What a great read this was. At first I really wasn't sure where the story was going to go but in the end I was glad I stuck it out to find out. The characters that you get to know are (sometimes eventually) well rounded and the story keeps itself moving. I would read more books by this author in the future.

Lots of twists and curveballs with this one, and I loved every bit! This was my first Sophie Hannah book, and won’t be the last.
Beth and her husband used to be friends with Flora and her husband. After growing apart, Beth decides to drive past and see what has been going on after a few years. Imagine her surprise when she sees Floras children looking the same as they did all those years ago.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my copy of Perfect Little Children by Sophie Hannah. All opinions are my own.

I'm giving this book 3.5 stars. I was instantly intrigued and wanted to know if Beth was just a wackjob or if she actually saw what she saw. This book takes you on a rollercoaster of a ride and it's hard to put it down. I did feel that the middle dragged on quite a bit and I found myself skipping passages in order to get to the ending. The ending didn't disappoint and I'm so glad I stuck with it. This book is a wild one and I recommend it to all thriller-lovers like myself!

The description of this book was very intriguing...a woman sees her friend and children after 12 years but notices that the children have not aged at all. I was completely stumped by what was truly happening in the story and enjoyed the unique plot but there was a lot of telling, not showing. A large portion of the book was the main character, Beth, thinking through what was going on and it became a bit boring and monotonous to me. Overall, a subpar story. I liked it but didn’t love it.
I received a digital copy of this book to review from Netgalley and Harper Collins Publishers to review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

We have all of this author's books in my library, but this one just didn't grab me. I found it boring and farfetched. I'm sure it will be popular though.

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have to admit, this one got me. I was up half into the night because I had to know what happened. Amazing ride and excellent, thrilling escape.

Perfect Little Children by Sophie Hannah is a recommended domestic thriller.

Beth Leeson is driving her 14 year-old son to his soccer game when she decides to take a little detour, since she's in the area, and look at her ex-best friend's house. She parks outside the house of Lewis and Flora Braid. She hasn't had contact or seen Flora in 12 years after the Braids came into money and moved, which was quickly followed by a schism in their friendship. Beth parks near the house when she sees Flora, but she also sees two young children and hears Flora call them Thomas and Emily. Beth is stunned by this since when she knew Flora, Thomas and Emily were five and three years-old. Flora looks older, but these two children look the same age, but they should be 17 and 15 now. And where is the baby, Georgina? Beth is shocked and decides to try and further investigate her former friend, with help from her husband Dom and daughter Zannah.

The story is unique, but, alas, I had a difficult time keeping my interest in finding out what was really happening with the Braids early in the novel. It is slow moving I just kept thinking that Beth's behavior was creepy. If you haven't seen someone for 12 years and you have ended the friendship, why would you be stalking them in real life? Sure, I can see some occurrence bringing an old friend to mind and you undertake some low key harmless on-line stalking, but Beth quickly escalates her curiosity to the level of questioning neighbors and further.

When the denouement is finally reached, it was satisfying, but I also felt a sense of relief that it was over. The basis of the plot stretches credibility. Combining a plot that requires you to suspend disbelief along with the lack of significant character envelopment made this novel a chore to read at times. At first I was freakishly hoping that there would be some science fiction twist to the story, but that was not to be. There are some twists and surprises. Probably a 2.5, but I'll round up.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of HarperCollins.

http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2020/01/perfect-little-children.html
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3155308143
https://www.librarything.com/work/23911931/book/178050049
https://twitter.com/SheTreadsSoftly/status/1220053441420189703?s=20
Amazon and Barnes&Noble after publication

When I read the description of perfect children, I thought this is my kind of book. WRONG. This is a typical Disney tv show .with stereotypical characters: clueless father, mother of teenage looking for a purpose. Jock son. And teenage hormones know it all daughter. Trying to figure out why ex friends family has not aged any. Turn the channel and don’t waste your time on this book

This is one of those delightful British mysteries that manages to be creepy, thrilling, and intensely warm-hearted all at once. The premise is baffling - a woman spying on an old friend sees that her children have not aged - and although you know the solution is probably not supernatural it's almost impossible to see any other way around it.

The solution is NOT supernatural. It is HIGHLY improbable but wow what a ride! I enjoyed every minute of it, and was touched by the mother-daughter relationship. The daughter adorably helps her mother solve the mystery, and the end contains a really satisfying and tear-jerking moment between the two.

I will recommend this title to patrons who like the domestic drama/thrillers by Liane Moriarty, Sally Hepworth, and Lisa Jewell, but are ready for a meatier mystery plot with greater intensity, and darker element. Bravo!

The Florida ending didn't work for me - too rushed, too filled with coincidence, too... something. Before that, though, the question of whether Beth was going out of her mind or whether there was something Very Wrong with former friend Flora Braid's life was a real one. I'm not sure that I would have gone as far as she did to figure things out, and I know that there would be no one like Don supporting me on this (a note that rang a little false, because he should have been far less supportive!). Zannah, on the other hand, was a very enjoyable addition. Who wouldn't want to get involved at the risk of not doing well on a majorly important test? Having said that, the digression into the history teacher's racism felt like a waste of pages, even if it did begin to help Beth figure out a rationale for what was going on. Because of that, and the ending, this was less suspenseful than it could have been

eARC provided by publisher.

From the moment Beth Leeson sees that her old friend Flora’s children haven’t aged in twelve years I was hooked on this book. The premise of this novel was unique and I never truly figured out the secret until the end of the book. My favorite part was how Beth did everything you want a character to do to get answers.

Normally, when a main character is dealing with something they deal with it on their own. Beth tells everyone what’s happening from the beginning. Through all the twists and turns this book remains believable.

I really liked this book, I got so caught up in the story and lost track of time. I wanted to know so badly what happened that I found myself staying up late I could read a page or two more. I thought this book was on parr with the Girl on the Train or The woman in the Window, but the main character wasn’t the damaged one. I absolutely loved it!

This book quickly pulled me in, and I had a hard time setting it aside. I couldn't wait to figure out what was up with Flora and her family.Some plot points definitely mess with your mind, which I loved! I'll be very likely to check out this author's other books!

Since she is in the town her ex friends moved to, Beth decides to check them out after 12 years. Much to her surprise she finds Flora and her 2 oldest children getting out of their car. BUT, the children HAVE NOT AGED! They should be 17 and 15, but Thomas and Emily are still 5 and 3. Not only that, where is their younger sister Georgina? Beth feels something odd is happening and draws her family into the mystery.

What a weird ride! I picked up this book for two reasons 1) Sophie Hannah took over for Agatha Christie/Poirot and was wrapped up in the whole Dan Mallory thing (she emerged as the Hero of that piece) and 2) the description had a bizarre, speculative bent to it and I HAD to read to find out what was going on.

To that end, this book didn't meet my expectations on some level, though that's also OK... I'm not sure I would have liked a book that did what I thought Perfect Little Children might. (I go under a spoiler tag for my expectations on my Goodreads review)

What this book is: a tense, almost-manic domestic suspense (that's a compliment) where the reader vacillates between "is this an unreliable narrator" and "what f*ckery is this?!" I was constantly trying to puzzle everything out alongside Beth as she threw herself headlong into a series of cringingly embarrassing investigation points. If you LIKE heroines who throw themselves into upsettingly ridiculous places to push forward an investigation, that's Beth. I mean, I was here for it, but there were times I just couldn't believe the steps she took. Some were incredibly stupid, others just so rude. There are also a few turning points that are almost too convenient, but again: I was here for it.

But there's one little plot point that felt out of place/out of left field. There's a scene after the mid-point--ie: the part where we SHOULD be working up to the break into three, so everything/scene that happens you're like "what's the next big clue?!"... and then randomly we get Beth being called to school to get her daughter Zannah out of a kerfluffle with her teacher? It's a detour that feels out of place, serving no purpose other than the author doing some progressive posturing. I didn't NEED to see Beth defend her daughter like that--there were already plenty of instances throughout the book solidifying Beth as a mother, and her relationship with Zan. So why did we need this? So it was clear that we don't condone tacit racism in schoolteachers? (Look I agree but it still felt completely out of place.) I kept waiting for a mini-twist where the incident tied to the larger mystery but it didn't. A weird misstep.

Other than that, it was an incredibly well-crafted domestic suspense. I was intrigued and sucked in, and read the last 60% in one "staying up until 3 a.m." go. I wanted to know what was going on. Ending was pretty satisfying, and also a bit unsettling--just the way I like it. Sophie Hannah is clearly a pro, and I'd be interested to pick up more of her stuff!

This was a hard one because the premise of the book is amazing and the first quarter of the book is equally as amazing. Then I found myself losing steam and wanting to skim the pages just to get to the ending quicker.

The ending was strong, but I'm not sure many readers will be willing to read through the slower middle chapters to get there. The dialogue seems to just drone on and on and the plot has a lot of unrealistic twists and turns.

This has the potential to be a hit but it needs some work.

I received an advanced reader’s copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

“Here we are, in the wrong place…” With those first words, Sophie Hannah pulled me into her latest psychological puzzle and held me spellbound until the Epilogue.

A simple drive down a private road leads Jane into a seemingly unsolvable puzzle. While travelling to drop her son off at a football match, Jane follows her urge to drive by her former friend Fiona’s house. She has not seen Fiona for twelve years after a falling out and Fiona’s move to a country estate. Jane thinks she’s in luck as Fiona arrives home. However, while Fiona looks twelve years older, her children Thomas and Emily step out of the car looking exactly like they did over a decade ago. They are even wearing clothes that Jane recognizes.
Stunned, and trying to make sense of the impossible, Jane drives home to tell her husband Dom and teenage daughter Zannah.

What follows is a wild ride involving deception, imposters, hidden crimes, misunderstandings and obsession. As always, Sophie Hannah makes the unbelievable believable and the unseen obvious. 5 stars!


Thanks to NetGalley, Sophie Hannah and Harper Collins for this advanced reading copy.

You know that thing where you're reading a thriller, and the characters do not talk to each other? The main character keeps sleuthing around and telling NOBODY what is going on, and you just know that everything could be solved by a little honest interaction? Rest assured, there is none of that in "Perfect Little Children". Beth happens to stumble on an old friend and her miraculously un-aged children, and she tells EVERYONE. She includes her close, well-adjusted family on every adventure on the way to finding out what's happened, and for the most part they support her in her investigations. Honestly, they're a pleasure to go on an adventure with, and I genuinely wanted to know more about them.

Now on to the maybe not so positive stuff. "Perfect Little Children" had an intriguing beginning and a satisfying end, but the middle was a slog. I had to keep putting the book down and picking it up again, because it seemed to keep covering the same ground. That's not my main complaint. The reason this book drops from 4 stars to 3 for me is that the blurb, the first act of the book, even the cover makes it seem as though this is some sort of medical or fantasy thriller, when that's not the case at all. The ending is set firmly in reality. That's not the book I thought I was picking up. I imagine this won't be a problem for a lot of people, and many of my patrons will enjoy "Perfect Little Children" for exactly that reason. I'm glad I got a chance to read this in advance, so I don't recommend it to the wrong person by mistake.

THIS IS SOOOO CRAZY! IF YOU LOVE YOUR BRAIN AND NOT TO GET EXPLODED SO EASILY BE CAUTIOUS AS YOU READ THIS BOOK! This is nassstyyy and I enjoy it wholeheartedly!

I found my fictional soul mate: obsessive character reader, has no limits and never cares when somebody warns her to stop, a quiet young version Of Miss Marple and a little mature version of Nancy Drew, keeps digging and digging till she finds the truth!

Yes! I’m talking about DEAR BETH (our absolutely nuts, extremely risk taker heroine) who passes through her ex-friend Flora’s house (they had stopped talking for 12 years) and she finds her friend leaves the house with her children but WAIT A MINUTE! Something is wrong, guys! Her ex-friend she hasn’t been touched with for 12 freaking years should have invented a kind of time machine because her children are exact the same age she had known them. They didn’t get any day older.

What is going on, is this a genetic mutation kind of sick, ugly scenario?

Or Beth popped up LCD and methamphetamine (I became spelling contest winner with this word!) cocktail before she drove her car and spied her ex-friend in her car while head she was head banging with blasting death metal song?

Has Flora’s children been captured by aliens, became friends with Mulder’s sister and replaced by cute, little aliens wearing human costumes?

Does Beth suffer from psychological disorder like seeing things they were never there and confusing gnome statues with real children?

Or did Beth forget her contact lenses at the house?

Is Flora playing mind games with her friend to avenge what she had done to her years ago?

Or is everything a part of candid camera show?

Do you want to know the truth? Can you handle it? If your answer is already okay, READ THIS BOOK ASAP! It’s smart, it’s mind bending, it’s unputdownable! Even though I was at the dive bar and my friends were singing Karaoke and my traitor husband ate all my wings and nachos (if you stop by Ye Rustic Inn/ Los Feliz-LA, you may probably find me there singing “Feliz Navida”) you, I kept reading it , ignoring drunk crowd because it was soooooooo good!

One of the most intriguing, surprising and riveting thrillers of 2020!

Oh let’s give an applause to Zannah as best supporting character, Beth’s genius, cool, curious daughter.

My only question is where was Beth’s son? He has been mentioned to many times and we saw him at the beginning and till the end the book, he had no line. (At the end he didn’t talk, too and I though he was invisible character or there is something mysterious about him but thankfully he was real! What a relief!)

Giving my mysterious, nail biter, hand eater, dream killer, nerve bending four stars!

Special thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers/William Morrow for sharing this heart throbbing book’s ARC COPY with me in exchange my honest review. I loved it so much!

#PerfectLittleChildren
#Edelweiss #NetGalley
I love Sophie Hannah, her suspense is top notch. Perfect Little Children is no different in the mystery/thriller area. The plot though was very hard to grasp at times and I wasn't sure where it was headed. I did like the book it just took a while for me to get there so don't give in easy on this one.