Perfect Family

By Pam Lewis

Book Overview

From the acclaimed author of Speak Softly, She Can Hear comes a gripping literary thriller about a distinguished New England family and the buried secrets that threaten to destroy them.

Pony Carteret has always been a strong swimmer. So when she is discovered drowned at the family's summer home on Vermont's Lake Aral--her red hair tangled in an anchor chain and her baby abandoned on shore--her family is stunned by disbelief.

As the police investigate, the Carterets are forced to confront troubling questions. Why was Pony at the house that night? Was she hiding secrets? And why had she never revealed the identity of her child's father? Though the case is ultimately ruled an accident, Pony's older brother, William, cannot let it go.

His search for answers uncovers evidence that a stranger was at the house the night Pony died--and soon leads him far beyond his sister's mysterious death. As William digs deeper, long-buried family secrets begin to surface, exposing hidden truths about his deceased mother, his family, and himself. What he uncovers threatens to unravel everything the Carterets have spent generations trying to protect.

Atmospheric and gripping, Perfect Family is a haunting novel about the devastating power of secrets and the lengths families will go to keep them buried.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0743291468
• ISBN13: 9780743291460
• Release Date: April 2009
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.64 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.5" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Great book!

I read this book in just a few days. I could not put it down. It kept me guessing through out the whole book. This book def. shows what lies can do to a family. Again a great read!

I loved this book

I absolutely loved this book and couldn't put it down. I especially loved the ambiance and the well-drawn depth of the the characters. I was born and brougnt up in Massachusetts and am very familiar with Hartford. I regonized the characters as people I have known. A very realistic and engrossing book.

Perfect Family is a Perfect Summer Book

I bought Perfect Family because it was on sale at my book club. I had never heard of the author or the title, just took a chance...kind of like "book roulette". Every once in a while my gambling pays off. This is one of those times. I could not put this book down. I stayed up WAY too late three nights in a row because I was so involved and wanted to find out whodunnit and why. The characters are all unique but interesting in their own ways (except for maybe Jasper, the father, he was kind of vague to me). We know at the beginning of the book that the youngest sister drowns, what we don't know is why or really how. It is a twisted and disturbing journey leading to the big finish. The end of the book is enlightening and well wrapped up. No loose strings hanging which is the mark of a good book in my eyes. If you are looking for a unique page turner for your summer vacation I can't recommend Perfect Family highly enough.

Great Read!

I just finished Perfect Family and absolutely loved it. What a great page-turner and what a well-written story, with great characters. A very enjoyable summer read. I hope Ms. Lewis is working on her next book.

Couldn't put it down

I've passed this book along to four other family members so far and we all agree it's one of the best books we've read in a long time. Tons of interesting characters, a great family story and it's a real page turner. I almost wish I had saved this one for our vacation. I am seriously looking forward to this author's next book.