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Book Reviewed by:Seventeen-year old Zoe Maisey lives with her mother, stepfather, stepbrother and half-sister in what she calls their "second-chance house." Why second chance? Because three years before The Perfect Girl begins, Zoe was responsible for an incident in which three of her classmates died leading to her conviction in a juvenile court.
In the fallout, Zoe's parents split up and now her mother, Maria, has remarried. Maria has chosen to rebuild a life without revealing anything about Zoe's incident to her new husband or stepson, and in so doing, creates a fascinating premise ripe for conflict.
The Perfect Girl opens with Zoe and her stepbrother playing a piano concert in a local church hall. They have barely begun when the father of one of the children killed three years earlier, storms in and disrupts the event. Zoe and her mother's secret won't be safe for long, and by the end of the evening, Maria will be dead.
Macmillan ramps up the tension in this cleverly plotted novel with a dual narrative that alternates between the events leading up to Maria's death and the subsequent murder investigation that swings into action. The story is told from a range of points of view including Maria's married sister, Tessa, who happens to be having an affair.
The family dynamics at play in The Perfect Girl are engagingly complex. Zoe and her stepbrother are close but he has secrets of his own. Maria and her new husband Chris have a baby girl together whom Zoe loves but the teenager's relationship with her stepfather appears strained. As the investigation into Maria's death gets underway the reader wonders not only who killed her, but also whether this family can survive without Maria there to keep them together.
The Perfect Girl is very strong in parts. Zoe's troubles at school and her claustrophobic new family set-up are well imagined. Her relationship with her stepbrother is nuanced and engaging and her aunt's marital difficulties add layers of complexity and interest. However, other elements feel heavy-handed: A primary character's illness reads like an add-on or afterthought, a rather clumsy attempt at delivering depth. An all-around lack of emotional response to Maria's death is also particularly noticeable.
Nevertheless, a satisfying twist at the conclusion elevates the story and the novel should please fans of psychological crime thrillers.
This review
first ran in the November 2, 2016
issue of BookBrowse Recommends.
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