The Perfect Family

By: Robyn Harding

Narrated by: Ali Andre Ali, Cassandra Campbell, Michael Crouch, Amanda Dolan, Pete Simonelli

Length: 8 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's summary

The best-selling author of the The Swap explores what happens when a seemingly perfect family is pushed to the edge...and beyond in this “propulsive, constantly surprising” (Laurie Elizabeth Flynn, author of The Girls Are All So Nice Here) thriller.

Thomas and Viv Adler are the envy of their neighbors: attractive, successful, with well-mannered children and a beautifully restored home.

Until one morning, when they wake up to find their porch has been pelted with eggs. It’s a prank, Thomas insists; the work of a few out-of-control kids. But when a smoke bomb is tossed on their front lawn, and their car’s tires are punctured, the family begins to worry. Surveillance cameras show nothing but grainy images of shadowy figures in hoodies. And the police dismiss the attacks, insisting they’re just the work of bored teenagers. Unable to identify the perpetrators, the Adlers are helpless as the assaults escalate into violence, and worse. And each new violation brings with it a growing fear. Because everyone in the Adler family is keeping a secret - not just from the outside world, but from each other. And secrets can be very dangerous....

This twisty, addictively thrilling suspense novel about a perfect family’s perfect façade will keep you turning pages until its explosive ending.

©2021 Robyn Harding. All rights reserved. (P)2021 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.

characters were very annoying at times...

I did not like the daughter, she was dramatic and needed to get over herself. she was very immature no matter how mature she tried to seem and I hated her character. the wife/mom was pathetic to me and had no backbone or much of a storyline. the dad was a typical cheating husband and the wife was the typical out-of-sight-out-of-mind kinda woman. the son also has no spine, he was hesitant to protect his family against the vandals and he doesn't have the morals to say something when he see's something wrong or do anything about it. I guess I just wonder why they all had to be such bad people? I guess to have plausible reasons why people are targeting them, but I think they could used some redeeming qualities, it would've made us feel bad for them a little more. also, I swear I must be missing something because at the end the story still isn't completely resolved, so did I miss the hints that I need to figure out who is still harassing them? there were multiple people harassing the family and few instances weren't explained.

Engaging

Not necessarily a cliffhanger. Kept me interested and engaged but didn’t take me anywhere new. Worth a read.

similar to the party

good read. the book was very similar to the party in all aspects! good book

Awesome Narration, Lame Ending

I was HOOKED for the first 85% or so. I attribute this to the awesome narration team. There was lots of suspense in the beginning. By the end, things sort of fell flat.

Pretty good story

One of the first audible that kept me interested and that I didnt fall asleep
Enjoyed it.
I liked that there were multiple narrators for the male and female parts. Much better than when one female narrator changes her voice to sound like a man

Just dumb!

This story was for teens if you ask me. I listened but just didn’t like it all. The story was silly.

Predictable plot

Each of the four core characters seems incapable of good decisions, making the plot line agonizingly predictable. I began to dread listening to each new chapter because I knew something bad would happen. Even the eventual resolution was unsatisfying.

How do people come up with these stories?

This is a good listen, even though it seemed repetitive at times and silly. And the characters are ALL unlikable. I didn’t feel sorry for any one of them. No trust among the friends. Very deceitful family who lie and hide information from each other. Entitled kids who dislike their parents. That their house was continuously vandalized and violated and the police did nothing is unbelievable and frustrating😤. I was glad when this ended but very disappointed in the ending. The narrators were good, some of the women were whiny.

Meh

Overall I just feel like this story was a let down. When the other narrators had to play each other characters it was overdone and dramatic. The story was blah. The ending was also a big letdown. I expected more.

The perfect storm

The Adlers were the perfect family. Vivian with her perfect kids and perfect husband. Thomas with his perfect career and reputation. Eli with his perfect friends. Tarryn with her perfect good looks. All this perfection was an allusion to anyone on the outside. They were anything but perfect. They too made bad choices. It’s the secrets they hid from each other that spiraled out of control to crumble the perfect family lifestyle.
It began with an attack by vandals and then it escalated to threats. The Adlers had no idea who was being targeted in there family. One things for sure Thomas and Vivian had to protect them at any cost.
The Adlers felt isolated and alone by these attacks. Police seemed to think it was pranks. Thomas took matters into his own hands. Afterall, there reputations were on the line. Vandalizing the Adlers home was causing stress and humiliation. They grew paranoid thinking these attacks were caused by the secrets they hid from each other.
Robyn Harding wrote a clever scheme of events. I liked how each character had there own point of view. Each member of the family had no idea what was taking place in the others lives everythough they all lived in the same house. The pace was fast and steady with four characters withholding secrets. The secrets held my interest. They were living in a paranoia state which I found very entertaining. They were impulsive in there actions and desperate in there behavior. This is a character driven story with many working parts. The family is so wrapped up in there own life and there own problems that the secrets and lies became the catalyst for destruction.

Narrators:
Ali Andre Ali
Cassandra Campbell
Michael Crouch
Amanda Dolan
Pete Simonelli
5 amazing performers make up The Perfect Family.
I listened using the audible app at 2X speed. This is an unabridged audiobook allowing listeners and reade