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The Perfect Family

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The Perfect Family

Written by: Samantha King
Narrated by: Henrietta Meire
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Buy Now for $27.83

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About this listen

Maddie Castle is broken. Ever since the tragedy that struck on her twins' 10th birthday, she's been trying to fit the pieces together, to get back to the life she led before. Maddie, her husband, Dom, and their children, Aidan and Annabel, lived in a comfortable home on a quiet street in a London suburb. Life was busy and satisfying. They were happy. Weren't they?

Now, a disoriented and grieving Maddie floats like a ghost through each day, hardly sleeping, eating, or speaking. It's easier to stay locked in her own head than to torment herself by reliving what happened. And yet, the harder Maddie tries to pin down her memories, the more they slip out of reach. Is her guilt and remorse justified? Is it Maddie's fault that everything was ripped apart?

Or could it be that the real terror is still to come?

©2017 Samantha King (P)2018 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books Genre Fiction Psychological Suspense Thriller & Suspense
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On its face, this undeniably ludicrous Samantha King story should be boring: a mother forced into complicity with the murder of one of her own twin children enters a semicatatonic fugue state of sorts.. slowly recovering her memories to explain the horrific event. There is no "villain" per se (i.e., no real suspects until the climax), very little action, and the contrived mechanism to deliver drip-drip-drip revelations is actually kind of insulting to the readers' intelligence. In theory, I should have *hated* this book.

I didn't.

King writes with admirable vocabulary/prose, develops interesting characters organically, and makes the "WTF" surprise elements to the plot unique enough to provoke contemplation.

Doubtless, excellent - albeit imperfect - reading from Henrietta Meire improved my enjoyment of the story, too. Backed up by exemplary technical support from HighBridge Company sound engineers, Meire provides an entertaining interpretation of King's intentions.

Altogether, this atmospheric, cerebral exposé descends into the "silly" - and didn't fit into my "Mystery-Thriller" wheelhouse - but was a great distraction for a couple of quiet afternoons.
'The Perfect Family' rates 8 stars out of 10. As a 'Plus' option, it was absolutely worth a download. In fact, if you can appreciate it as is, it might even merit a Credit.

Absurd.. But Oddly Captivating

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I actually couldn't finish the last 3 minutes of the story. The female character was so unbelievable and so syrupy repetitive.

The bizarre progression of characters.

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