Perfect Little Children starts out with Beth driving by the home of her best friend, Flora, who she lost touch with 12 years ago. She knows she shouldn't be there, but she's so curious about her friend. She sees Flora call out to her children Thomas and Emily to get out of the car, but the children who appear look exactly the same as the children Beth remembers, aged five and three, from 12 years ago. They should be teenagers now, but the children Beth sees haven't aged a bit, as if they've been frozen in time.
Isn't that just the craziest premise for a book you've ever heard? It sounded so intriguing to me, I knew I had to read it. And it turned out to be exactly what I was hoping for, twisty and turny, with so many secrets and mysteries that it's not clear where one ends and another begins. I honestly couldn't put it down.
One thing I particularly enjoyed about this story is that all the things I'm mulling over and trying to puzzle out, it's all spelled out in the book too as dialog between Beth and her husband and her daughter. In particular, her daughter Zannah is a hoot, coming up with clever observations and just offering general insight and support for Beth throughout the whole ordeal.
For maximum reading pleasure, there are a few things a prospective reader should keep in mind. The most important is that Beth, our narrator/self-styled detective, has absolutely no understanding of personal boundaries or limits, and you the reader must accept this. If you don't and you question it, her actions will drive you crazy. She pretty much acts like a relentless and obsessive loony through the whole book, sticking her nose where it doesn't belong and essentially hounding the people in Flora's circle until she got answers. If you think about it, who would do this for a friend they haven't seen for twelve years? Well, no one, is the answer.
The other is that when a premise is so amazing like this one, it's best to keep one's expectations tempered when it comes to the actual explanation. After all, it still has to fit within the boundaries of reality and science (unless it's paranormal). I found the ending satisfactory and interesting, but it wasn't jaw-dropping amazing. No, I thoroughly enjoyed this book for the journey, and the ending was sufficient to wrap everything up.
For me, this reads more like a mystery than a thriller, and that's probably why I enjoyed it so much (since I usually find thrillers to be more hokey than thrilling). The process of trying to figure everything out was so fun and entertaining, it was almost a letdown when I reached the end and it was all explained. I wanted to keep reading more of Beth's zany antics and Zannah's sage perspectives. This story is so unique, weird, disturbing, and strange, and I'm glad I picked it up.
Readaroo Rating: 4 stars
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