This book is well written and I liked the main character, but there is a lot of back and forth between the recent past and the present. The main theme running through the book is gaslighting and I had a lot of empathy for Vanessa. Not the book to read if you are looking for something light, but I did think the plot was well thought out, even if the subject matter was a little grim. Thank you #net galley.

Looking online at houses that are for sale is something that many people enjoy and Vanessa is no exception. When she wants to escape from reality, she finds a home and arranges a viewing, adopting a different persona each time in order to convince the seller that she is a serious buyer. All harmless fun until one of the householders is found murdered and Vanessa is the main suspect.

Vanessa is the classic unreliable narrator. Clearly suffering from mental health issues due to events in her past, she has created a fantasy world for herself, one that sees her pretending to be in the market for an expensive property. While, at first this seems an innocent pastime, we see this quickly becoming an obsession, especially when she starts to take little mementos from the houses.

Told in two time frames, we find out about Vanessa’s past, her ex-boyfriend, Connor, featuring prominently. We see how Vanessa is being manipulated by her controlling partner, even if she cannot see it herself. This helped to explain the situation she finds herself in as time goes on and helped me to develop a sympathetic attitude towards someone who could, potentially, be a killer.

As the book progresses, the plot starts to take a more sinister turn when Vanessa starts to realise that someone has been watching her. Could this person prove her innocence or even her guilt and what exactly do they want from her?

I have enjoyed Nuala Ellwood’s previous books and was just as gripped by this one. The Perfect Life has a gripping plot with superb characters, something I have grown to expect from this author’s writing.

This was a page turner, once I had got into the story: i did find the multiple timeline narration a little difficult to keep track of at times and had to go back to check when things were actually happening (then, now, or antoher time entirely!)

I didn't totally empathise with the main character Vanessa. I found her a little irritating and desperate at times, to be honest. I found her inability to answer questions, particularly those asked by her sister, Georgie, very annoying. Vanessa has gaps in her narrative, which are part of the story but don't quite come off as convincing until you realise this. I found her childish reliance on the Holly Maze House stories as immature and unconvincing.

However, Ellwood writes a good mystery which means that many characters at one time or another seem to behave suspiciously. The change in Connor's behaviour towards Vanessa puzzled me, even when his past is revealed. How could she fall for his charm and lies so easily. Their relationship, at times, makes for extremely disturbing reading and I would not recommend this as a read to anyone who has been in an abusive relationship.

Vanessa's addiction to viewing houses and constructing fakes personas was interesting and certainly got her into a lot of trouble. The book cleverly shows the dangers of living your life through social media, though I was not won over with the mystery of Geoffrey's murder. That seemed very far-fetched to me. However, the final chapters, which respond to an earlier incident does give hope that all was not in vain.

A quick read, which will keep you guessing until the end!

This was a struggle for me. I read close to 60 percent and at that point I still couldn't get into it. Thank you for the opportunity to read this.

I read this book in two days. Staying up late to finish it! It was so good. It really freaked you in from the start and doesn't let go. Everything you want in a good thriller. I thought I could see where it was going and then bam! It hot me with a twist. It even has quite a sweet ending which is unusual for a thriller but didn't take away from it at all. Amazing read!

I really enjoyed The Perfect Life by Nuala Ellwood. I found the story a little slow to start but it picked up the pace about half way through and I couldn't put it down!

Vanessa likes to pretend to be someone else by viewing properties she cannot afford. She wants the 'perfect life', but now a man who lives in one of the properties is dead, and Vanessa is the number one suspect!

The story is a brilliant psychological thriller which kept me guessing throughout. Thank you to NetGalley for the chance to read and review.

I think this book was trying to be too many things. I was drawn in immediately with good writing and characters but I feel the book was two books in one and that this detracted from the overall message.

There is the story of Vanessa and Connor, which is a complex tale. Then there is the story of Vanessa and Angus, which seems to be a different book entirely.

Both stories would be brilliant as the main story of a book but together they don’t quite gel. I understand the rationale but I think this could have been two amazing thrillers instead of one mediocre one.

That said it was still an enjoyable read and I would definitely be interested in more from this author. The topics covered are important and well handled but I think this should have been two books.

The Perfect Life is an entertaining book with numerous twists and turns that leads you into dead ends as you try to work out who is right and who is wrong with not everything as it seems.

Recommended

Fabulous book with a great storyline ! Would read more from this author in the future! A good suspense book which is just whst you want from a thriller!

I’ve just read this in one go whilst sitting on beach in Cornwall. I really enjoyed the concept and the writing and felt a great deal of empathy with the main characters. Highly recommended.

This book had me gripped from the first page. We’ve all had moments of wanting to live the “perfect” life and being someone else however would you want it enough to murder? Full of twists and turns that will have you doubting every character...

I wanted to enjoy this book a lot more than I did. I found the middle quite repetitive although the last 25% or so did increase in pace. Some good plot points kept me engaged from start to finish.

The Perfect Life - Nuala Ellwood

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to NetGalley and Penguin and I am leaving this review voluntarily

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.

This book keeps changing timelines, from ‘then’ to ‘now’. I think I liked the idea of this book, but I struggled with how it was told and what the main focus was. I requested this book on the understanding that it was more of a thriller however I don’t think there was much focus on the investigation.

Overall, it wasn’t terrible, it was a quick and easy book to read but I feel that the plot just needed a little more depth.

Rating 3/5

This book is not Nuala Ellwood 's best! I thought the characters were horrible, the storyline unbelievable and I got tired of all the 'darlings'. I have previously enjoyed Nuala Ellwood's writing but found this book disappointing.

I quite enjoyed this book until the culprit was revealed and felt like I had been cheated in a way. I enjoyed the different timelines but didn’t really warm to any of the characters either.

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. Her method of escape is to become a different character and go and view houses which are for sale – houses which she can’t afford. After all, we’ve all done it, gone for a nosey around a show home, it’s all harmless fun isn’t it? Well it is until Vanessa is seen running from a house viewing and the police find a dead body inside.

I loved this story to begin with, it was a real page turner and I quickly became involved in the story of Vanessa, the main character who is living under an umbrella of grief, having lost her mother tragically when she was a child. She was extremely vulnerable and when she got involved in a relationship with Connor I was rooting for her and really wanted things to work out.

Then about 80% of the way through the book it all changed for me – the twist felt like it had come out of no where and didn’t make sense, to the point where I had to re-read a big chunk because I thought I’d missed something.

The relationship between Vanessa’s sister Georgie and her brother-in-law Jack just felt like it was there for padding, rather than having any relevance or reason, and I still can’t understand why that was even in there.
This story is set across two different time lines “Now” and “Then” and occasionally a date was thrown in as well which at times I found quite confusing.

Sadly, it left me with a load of unanswered questions which I have found really frustrating!

This really is a fast paced psychological thriller told over two timelines. The present as Vanessa is suspected of murder, and the then as we get the back story over the last year as we learn who Vanessa is and how she got to now. I couldn’t put the book down after I got half way through and I think my heart rate was probably over about 100 for much of the last half as the suspense and story gathered pace. This is one of those stories where you find yourself shouting at the characters as you can see what is happening and you just want them to realise too! This book does deal with some complex issues which I think it manages to do sensitively.

The Need To Escape….
Vanessa often feels the need to escape, to be someone else, somewhere else. To pretend. Looking around other peoples houses, for instance, that she cannot possible afford. This is something that she’s good at, that she finds she slips into with ease, just harmless fun. Until, that is, things begin to go drastically wrong. It all begins with a dead body. Engaging domestic suspense with an intriguing premise and a credible cast of characters. Some difficult themes here which are dealt with empathy. A suspenseful read.

It’s always been preferential for Vanessa to pretend to be someone else, someone with more panache, more confidence and more get up and go. For Vanessa, it’s a way to escape her life, the one where her parents are gone – for different reasons – and she relies heavily on her sister, her best friend and previously, her boyfriend. Her pastime is finding dream properties and making viewing appointments, knowing that she won’t be buying. It’s all harmless, right? Well, until someone in one of the houses she visits is found dead, and there are plenty to feel she is to blame. There are plenty of uncomfortable scenes in this novel, but handled sensitively, and you really feel for Vanessa and her circumstances. The writing is such that you question pretty much everything you read, as the tension neatly builds up to the conclusion.

Vanessa has a good job, enjoys life and lives with her best friend Lottie.
Then she meet Connor. She moves in with him and then her life starts to unravel.
She finds that the way to deal with everything is to retreat into a fantasy world. She arranges viewings of amazing properties under different names. But then someone is found dead after she has had a viewing.
And she is a suspect..