Devoured this book in one sitting .... an easy gripping read with a subject that most dream of .. winning the lottery. Heather’ James abs their two boys have a good life working hard to provide for their family on a whim Heather purchases a lottery ticket and wins 29 million dreams do come true or maybe not . Heather struggles with who to tell who to help share their windfall - but slowly pieces are put together and family rent a luxury villa in Spain for the summer abs invite family and friends who they will be sharing some of the win with. All is not plain sailing as the perfect life is shattered when their son is kidnapped..... money really isn’t everything . I really enjoyed this book and would highly recommend

I received an free advanced copy of this book from Netgalley and am voluntarily leaving this review.

Heather and James win a life changing amount on the lottery and take all of their friends away on a glamorous trip but they find out that not everyone can be trusted when lots of money is involved.

I found that most of this book, save for the odd few pages incorporating a seemingly random story was more about the pitfalls and anxiety that can surround a big lottery win. Which was interesting but I found the thriller side of the book didn’t really start until towards the end, it wasn’t really what I was expecting. The ending was also slightly predictable and not particularly shocking but overall it was an ok read, definitely more of a character driven book I think than a thriller though.

How does it feel to win the lottery when you’re just an ordinary woman, happy with your life as it is?

What would you do with all the money, who and how much would you share it with?

How would you know who your friends are and who just likes you for the wealth?

These are the questions Heather is about to answer ...

This was an easy read, which would be nice to read on the beach. The beginning was really interesting, the story also raised some good questions on how it would really be to win the lottery and what can be the downside of such an event. It’s not a typical thriller read, the twist comes quite late and everything is quickly revealed. It has some really nice thoughts about life and friendship.

I would recommend this book to all those, who enjoy hypothetical questions on what would be if ...

Took a chance on this book from NetGalley. The premise was good - but the execution fell flat. I found the characters annoying most of the time. The mystery didn't pan out and it felt like the author just threw it together.

A lottery win is most people's dream come true. But for Heather and her family it becomes a nightmare...
TRIGGER WARNING: This book contains references to bulimia
The Perfect Life sees Heather spontaneously buy a lottery ticket having never bought one before, and she wins £29 million! However, the pressure of keeping it a secret is unbearable and her good fortune stirs up deep rooted feelings of guilt. Heather and her family escape to Spain to plan their future but it becomes clear that someone is determined to make Heather suffer: who can she trust?
I thought the narrative style was interesting. Heather is the main character but we see her perspective through a third person viewpoint. Meanwhile, her best friend Natalie is given a first person view. A third perspective is also shown: a relationship at breaking point due to money worries.
The premise of the book, the lottery win, is a fantastic plot device and one that many of us have aspired to. But reality is often different as this book showcases. The many 'what ifs' faced by Heather demonstrates that sudden wealth can be a curse and even dangerous when others are desperate.
The mystery perspective creates a feeling of anticipation as we wait for the reveal. I found myself saddened by Heather's descent into bulimia as she struggles to cope with the pressure of the money. The more objective use of third person narative created a slight distance so that this subplot did not overwhelm the main events.
The Perfect Life is an enjoyable psychological thriller and most of us will identify with conflict faced by the main characters.

Heather is carrying on with her normal life and pops to the shop to get some food and while she is there she buys a lottery ticket on a whim. When she realises she has the rollover jackpot winning numbers it slowly sinks in that her 'normal' life is over.

Attempts to keep the news to the people who need to know are unsuccessful and then Heather starts getting hateful text messages. Forced to move out of their home the family settle down to try and work out what their new life will look like.

This is an interesting story detailing a realistic struggle to deal with the change brought about by suddenly becoming multi-millionaires and the realisation that life as they knew it will never return. In addition they have to cope with jealousy and the other human traits that a large amount of money brings to the forefront.

I must admit that when I was invited to take part in the blog tour for ‘The Perfect Life’ I hadn’t actually read any of Susanna’s work before. So in that respect Susanna Beard is a new author for me and I love discovering new authors. I read the synopsis for ‘The Perfect Life’ and it certainly sounded like an intriguing story. So without further ado, I grabbed a cup of tea, grabbed my Kindle and settled down for a darn good reading session. I did enjoy reading ‘The Perfect Life’ but more about that in a bit.
I have to admit that the main character called ‘Heather’ really did get on my wick and I couldn’t take to her at all. There was something about her that set off little alarm bells for me and I felt myself wanting to slap her with a wet fish. Her personality grated a bit. She is living the dream in that she has a nice house, she has a nice family and she doesn’t have to worry about money again since she has just won the lottery. She just seems to be the doormat for her family and she runs around after them as if they are incapable of fending for themselves. Understandably she wants to keep her good fortune under wraps but the news starts leaking out and she ends up suspicious of everybody and everything. Money certainly seems to change her and the way in which she views things. Bearing all that in mind, I still found the story intriguing and I found it interesting to see how the story developed.
It took me a little while to get into this story, which has more to do with the fact that I was tired when I started to read the book and can’t be taken as a criticism of the author. One I got into the story that was it and I was away. I had my own theory as to what was going to happen and when and I had to keep reading to see if I was on the right track or if I had the wrong end of the stick entirely. The pages turned increasingly quickly as I worked my way through the story. At one point the pages were turning that quickly that it was almost as if they were turning themselves. All too quickly I reached the end of the story.
‘The Perfect Life’ is well written. The author has chosen an interesting subject around which to build a story and she does it very well. I would say that the pace of the story is more of a slow burn type but that suits the story perfectly. The slow burn pace allows the tension to build and build resulting in a tense and dramatic conclusion. At times this story had me sitting on the edge of my seat and it certainly kept me guessing. I felt as though I was part of the story myself and that’s thanks to Susanna’s very vivid and realistic storytelling.
In short, I did enjoy reading ‘The Perfect Life’ and I would recommend it to other readers. I will certainly be reading more of Susanna’s work in the future. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very realistic 4* out of 5*.

I love stories about winning the lottery! This book showed the good and bad sides if you are ever a lucky winner. Have you ever dreamed of having enough money to do whatever you want? Heather, James and their sons; Ben and Harry get to find out. They also include family members and a few close friends in their getaway trip - a few will also further benefit from their luck. Along with the win comes feelings from the past and wondering who you can trust now that money is not something you need to worry about. Jealousy rears it’s ugly head, which relationships will withstand winning the lottery? Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Be careful what you wish for is apt here. Not only does it give you a chance to wish upon a star but you get the chance to see how completely upside down life becomes through sudden wealth and ease from worry. Or so it would seem until jealousy, greed and surface affluence rear their ugly heads. Heather and her husband do what many people who have struggled financially and find themselves free from that burden extend an invitation to neighbors and friends for an all expenses paid holiday. Their generosity sets off a series of mishaps and misunderstandings not to mention the disappearance of one of their sons. The son is found unharmed but the truth of the why will open your eyes to embrace what you have however modest.

Heather and her husband James have two sons, Ben and Harry. James works hard so Heather can stay home. One day when she stops at the corner store, she impulsively buys a lottery ticket. Later that day, she and James check the ticket and cannot believe that they have won 29 million pounds. They decide to share the news with their sons and instruct them to stay quiet about it. However, they soon are inundated with emails, phone calls, and social media messages asking them about it. But Heather has also told some friends and asked them to be quiet about it. But good news like this is hard for people to keep secret, so James decides they need to get away for a few days.

They end up renting a villa in Spain and invite some family and a few friends. Everyone is enjoying themselves and Heather and James get with each of them saying they will share some money.

As the days go blissfully by, a horrible thing happens to mar it all. Now, Heather wishes she had never won the lottery and all the money that came with it. Who is responsible for it?

I won’t give away the “it” I’m talking about because that would be a spoiler. This was a good mystery/thriller that I enjoyed. I can say that Heather is a bit of a wimp with her feelings that so many other people don’t have money and now they do. Somebody has to win, right? I also found her to be rather smug at times because her way is the right way. However, all in all, I gave the book 4 stars.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Heather is a lucky woman. She's married to a great guy, has two young sons, a beautiful house .... and she's just won the lottery. A lot of money!

When she and her husband start getting bombarded with threatening messages, people begging for money, they decide to take a couple of months away from the fray. Inviting her best friend, Natalie and Natalie's new boyfriend, her sister-in-law and her husband, a couple of good friends to go with them, Heather and James decide they will share their lottery giving each of them something that will help their lives.

Natalie, along with Heather, was bullied while in school. She's never had much, and earning enough money to keep a roof over her head has been worrisome. Heather already has some plans she wants to make with Natalie. The sister-in-law- is one of those who wants to know what you gets .. who gets the most ... etc.

Heather and James have asked that none of them speak out about what they made in the lottery .... but the inevitable happens.

Someone has abducted Heather's youngest son ... and there's a ransom to be paid. She strongly suspects that one of her friends or family is the culprit....

The author has done a terrific job in character development. Jealousy and envy play a large part of what makes some of these people the way they are. I liked the backstories of Heather and Natalie .. how opposites do attract .. but at what cost? It's a thought-provoking look at how money can change your life ... and everyone around you. There's a few twists and turns along the way that lead to a very surprising conclusion.

Many thanks to the author / Joffe Books / Books n All Promotions / Netgalley for the digital copy of this psychological thriller. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

Acting on a sudden impulse, a woman buys a lottery ticket. Having never bought one before she needs to ask instructions from the newsagent who sells it to her. When she later remembers to check the numbers she is staggered to discover that she has won the rollover jackpot of £28 million.

What follows should be a perfect life but this book explores some of the problems that can accompany such an enormous windfall. As well as problems created by the money, it also shows that problems which were already there don’t just magically disappear with a large injection of cash.

Deciding to rent a villa in Spain for the summer, where they will invite their extended family and close friends to join them, they discover that some people are not who they thought.

This is a physiological thriller with an unusual storyline. There are a few twists and turns and the finger of suspicion is pointed at a couple of people, however although I enjoyed the book it wasn’t quite enough to keep me on the edge of my seat.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Perfect Life is the latest psychological thriller from critically-acclaimed writer Susanna Beard and is a novel full of strong female characters and explores revenge, greed, truth, trust, jealousy, anger, the saying 'money is the root of all evil', and the powerful yet breakable bonds of friendship. It’s Wednesday morning and Heather Jessop drives her Range Rover to do the weekly shop at the Tesco on Talgarth Road. She and her husband James, a self-employed financial advisor, live in Shepherd's Bush, West London with their two boys - Ben and younger son Harry. She stops off to treat herself to a magazine and chocolate bar but decides on a whim to purchase her first ever lottery ticket given that it's a rollover and she could potentially scoop a cool 29 million. The next day she checks it and is astonished when all the numbers match perfectly. She and James, excited and nervous, run all the way back to the newsagents on Goldhawk Road. He provides the telephone number for them to claim their prize and the rest, as they say, is history. That is until Heather receives a strange text message "Hi Heather, We’re having a few people for dinner Saturday night — would you two like to join us? Nothing formal, just a relaxed evening. From 8.00. We’d love to see you! Victoria and Andrew x" but Heather is filled full of suspicion.

She doesn't understand why she would get invited to their luxurious Hammersmith home completely out of the blue. They'd only spoken once before briefly and Heather has only given 2 people her mobile number. She then begins to receive countless friend requests, text messages and missed calls mostly from those she's never heard of before. It's quite terrifying to her and she feels she should call Graham Fuller an advisor from the lottery company who has likely dealt with all of this hysteria before with complete strangers crawling out of the woodwork. She begins to receive abusive and fear-inducing messages such as "Rich bitch. You think you’re so special." But husband James tells her she's being overdramatic. Over time the messages and harassment escalate and they decide to leave London and escape to Zahara de los Atunes on the Spanish Costa de la Luz in the hopes that a longish stay will stop the trolling, hate and harassment. This is a compulsive, captivating and deeply disturbing story about the way people change when money becomes involved. There's definitely a legitimate reason as to why people don't want their huge win publicised and this story perfectly illustrates that. I was gripped throughout and the paciness, twists and tension were all on point. Highly recommended.

Looking for a thriller, this isn't it although a somewhat interesting take on the effect money can have on people. I really couldn't relate to the main character and her reaction to winning the lottery - she had a good life, good marriage, volunteered, but instead of seeing the money as a windfall to continue helping, her reaction didn't make sense to me at all - and her so-called best friend and relatives were all extremes. The main character and her husband were supposedly intelligent, but made every stupid mistake possible and the main character was so irrational I couldn't believe her husband even stayed with her. Still wondering what the "electrifying finish" was supposed to be from the description - nothing electrifying here.

I enjoyed this book even though it was slow moving for a while. The characters were well drawn and most were likeable. However I thought Heathers reaction to winning the lottery was a bit overdone. I did like the ending and felt the author did a great job of tying it all together.

What a wonderful read this was! Loved every suspenseful page plus a shocking ending. Highly recommend

Psychological thriller to keep you on your toes.
Hammersmith Shepherds Bush.
Heather and James Jessop are invited to a saturday night dinner with Victoria and Andrew their sons are friends, but how did Victoria get her number? they had only met the once this leaves her with a stirring of panic, she had to be very careful after their Lottery win that is a well kept secret so far between her and James and two sons Ben and Harry, obviously Ben has been talking, then the string of texts start to arrive from unknown people its no longer a secret and james now wants to decide what they are going to do with it all. Changes are now about to happen to their lives people kill for a lot less, there is not such thing as a perfect life.
WOW what can I say, loved this book right through that will blow your mind, with unearthed secrets coming to surface. brilliant book and I really enjoyed the whole lot. thank you to Joffe Publishers and Netgalley for this read and a new author for me.

Good read! There were a few moments where the story dragged, and Heather occasionally gave me a pain (as did Natalie, but more so). I grew to quite like the boys - sensible lads both, and while I did wonder about the (double) twist coming fairly early on, it wasn't an issue.

I especially liked the thread of ethical values - what would you do with the money, how would it colour your thinking, change the way you see others and behave towards them? Heather and James are down to earth good people, and they really do try to please everyone (not always a good thing, as they are about to discover.) Who can you trust - the friendly neighbor you've known for years, the best friend you went to school with, her new boyfriend, a shady antique dealer with a few linguistic tricks up his sleeve? All of them, none of them?

Well, guess you'll have to wait and see. I will definitely be checking out more of this particular author's books. Many thanks to Net Galley, Susanna Beard, and Joffe Books for my ARC.

This was a nice story which was easy to read. I did feel it dragged a little at the beginning but once the story unfolded, it got much better.

I found this book to be just OK for me it went kinda slow it did have some twists and turns that were good...