Criminal profiler in training (and newlywed) Jessie Hunt, 29, discovers that dark secrets lurk in her new suburban town; when a body turns up dead, she finds herself caught in the crosshairs of her newfound friends, her husband’s secrets, her serial killer caseload—and the secrets of her own dark past.
In THE PERFECT WIFE (A Jessie Hunt Psychological Suspense Thriller—Book One), Criminal … Criminal profiler-in-training Jessie Hunt is sure she’s finally put the darkness of her childhood behind her. She and her husband, Kyle, just moved from a cramped downtown Los Angeles apartment into a Westport Beach mansion. Kyle’s promotion has them swimming in money. And Jessie is on the verge of getting her Master’s degree in forensic psychology, the last step in her dream of becoming a criminal profiler.
But soon after their arrival, Jessie begins to notice a series of strange developments. The neighbors—and their au pairs—all seem to be hiding secrets. The mysterious yacht club Kyle is desperate to join is rife with cheating spouses, and with troubling rules of its own. And the notorious serial killer being held at the psychiatric hospital where Jessie is completing her degree seems to know more about her life than is normal—or safe.
As her world starts to unravel, Jessie begins to question everything around her—including her own sanity. Has she truly uncovered a disturbing conspiracy buried within a sunny, wealthy Southern California beach town? Does the mass murderer she’s studying really somehow know the origin of her private nightmares?
Or has her tortured past finally come back to claim her?
Book #2—THE PERFECT BLOCK—is also now available!
A fast-paced psychological suspense thriller with unforgettable characters and heart-pounding suspense, THE PERFECT WIFE is book #1 in a riveting new series that will leave you turning pages late into the night.
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Crazy, fairly fast paced psychological thriller. Part of a series, but also works as a stand-alone. Hoping some things will be further explored in the series. Really enjoyed!
Nice easy read, didn’t want to put it down.
Lots of twists and turns. Just my kind of read…
I’ve read several Pierce’s books and have rated them between 3-5* Some are good, and some drag. This one kinda drags at first, but picks up toward the end. I’m glad Jesse ‘got rid’ of her husband and is on to better things. Looking forward to seeing how she does now back in her hometown and a new life. 🙂 The only thing about Pierce’s books are that they are written to hook you into the next one. I do like the endings of my ‘series’ books to have a conclusion of sorts. Not necessarily a cliffhanger so much. That being said, I purchased the second book in this series. I’ll see if I’ll read more.
This was the first Blake Pierce book I read and it GOT ME HOOKED! I love the twists and turns and interesting characters that are developed in each series. I can’t stop reading these Blake Pierce books!
I really enjoyed this tense triller. a master of his craft.
The last half was a real page turner.
I liked the surprising twists.
Jessie Hunt is studying Forensic psychology. As part of her practicum she is required to visit a mental hospital for killers. The killer she chooses is in a maximum prison environment.
Jessie is married. They just moved into a new community. Jessie was happy in her old neighborhood. This neighborhood is too invasive of her time. The community has a club which her husband wants to join to find new clients for his job. After only a few weeks she already sees changes in her husband putting a strain on their marriage.
Overall:
I treated this entire story on the premise of testing and training a forensic profiler. The concept was great. I struggled with its execution. Once all the pieces fell into place I thought to myself this had the potential to be a really spectacular story if only the delivery had been better.
There is no way a neighbor from across the street would hear a lamp fall from within someone else’s house. Come on unless a neighborhood is standing next to the open window would a neighbor hear a conversation taking place inside someone else’s home.
I’m not buying into Jessie keeping a past secret from her husband. She’s known him for ten years, at some point she would’ve told him.
Blake promised the reader a thriller…failed to deliver thriller
Blake promised the reader a suspense…failed to deliver suspense. Unless of course you count the last few chapters where the pieces fell into place.
Blake promised the reader a fast-paced story…failed to deliver a fast pace. It was a steady flow of slow.
I should’ve felt chilling excitement when the big reveal occurred, but it was too formulaic in its performance.
The nightmare scenes needed to be italicized to better identify them from the rest of the story.
Narrator:
Laura Bannister is the solo female performer of The Perfect Wife.
I purchased the audiobook so I could follow along with the free ebook. Had I not purchased the audiobook I would’ve ditched this book. Instead I’m listening at 2X speed just to push thru it.
She has a pleasant sounding voice but her performance skills are okay. I’m not particularly in favor of using a female narrator for male characters.
My mind wandered constantly.
There was not much pitch change during angry scenes or shouting scenes.
Everything was just too “pat” for my taste, you could guess what was happening all too easily
Excellent book -couldn’t put it down
After reading this first installment in the Jessie Hunt series, I immediately purchased the second book. I enjoyed Jessie Hunt’s journey here, both with her thoughts and in her actions. Oftentimes, I quickly grow bored of thought commentary by book characters, but Blake Pierce has done an incredible job of keeping the story moving both with the action and with Jessie’s thoughts. Jessie is training to be a criminal profiler. She and her husband have just moved to a small, suburban town after husband Kyle has received a promotion and financial boost. As Jessie meets her new neighbors and members of the local exclusive club, she notices odd, unsettling things. A side story runs parallel in Jessie’s work toward her Masters Degree wherein she interviews a notorious serial killer, a killer who seems to know far too much about her and her past. This is a fast-paced thriller, full of suspense. Jessie is smart and intuitive, and I do enjoy reading a character like her versus the predictive helpless woman continually falling into traps. Great read, and onward to #2 in the series.
Chilling – made me want to buy the sequel to continue the story
One of my all time favorite reads.
Another good beach read. Not totally realistic, it did keep my attention. Certainly not a revolutionary. Just entertaining.
Was a bit slow getting to the actual plot. I actually didn’t like the main character, Jessie, until I was about 2/3 of the way through the book.
This book leaves you believing one thing and then makes a 180 degree change and keeps you interested! Makea you need to read the rest of the series.
I enjoyed reading the book. Not so sure the ending was really believable, but it was interesting.
Jessie thinks she has the perfect life, but Kyle has some secrets.
Pretty good.