The Perfect Wife
by
Blake Pierce
If you’re looking for a quick psychological suspense novel, you might be interested in The Perfect Wife by Blake Pierce, the first in the Jessie Hunt series. In this debut, Jessie Hunt and her husband Kyle Voss have moved from Los Angeles to a wealthy neighborhood in the coastal town of Westport Beach. Kyle is a rising star at the wealth management firm where he works. Jessie is about to finish her degree in forensic psychology and has lined up a practicum at the Non-Rehabilitative Division, a high-risk unit at the local state hospital. Jessie will conduct a series of interviews with Bolton Crutchfield, a convicted serial killer.
Kyle is all about climbing the ladder and they soon join the local yacht club where he hopes to make lucrative business contacts. But Jessie senses something strange about the yacht club and thinks her new friends and neighbors have too many secrets.
As Kyle submerges himself in work, Jessie conducts interviews with Crutchfield, who seems to know too much about her and her weaknesses. Is there some connection the reader doesn’t know about? At home, tension grows between Jessie and Kyle and a fateful decision after a wild yacht club party brings it all to a head, revealing all.
This is a short and fast-paced thriller in which Pierce’s characters are just coming to life. Although characters are not fully developed and the plot line is wild and unbelievable, the story moves well and is a solid 3-star read.
I recommend The Perfect Wife to readers who enjoy series debuts and like to see how characters may develop in future stories.
Thanks for visiting – come back soon!
This book is on my kindle, but I have no idea when I get around to it!
Hi Luccia – yes, it was on mine too! It was a very fast read and sometimes I’m in the mood for that. Thanks for reading and commenting!
I’m glad you still found some things to enjoy about the book, even though it doesn’t sound like a winner. Great review!
Hi Stephanie – yes and I just finished reading My Lovely Wife which was a lot better, although I’m still deciding how I feel about it! Thanks for the visit 🙂
I loved My Lovely Wife! I’ll be looking forward to see where you land on it!
Our Whodunits book club (for work) meets on Wednesday, so I’ll post my review soon! We have a good number people signed up for it (7) so I’ll be interested to hear what they all thought.
Hi, Barbara – I love how you always find the positive in what you are reading. Thank you for sharing this with us.
Hi Donna – thank you – that means a lot to me. It’s easy to be critical of a book you don’t like, and sometimes I feel like I’m too critical. Everyone likes different things and mostly I’m blogging to show personal preferences. Thanks for the visit 🙂
Thanks for the review, Barbara!
And thanks for being such a loyal visitor, Jill. Loved the picture of your mom and dad on Instagram!
Thanks…so did I. xo
Sounds good!
I enjoyed it – it was a quick one! Thanks for reading and commenting – I hope you are doing well 🙂
An enticing review
Thanks, Derrick!
I’m just finishing Alice Munro’s collection of stories titled Runaway. Every tale is psychological, but if there’s suspense, it’s subtle. This title looks appealing. Thanks for posting, Barbara.
Hi Marian – glad you’re enjoying Alice Munro. Thanks for reading and commenting!
Sounds like TV series potential . . . something I probably wouldn’t be attracted to reading, but would gladly consume on Netflix 🙂
Hi Jan- yes I’d say it was just a so-so book, but it was a nice distraction from the world we’re in right now. She’s written a lot more in the series since then. I probably won’t read them, but a show, you never know! Thanks for the visit 🙂