The Perfect Child

by Lucinda Berry

Book Overview

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.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1503905128
• ISBN13: 9781503905122
• Release Date: March 2019
• Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
• Length: 370 Pages
• Weight: 0.86 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.4" x 8.1"

Customer Reviews

Engrossing and creepy

Christopher and Hannah, a married surgeon and nurse, seem to have it all, except for a child. When they meet Janie, a six-year-old abandoned at their hospital, Christopher immediately bonds with her and persuades Hannah to adopt her. However, Janie turns out to have deep psychological issues, becoming obsessively attached to Christopher while acting out aggressively towards Hannah. As Janie's disturbing behavior escalates, Hannah struggles to connect with her and fears that Janie's manipulations will tear their family apart, revealing a dark past that threatens to destroy them. A Welcome Reunion is the follow-up novella to The Perfect Child. I won’t be giving any plot summaries to avoid spoilers. Rating for The Perfect Child: 4.5 Rating for A Welcome Reunion: 4.5 Breakdown: Lucinda Berry’s works are captivating, with engrossing plots and excellent storytelling that kept me hooked from start to finish. Her characterization is particularly terrifying, as she draws from her own experiences to blur the line between reality and fiction, resulting in a truly creepy effect. I loved her suspenseful writing style, especially the short chapters, though I wished for a more neatly tied-up ending. While the concept of a disturbed child isn’t unique, both stories feel fresh and original. As for the emotional impact of "The Perfect Child," it had me both enthralled and creeped out, but its resolution was abrupt and left many questions unanswered. There is an opportunity for a little more closure, Lucinda Berry’s Facebook page features a 2021 reading of the intended epilogue that was cut from the book. I highly recommend you check it out. "A Welcome Reunion" provided more answers but it had enough material that it could have stood alone as its own book. I would have enjoyed reading a sequel instead of a novella. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed both works and look forward to reading more from Dr. Berry.

I simply could not put it down!

Readers will fall in love with Lucinda’s style due to the ease of her writing style that transports you into each character. I feel with the way this book ended, Lucinda must be planning a second edition. Please tell us that you are!