The Perfect Family was first published as Tuesday’s Child in 2020. The characters were well developed & hooked me early on. The plot moved forward perfectly. This book had me guessing and playing detective the entire time. If your looking for a mommy thriller than look no further. Emery will go to the ends of the Earth to prove her sons innocence and find her daughters killer. She doesn’t expect to uncover so many secrets along the way. Thank you so much NetGalley & Joffe Books for this ARC

I loved this book so much! Kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. And I could not believe the ending. Highly recommend reading this if you haven't already.

Emery lives with her husband and daughter Betsy, but can't help feel that something is missing. She decides they should adopt Holden, a boy who has had a tough time and needs a break. Things quickly go wrong and Emery wonders if they made a mistake. Then Betsy is found dead, and it turns out she was murdered... Could Holden be involved? Emery knows she must find out the truth. What follows is an emotional and shocking story that keeps you guessing until the end. Brilliant!

This was my first time reading a book by Anya Mora and I was glad I did, The novel hooked me right away with Emery the narrator talking about the death of her daughter Betsy and the troubles with her son Holden. You don’t know what happens and the story about Holden starts in the past and the story about Besty is in the present. Emery is like an onion, and as the story goes along, she slowing peels back unraveling herself.

(Formerly titled “Tuesdays Child”) I immensely enjoyed this book! The synopsis of this book drew me in, and once I started reading I didn’t want to put it down. I don’t know if there’s a genre called “Mommy Thriller” but I’d definitely put it in that category. My heart ached for this family, all of them hurting from the tragic loss of their daughter/Sister Betsy … but what really happened that night in the woods? Adopted son/brother Holden isn’t speaking, did he do it? Does he know who did? What secrets is he withholding? My heart was in my throat the last 3rd of the book - I told my family to leave me alone, dinner was their problem, I have to know what’s going on LOL. What a fantastic ride, so many emotions, I felt sick, heartbroken, mad, confused …. I rode that wave right along with Emery. The secrets that unfolded, the deception, I don’t want to give too much away. This book is on my “must recommend” list 100%

Such a good thriller! I loved the dual timelines and how the story unfolded. Lots of secrets that were spilled at the end, making it a fun read..

I read A LOT of psychological thrillers/family dramas, so it takes a lot for me to say "wow!" The Perfect Family, by Anya Mora, did exactly that! Cover to cover I was hooked. I love the complex characters and the way the author tells the story from the present and before a death. The ending was shocking and emotional; it was perfect! I cannot wait to read more from Anya Mora.

The Perfect Family was a great read with an exciting twist! Anya Mora's did a good job developing her characters and bringing out their personalities, even some of the characters with smaller roles. In addition, it was pretty easy to follow the plot between the past and present day to build up the mystery of who killed Betsy, Emery's daughter. While the twists came at the end, they were well worth waiting for! Great book to read if you're looking for a thriller to keep you hooked and need a shocking twist!

Synopsis (From Netgalley, the provider of the book to review)
*******************************************************

My daughter is dead and my son is the prime suspect.

Doubling over, hot tears streak my face, and I want to pull Betsy to my chest, kiss her cheeks and breathe her in. Betsy made me a mother and now she’s gone. It was a senseless accident. A loose rock, a fast fall into the ravine. She was only ten.

Four days later the deputy sheriff is at our door. ‘She didn’t fall.’ His words destroy what’s left of me in one fell swoop. ‘Your daughter was murdered.’

We’d only just become a family of four, and now all we have left is Holden. Five months ago, my husband and I stood before a judge and promised to be ten-year-old Holden’s forever family. We adopted this little boy to give him a home, a chance, love.

But now they’re saying it was Holden who killed his sister. He had the worst start in life — and it’s not been easy — but I can’t believe he’d hurt her. I won’t believe it.

But if it wasn’t him . . . ? Who would do something like this to our beautiful girl, so full of sunshine?

I have to find out the truth — no matter how bad it is.

Oh, what goes on behind closed doors….or when the sheriff shows up? Excellently paced, this fast-fast-fast read will blow your socks off and send you back to reading more of the author’s books. What an ending…wowza. (Kleenex alert, though!)

#shortbutsweetreviews

This book had a lot of potential. I love motherhood as horror, but in this case, it was full of negative tropes surrounding adoption and gave me no tension in any of the relationships to make the drama believable. I think this author has a lot of potential, but this isn’t something that I would personally recommend. I did read a publishers copy, so maybe some of my critiques have been changed.

“Love doesn’t solve every problem, and sometimes love is not enough. But sometimes it is. Sometimes it’s more than enough. Sometimes it is everything.”

Thank you @netgalley and author Anya mora for allowing me a copy of this ARC!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
A perfect beginner thriller. As someone who reads a lot of thrillers and horror, this was pretty cut and dry, I knew what was gonna happen, whodunit, halfway through the book. However, I think it’s still worth the read! It kept me very intrigued throughout the entire story.

It’s told with dual POV (which I loveeee) past and present.

Emery is a flawed character, one you love to hate and hate to love. She’s severely fcked in the head with her logic but I love her for that. She’s honest to herself and her love for her children knows no bounds.

Mark.. mark is an a-hole husband.

Holden and Betsy’s relationship is ✨everything✨ throughout the book. It really shows you that no matter what background you come from, you deserve love and compassion regardless. It pays to be kind.

I really enjoyed this one!

I’ve seen a few reviews saying this book was re-released under a different name, however this book was really good in my opinion from start to finish. Characters and storyline are well developed, however, I did find myself struggling to get into it at the first.

They say you can’t pick your family.
But I picked mine.
Did I choose my daughter’s murderer?

This thriller had me gripped from the start. The plot ran freely and weaved together perfectly, chapters were short and to the point, and the twists were unexpected and unpredictable.

The talented author has managed to intricately capture heartbreak and joy simultaneously in a way that’s blew my mind, and I can’t wait to pick up my next read from the author.

This book was published previously as Tuesday's Child. Had I known that, I would not have requested it. I skimmed it because I read it in the past. It's ok. Betsey dies and the community blames the new foster/adopted son, Holden. The ending is a shock for sure, but overall it seem to your typical bullying book. The kids are bullies. The father/husband is a bully. Bad people usually end up caught in the end.

No wonder this book sounded so familiar. Another reviewer pointed out that it was previously published under Tuesday's Child. This book was ok. Maybe it's because it was the second time I had read it and just seemed the same. Betsy dies and everyone blames the adopted brother. The events that led to this are not what you would expect. Ok.

This book was enthralling from beginning to end! Characters and storyline are well developed. I could not put it down!

The Perfect Family was first published as Tuesday’s Child in the UK in 2019. I cannot find The Perfect Family on NetGalley yet so I’m putting my review under this title instead. This book had me guessing till the end and the shocking twist at the end was definitely shocking to me that I did not see coming. Thank you NetGalley for giving me this newer version. Will definitely be searching for more books by this very talented author.

The Perfect Family is a quick easy to read thriller. I finished it in just a few hours. This book just didn’t really stand out to me. The plot has been done before, and the ending was predictable. The main character Emory was strong, and I did enjoy her. But, again, I think that she was similar to so many FMC in thrillers that she was easily forgettable.

The pacing in this novel is fast and it’s very easy to get through. While the plot is tired, it’s still entertaining to a point if you’re looking for something easy to read or if you’re dipping your toes into thrillers for the first time.

I personally would probably not read another book by this author in my personal opinion.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Spice: 🌶️/5
Themes: Child loss, murder mystery, first love, flashbacks

“My daughter is dead and my son is the prime suspect.

We’d only just become a family of four, and now all we have left is Holden. Five months ago, my husband and I stood before a judge and promised to be ten-year-old Holden’s forever family. We adopted this little boy to give him a home, a chance, love. “

Emery’s entire life as a stay-at-home mother revolved around her daughter Betsy. Through alternating flashback chapters and current chapters, the reader explores the life choices leading up to the adoption of Holden, the failure of Emery’s marriage, the unconditional love of a mother, and the loss of her first love. I could not put this book down and I was in suspense the entire novel trying to determine who was the killer! I did not see the ending coming!

Very little in this book surprised me, I've clearly read too many similar books and can guess the plot a mile away.
It was still a fun read.

I finished it in an afternoon, the writing flowed nicely, and I do like to know if I'm right or not. 😄
Entertaining.