel my anxiety getting very high; not to mention the things that Janie was actually doing just left me feeling very strange.

OK so this book has no ending, I feel this should be put out there somewhere; according to the author she was asked by her editor to cut the epilogue and she did which was a major mistake. I have since found a reading of the epilogue on her Facebook page which if this had been added I would have increased my rating but people shouldn't have to search for the ending of a book.

And another thing, the characters in this book, in particular the husband, I have never wanted to slap someone so hard in all my life; he just pushes his wife aside to support this child he barely knows, to the point that he lets his family get hurt and is totally blind to the actions of this psychotic child; and also the way that he attached himself onto her from the beginning was borderline creepy behaviour for me.

Also, I feel like this book deserves major trigger warnings at the start as I felt majorly anxious and even burst into tears at one point due to past trauma.

There is a short sequel novella which I will read to see if any more questions are answered as not a lot were in this book regarding Janie, her actions and her mental capacity.

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kim_reads22's review against another edition

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mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

This book has been on my TBR for a while, and when it came up on my Kindle Unlimited subscription, I figured it was a good idea!

We follow a couple who are successful, happy and looks as though their lives are I perfect, other than that fact that they cannot have children. When a little girl who has been abused and abandoned is brought to the ER where they both work, they develop a love for the child and apply to foster, then adopt her.They learn early on that life with this child is going to be hard, from the therapy, to the tantrums and everything in between.

I gave this one 4 stars. I liked the pace and the writing style, jumping each chapter between the two main characters and the social worker being interviewed by police about whatever had happened at the end, As the book went on, I began to dislike Christopher more and more as he was just so keen to take the child’s side over that of his wife. The events that happen at the end had my visibly picking my jaw up off the floor. Though I will admit, that I was not a fan of the way the story ended, it felt really unfinished, and it was the difference in 4 and 5 stars for this one.

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alyssaslitreviews's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

4 stars because NO END?!!? I did not like that lol I really wanted to know what Christopher was gonna have to say.

Ouuuu!! I have so much I can say about this book. All in all, I was very invested in how the story was going to end. I also think I may check out another one of Lucinda Berrys novels. It was a lot more graphic than I was expecting and it definitely needed some trigger warnings but the plot lowkey ate.

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cemsreadingcorner's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This one was intense. There was a lot of drama. Crazy sh!t was always happening. Never read a story where a little girl was so disturbed she was doing things you never thought a young child would do. I listened the audiobook while reading, and I wasn’t crazy about the female narrator. She was reading weird, which unfortunately is usually how it is when I listen to audiobooks with female narrators. Sounds like I’m listening to a robot or gps system. 😂 The guy who narrated Christopher’s part did exceptionally well. Both men did well. I wish I could say all of them did great. Also, the narrators kept saying different words from what was written in the book. So, that was an error on their part. And about the story, I don’t know what happened to Janie in the end. I don’t know what their plans for her were. Was she going to stay with a foster family? Or were they going to institutionalize her? What was going to happen to her? I didn’t quite understand that. Either way, I don’t think there’s hope for Janie. I doubt she’ll change. But I hope there’s a second book in this series because I would like to see Janie’s progression over time.

Wednesday, October 30, 2024 at 11:12 AM

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wordsgirlie's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.5

psychological thriller.
— slow-paced, multiple povs

“why did the universe allow people who hurt kids to have them? why couldn’t give them to people like me, who wanted them?”

this is my first lucinda berry book and i absolutely ate it all up. the story follows hannah and christopher, 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.

first of all, i finished the whole story in just a few hours because it is literally a page-turner. the plot was indeed amazing. i got immediately interested after reading the first few chapters. i like the writing style and it was very easy to understand. it actually had the ‘orphan’ movie vibes in it, and i love how the mystery and suspense built up as the story goes. the characters are so effectively irritating and they definitely tested my patience. hannah is the only character i like in this book. on the other hand, christopher is so stupid and blind when it comes to hannah’s struggles and it made me loathe him more.

to be honest, i somehow dislike the ending of this book because it was a cliffhanger and i am looking for something more. but overall, this is still one of my best psychological thriller reads so far. i am horrified, mad, and frustrated the entire time i was reading this book. if you’re looking for a psychological book that’s horrifying but emotional at the same time, you should definitely pick this book up.

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