The Perfect Child by Lucinda Berry
Wow, I just finished The Perfect Child, and I feel like I need some counseling to process everything that happened in this psychological horror thriller. That was one wild ride! My attention span is quite bad, but The Perfect Child kept me captivated, and I love it when a book is that engaging.
The Perfect Child
In The Perfect Child, we meet Christopher and Hannah. They are a loving couple and both work at a local hospital. They’re very happy together, but one thing is missing from their lives: a child. They’ve been unsuccessfully trying to get pregnant for a long time, and now they’re getting ready to look into adoption. Then this poor, wounded child is found wandering around wearing only a soiled diaper. Her name is Janey.
Everybody is shocked by the abuse that is visible on Janey’s body, and Christopher meets her in his position as an orthopedic surgeon. He quickly grows very fond of Janey, and she seems to like him too. As Janey’s time in the hospital comes to an end, Christopher requests that he and Hannah become her temporary guardians, while social services look for adoptive parents. After an awkward start, Janey seems to like Hannah too, and they welcome her into their home.
But it’s not easy, because Janey suffers from an attachment disorder and frequently starts screaming for no obvious reason. Even though she’s six years old, she still poops in her pants. She’s also prone to tantrums when she doesn’t get what she wants. But despite these difficulties, Christopher and Hannah love Janey and they feel like all these problems can be fixed. They get professional help for parenting Janey, and Janey gets a lot of therapy.
Janey is creepy
But there’s something creepy about Janey. Sometimes Hannah wakes up and finds Janey standing next to her bed, just staring down at her… And when Hannah suddenly finds herself pregnant, something they didn’t think was possible, her relationship with Janey deteriorates and gets even worse once Cole is born.
By then Hannah has become weary of Janey and she’s afraid to take her eyes off of Cole; she never lets him out of her sight and definitely never alone with Janey. All the while Christopher keeps making excuses for Janey’s behavior. He feels like she’s just adjusting and has to overcome her trauma. He’s kind of supportive of Hannah, but when it comes down to it, he always seems to choose Janey’s side.
Why I loved The Perfect Child by Lucinda Berry
I absolutely loved The Perfect Child because the story really pulled me in. I couldn’t stop reading and worrying about what was going to happen. The only thing I didn’t like was the ending. I felt the story wasn’t finished yet. I wanted to know more. This book has a 4.0 rating on GoodReads. And I agree. If the story had continued, I would have rated it a 4.8.
I highly recommend this book, unless you’re planning to adopt…
You can find this book at your local bookstore. It came out in 2019 and I’m so happy I found it.
Turns out there’s a sequel to The Perfect Child!
While writing this review, I discovered there’s a sequel to this book! It’s a short story called A Welcome Reunion. Of course I couldn’t wait to read it.
Sounds interesting if a little too dark for my tastes. Come see my week here. Happy reading!
Oh my goodness, that sure sounds like some read.
Visiting today from Estelle’s & Melynda’s
Yes, it really was Paula. I still think about this book sometimes…
This sounds really creepy but addictive reading. I am glad you found another book with a conclusion.
Yes but unfortunately the author kind of did it again: she kind of leaves the reader hanging in this book too. But I did get some closure I suppose.
You know that any book with ‘Perfect’ in the title is going to mean the exact opposite! I think I would enjoy this, but it’s a shame you felt disappointed by the ending.
Popping over from Book Worms Monthly.
Not so much disappointed as feeling like there was a piece of the story missing. I wanted more.