In Harding's The Perfect Family, the Adler Family are trying to fit into a world where social and monetary status is all important and being judged is quick and ruthless. The Perfect Family is working hard to show everyone they have the perfect marriage, perfect jobs and perfect teenagers with glittering careers ahead of them. Someone wants to expose the Adler Family and it starts with a simple egging, the intimidation increases and everyone is talking about what is happening. The Adler Family of parents Viv and Thomas and teenage children Eli and Tarryn, hold onto the charade of perfection but the family is at breaking point with each carrying a dark secret.
Each chapter switches point of view (POV) between the four family members. You are able to walk in their shoes and see the pressures each one is facing. Harding makes the switch between each of the characters seamless and you can easily differentiate between the voices. The intrigue keeps you turning the pages as you try to determine why the family is being targeted and who has caused this to happen.
If you like a family drama, with imperfect characters and a mystery to unravel you will enjoy this book.

"Now do thy sinful deeds come home to thee." (Virgil, The Aenied)
I found Robyn Harding's latest, The Perfect Family, an intriguing read - part domestic thriller, part cautionary tale.
The Adlers of Portland, Oregon appear on the surface to have it all - a beautiful home, successful careers and two nice, smart kids - the eponymous "perfect family". But appearances aren't everything, and there are a myriad of disturbing undercurrents beneath the carapace of domestic bliss.
Husband/father Thomas is a successful realtor, but his inconsiderate attitude and highly-strung nature make him unpopular with his colleagues and his expectations for his children sometimes prompt controlling behaviour and bursts of anger. After misbehaving at a colleague's recent bachelor weekend, he's receiving the unwanted attention of a would-be blackmailer, adding to the tensions he's already struggling to keep in check.
Wife/mother Viv is an interior decorator and very taken up with appearances. While she makes token attempts to "practise gratitude", she suspects Thomas is cheating on her and is struggling with the apparent deterioration of her relationships with each of her children. Her internal turmoil manifests in episodes of kleptomania from client's homes and offices - she steals small items and hordes them in a concealed drawer. Her behaviour gives her a thrill and a sense of control, but she fears that she will face personal and professional disgrace if she were ever caught in the act.
Son Eli has just returned from his first year at a prestigious Connecticut college, but has announced he won't be returning, throwing his ambitious parents into a tailspin. Thomas responds with anger and accusations of ingratitude, while Viv is shocked but incredulous, acting as though this will just blow over and he'll return to college as planned. But Eli has suffered a significant trauma, having been a bystander at a brutal hazing incident. He's receiving threats to keep quiet about what he knows and is struggling to find the courage to do what he knows is the right thing.
Daughter Tarryn is a junior at high school, and while she's doing well at school and has a close circle of like-minded friends, she's suffering significant teenage angst and is surly and unpleasant at home. Disdainful of her parents' superficial preoccupations and middle-class hypocrisy, she rebels by adopting a risky but lucrative nocturnal online persona. She loves the escapism that her covert activities provide, and the unconditional adoration she receives from her followers, but has begun to see signs that someone from her "real life" knows what she's up to, and she's scared about the potential repercussions.
The Adler family's many embarrassing secrets come into sharp focus as their home becomes the target of a succession of pranks. Starting annoyingly but relatively innocently with rotten eggs thrown at the house, the attacks soon escalate into more threatening territory - a smoke-bomb explosion on the front lawn, car tyres slashed, and the porch set on fire. Local police are powerless to act without evidence identifying the perpetrator(s), and the events trigger increasing persecution paranoia amongst the members of the Adler family. Each worries separately that his or her own behaviour has prompted somebody to seek revenge or send a warning. Accusations are thrown around, both within and outside the family, but the attacks continue. Will things ever return to normal for the "perfect" Adlers?
Robyn Harding's narrative draws on deep roots in Old Testament style fable and Greek tragedy. While there's no apparent gluttony and only indirect references to lust in the story, the remainder of the seven deadly sins - those particular behaviours and feelings that theology says inspire us to commit further sin - find willing hosts inside the Adler household. Harding explores how our thoughtless or ill-conceived actions towards others can breed significant unanticipated repercussions.
None of the Adlers are particularly likeable characters, although the two children are perhaps more sympathetically developed than the parents. Nevertheless, the reader can identify with certain aspects of their less-than-admirable attitudes and behaviours. I was invested in the outcome of their tribulations from the start, and raced through the novel to its conclusion. A final twist left me shaking my head a little, but having given it a couple of day's thought I think I've begun to grasp where the author was going.
I found The Perfect Family a stimulating read, and would recommend it to all readers who enjoy domestic suspense / thrillers and contemporary family drama.
My thanks to the author, Robyn Harding, publisher Simon & Schuster Australia and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title.

This is a story of a middleclass American family in Portland, Oregon - with a realtor father, décor consultant mother, son home from college for the summer and daughter in senior high school. The Perfect Family by Canadian author Robyn Harding is a family-based thriller, where each member has their own ruinous secrets. Then their home is egged and as attacks escalate, their clandestine lives could be revealed and ruin them all. An enjoyable thriller with building tension and increasing terror. The ending was somewhat saccharine and despite the final twist only a three-star rating. With many thanks to Simon & Schuster Australia and the author for an uncorrected proof copy for review purposes.

The Perfect Family is the first book by Robyn Harding that I have read and I found it to be really interesting. I enjoyed the whole whodunnit aspect and the fact that the parents kept blaming it on their children because it just had to be something to do with them. None of the characters were likeable in my opinion so I found myself not caring about their safety whatsoever. I did really enjoy all of the twists especially since I didn’t see any of them coming.

Before I start with this review – what on earth was that last sentence there for?? It should have been edited out in my opinion. It added nothing to the story…

Seventeen-year-old Tarryn Adler was in her last year at school and apart from two friends, was lonely, self-conscious and did her best to alienate everyone. Older brother Eli had just returned home from college and was dropping out after a traumatic experience he wouldn’t talk about. Their parents, Thomas and Viv, both had dark secrets that no one else knew. So when their beautiful home in Portland, Oregon was pelted with eggs, tomatoes, tyres slashed and more, each person in that ‘perfect family’ blamed themselves as well as each other for what was happening.

As the attacks escalated, police were called – not that they did anything – cameras were installed and gradually the family started to fall apart. Viv in particular was a mess. Was it only bored teenagers creating havoc? Or was it much deeper, more serious than that?

The Perfect Family by Robyn Harding was a quick read, but the characters weren’t particularly likeable. If I had to pick a favourite, it’d be Eli. It was a strange book – I didn’t feel any sympathy for the family as the negative issues continued, and we learned each person’s secrets. It was messy and overly dramatic in places… A hard review to write!

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

The Perfect Family. There is no such thing. The Adlers, in particular, are far from perfect. Secrets, lies and deceit is the premise for this story. Told from the point of view of each member of the Adler family, this page turning suspense thriller had me hooked from the first page and it certainly kept me guessing until the unexpected ending.
The author feeds the reader via a drip, with new bits of information making us second-guess ourselves constantly.

Thank you to NetGalley, Simon & Schuster Australia and the author for an ARC to read and review.

I quite enjoyed this book although not really warm to any of the main characters. The Adler's have many secrets from each other. The "perfect family" is far from perfect!
The book was easy to read, more like a holiday read and not my usual choice. But I still read it to the end and did not feel as though I had wasted my time. It was well written and I could not fault that.
Thank you to Simon and Schuster and to NetGallery for my free ebook in exchange for a honest review.
#ThePerfectFamily#NetGalley

The Perfect Family had me hooked from the first page and continued as the story unwinds to determine who is causing the Adler's so much grief. The Adler's, to the outside world are the perfect family. But within the walls, they are anything but perfect. Each member of the family (Mum and Dad - Viv and Thomas, and 2 kids - 20 year old Eli and 17 year old Tarryn) are keeping dark secrets from each other, which just seem to spiral. The story is told in alternating viewpoints from each of the Adler's and we learn more about their secrets as the story goes on. I was really engaged with the story and wanted to know who was causing all the harassment. There were plenty of twists along the way. I enjoyed how it played out, but was a little confused with the last sentence. Well worth the read.

From the outside, the Adler family have a picture perfect life. Thomas is a successful real estate agent, his wife Vivian has her own design and staging business, their son Thomas is at College and their daughter Tarryn is working her way through high school. But one night there house is egged which is just the start of of some suburban terrorism. The attacks are not random and each of the Adlers is keeping a secret that could be the cause of it all. A near tragedy brings it all out in the open. I really enjoyed this novel. I was kept guessing as to who the culprit was and loved finding out the secrets each Adler had. Great page turner!

4.5★s
The Perfect Family is a novel by Canadian author, Robyn Harding. When the Adler family home becomes the target of vandals, each member of the family is convinced that it has nothing to do with them: the cause is surely something another member of the family has said or done. Isn’t it?

It seems like bored kids at the start: eggs, fruit thrown at the house, a smoke bomb: annoying but fairly harmless. Then it escalates: a rock through a window, tyres slashed, graffiti, a burning hedge…

The Adlers, with their lovely house in Portland, Oregon, seem like the perfect family: Dad is a successful realtor, Mom does interior design, son has just completed the second year of college, and daughter attends high school. But the façade of perfection quickly breaks down as their secrets are revealed to the reader.

Viv Adler has a tiny little theft problem; Thomas Adler is being blackmailed; Eli Adler witnessed something awful and is being pressured to stay silent; and Tarryn Adler has a little online hobby of which her family would surely disapprove.

Not that they are revealing those to their nearest and dearest. The dysfunction is deep enough that none of them trusts the others enough. Towards the end of the story, Thomas tells his family “Finding fault is not going to change anything. All that matters now is that we’re honest with each other. And we’re there for each other” but two months earlier, they’re still too busy being angry or ashamed or guilty, hiding secrets and blaming each other to really communicate, to provide love and loyalty and support. Of course, if they had, there’d be no story.

There’s more than one mystery happening here: What’s the motive for the blackmail? Who’s the chatroom stalker? And are either of those related to the vandalism (for which there are many possible candidates)?

The split narratives give the perspective of each family member, and it’s perhaps the youngest who has the most insight: “My mom and dad cared more about appearances than anyone I knew. They had to have the perfect home, the perfect yard, had to drive status-symbol cars. They dressed the part of the attractive, wealthy, stylish couple, had kept it up even when their world was falling apart.” Not as united as they imagine, though: Viv has a naïvely optimistic belief in discussion solving all disputes, but Thomas goes out and buys a gun.

In a story that touches on body image, internet anonymity, and hazing, Harding gives the reader a cast of believably flawed characters who display arrogance that they can outwit a blackmailer; guilt for some action or inaction; shame; or lack of self-esteem. They are quick to speculate and jump to conclusions. Perhaps the author doesn’t intend to entertain with the kleptomaniac’s behaviour, but there will be readers who find it darkly funny. Watching this not-so-perfect family fall apart is quite addictive.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Australia.

I was thrilled to receive a copy of Robyn Harding's newest novel, The Perfect Family. When the Adlers' house is pelted by eggs, the family thinks nothing of it, thinking it is the work of kids having a good time. But things soon turn sinister when car tires are slashed and smoke bombs are thrown. The family installs security cameras but the people coming to their house night after night are dressed in dark hoodies with their faces covered. With the police not able to do anything without solid evidence, the family try to figure out why they are being targeted.

The best part of this book is that all four family members hold their own secrets which could be the cause of the vandalism on their house. I loved the multiple POV's from each family member in the book as we got to know more about their individual secrets and really felt for each of them as they went through such a tough time. I didn't think Robyn Harding could follow up The Swap with a more awesome book but this one is really up there - highly recommend this one to thrilled buffs!

The Perfect Family is a fast paced crime thriller. It follows the story of the Adler family - Thomas, Viv, Eli and Tarryn. They seem like the perfect family until they start getting targetted with attacks to the home. The attacks start off small, eggs thrown at the home and they gradually get worse. Each and every member of the family is left wondering if it's something they have done to annoy to culprit/s.

I was intrigued to find out who was behind all the attacks on the family. The chapters go from each family member. I did find the parents very superficial and that annoyed me but overall I enjoyed this book. It was very easy to read and it was fast paced.

Thank you Netgalley and Simon & Schuster Australia for the advanced copy for an honest review.

What's so perfect about Adlers? I have absolutely no idea.

I have to give this book its due. It's written in a fast-paced dynamics. I was able to finish it in half a day. I really wanted to see how it all ends.

Adlers: Thomas, Viv, Eli and Tarryn is a 'standard' well-to-do family living in perfect suburban house with perfect lawn where expensive cars are parked in the driveway. Yes, they make it seem so very perfect. But...

Their family relationships are so broken, their souls and minds are so twisted and rotten, one can't identify or like any of them. Such a bunch make a good base for a thriller... not.

The Perfect Family is the story of everything going wrong within a perfect shell. There are attacks on the property, blackmail, abuse, sex, betrayal, you name it.

It should have been such fun but turned out to be a very average story. The family is unpleasant but not enough to keep it fun. Twists are so many that they twist onto themselves and fall over.

And the last line... OMG whatever for?

A book about a perfect family.... Well I don't believe there is one so this was the first downfall to this book. But once I started reading I found it intriguing, a bit unreal but it kept me going as I wanted to find out what was going on.

The story flowed well and kept up the pace. There were some thrills, some chills, twists and turns and lots of secrets. Some of the characters had substance while others where just there. It is well written and I can see why people would like it but it was just okay for me.

I will get back and read this story later, however at this time I am not in the headspace to take it all in.

I ame sure everyone will love it (I loved what i read so far) and I know i will too.

Sorry to not get to it just now.

The Perfect Family by Robyn Harding centres on a suburban family, who all have secrets to hide. When they start getting attacked by a mysterious outsider, how long will they stay in a perfect family?

The Perfect Family is a slower read and I found it hard to get interested in the storyline. The plot didn't have a strong driving force which meant I was never really wanting more, even as the story escalated. The characters were fine, if not particularly interesting and the background characters probably intrigued me more. I did enjoy the more dramatic moments, in the family's unrealistic reactions to events.

This is my first Robyn Harding novel, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but what I discovered was an entertaining, face paced read.

I enjoyed that it was told by multiple points of view, but the ending, oh the ending… that was just not what I was expecting.

A big thank you NetGalley the publisher and the author for a chance to read and review this book.

On the surface the Adlers are a perfect family; happy marriage, two kids, good jobs, beautiful home. One morning they wake to find their car has been pelted with eggs. Who would do such a thing to such a perfect family?

Like many people, you scratch the surface and they are not so perfect. Each of them carries a dreadful secret.

At first it is thought kids are vandalising their home, maybe someone connected with one of the Adler children. The vandalism escalates to attacks on their home and property that threatens the lives of the family.

The story is told from the perspective of each family member. The reader knows what each is thinking and their secret but not each other. It works well and keeps the reader turning pages.

I found the story intriguing and well written. It is a good mystery. I didn’t like any of the main characters but, then again, I don’t think you are supposed to like them.

This is the first Robyn Harding book for me. It was entertaining reading and I will be keeping an eye out for more by this author.

As much as I enjoyed the book I am still uncertain how I feel about the ending. No spoilers but it does leave the reader up in the air. Maybe there is another book to come?

Many thanks to Netgalley the publisher and the author for a chance to read and review this book.

The Perfect Family is an interesting domestic thriller in which every member of a family who has the appearance of upper middle class perfection hides a dark secret. When the family and their home fall under attack, the family each clings to their secrets with an uncertainty that theirs could be the secret causing the danger they all face.

The Perfect Family is okay. The novel is pretty well written and kept me interested in the plot until the end. Their secrets were all pretty original as far as thriller novels go and I didn’t pick the ending. For me though, it felt like the pace had a tendency to drag which became frustrating in some parts.

I didn’t find any of the main characters to be particularly sympathetic though, which is odd given that they are all being dragged through heck for reasons unknown.

Overall The Perfect Family is a a decent thriller but I wouldn’t recommend it for hardcore fans of the genre.

‘I realised that everyone in my family had secrets. And mine might be the worst of all.’

Meet the Adler family: Thomas and Viv and their two teenage children, Eli and Tarryn. A perfect family: attractive, successful, and living in a beautifully restored home. Life is good, apparently.

But perfection quickly unravels. First, their front porch is pelted with eggs. Easily dismissed as a prank, perhaps, but this is only the beginning. A smoke bomb, then slashed tyres, and the Adler family invest in surveillance cameras. But the cameras do not show much, and the police are convinced that the attacks are nothing more (!) than attacks by bored teenagers.

The attacks increase, the violence escalates and each member of the family wonders whether s/he is the cause, or perhaps the target. Every member of the Adler family has a secret, and each secret could provide a reason for the attacks. Each member of the family feels guilty, and each wants to protect the others. Their individual worlds are crumbling: can they unite as a family? The story unfolds through the point of view of each Adler family member.

I kept reading, intrigued to find out who was behind the attacks and why. While I found the Adlers superficial (mostly) and self-absorbed, I do not need to like characters to feel sorry for them. There are a few twists here, and some important issues are touched on (especially in relation to Eli and Tarryn).

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Australia for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith