Robyn Harding | Book Chatter

The Perfect Family
By Robyn Harding
Gallery Books, 9781982169398, August 10, 2021, 352pp.

The Short of It:

An addictive read that you will read straight through.

The Rest of It:

Thomas and Viv Adler have a beautiful home. Manicured lawns and beautiful interiors. On the whole, a perfect family. It’s a comfortable way to live with their two nearly adult children, but then one morning they wake to their house being egged by pranksters.

But what starts off a juvenile prank quickly becomes something else. Tires are slashed and their home is set on fire. Security cameras show dark figures in hoodies. Why would someone target them? Why won’t it stop?

As Thomas and Viv begin to evaluate recent events of their own, ones which might cause someone to act out, they each keep their thoughts to themselves while turning to their son and daughter for answers. Could something have happened at school? Could they have enemies of their own? Their son returned from college, adamant that he is not going back. Could that have something to do with it?

I don’t know if there is an actual term for this type of fiction but I call it Domestic Suspense. I am obsessed with suburbia anything. I live in a suburb that is literally referred to as Awesometown and when the cracks appear in the facades we so carefully put up around us, things get real, fast. That is how this story is. This family is far from perfect. Everyone has a secret and as things escalate, I found myself returning to my Kindle over and over again to find out what happens next.

Each member of this family has a story to tell and it all comes together in a very satisfying way. This is THE perfect summer book. Toss it in your beach bag, be done with it by the afternoon. It will have you flipping through the pages and ignoring everything around you. Plus, as a suburban mom, I get nervous regularly about things going on in the neighborhood and Harding really zeros in on that subtle paranoia that surfaces when things at home are a little off. Ask me about the lady who keeps letting her pup use my lawn as her toilet.

I am a Harding fan. I find that she really nails the family dynamic, especially when it comes to teens or young adults. The Perfect Family will be on my fave list for the year.

The Perfect Family comes out tomorrow, August 10, 2021. Order yourself a copy.

Source: Review copy provided by the publisher.
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

Her Pretty Face
By Robyn Harding
Gallery/Scout Press, 9781501174247, July 10, 2018, 352pp.

*No Spoilers*

The Short of It:

Compelling with an unexpected twist.

The Rest of It:

I really enjoyed Harding’s other book, The Party, so when I saw that she had a new book coming out, I quickly requested a review copy.

In Her Pretty Face, I expected a lot of backstabbing, catty remarks from arrogant women/girls, etc. The cover is slightly misleading in that regard. The other possibility? A tragic accident that leaves a beautiful woman marred for life. Nope.

What is safe to say, is that it’s about a women named Frances. She lives in a ritzy neighborhood and sends her kid to an expensive private school, but she and her son do not fit the stereotype. She’s a little on the plump side, and her son Marcus has some behavioral issues that make it difficult for him to make friends. Her one saving grace is that she’s married well. Her husband is pretty good-looking but she always feels frumpy beside him.

In walks Kate. She’s tall, beautiful and doesn’t give a rip what other people think of her. So when Frances becomes a social outcast after her kid pees in another kid’s water bottle, Kate comes to her rescue and they are instantly BFFs. Kate is everything that Frances aspires to be.

But there is something about Kate that Frances can’t quite put her finger on. She’s a little too daring and perfect. Kate’s son, Charles is really good to Marcus and because he’s his only friend, Frances puts her doubts behind her until she no longer can.

I plowed through this one. It’s a quick read and will have you picking it up whenever you can. The ending was a little slow in coming which I only noticed because the rest of it was read at a blistering pace. But there are twists, and secrets and although I figured out one twist I did not figure out the other.

All in all, I am very happy I picked it up. It was just what I needed for a good escape.

Source: Review copy provided by the publisher via Edelweiss.
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

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