Some great characters in this one including Vanessa looking for a happy home, love and security, Connor the loving controlling partner and Lottie the best friend and housemate. Broken trust, control, abuse and more this is one you won’t want to miss!
I know how skilfull some people are at manipulating others and I could easily imagine this happening in real life as of course it does.
I’m fascinated by psychological thrillers and the actions of main characters like these certainly didn’t disappoint. This is the sort of book I find hard to put down and time flies.
At times I felt like I didn’t know what was going on but boy I sure as hell enjoyed finding out why!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free digital copy of the book in return for an honest review.

The Perfect Life was an intriguing read, following a London-based millennial as her seemingly "perfect" life descends into chaos.
Vanessa is a perplexing character, who we meet when she's at rock bottom. Within a period of months she's lost her best friend, her boyfriend, her fun life and successful career in the beauty marketing industry to become an unemployed neurotic living off her elder sister's charity. We soon learn that she's also under suspicion for murder...
The events and decisions leading her to her current predicament gradually unfold for the reader over the course of the backwards-and-forwards timeline of the narrative. We see the early halcyon days of her romance with Connor and the concurrent deterioration of her relationship with her lifelong friend, flatmate and confidante Lottie. At first, Vanessa feels that she's made the right decision by agreeing to move in with Connor and believes Lottie will eventually come around. But then the cracks start to show, with Connor's behaviour towards Vanessa becomes increasingly erratic and abusive. As a means of coping, she begins to indulge a dangerous habit - arranging viewings of beautiful properties for sale at prices that she can't possibly afford, and creating elaborate alter-egos deserving of this other, seemingly perfect, life. Her secret life culminates in the discovery of a body, with sightings of a woman matching Vanessa's description fleeing the scene. We know Vanessa isn't telling us everything, but how much is she really hiding?
Author Nuala Ellwood explores many fascinating themes, including the long-term internalisation of childhood trauma or loss, the various ways in which so-called "gaslighting" occurs and the dangers of co-dependent relationships, all of which contribute to Vanessa's escape into imaginary personae. While the character of Vanessa was well-developed over the course of the book, she's the type of female unreliable narrator that I feel has become a somewhat over-used trope over the last decade of mainstream crime fiction releases. That said, she's certainly an interesting character study, even if I was tearing my hair out in frustration at times due to her seeming inability to extricate herself from an unpleasant, even dangerous, situation. But I suppose that's what gaslighting does to a vulnerable personality...
I was somewhat flummoxed by plot developments and the introduction of new characters late in the story, which made for a dramatic ending, but didn't really seem to "gel" with the preceding character development and domestic thriller storyline. It almost felt as though the author had melded two independent plots together using a common protagonist. There was just too much going on, which was distracting from the well-established core narrative around vulnerability.
The Perfect Life was an interesting but perplexing read. Clearly Nuala Ellwood is a talented writer and both her plotting and character development show a lot of skill. While this one didn't really hit the mark for me, I'd be interested to read some of her other titles.
My thanks to the author, Nuala Ellwood, publisher Penguin General UK - Fig Tree, Hamish Hamilton, Viking, Penguin Life, Penguin Business, Penguin and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title.

My thanks to Penguin Books U.K. for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘The Perfect Life’ by Nuala Ellwood in exchange for an honest review.

Perfect lives that subsequently fall apart are a staple trope of the domestic noir/psychological thriller sub genre. In ‘The Perfect Life’ Vanessa Adams is a 32-year-old singleton with a good job at beauty company Luna London. She shares a flat with Lottie, her best friend from university. They live a carefree life though when Vanessa meets Conner, changes are soon on the horizon.

When things become stressful in her life Vanessa copes by pretending to be someone else. Recently as cracks begin to show in her relationship with Conner (which of course they did, else this novel would be a fluffy romance), she’s started looking around houses that are way out of her price range. It seems like harmless fun - until it wasn’t.

When she sees a listing for the home of children’s author, Geoffrey Rivers, whose books were important to her childhood, she feels compelled to view it. Yet then there’s a body and Vanessa is the police’s prime suspect!

No further details to avoid spoilers but will say that it was deliciously twisty. The chapters are divided between ‘Then’ and ‘Now’ and a picture develops of the stresses underlying Vanessa’s relationships in the past and present.

Overall, ‘The Perfect Life’ proved a very readable psychological thriller, the kind that once started was very hard to put down. Great for a summer read.

Another brilliant book
It had me hooked from the start
The characters I loved and some I disliked
This story is told over two time lines.
Showing what happens to someone over a short time how a life can change
Thanks NetGalley

An interesting book.

Vanessas life is falling apart and she uses a false identity to pretend to be someone else for a while and visit homes she can’t afford. Escapism.

I wondered what was going to happen which kept me interested
An enjoyable story I will read more from this author

Vanessa's life is falling apart and she finds herself visiting houses she can't afford using a false identity a chance to be someone else for a while. Then she gets caught up in a murder when the owner of a house she visits is killed. She has no idea what happened to him or is happening to herself but its more complicated than she realises.

This was an interesting read with a twisted tale and a well written ending. The story jumps around the times a bit which takes some getting used to. It does add more depth to the story and slowly brings everything together. Vanessa is not overly likeable to start with but by the end I had warmed to her. Georgie her sister is amazing though and truly a strong character supporting her sister throughout. There are some clever twists along the way and this book seemed to draw me in, wanting to know how it would end. I had figured out much of what Connor was up to and I'm glad we saw the end of his story in the right way. A thriller with some great twists.

Vanessa and her best friend Lottie shared a flat and had done for years. Vanessa loved her job and when she met Connor, the instant attraction was startling. But Vanessa loved Connor and when he asked her to move in with him, Lottie was devastated. It didn’t help that she disliked Connor, didn’t trust him and thought he was bad for Vanessa. As Lottie left her life, Vanessa began to feel alone and isolated, even while she was with Connor. To help her ‘escape’, she would go to viewings on houses she could never afford, always under another name. She thought it was harmless.

When she was a child there was a particular series of books she loved. When her mother died and her sister Georgie cared for her, those books were a crutch. When she discovered the house the author lived in was for sale, of course she had to view it. And when she was shown through by the author himself, she was gobsmacked. But something went wrong while she was there, and all she remembered was fleeing the house, crying. With the author discovered dead, and Vanessa seen leaving, the police determined her guilt. But would they prove it? Because Vanessa couldn’t remember anything…

The Perfect Life by Nuala Ellwood is a strange book. It was all over the place, in the past, then the present, then back further – it was hard to keep track of it all. As Vanessa continued to put herself down and be put down by the one person who was supposed to care, everything came to a sudden and catastrophic conclusion. The twist in the ending was unexpected but it also didn’t feel quite ‘right’. I’ve read all of this author’s books and liked Day of the Accident the most. Recommended.

With thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House UK for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

HAVE YOU EVER WANTED TO BE SOMEONE ELSE?

Vanessa has always found it easy to pretend to be somebody different, somebody better. When things get tough in her real life, all she has to do is throw on some nicer clothes, adopt a new accent and she can escape.

That's how it started: looking round houses she couldn't possibly afford. Harmless fun really. Until it wasn't.

Because a man who lived in one of those houses is dead.

And everyone thinks Vanessa killed him.

From the blurb I thought this was a thriller, but unfortunately I felt that it fell short of this and there was no real investigation happening. Also at times I felt the book hard going as I struggled to keep up with who, what, where and when as the narrative kept jumping across different time frames.

Vanessa wants the ‘perfect life’. She pretends to be someone who she wishes to be, viewing expensive properties on the market that she can not possibly afford. What is the harm in that. However when one owner of one of the viewings has been found dead, Vanessa becomes number one suspect! You will be hooked to continue reading to how the story unfolds. Truly a great page turner you will not be able to put down.

This is my third Nuala Elwood book, and they’ve all been 5 stars for me, cementing her as one of my favourite authors.
This book tells the story of Vanessa who goes from a happy and successful woman that has just found a new man to a shell of her former self who gets tangled into a murder.
It is an upsetting read at times, but full of twists and turns with an explosive ending.
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin for letting me review this book.

I downloaded this months ago and somehow it got ‘lost’, so my review is rather late. That aside, I’ve raced through this twisted tale, which is a domestic thriller, with quite a few twists. I’ve read other books by Nuala Elwood and she’s good at characterisation. It’s easy to relate to wishing for something better or different, and Vanessa takes that human trait one step further by acting out some of her fantasy life. It’s an unusual starting point and I enjoyed the way the backstory unfolds from current and previous timelines,

It covers some difficult issues, but does so with sensitivity and thought. I enjoyed the read; kept me guessing because I had no idea whose narrative was trustworthy. My thanks to the publisher for a review copy via Netgalley.

This was another great read, twisty, compelling and kept me guessing until the end. It was such a great physiological thriller one of which I haven’t read in awhile. The idea of the story was different and that is what I loved about this book. Shame it was a short book I could have done with a little more. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

Vanessa's life is all coming together rather well. Her parents died when she was young and her elder sister brought her up, now she's got a good job and she's just moved in with her boyfriend. She sometimes visits expensive houses for sale under a false name, but that's just harmless fun isn't it? Until she views the house of a favourite childhood author, he's found dead and the police are sure she was the last one there...

The story is told from 2 timelines - now when the police are questioning Vanessa, and prior to meeting her boyfriend, until the two timelines meet up. It's well written, not overly fast paced and exciting but it's an interesting read trying to guess the main plot points and how reliable a narrator Vanessa is. The only real issue I had was how long the chapters were, as a personal preference they were far too long for me and my style of reading as I often had to stop in the middle of a chapter.

I don't want to give away any spoilers but I do feel I have to state as part of the review that there are a fair few events that could be triggers for some people.

Overall, I liked the book and would definitely read another by this author.

#netgalley #theperfectlife #nualaellwood

Review also posted to Goodreads but unable to link account

Vanessa seems to be at the happiest point of her life: her career is on the up, & her relationship with boyfriend Connor is going from strength to strength. So why is Vanessa pretending to be other people & viewing houses she cannot afford under false names? It started as an escape from reality but things go badly wrong when one of the home owners is found dead & Vanessa was the last one to see him alive.

This is a really really good read. It starts off slowly but by a third of the way in I was hooked. There are several timelines in the book & the chapters move between them. I picked up the sense that everything was not as it seemed straight away & it was intriguing to see the events that led up to the murder slowly unfold. If you enjoy psychological thrillers, I recommend this one.

TW: sexual assault, abortion, gaslighting/toxic relationships.

Thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Penguin General UK, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

An enjoyable book. Although the constant jumping of timelines was irritating, it was still a good read as the book is fairly short. The identity of 'G' was a little tenuous; I can't say more without spoiling the plot.

This is a story told over 2 timelines.
Lots of twists that surprised me - great book
My first time reading books by Nuala Ellwood and I will certainly be looking her up again.

My thanks to NetGalley and publisher Penguin UK for the ARC.

My thanks to NetGalley and publisher Penguin UK for the ARC.

I really enjoyed this book. It has an unusual and absorbing storyline focussed on Vanessa Adams whose mother died when she was very young, followed by her father dying when she was nine years old; She'd been cared for by her elder sister Georgie. However, she had a lonely childhood and immersed herself in the dark fairy stories of author Geoffrey Rivers - books written specifically for someone like her, needing to become lost in a fantasy world. She dreamed of a perfect life - husband, house and children. As a child she had written copious letters to Angus, a lonely boy featured in the books, who lived in Holly Maze House, telling him of her lonely life.

Now a successfully marketing executive, flat-sharing with her best friend Lottie, she's introduced to Connor Dawkins and becomes infatuated with him. Brushing her best friend aside Vanessa moves in with Connor within weeks - but all is not what it seems as his insidious controlling behaviour rears it's head. Still wanting a perfect life, Vanessa becomes addicted to booking viewings of expensive properties with various estate agents, using a string of different names. Then one day, unbelievably, Holly Maze House was on the market and the owner, the author of those books, was to show her around himself.

Three days later she finds herself at a police station because Geoffrey Rivers had been found dead in that house.

The story is told between two timelines - Then and Now, with intermittent flashbacks across Vanessa's life.
A really good read.

I found this to be a really interesting book with a lot of twists that I never saw coming. The story uses a dual timeline of then and now which I didn’t really enjoy at first because it felt like there was too many events happening. I started enjoying it a lot more when both timelines started to weave together because everything started to fall into place. I think the author did a great job at creating an environment which made it hard to know if the narrator was trustworthy or not. I loved the ending of this book and it was definitely my favourite part.

The Perfect Life is a perfect little weekend read. A psychological thriller that keeps the reader guessing right until the end. The story is told from the female protagonist's point of view and alternates between the past and the present, coming together in an explosive conclusion! Did she get the perfect life? Did she kill for it? Read it to find out!

Thank you to NetGalley
and Penguin Books
for an ARC to read and review.

After her mother died when she was a young child, Vanessa dreamt of having a perfect life with the perfect husband and children living in the perfect house. She thought she’d found her perfect man in Connor Dawkins, but then their relationship started to fall apart as she found it harder and harder to please him.

As life became more stressful for Vanessa, she became addicted to real estate apps, fantasising about living in the perfect houses she saw there with her perfect family. She would make an appointment with a real estate agent to view a house on the market, one she could never afford, and then she would dress up, taking on a different persona. Once in the house of her dreams she would fantasise about the life she and her fantasy family could have there. It seemed like harmless escapism, that is until the owner of one of the properties is found dead in his home and the police identify Vanessa as the last person to see him alive while viewing his house.

Told in two time lines, then and now, Vanessa takes us through the last year as her life starts to spiral out of control, from meeting Connor to becoming estranged from her closest friend, to eventually becoming homeless and jobless, and now a murder suspect. The slow unravelling of her relationship with Connor is well done, although his motivation for his treatment of her is unclear. The novel builds tension slowly as the scene is set and Vanessa’s relationship with Connor plays out. Although his relationship with Vanessa is far from perfect, it takes her some time to open her eyes to that and it’s hard not to become frustrated with her as she tries so hard to be the woman she thinks Connor wants. She’s not an easy character for the reader to empathise with as her difficult upbringing has left her fragile and naiive and far too trusting for an independent woman in her thirties.

It takes a while for the two different time lines to come together and start to gain momentum. Although Vanessa’s addiction to viewing upmarket houses and the associated murder mystery is the more interesting and original theme of the novel, it is dealt with in much less detail than the development of Connor and Vanessa’s relationship and could have been a stronger focus of the book. The climax was a totally unexpected twist ,but also felt very sudden and somewhat rushed after the slow build of the rest of the novel. The epilogue does help to tie the different elements of the plot together and see justice served where deserved. More a domestic suspense than a thriller, this is nevertheless an absorbing read, perfect for a lazy summer read.