Book Review: The Perfect Son by Freida McFadden

 The Perfect Son

by

Freida McFadden

Quote: "But, I never believed him. Even when he was sobbing in my office, it seemed incredibly fake. I don't think he was sorry at all. Not even a little bit. The only thing I think he was sorry about was that we found her."

Date started: Aug 4, 2022

Finished: August 5, 2022

Kindle/e-book edition, 237 pages

mystery/psychological thriller

From the cover:

"Mrs. Cass, we were hoping your son could answer a few questions about the girl who disappeared last night..."

Erika Cass has a perfect family and a perfect life. Until the evening, two detectives show up at her front door. A high school girl has vanished from Erika's quiet suburban neighborhood. The police suspect the worst--murder. And Erika's teenage son, Liam, was the last person to see the girl alive.

Erika has always sensed something dark and disturbed in her seemingly perfect older child. She wants to believe he's innocent, but as the evidence mounts, she can't deny the truth- Liam may have done the unthinkable.

Now she must ask herself:

How far will she go to protect her son?

My review:

The book begins with the transcript of Erika's interview with the police.

It then goes on to be told from Erika's point of view, and remains that way throughout the book.

The first chapter starts off as a mundane, typical suburban daily routines. Breakfast, chats about their days, school, plans. But, in Erika's mind, there is a lot going on that is not your typical stay-at-home-mom's thoughts.

I do like that this particular story stayed with one narrator, although she wasn't my favorite. 

The story is pretty fast-paced, and flows. There were a few parts that threw me off. They just didn't seem to have good reason to be placed in the story. I kept waiting to see why, but even then, it didn't seem relevant. Maybe too many "fillers" for the book.

The relationship between the Cass family and the school, teachers, friends, neighbors seemed a tad unrealistic due to the nature of their situation. Also, within the household, it seemed they all had separate lives, and secrets.

Do we really even know the people we live with?

Hannah(sister) and Jason(dad) didn't play a huge role in the book until later into the story.

A few times while reading, I would think, "Oh, this is it!" "This is where we figure it out." and then...nope! Wrong!

The Perfect Son definitely holds up to the plot twist factor. I'd say the last 3 chapters, I couldn't read fast enough. After all my failed attempts to figure it out, I just had to keep going.

The ending? *Mind Blown*

I gave this one 4 stars

I'd definitely recommend for anyone looking for a good psychological twist mystery.

This is the first book by Freida McFadden that I've read. I really enjoyed her style and the story. I'll be looking into more of her books

Find your copy here:

The Perfect Son by Freida McFadden