Note: This review of The Perfect Child was originally published on my initial blog, Adventures in Nonsense.

Have I mentioned before how much I love Amazon Prime’s First Reads program? You get a free eBook every month (from a selection of about six), just for being a Prime member. That’s how I stumbled across The Perfect Child by Lucinda Berry. I could not put it down!

The Story

The Perfect Child follows Hannah and Christopher Bauer, a nurse and surgeon at the same hospital. Additionally, we also hear from Piper Goldstein, in what appears to be an interview for a homicide case.

A toddler is brought in to Hannah and Christopher’s hospital one day just covered in scenes of abuse: stunted growth, bruises, broken bones that never healed…she bonds with Christopher very quickly. Ultimately, we learn that Janie is actually six years old, not a toddler. Hannah comes to love Janie as well, and they work with Piper to become her foster parents.

They end up adopting her, and becoming one big happy family. The perfect child for an infertile couple, told by doctors they wouldn’t be able to conceive on their own. Or so it would seem.

Four Stars – Because of the ending.

I seriously could not put The Perfect Child down. I finished it in less than 24 hours, and picked it up every chance I could. It was the perfect mixture of suspense and abnormal psychology. I’m not kidding when I say that I audibly gasped multiple times while reading.

The ending left me wanting more. I shared as much on my Bookstagram, and Ms. Berry herself commented that I wasn’t alone. I’m hopeful for a sequel (or even just an explanation).

Updated for 2023 (Initial review in 2019): SHE’S ACTUALLY WRITING A SEQUEL. I follow Lucinda Berry on TikTok and she has been teasing at a sequel for Janie so we can get updates on where she is.

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