Day: August 19, 2022

If you read enough psych thriller novels, you know that the title of a book usually means the exact opposite of what the story will reveal. That is certainly the case in The Perfect Parents by L.G. Davis.

NOTE: This book was previously published in 2021 as The Surrogate’s Gift. So, if anything sounds familiar, that’s probably why.

The main character, Grace, is carrying extreme guilt. That is well-established at the beginning of the story. The reader gets glimpses as to why in flashbacks that are distributed evenly throughout the book.

No spoilers, and no need for details, but it is pretty obvious to see why Grace holds the guilt that causes her to make a decision to help another family.

However, is that family really what they are portraying? Are they really going to be the perfect parents?

The premise of the story is interesting, and the storytelling mostly succeeds. There are plenty of twists. Things you think are happening may or may not be accurate. I pride myself on figuring out twists, and there are a few in The Perfect Parents that took me by surprise.

However, Grace’s behavior is confusing. There are several times that she says one thing and then does the exact opposite. For example, she feels smothered by the attention she is getting from the Thorpes, so she decides she wants a couple of days away.

But then she allows Marcia to make all of the arrangements, including spa time, picking the hotel, etc. I get that it can be due to her exhaustion and her determination to do right by her commitment. But it happens often, and it is jarring.

Additionally, there are a couple of characters who do not seem to add much to the plot. I think one character from the past is supposed to add tension and mystery to Grace’s guilt. But I didn’t make that connection until two days after I finished the story. So, that kind of didn’t work for me.

There are two other characters in the present timeline who only seem to serve as vehicles for another event. There’s nothing much to them otherwise. And the epilogue felt disjointed. But, I will say that I did not connect the prologue with the story initially.

I had to go back and read the prologue again to figure it out. I enjoyed the fact that I was clueless about that.

The Perfect Parents isn’t a perfect psych thriller, but there are enough moments to still make it a good read. Also, check out Liar, Liar by L.G. Davis.

Author Bio:

Liz’s story began in a refugee camp in Angola, where she spent the first eight years of her life. After that, she spent some years in Namibia (her home country), South Africa, and Germany. She now lives in Vienna, Austria, with her husband and two children. Liz wrote her first full-length novel at eighteen and hid it in a box under her bed. Several others soon followed it. Her passion lies in writing edge-of-the-seat psychological thrillers that give readers the same rush they would get on a rollercoaster.