The Perfect Child

Intense, terrifying and at times utterly horrifying, I loved this book and found it one of those cra-cra, intense reads that I just couldn’t look away from. The story was so evocative and the characters so well written. A fantastic domestic suspense novel with themes of how far a parent will go for their child and yet how blind love can be.

Here’s what you can say about Lucinda Berry: This woman definitely knows how to plot a book at a breakneck pace. I really felt like I had whiplash after reading THE BEST OF FRIENDS, a condition that was only made worse when I followed up (almost immediately) by reading THE PERFECT CHILD.

Both of these books speed along thanks to well-crafted short chapters, multiple points of view, headline-grabbing plots (or maybe plots derived from actual headlines), and main characters who happen to be mothers with children they love and want to protect. If you want a great read for a long plane ride (remember those?), the beach, or a couple of long soaks in the tub, either of these books will do. Reading these Lucinda Berry novels is the equivalent of binge-watching crime shows with a glass of wine.

HOWEVER, bear in mind that these books both have pretty wimpy women with husbands who are either cheating on them, blind to what’s going on, abusive, or just plain idiots, like Christopher in THE PERFECT CHILD, who is supposed to be a surgeon but, um, doesn’t believe for a second that the child they’ve adopted is seriously troubled, EVEN THOUGH HE HAS SEEN HER IN ACTION.

If you’re looking for an exciting psychological thriller that is just as fast-paced but far more profound, try THE HUSBAND’S SECRET by Liane Moriarty or THE SANITORIUM by Sarah Pease.

The Perfect Child by Lucinda Berry is a somewhat disturbing psychological thriller if the reader can buy into the incredible stupidity and naivete of two important characters, Christopher and Hannah Bauer, the parents of an adopted child, Janie. This is a story of domestic abuse, terror, and torture both physical and psychological. The terrorist, in this case, is Janie, a child that looks two or three years old at the time of adoption. A medical examination will reveal that the Bauers have adopted a six-year-old child who is very, very disturbed. Janie had lived in a closet where she had been confined and tortured for an indeterminate number of her years by her mother, Becky. Somehow, she had escaped from the closet and was found wandering in a park. She was filthy, covered with cuts, rashes, and bruises and wore a dog collar around her neck. Janie was taken to a hospital where both the Bauers worked. Christopher, a surgeon would spend many hours in corrective surgery followed by a lot of time spent at Janie’s bedside. Eventually, Chris would introduce Janie to Hannah, a nurse in the same hospital. Janie had a crush on or was in love with Dr. Bauer and could only sleep when Christopher was around. Christopher was completely taken in by Janie’s displays of trust and affection. Janie did not care for Hannah and was clearly hostile to Christopher’s wife.

Christopher and Hannah had wanted a child for many years. They had initially put it off until they were secure in their careers and when they finally decided it was time, it seemed it might be too late for success. A fertility specialist rated their chances of getting pregnant very low, so low that the specialist had suggested adoption. After a lengthy period and intense Google searches, the two had agreed that adoption was the way to go. Hannah was within a year or two of menopause. Her depression about never having a “complete” family recurred frequently when in the presence of sister Allison who had two boisterous children who filled Allison’s days. It will not surprise readers that a situation will come about where Janie’s need for a home, Christopher’s unbelievable affection for Janie, and Hannah’s acceptance of the girl, possibly to please her husband, will converge. Janie will live in the Bauer home and will eventually assume the Bauer name as the adoption is completed.

When Janie appeared at the hospital, police were called. Although Janie would not answer direct questions, police did get enough answers which led to the discovery of the family trailer and evidence of Janie’s incarceration in a closet for years. Janie certainly would not be released to return to such a home so Social Service workers were called in to evaluate her and begin the process of finding her a place to live once released from the hospital. This leads to how much of the story is presented. Piper Goldstein is a social worker assigned to find a home for Janie. Piper is a family friend to Christopher and Hannah. Piper observes the growing fondness and even love from Christopher to Janie. Piper also observes a coldness from Janie toward Hannah and a feeling of suspicion by Hannah toward Janie. Hannah believes that Janie is cold, calculating, and malicious. The reader will eventually feel this also. Janie is truly a monster and horrible events will play out. An unfortunate victim of all this will be Social Worker Piper. Investigators Ron and Luke will blame and accuse Piper of failure to carry out her duties. According to the investigators, Piper’s failure was responsible for the horrors that followed. The sixty-one chapters of the book are titled, “Hannah Baur,” “Christopher Bauer,” or “Interview with Piper Goldstein.”

Janie’s behavior in the hospital would have guaranteed that I would never adopt her. Intense periods of demanding screaming toward everyone except Dr. Christopher alternated with periods of adamant refusal to talk to anyone or even acknowledge the presence of others. Janie was damaged by her traumas and deserved treatment but releasing her for foster care and eventual adoption by the Bauers illustrated an incompetent treatment system. Janie would continue her behavior in the Bauer home. Her screams led to Dr. Bauer sleeping on the floor next to her; it was the only way she would sleep. Janie refused to be potty trained and would urinate and defecate everywhere in the house. Constantly. Once this training took hold, she was enrolled in school, but Janie didn’t want to go. She would resume the urination and defecation routine at school. Her contributions in Art class were made using her feces. Once she was kicked out of school, her behavior at home became briefly more acceptable. Through all this behavior, Janie would immediately correct herself if directed to do so by Christopher but would take outrage to a new height at suggestions by Hannah.

Christopher worked in a hospital by day. In the evening, he met only the manageable Janie. Hannah never met the manageable Janie. The couple bought Janie a cat which Janie loved. But Janie also loved sticking pins in the cat to watch it bleed. The ever-tolerant Christopher asked why she did it. Janie answered that she loved to hurt others, both animal and human, so she could watch reactions to pain. One of her expulsions at school was because she shoved her best friend of play equipment breaking an arm in two places. Christopher excused all behavior due to Janie’s past and suggested trying different therapists to attack behavior problems in different ways. Hannah went along with this and this is the part I find difficult to believe. Christopher is a trained doctor and Hannah has years of experience in a hospital as a nurse who has experience in a trauma ward. I have no sympathy for the dilemma these two got themselves in and then allowed the situation to grow ever worse.

As horrible situation after horrible situation continues, there is an inevitable new threat on the horizon. Hannah finally gets pregnant. What follows is almost predictable, but the number of lives ruined amazed me. This is a five-star Amazon read but was a difficult read for me as a parent. I could only look back on my children and be happy I didn’t face such horrors. But I also wondered what I would do if I had faced such problems. I know I would not have reacted in any way like Christopher Bauer, Hannah Bauer, or her married sister Allison.

This novel sells for USD 4.99 and is available for free on Kindle Unlimited. I paid USD 1.99 through a Kindle First Reads program.

WARNING: Definitely not recommended for readers who have difficulty reading graphic depictions of child and animal abuse.
Nature or nurture? This novel brings home the importance of nurture–maybe even before conception. Drugs and a dysfunctional birth family devastate Janie, an abused child ultimately adopted by Christopher and Hannah. He, an orthopedic surgeon, has treated enough childhood broken bones to know what he’s getting into when he bonds with Janie. Hannah, his ER-nurse wife, has seen enough horrors to question if she and Christopher are the right fit for Janie. Somehow–maybe because they both enjoyed “ideal” childhoods–they decide to adopt this broken child. They come off as incredibly naive. Christopher, especially, may have a good heart, but his blindness to his adoptive daughter’s sociopathic nature drives most of the story. Under stress, we all do stupid, illogical things … but Christopher never seemed to learn from his mistakes enough to prevent his wife’s psychotic break. I’ll go so far as to say he enables his daughter’s emotional disturbance. But … if you like villains who grab you by the throat, who have a “reason” for being as black as they are, six-year-old Janie is one of the best examples I’ve read. She IS terrifyingly scary. She traumatizes Hannah, who falls through the holes in our mental-health medical system. She manipulates her father and social worker with equal finesse. Despite these weaknesses, I might’ve given this book 4 stars. But. The ending is so … dissatisfying to make such an assessment possible. Judged against Jonathan Kellerman, my go-to-author for kids with psychological issues, The Perfect Child is less than perfect.

I read this book in one day as I could not put it down. The characters are so relatable. The author does a really good job of hiding quite a few things about Janie’s past and keeping you in suspense until the very end. I hate how it ended though. I really wanted more. lol #greatread

The things that happen in this story were unbelievable. Not in a bad way. The things that happen were bad but the story was good. There were tons of WTF moments and all through the story I just wanted to bop the husband on the head. I mean there’s unconditional love and then there’s down right stupidity. Guess where he landed.

This story is written from the perspectives of several of the characters.
It is the story of a little girl found wandering a parking lot, covered in blood and various injuries.
She is taken in and eventually adopted by her orthopedic surgeon. Then things start to happen to show that the girl may not be as innocent as she first appears.

Haunting! This book stayed with me for days. What a great read. Unpredictable from the first page.

This is a dark and tragic story, and whilst it kept me gripped in the beginning waiting to find out what horrible disaster would befall this little family, I did think that the parents, particularly the mother would I believe would have dealt with some of the issues differently, as she was both a nurse and a mother of a new born. But it was edge of your seat reading for the best part.

It was an easy read that keeps you turning the pages