Oh my goodness what a book! The short chapters helped establish a fast paced un put downable read. I loved that each of the four family members had secrets from each other and based on their ages were completely believable and realistic.
The four points of view did not make this book complicated or confusing which sometimes happens with multiple narrators.
The reason why this is a 4 out of 5 from me is because the resolution didn't meet up to my expectation. I felt that after all of the threats and vandalism the reveal would be more. I also didn't love that the daughters storyline didn't finish. I need for the story to resolve in order to fully love a book.
I still highly recommend this book to all thriller lovers and this author is an automatic must read!

Binge read!!

I always enjoy Robyn Harding’s writing and want to add more of her books to my shelves. Her handle on domectic drama is addictive and dark.

The Perfect Family was a total summer binge read. I was sucked into all the family secrets. Loved the short chapter cliffhangners!

This was a wildly entertaining domestic thriller that I found to be extremely compulsive and chilling!

Full of such fascinating and intriguing characters, this ‘picture perfect’ family is anything but that! I relished in the idea that each member had a secret that they were hiding and we were left continually guessing which was the secret that got out and was causing the harassment that the family was facing.

As always, I throughly enjoyed the multiple POVs and loved being in on their secrets, patiently awaiting them all to unravel and be exposed!

This is one fun and devious read that you don’t want to miss!

The Perfect family is a suspense thriller. This is my third book by this author. I previously read The Swap and The Arrangement.

The story takes place in Portland, Oregon. The book focuses on the Adler family (we get all 4 of their 1st person POVs).

Viv (the mom) is an interior designer. Her husband Thomas is a successful real estate agent. Daughter Tarryn (17) is a high school student. And Eli (20) has returned home after dropping out of college. All four of them have big secrets.

Bad things start happening to their home. And nobody knows who is doing it. I thought that this was a really fun premise for a thriller.

The beginning was really good. I was fascinated by this family. And I was so interested in each of their secrets. And I was really anxious to know who was doing all of these things to their house!

The middle was a bit slower for me. But to me the end is everything. The ending was good. I liked seeing how each family member's secret was uncovered. And there were a lot of big reveals. However I would have preferred something a bit more dramatic. Also the last lines of the book were a bit of a miss for me. I love when authors do an extra reveal at the end. But I needed more from this one. But overall this was a really enjoyable thriller.

I’ve really enjoyed Robyn Harding’s previous novels and was thrilled to have the opportunity to read this novel too.

Happily married for twenty-two years, Thomas and Viv Adler. appear to have it all. They are attractive and successful. They have a beautiful home. To top it all off they have well adjusted and wonderful children. Their loving family is happy and healthy.

At least that's how it appears to be.

But the family isn't so perfect. Apparently, the Adler's have done some very bad things. They are all keeping secrets. Even from each other.

Other people don't know the things the Adler's have done and the secrets they are keeping. At least not yet.

The pranks start out relatively benign. Annoying but harmless. Eggs on their porch etc. Random attacks that they don't take personally. But the pranks quickly escalate, becoming more aggressive and violent. The Adler's wonder if they are being targeted. When they try to get the police involved, it isn't taken seriously. They are told it's probably just local kids.

Now someone is happily watching this "perfect" family falling apart. Someone who thinks the world would be a much better place WITHOUT them.
.
Who is doing these things? Why?

The family is afraid and their fear grows with each attack. And if their secrets become public...it might destroy them all!

Appearances can REALLY be deceiving!!


A thought-provoking and entertaining read!!

I love how Robyn Harding tells a story. Everything was revealed in a way that held my attention and had me saying just one more chapter again and again. While I may not have loved all the characters, they were well-written and I was invested in seeing how things would turn out for them all.

Another very satisfying psychological suspense novel by Robyn Harding!!


I'd like to thank the publisher for providing me with a copy of this novel. All opinions are my own.

Thank you. so much NetGalley, the publisher and Robyn Harding. Robyn has never failed me yet with her thrillers. The family in this book was so messed up and someone was watching them from the beginning. Man..I had to take a deep breath..cause man...the book was deep. The Adlers had so many lies, secrets.. This book was so shocking. for me. It is a page turner that. other should read.

Thanks again.

This book was good, but not great. I mean…could I put it down once I started? No, but I did find it predictable and the writing style itself a little amateur. It’s still worth a read and an exciting novel, but unfortunately just doesn’t bring anything unique to the thriller genre.

3.5 - This was just an okay read for me. Nothing too stand out happened. We get an inside look at the secrets and lies four family members are keeping from each other. A seemingly perfect family, the Adlers are all hiding something. Viv has a compulsive stealing problem, Thomas is being blackmailed, their son has dropped out of college because of a traumatic incident he witnessed and teenage daughter Tarryn has a secret late night webcam business. I did enjoy the alternating POVs in this story and trying to get to the heart of who hated the Adlers enough to start terrorizing them. Full credit I didn't guess how this story was going to turn out but I felt it lacked the kind of shocking reveal I've come to expect/enjoy in thrillers. We do get a cliffhanger ending though that leaves us all guessing. Recommended for fans of domestic suspense thrillers like Not a happy family. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my advance review copy.

There is no such thing as a perfect family. Or a perfect life for that manner. Yet somehow many of us chase that picture of perfection, constantly comparing ourselves to others or worried about what will others think. Robyn Harding's latest book The Perfect Family takes that premise to extreme - how far would we be willing to go to preserve that image of perfection? And if someone starting chipping away at that surface with a destructive intent, what would be the breaking point?

The couple at the heart of the story, Thomas & Vivian Adler have a seemingly enviable life - great careers, a great home, 2 great kids. Until someone starts targeting their home in a series of what seem like childish pranks (all starts with their house getting egged). Their son returned from college mid semester, refusing to return and their high school aged daughter seems perpetually angry and their parents have no clue why. But then again both Thomas & Viv have secrets of their own. As their sense of helplessness and distress increases, so their life starts to look less glossy.

This was a quick, entertaining read. Characters are not necessarily likable but the plot moves things along quite nicely. This is a kind of book to put in your suitcase to enjoy on the beach/any vacation really. Or simply as a mind escape especially for the fans of the genre. Fans of Megan Miranda & Mary Kubica in particular might really enjoy this one as well. I know I'll definitely be cracking open Robyn Harding's other books (and will most definitely pick up to read anything else she publishes).

Grateful to NetGalley & Simon & Schuster Canada for kindly gifting me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Ok so unfortunately this was underwhelming for me. It was entertaining for a bit but I expected more from this author given how much I adored their other books!

I found the premise interesting enough and liked the how morally grey the characters were. But the ending didn’t tie in nice enough. I felt like the author tried to tie in too many storylines to the conclusion in a fashion that made it too unrealistic. It didn’t make sense how some of the character storylines tied in to the conclusion. In short, the spider web got too big where the connections weren’t entirely believable.

However, with this being said, I am a sucker for the final sentence of a book. I find how the author decides to write the last sentence can make or break a star rating for me. And wow oh wow the author left this off on a good note!!

I would still recommend this to readers who are new to the genre and don’t have super high expectations for endings because the build up is awesome!

Title: The Perfect Family
Author: Robyn Harding
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🔊Song Pairing: Burning Down the House - Talking Heads

💭What I thought would happen:

I presumed it would be about an idyllic suburban family…but you know what they say about glass houses…

📖What actually happens:

What happens when you have a kleptomaniac mother, a pompous father, an ex-frat boy son, and an angsty teenage girl (who could give Holden Caulfield a run for his money) in one house? Pandemonium.

The Adler family is dealing with a series of vandalism occurring at their pristine newly renovated home. As the book progresses the “pranks” rapidly move from an innocent egging to criminal and dangerous offenses. Each family member believes that their private issue is what’s causing the family distress. 😱

🗯Thoughts:

This family needs their own reality show or at the very least a dramatic 40 min program on the CW. This family makes Riverdale look like child’s play.

The Adler’s are not likable. This is the beauty of Robyn Harding. She writes excellent repugnant characters. While I didn’t like them, I didn’t want them to suffer. I wanted them to walk away with no consequences/completely unscathed…an unlikely scenario. 🙆🏼‍♀️

The book starts with a firing being set to the home and I found it extremely satisfying trying to guess who the culprit was, I was unsuccessful in figuring the vandalism out, which I love! Keep👏🏼Me👏🏼Guessing!

There is a quote in the book “like trying to hand feed a grizzly bear.” That’s what it feels like to like this family. 😂

The Perfect Family is the latest book by Canadian author Robyn Harding and is a suspenseful story that includes complicated family dynamics, secrets, and the struggle to keep up the façade of having the 'perfect family'.

The Adlers appear to be the ideal middle-class family which includes sought-after home stager/mom Viv, her successful realtor husband Thomas, their college-aged son Eli, and teenage daughter Tarryn. But when someone suddenly begins harassing them and vandalizing their perfect home, the secrets that they've kept from each other are revealed.

By using the POVs of each of the Adlers, we see how their secrets are tied into the overall story and could potentially be the reason for the family to be targeted. These four characters were well-developed, each with their own flaws and motives and this bird's eye view into their lives will have readers second-guessing their initial predictions. I think readers will be hard pressed to figure out who is terrorizing this family and why, which makes for an interesting and entertaining read.

The strength of this book is in the writing with the complicated family dynamics and the building tension as their stories/secrets converge. The ending was a bit weaker than expected, but still satisfying. While I wouldn't call this a thriller per se, The Perfect Family is my favourite Robyn Harding book to date and is an engaging domestic whodunnit with wonderfully flawed characters, making it a perfect addition to your summer reading.

Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to Simon and Schuster Canada for my advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

A picture perfect family… or are they ?

✔️ this is a slow moving mystery that keeps you on the edge of your seat wondering what’s going to happen next, and which family members’ lies are catching up to them
✔️ I’m always learning something in in Ms Harding’s books - this time it was all about cramming 🤣 I didn’t know it had a name !

Thank you to NetGalley, Robyn Harding and Simon & Schuster Canada for the free e-book in exchange for an honest review.

I have come to expect a lot from Harding and I have to say that this one definitely wasn't one of my favorites, but still quite an interesting and quick paced thriller. I loved the quick, short chapters from all the families perspectives, even though I really didn't like any of the characters. They all have deep dark, unique secrets that I enjoyed learning as we get further into the novel, but they all come across a bit unlikeable. There are a ton of characters to suspect in this novel and you even suspect some of the family, which was enjoyable. One thing I definitely definitely enjoyed was the ending; the twist was perfect and made a lot of sense once you get there and find out. Another enjoyable novel from Harding! Definitely recommend.

This is definitely more of a family drama than a thriller. At first it had all the vibes of a thriller but I didn't find it built up much more than how it initially started. Although, it does have the typical unlikeable characters that is common in a thriller-type book. For the most part, the only character I kind of liked was Eli as I felt a smidgle of compassion for him.

I mostly found it entertaining and sped through it within a couple days. Around the 70% mark, I started getting a little bored. I can't put my finger on what was missing for me but I felt slightly unfulfilled. The ending kind of just happened and felt slightly unresolved to me.

In all fairness, I didn't guess who the culprit was until close to the end, so that's saying something!! Definitely bonus points for keeping that secret under wraps.

Having said all that, I still enjoyed this book. While I didn't overly love it, I did like it! Would recommend to a friend :)

I rated this one a 3.5 (rounded down on Goodreads). Big thanks to Simon & Schuster Canada and Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Perfect Family might look like the perfect family from the outside but as we all know looks can be deceiving. I wouldn't exactly call this a thriller but rather a family drama where each of them has secrets that appears to be known to someone else. But which someone else is the one wreaking havoc on the sanity of all four of them - Viv, Thomas, Tarryn and Eli?

Told from the POV of all 4 makes for a great view of how this family functions and their relationship. I can't say that I liked them all, in fact Eli is the only one I actually felt some compassion for. As the story progressed and more of the past comes to light the tension ramps up.

This is my 3rd book by Canadian author Robyn Harding, I like her writing style with the shorter chapters that had me reading just one more chapter. She kept my attention throughout and also kept me guessing. I liked the ending, it was fitting and worked for me.

The Perfect Family releases on August 10th, my thanks to Gallery Books (Simon & Schuster CA) for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Secrets, lies, and all round shady going-ons. The perfect family. A successful realtor husband and a wife who turned her passion for interiors in to a small business. Two college age kids with opportunities a plenty, who should have the world at their feet.

I really enjoyed this. I found it entertaining, fun, and easy to race through. The characters were personable and I was eager to get to the bottom of things. The mysteries piled on top of each other, each character in their own private nightmare. I liked the modern day aspect with the internet side of things. That being said, I did feel I wanted just a little more resolve and satisfaction from the ending. 4 stars.

The Perfect Family is a tense page turning read.

To all intents and purposes the Adlers are the perfect family.

However the parents, Thomas and Vivian and their two children Eli and Tarryn are individually hiding a lot of secrets.

Then their house gets targeted: starts off simple but quickly escalates.

They all fear for their safety, they all keep hiding the truth.

What a family.

What a great read.

I could not put The Perfect Family down until I was finished .

Robyn Harding always has a surprise for the reader.

Don't miss this one !

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Canada, Simon and Schuster for a thrilling read.

3.5 stars, perhaps (readers should be aware that a character in this novel uses a homophobic slur)

I liked, but didn’t love, a lot about this book. It was a quick and (mostly) interesting read, and I liked having the perspectives of multiple characters. The central conflict kept me reading, although I felt like there was still a loose end or two by the last page. Most of the main characters were deeply flawed, which is fine and sometimes for the best, but it was hard to empathize with them in some key situations. Mostly, I appreciated Tarryn’s character. However, I’m really not a fan of authors using slurs (toward a group of which they are not explicitly a part) in their writing, even when it’s obvious that the character’s words are not condoned. I read The Arrangement earlier this year, and I preferred that story to this one; even so, I didn’t dislike most elements of it, and I’ll most likely take a look at another Robyn Harding book in the future.

I am a fan of Robyn Harding since reading The Swap. I could not wait to read this one!

This story is about a perfect family (from the outside) who has many deep secrets! There were many main characters which I enjoyed and it was a quickly paced with perfectly timed twists.

I will definitely love to read more of her books.