Tess is struggling after losing her husband Mark in a plane crash. She is left to raise there son Jamie on her own. Tess goes to the Doctors for sleeping pills and comes away with antidepressants and advice for her to see a Grief Councillor.

Shelley Lange is sent by Tess’s mother, she is a Grief Counsellor. Shelley seems to arrived at the perfect right time,Tess is feeling completely since losing her husband. The two women become friends and Tess starts to depend on her more and more. When Tess begins to receive calls where no one speaks, she starts to feel like someone is out to get her and her son Jamie.

When you read a lot of thrillers like me, it's hard to surprise me. But the third act of The Perfect Son got me and the four-star book went up to a solid five-stars. Although the novel is a suspense, I felt like the author explored important themes such as grief and motherhood.

Waking up in the hospital after her son's eighth birthday, Tess is confused and doesn't understand what is going on. She's been stabbed, her son is missing, and no one appears to be listening to her. Tess has been at a loss since the death of her husband and struggles to keep things together for her son. Why does everyone in her life, seem to be against her? Why does it as if she can't trust anyone?

The perfect son was a book on the slower side for me - at least in the beginning. I feel this was a book that kept building but at a much slower pace, but then that ending. Whew! The ending was the payoff. I have to say, I did not figure that one out. It's obvious that something isn't quite right, but what? Is Tess being paranoid? Are people really plotting against her? Is her grief affecting her perceptions? She has suffered a tragic loss; her son is her reason for living. So, who stabbed her? Where is her son? Why is no one helping her? The ending was phenomenal, but the rest of the book just wasn't what I was hoping for.

Very interesting story about a woman and her grief. The author was able to make the story twist and turn. How well do you know your family or yourself? The surprise ending left me floored.

TW: death of a family member

This was a very interesting story. I liked the use of mixed media, with transcripts from interviews showing different perspectives. However, this novel focused more on dealing with grief than being a thriller. I think the author did a wonderful job depicting Tess and her struggles to move on after her husband’s death, raising her son all by herself. There are twists involved as Tess becomes suspicious of the motives of others, and I was very engrossed in the story. Overall, I quite enjoyed this story with its well-developed MC and its themes.

A good psychological thriller. The unreliable narrator has become common, but North gives this one a believable twist with her grieving widow concerned about the welfare of her missing son. Hard to put this one down until the final, unexpected twist.

The cover is fantastic, the synopsis is intriguing, and the title made me want to snatch this right off my bookshelf and cozy up with it, and read for a long period of time. While I was burnt out on a lot of Thrillers/Suspense novels, something about this one just called my name. I was not let down. Lauren North wrote a pretty dang good book. It had my attention, and not at one point was I bored or found the story completely predictable, nor did I find it completely unbelievable. Look forward to reading more from her.

This is a very suspenseful story about a woman whose husband dies when a plane crashes. She has trouble coping after his death and spends her time isolated in a country house with her seven year old son. A grief counselor tries to help her. But not everything is as it seems and slowly the reader is left wondering what is true and what isn't. A fun page-turner which took my mind of our current isolation.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book. A full review will be posted on Amazon and Goodreads

Super creepy and a real page-turner. If you are a fan of domestic thrillers, this one will float your boat. The characters are fleshed-out in a way that doesn't always happen in this genre. Fun read!

“The Perfect Son” by Lauren North

I’m thrilled that I was selected by NetGalley to read and review “The Perfect Son” by Lauren North!

“A captivating start that stays strong! “The Perfect Son” is an unpredictable, on the edge of your seat read! You’ll love every minute-even when you don’t!”-Green Gables Book Reviews

Imagine waking up in the hospital. Your husband died a few months ago in a terrible accident. You’ve been stabbed. Your 8-year-old son is missing. No one will listen to you.

You know who is behind his disappearance and your stabbing. Your brother in law and your grief counselor are to blame. No one will listen to you. Where is your son? Where is Jamie?

That’s the start of Lauren North’s fabulous new book, “The Perfect Son”.

Jamie and Tess have slowly been rebuilding their world since Tess’s husband, Mark, died suddenly in an accident a few months ago. Jamie has been the only reason for Tess to get up in the morning and try to get through each day. They have been connecting with each other slowly through small moments, like walks to and from school and watching TV together.

When grief counselor Shelley enters their life, there’s a glimmer of hope. Jamie and Tess both like Shelley and she brings positive energy to their grey world. But, Tess starts to wonder why Shelly is really there to help her.

Brother in law, Ian, seems like he wants to help. But, Tess just can’t trust him. Why does he keep hounding her? She doesn’t know the answers to the questions he keeps asking. Why can’t he leave her and Jamie alone?

Then, a few months later, Tess is in the hospital, stabbed-and Jamie is gone.

A great book! 5 stars!

File Size: 2636 KB
Print Length: 367 pages
Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1984803840
Publisher: Berkley (August 13, 2019)
Publication Date: August 13, 2019
Sold by: Penguin Group (USA) LLC
Language: English
ASIN: B07KNSM9PM

Great thriller and one that will make you check under your bed at night. Gave me chills! #thriller #greatread #fansofwomaninthewindow

Tess thought that she and her husband, Mark, and their son, Jamie, were living an almost perfect life. Tess's entire life was changed in an instant when she was told that the plane Mark was on had crashed. Overtaken by grief, Tess tries to get through each day, almost forming a cocoon around her and Jamie. Gradually, she stops interacting with others. Her mother hires a grief counselor named Shelley to help her heal. Her brother-in-law, Ian, tells Tess that Mark owes him a substantial amount of money and is impatiently wanting to be paid back. Tess becomes close to Shelley and their friendship helps Tess and Jamie start to heal. On Jamie's eighth birthday, Tess overhears Ian and Shelley in a whispered conversation and she begins to suspect that they are working together to take Jamie away from her and leave her by herself. She can't lose Jamie too and the steps she takes to prevent Shelley and Ian from fulfilling their plans leads to a startling conclusion. I became engrossed in the story and the end was shocking and unexpected. I can't wait to read more from Ms North, she did an amazing job keeping the reader interested and captivated. Thank-you to Netgalley, Berkley and Lauren North for an ARC in exchange for a honest review.

Tess wakes up in the hospital stabbed and her son is missing. Several months earlier her husband was killed in a plane crash and her mother requested she see a grief counselor. During this time, she becomes pretty close to her grief counselor and also her brother-in-law also keeps visiting Tess and demanding money that her husband supposable owned him. Leading up to where she was stabbed and her son goes missing she starts getting very strange calls and things start going missing from her home and she can’t entirely trust her grief counselor or brother-in-law.

I loved the dual timelines of present and the months leading up to Tess being stabbed. I found this book very gripping and I couldn’t put it down. I did however guess the big twist, but I still really enjoyed this book a lot.

This is my first Lauren North book, and I quite enjoyed it. A sad story of love and loss, as one has to pick up the pieces after a tragic accident. The characters were real. The story kept me engaged. Great plot. I would recommend this book if you haven't read it already.
#ThePerfectSon #NetGalley

Great book! This is the author's first novel, and it was amazing, especially for a first novel. I found the book to be riveting from the first page until the last word. The ending was a shocker! I am definitely interested in reading the next book by this author.

Let me start off by saying that from the beginning I assumed that both the husband and the son had died in the plane crash. I don’t know what gave it away or I what tipped me off. Or maybe I’ve just read too many books and seen too many movies, so it seemed obvious. (The Sixth Sense had just been in TV)
So because of that, I just kept waiting for the official reveal. I mainly kept reading because I wanted to find out who stabbed the Mom and that ended kind of anticlimactic.
Having said that, most people probably won’t read it like that and won’t notice that the kid never interacts with anyone, so they will be shocked at finding out that the kid also died in the crash. I’m probably not the right person to be reviewing this, but what do I know?

A gripping - and surprising - novel of psychological suspense, that opens after recently widowed Tess Clarke is stabbed and her young son goes missing. I did not see the ending coming.

Tess Clarke is living a nightmare. You meet her as she is being interviewed at a hospital. She has been stabbed, her son Jaime is missing and she doesn't know who to trust.

The narration is driven by her interviews at the hospital. As her doctor asks her questions about the death of her husband and the paranoia that she is suffering from. From the first interview, you know very little and the narration turns to Tess as she describes her anxiety of keeping her son safe. Each interview is ended with the question "have you found Jaime". The climax builds as she is befriended by her grief counselor Shelley Lange and hounded by her brother in law who says she owes him over $100,000.00 that she has no recollection of.

The friendship of Shelley becomes complex and tense has Tess has mixed emotions of Shelley's motivation. The most pressing of the those motivations is she trying to take her son away from her. However, she is always comforted by Shelley as she seems to calm her down with the anxiety she is facing. Her anxiety is driven by the fear of losing her son and of keeping him safe.

In the beginning of this read, I had a hard time with Shelley character as I did not know her whole story which is the big reveal in the end. It is a fine twist to the lengths we go to keep our children safe,

A Special Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest revi

Read this in one sitting as I needed to know what happened to Jaime, was Tess paranoid or did her grief cause her to see things. A good ending twist and a good book club selection.