As this book went on I kept concocting my own increasingly wild theories about what might be happening but in the end none of them actually came close to the real answers. ( )

"I spent a lot of time wondering how our main character Beth could see two children who hadn't aged in 12 years and her ex best friend who was currently living in Florida." This quote is part of another reviewer's summary of Perfect Little Children, but it so summarizes the mental wild goose chase my brain played throughout the book. This reviewer thought genetic tampering was an explanation. I wondered if it was some kind of fantasy/ghost theme. In fact, that puzzling mystery almost keeps you from paying attention to all the other things that are not "quite right" in the story. But be reassured, it is VERY unlikely you will guess the plot until nearly the end. Twisted is a good word to describe this book. Since this did not end up being a fantasy book, I rated it based on the believability. We live in a wicked world where people do bad things to others, things that even shock me at age 56.

Assuming this COULD have been based on a true story, I rated it four stars out of five. There were some things mentioned that still don't "flow" or make total sense to me. For instance, in the beginning, Beth is wondering about her friends Flora and Lewis. Out of the blue, 12 years later, decides to make a football championship playoff a reason to "accidentally" veer off the route to go to the house where they lived last, after being cut out of their lives. Why 12 years later? What was the triggering motive? Also, at the end, when the gun is being pointed and ready to use (deliberately being vague as not to give away the ending), who do you know who is angry and intent to kill who walks around and "forgets" that he has a gun he needs to use, because he is in the middle of a rant?

I did think the ending was realistic regarding the two older children. I love happy endings and no mysteries at the end, but even though the book ended on a slightly sour note, there was a hint that it could change. And I loved Flora's daughter, Zannah. She is more astute than her daddy in knowing who her mom is and what she was capable of doing.

The book left the two characters Kevin and Yanina a mystery, but since they were not main characters to the plot, it really doesn't leave me wanting to know more about how much they knew, and if they had any evil intentions among themselves.

Not a page of this book was boring. Each time I put it down, I was ready the next time to pick up where I had left off.


( )

This book has an intriguing premise: a woman called Beth who hasn't seen Flora Braid, a former best friend for 12 years after a rift developed in their relationship, decides to drive to her ex-friend's house when a trip to take her son to a football (soccer) match brings her into that neighbourhood. While sitting outside musing about the kind of house Flora now lives in (detached in a private road, big gates etc) and contrasting it to the modest existence they both had 12 years ago, she sees a woman who appears to be Flora drive up in a 4x4 onto the property. Flora gets out and has a fraught telephone conversation, partly overheard by Beth, then coaxes two small children out of the car ... and Beth can't believe her eyes because the children are Thomas and Emily, Flora's small children who should now be in their late teens. This triggers off an obsession in Beth to get to the truth which grows to epic proportions.

At first, this story was very absorbing and a real page turner. More strange details come out, and gradually it is revealed what a controlling personality Flora's husband Lewis was, and various disturbing aspects relating to the couple and their children. Sadly, it becomes derailed about two thirds in.

Firstly, there is a seemingly disconnected small subplot which appears from nowhere, to do with a teacher at the school which Beth's teenage daughter Zan attends. Zan records the teacher having a go at her and her boyfriend and making a remark which is termed racism, but actually sounded more like Islamophobia. The function of this subplot appears to be so that Beth can realise how important it might be at a crucial moment later on to get a voice recording and to influence that recording. It does show her being a supportive and assertive mother at the school, but seems a bit disingenous as it has been made clear throughout the book that the school is pretty awful from a teaching viewpoint - ironically, the teacher concerned is supposed to be one of the few who are actually doing their job - yet she never seems to have done anything to remedy the situation.

Secondly, the action shifts to Florida in the last quarter or so of the book, where Flora's husband now lives, and becomes rather plodding and repetitive. In fact, there was quite a lot of rehashing throughout the story, with Beth constantly going over what she knew so far, how she was going to get to the truth, how it was unfair to keep it from her and other obsessive thoughts. She becomes quite unlikeable by the end of the story because of all this.

Thirdly, the solution to the mystery is completely unbelievable. It's not possible to say why without major spoilers but there are so many levels on which it fails to convince. It would be far more believable if the two young children had been (illegally made) clones of the pair that Beth knew previously, because there are multiple reasons why the solution given in the book is unacceptable. There's a failure also to address certain things which were made much of earlier, such as why are the children of a seemingly prosperous couple wearing items of clothing which Thomas and Emily had worn 12 years previously, Thomas even going to school in shoes that are falling apart.

Fourthly, the character of Flora is so unattractive I couldn't see why Beth had ever been friends with her in the first place, let alone why she was persisting now. Beth herself turns into a bonkers stalker in the course of the story which isn't that attractive either. The only character I really liked was her daughter Zan who is smart and funny.

So sadly, from something I thought in the early chapters would be a 5 star read dropped to 4 by the time the teacher subplot came in, and by the end could only manage a 3 star rating. ( )

Just reading the description gave me goosebumps! A woman reunited with an estranged friend discovers that nothing about her has changed in 12 years...including the ages of her children...and of course she can't just drive away. No!! she can’t rest until she solves this mystery. Beth and Flora were best friends and then something changed that. Beth has always wondered what happened to Flora Braid after their friendship fell apart. The Braids moved away, and they lost touch. Twelve years later, Beth decides to check on her and spies Flora coaxing her two small children, Thomas and Emily, ages 5 and 3, out of their car, which is crazy, because that’s how old the kids were when Beth knew them. By now they should be teenagers. And the youngest Braid child, Georgina, isn't there at all. Beth isn’t crazy or delusional...She knows what she saw. Her daughter, Zannah, serves as a sounding board for her evolving, and sometimes outlandish, theories: “Even if a science genius invented a drug that stopped people aging, they wouldn’t freeze their kids in time at three and five. Those are pain-in-the-ass ages. You might freeze your kids at, like, nine and eleven,”, Zannah says to refute the idea that Thomas and Emily were part of a genetic experiment. The simplest explanation they can think of is that those children are Thomas and Emily’s younger siblings...but that doesn’t quite add up either. Why would Flora give all her children the same names? The question then becomes, how well did Beth really know the Braids? With a combination of social media stalking and amateur detective work, Beth tracks down Flora and her husband, Lewis, in both England and Florida and discovers that her old friends are leading double lives in more ways than one. Initially, the bond between the two women seems too weak to warrant such an intense search, but as Beth considers the problems that Flora might’ve been dealing with years ago that she hadn’t noticed, her curiosity goes into genuine concern that turns her mission into a moral imperative. I never did figure it out before the ending , but while the outcome was probably a bit unbelievable, it really did fit. Every suggestion and every question was answered by the end. ( )

Great artwork, I love Sarah Graley's style. The story was to the point, stilted in places but overall a cute quick read. There is a lot for these girls to explore, and I look forward to reading more of there adventures. ( )