An interesting book.

Vanessas life is falling apart and she uses a false identity to pretend to be someone else for a while and visit homes she can’t afford. Escapism.

I wondered what was going to happen which kept me interested
An enjoyable story I will read more from this author

Vanessa's life is falling apart and she finds herself visiting houses she can't afford using a false identity a chance to be someone else for a while. Then she gets caught up in a murder when the owner of a house she visits is killed. She has no idea what happened to him or is happening to herself but its more complicated than she realises.

This was an interesting read with a twisted tale and a well written ending. The story jumps around the times a bit which takes some getting used to. It does add more depth to the story and slowly brings everything together. Vanessa is not overly likeable to start with but by the end I had warmed to her. Georgie her sister is amazing though and truly a strong character supporting her sister throughout. There are some clever twists along the way and this book seemed to draw me in, wanting to know how it would end. I had figured out much of what Connor was up to and I'm glad we saw the end of his story in the right way. A thriller with some great twists.

Vanessa and her best friend Lottie shared a flat and had done for years. Vanessa loved her job and when she met Connor, the instant attraction was startling. But Vanessa loved Connor and when he asked her to move in with him, Lottie was devastated. It didn’t help that she disliked Connor, didn’t trust him and thought he was bad for Vanessa. As Lottie left her life, Vanessa began to feel alone and isolated, even while she was with Connor. To help her ‘escape’, she would go to viewings on houses she could never afford, always under another name. She thought it was harmless.

When she was a child there was a particular series of books she loved. When her mother died and her sister Georgie cared for her, those books were a crutch. When she discovered the house the author lived in was for sale, of course she had to view it. And when she was shown through by the author himself, she was gobsmacked. But something went wrong while she was there, and all she remembered was fleeing the house, crying. With the author discovered dead, and Vanessa seen leaving, the police determined her guilt. But would they prove it? Because Vanessa couldn’t remember anything…

The Perfect Life by Nuala Ellwood is a strange book. It was all over the place, in the past, then the present, then back further – it was hard to keep track of it all. As Vanessa continued to put herself down and be put down by the one person who was supposed to care, everything came to a sudden and catastrophic conclusion. The twist in the ending was unexpected but it also didn’t feel quite ‘right’. I’ve read all of this author’s books and liked Day of the Accident the most. Recommended.

With thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House UK for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

HAVE YOU EVER WANTED TO BE SOMEONE ELSE?

Vanessa has always found it easy to pretend to be somebody different, somebody better. When things get tough in her real life, all she has to do is throw on some nicer clothes, adopt a new accent and she can escape.

That's how it started: looking round houses she couldn't possibly afford. Harmless fun really. Until it wasn't.

Because a man who lived in one of those houses is dead.

And everyone thinks Vanessa killed him.

From the blurb I thought this was a thriller, but unfortunately I felt that it fell short of this and there was no real investigation happening. Also at times I felt the book hard going as I struggled to keep up with who, what, where and when as the narrative kept jumping across different time frames.

Vanessa wants the ‘perfect life’. She pretends to be someone who she wishes to be, viewing expensive properties on the market that she can not possibly afford. What is the harm in that. However when one owner of one of the viewings has been found dead, Vanessa becomes number one suspect! You will be hooked to continue reading to how the story unfolds. Truly a great page turner you will not be able to put down.

This is my third Nuala Elwood book, and they’ve all been 5 stars for me, cementing her as one of my favourite authors.
This book tells the story of Vanessa who goes from a happy and successful woman that has just found a new man to a shell of her former self who gets tangled into a murder.
It is an upsetting read at times, but full of twists and turns with an explosive ending.
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin for letting me review this book.

I downloaded this months ago and somehow it got ‘lost’, so my review is rather late. That aside, I’ve raced through this twisted tale, which is a domestic thriller, with quite a few twists. I’ve read other books by Nuala Elwood and she’s good at characterisation. It’s easy to relate to wishing for something better or different, and Vanessa takes that human trait one step further by acting out some of her fantasy life. It’s an unusual starting point and I enjoyed the way the backstory unfolds from current and previous timelines,

It covers some difficult issues, but does so with sensitivity and thought. I enjoyed the read; kept me guessing because I had no idea whose narrative was trustworthy. My thanks to the publisher for a review copy via Netgalley.

This was another great read, twisty, compelling and kept me guessing until the end. It was such a great physiological thriller one of which I haven’t read in awhile. The idea of the story was different and that is what I loved about this book. Shame it was a short book I could have done with a little more. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

Vanessa's life is all coming together rather well. Her parents died when she was young and her elder sister brought her up, now she's got a good job and she's just moved in with her boyfriend. She sometimes visits expensive houses for sale under a false name, but that's just harmless fun isn't it? Until she views the house of a favourite childhood author, he's found dead and the police are sure she was the last one there...

The story is told from 2 timelines - now when the police are questioning Vanessa, and prior to meeting her boyfriend, until the two timelines meet up. It's well written, not overly fast paced and exciting but it's an interesting read trying to guess the main plot points and how reliable a narrator Vanessa is. The only real issue I had was how long the chapters were, as a personal preference they were far too long for me and my style of reading as I often had to stop in the middle of a chapter.

I don't want to give away any spoilers but I do feel I have to state as part of the review that there are a fair few events that could be triggers for some people.

Overall, I liked the book and would definitely read another by this author.

#netgalley #theperfectlife #nualaellwood

Review also posted to Goodreads but unable to link account

Vanessa seems to be at the happiest point of her life: her career is on the up, & her relationship with boyfriend Connor is going from strength to strength. So why is Vanessa pretending to be other people & viewing houses she cannot afford under false names? It started as an escape from reality but things go badly wrong when one of the home owners is found dead & Vanessa was the last one to see him alive.

This is a really really good read. It starts off slowly but by a third of the way in I was hooked. There are several timelines in the book & the chapters move between them. I picked up the sense that everything was not as it seemed straight away & it was intriguing to see the events that led up to the murder slowly unfold. If you enjoy psychological thrillers, I recommend this one.

TW: sexual assault, abortion, gaslighting/toxic relationships.

Thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Penguin General UK, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

An enjoyable book. Although the constant jumping of timelines was irritating, it was still a good read as the book is fairly short. The identity of 'G' was a little tenuous; I can't say more without spoiling the plot.

This is a story told over 2 timelines.
Lots of twists that surprised me - great book
My first time reading books by Nuala Ellwood and I will certainly be looking her up again.

My thanks to NetGalley and publisher Penguin UK for the ARC.

My thanks to NetGalley and publisher Penguin UK for the ARC.

I really enjoyed this book. It has an unusual and absorbing storyline focussed on Vanessa Adams whose mother died when she was very young, followed by her father dying when she was nine years old; She'd been cared for by her elder sister Georgie. However, she had a lonely childhood and immersed herself in the dark fairy stories of author Geoffrey Rivers - books written specifically for someone like her, needing to become lost in a fantasy world. She dreamed of a perfect life - husband, house and children. As a child she had written copious letters to Angus, a lonely boy featured in the books, who lived in Holly Maze House, telling him of her lonely life.

Now a successfully marketing executive, flat-sharing with her best friend Lottie, she's introduced to Connor Dawkins and becomes infatuated with him. Brushing her best friend aside Vanessa moves in with Connor within weeks - but all is not what it seems as his insidious controlling behaviour rears it's head. Still wanting a perfect life, Vanessa becomes addicted to booking viewings of expensive properties with various estate agents, using a string of different names. Then one day, unbelievably, Holly Maze House was on the market and the owner, the author of those books, was to show her around himself.

Three days later she finds herself at a police station because Geoffrey Rivers had been found dead in that house.

The story is told between two timelines - Then and Now, with intermittent flashbacks across Vanessa's life.
A really good read.

I found this to be a really interesting book with a lot of twists that I never saw coming. The story uses a dual timeline of then and now which I didn’t really enjoy at first because it felt like there was too many events happening. I started enjoying it a lot more when both timelines started to weave together because everything started to fall into place. I think the author did a great job at creating an environment which made it hard to know if the narrator was trustworthy or not. I loved the ending of this book and it was definitely my favourite part.

The Perfect Life is a perfect little weekend read. A psychological thriller that keeps the reader guessing right until the end. The story is told from the female protagonist's point of view and alternates between the past and the present, coming together in an explosive conclusion! Did she get the perfect life? Did she kill for it? Read it to find out!

Thank you to NetGalley
and Penguin Books
for an ARC to read and review.

After her mother died when she was a young child, Vanessa dreamt of having a perfect life with the perfect husband and children living in the perfect house. She thought she’d found her perfect man in Connor Dawkins, but then their relationship started to fall apart as she found it harder and harder to please him.

As life became more stressful for Vanessa, she became addicted to real estate apps, fantasising about living in the perfect houses she saw there with her perfect family. She would make an appointment with a real estate agent to view a house on the market, one she could never afford, and then she would dress up, taking on a different persona. Once in the house of her dreams she would fantasise about the life she and her fantasy family could have there. It seemed like harmless escapism, that is until the owner of one of the properties is found dead in his home and the police identify Vanessa as the last person to see him alive while viewing his house.

Told in two time lines, then and now, Vanessa takes us through the last year as her life starts to spiral out of control, from meeting Connor to becoming estranged from her closest friend, to eventually becoming homeless and jobless, and now a murder suspect. The slow unravelling of her relationship with Connor is well done, although his motivation for his treatment of her is unclear. The novel builds tension slowly as the scene is set and Vanessa’s relationship with Connor plays out. Although his relationship with Vanessa is far from perfect, it takes her some time to open her eyes to that and it’s hard not to become frustrated with her as she tries so hard to be the woman she thinks Connor wants. She’s not an easy character for the reader to empathise with as her difficult upbringing has left her fragile and naiive and far too trusting for an independent woman in her thirties.

It takes a while for the two different time lines to come together and start to gain momentum. Although Vanessa’s addiction to viewing upmarket houses and the associated murder mystery is the more interesting and original theme of the novel, it is dealt with in much less detail than the development of Connor and Vanessa’s relationship and could have been a stronger focus of the book. The climax was a totally unexpected twist ,but also felt very sudden and somewhat rushed after the slow build of the rest of the novel. The epilogue does help to tie the different elements of the plot together and see justice served where deserved. More a domestic suspense than a thriller, this is nevertheless an absorbing read, perfect for a lazy summer read.

Firstly I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of the ebook in exchange for my honest review.

The author, Nuala Ellwood is becoming one of my must-read authors. I have read a few books by this author now and she is absolutely brilliant. I love her writing style and I love her stories… always keeping me guessing and on edge.

‘ if only you knew, I think to myself as I follow this poor, unsuspecting young woman up the winding staircase. That there are no children, no birthday parties, no prospect of a commission. That Imogen isn’t my real name. That all this is a perfect life – the first few lines of this book was enough to keep me intrigued and hooked. This was the perfect start to the book and it made you want to carry on reading straight away.

The story follows Vanessa, a lady who feels incredibly lonely after loosing her mum at a young age. She seemed like she felt lost in the world and just wanted to make a perfect life for herself, only a little harmless fun to distract her mind during the hard times… until she met a boy and her life turned upside down and she no longer knew what was real and fantasy any longer.

This was a story of abuse, and being a victim in so many different ways, ways that the main character Vanessa didn’t even know was going on at the time.

Vanessa, the main character was probably the only character I took to and lived throughout, although all the characters in the story were incredibly well written, vibrant and life like I didn’t really trust them and I only had Vanessa’s back.

This was a fab, twisty read that left me guessing until the very end. I questioned the ‘stalker’ quite a few times thinking they were characters a lot closer to home but I was wrong and it was a very unsuspecting character.

I would 100% recommend this book to any thriller lover. It had me hooked from beginning to end and I did not want to put it down.

Vanessa wants the “Perfect Life” she enjoys dressing up, pretending to be someone else and goes to view luxury houses that she could not possibly afford. Where is the harm in that I hear you say? Nothing.. BUT..

When one of the owners of a house Vanessa has viewed is found dead, she becomes the number one suspect!!

I have previously read 'Day of the Accident' by Nuala Ellwood and loved it so had high hopes for this one. In all honesty it wasn't as good as the previous red but still an entertaining read and got better with every page I read.


I was so hooked by this book that I ended up reading late into the night, as I could not put it down!!

Well... this was a wee bit different to what I was expecting. And in a good way, I hasten to add. We meet Vanessa and, well learn that she has had a bit of a tough time of things. Losing her mother at an early age didn't help but she has a good relationship with her sister. When we first meet her she is living with her sister, having split from her partner. We also discover that she struggles with identity and has a penchant for looking at houses for sale under the guise of different people. She goes to the extreme giving each persona a backstory. It is on one such "visit" that something happens that leads the police to her sister's door, to her being questioned for murder. The narrative then splits and we go back in time to see the lead up to what happened and also following things as they play out in the present. It is only when the two timelines finally merge that the whole picture is finally exposed and the shocking truth is laid bare.
I whizzed through this book. It was one of those that I had pretty much no clue as to where we would eventually end up but had a blast trying to figure it all out along the way. I failed dismally although some of my guesses were, to me anyway, quite impressive but oh so very wrong. I also had to trust the author - not too hard given my track record with her - as I was a bit confused on occasion. But I held on to the things I didn't get and it wasn't too long before all was explained, and to my satisfaction to boot.
My "relationship" with Vanessa changed and developed as I got to know her better. She ran the whole gamut of emotion from me as more of her past was divulged. I'd love to explain more but you'll just have to trust me as to do so may spoil things for others. You need to get to know her as the author intends.
All in all, although not her strongest book, this is a worthy addition to an already impressive back catalogue. Roll on next time. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

This is an good read with an unusual storyline.
Vanessa likes to visit posh properties and use a false name, pretending she’s someone else.
This is a bit odd, but harmless enough, until someone is found dead in one of the properties she has viewed.
The Police track her down to her sister’s address but Vanessa tries to deny that it was her on the CCTV.
The story is told over two timelines, then and now. This got a bit confusing at times as they seemed like completely different stories at first.
I enjoyed this book but there’s was something missing for me to make it a great read.
Thanks to Penguin and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.