The book keep you reading as it changed quickly. At times you were sympathetic and others you were frustrated with the main character.

You must read Lauren North's novel The Perfect Son and be blown away as I was. Psychological suspense at its best is portrayed throughout as Tess grieves the accidental loss of her husband Mark and becomes overprotective of her son Jamie. Enter demanding Ian and supportive Shelley and the suspense just continues to mount. The emotional unpredictable conclusion of Tess' tragedy is stunning in Lauren's debut novel.

This book was great. It was full of twists and turns. It kept me entertained the whole time!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

This novel is the first book published by Ms North and it definitely heralds the appearance of a very talented author on the literary scene. It is an emotional roller coaster taking hold of the reader and holding him or her until the quite satisfying ending. Tess Clarke is a happily married young woman with a young son the cement further bonding the couple. They have also purchased a new home away from the hustle and bustle of London assuring a better lifestyle for all three. Her husband, Mark, has just been promoted to the sales department with the firm he works for when suddenly tragedy strikes. In a sales trip to Germany Mark, leaving ahead of other staff members coming there, is killed when the plane he is on crashes killing all aboard.
Tess is devastated but somehow manages to put her son, Jamie's well being ahead of her own. Not knowing how to act she imagines conversations with Mark and his probable replies in examining the world she now lives in. Mark's brother Ian visits her and instead of being a comfort tells Tess that her husband borrowed 100,000 pounds from him and he needs the money returned immediately. Ian tells her that she should immediately check out her husband's will, his insurance policies and benefits that could have accrued to the estate. Not exactly a comforting presence is he? At the same time a grief counselor visits her in order to help Tessa come to grips with her loss. Trouble is that the counselor had lost a young son to Leukemia shortly before these events and Tessa gets to feeling that the woman is interested in taking Jamie from her and not in helping her.
The story is told via the descriptions of the days before Jamie's birthday and what happens during this period. Ms North handles the slow but sure decay of Tessa quite well keeping the reader glued to the pages and also changing his or her mind about the ending several times. Very well done and an excellent start for Ms North.

This psychological thriller did not disappoint. A recently widowed mom has to carry on for her young son and she carries on conversations with her recently deceased husband for advice. There are many twists I did not see coming. A very good read.

This book pulled me in pretty quickly, and led me exactly where it wanted me to go. I found it really interesting, loved the old house and the countryside setting, each character was well done. It was very clever how each piece was fit to create a seamless conclusion. That being said, I ended up being disappointed with how it all wrapped up. After the disclosure all I could think was I wanted one more twist and have my initial conclusion come true. However, it was really well written and would probably make a good move. Although it is reminiscent of a few I can think of. I don't want to give anything away so I won't elaborate on that.

I read this in one day, I couldn’t put it down, so it wasn’t a waste. I would definitely read more from this author.

I think I’m getting tired of the plethora of suspense novels like this that are the latest craze. The Perfect Son was okay, but I guessed the ending too quickly, and I became tired of the story line.

A disturbing and shocking book of psychological suspense.

Out story begins with young Tessa Clarke a recent widow, waking up in a hospital bed the day after her son Jamie’s 8th birthday. She had been stabbed in her abdomen. But that’s not important to this young mother, what is, is that her son Jamie is missing, Tessa highly suspects grief counselor Shelley and estranged brother in law, Ian, of taking him from her. Shelley recently lost her young son, Dylan, to cancer and still has a consuming desire for motherhood.

Tessa’s husband Mark was killed in a plane crash and the only thing she now feels she has to live for is Jamie and now he is gone, taken from her.

After you meet Tessa in the hospital, the next chapter is a transcript of the interview between Elliot Sadler and Tessa. Here frustrated Tessa is begging for them to find Jamie. She doesn’t think the authorities are doing enough to locate her child.

At this point the store jumps back to 55 days before Jamie’s 8th birthday alternating between discussion/thoughts of Tessa, Shelley and Ian to the day before the birthday. The story progresses slowly, but builds powerful suspense as the days countdown to Jamie’s birthday. When the day arrives, it all breaks loose thunderously and here where the shocking part begins.

Maybe you, reader, will figure out what is going on in the minds of all the characters before the birthday, but I did not.

As the the climax begins to ebb, and I thought I couldn’t be shocked any more, yes I was, with Tessa’s response to the outcome!

For me, this was a wake up in the middle of the night to read kind of book. I give the book many stars.

After the death of her husband, Tess Clarke concentrated all her energies and emotions into caring for her young son, Jamie. But when she wakes up in the hospital the day after his eight birthday, she’s in a panic, her son is missing, she’s been stabbed and her brother-in-law is somehow involved. Pity no one takes her seriously. With strength born of desperation, Tess investigates the accident that caused her husband’s death and what role her brother-in-law may have played in his death, her own stabbing and her son’s disappearance. They say most violent crimes are committed by someone close to the victim and North writes a chilling, up close and personal novel that will have you questioning the people you trust most in your own life