Daniel Kenitz

Title: The Perfect Home
Author: Daniel Kenitz
Publisher: Scribner
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Four
Review:
"The Perfect Home" by Daniel Kenitz

My Insight:

"The Perfect Home" is an intriguing thriller that will keep you turning the pages to see what happens next for Dawn and Wyatt, who star in a reality TV show called "The Perfect Home." But was their life really perfect?
Daniel Kenitz delivers an engaging read. Wyatt's charm and good looks contrast sharply with Dawn's role as the decorator. show more However, Wyatt's desire for a picture-perfect family leads him down a dark path. The story takes a shocking turn after Dawn gives birth to twins, discovering sinister truths about her husband that compel her to flee. The tension escalates as Dawn strives to protect her children from Wyatt, especially as some who claim to be her friends turn out to be less trustworthy.

Kenitz has crafted well-developed characters and a captivating plot that hooks you from the start. I highly recommend picking this book up to see how this suspenseful and entertaining story unfolds. It's definitely worth the read!

Thank you to NetGalley, Daniel Kenitz, and Scribner for this ARC. show less

The Perfect Home by Daniel Kenitz is a highly recommended domestic suspense novel following Wyatt and Dawn Decker who are the stars of a home renovation TV reality show, The Perfect Home, on the HLTV network. Wyatt loves the attention; Dawn doesn't.

When the two learn they are facing infertility issues due to Wyatt, he decides to take a fertility drug that is illegal. The drug works and Dawn gives birth to twins. The side effects of taking the drug, however, induce a drastic, frightening show more change in Wyatt's personality. Dawn finds something Wyatt has written that leaves her fearing for the safety of the twins, let alone herself. She takes the twins and goes on the run. Wyatt reaches out to the press, framing Dawn as unstable and a threat to the twins. Unexpectedly, Dawn finds an ally and now must find a way to tell her story and prove Wyatt's instability.

Chapters alternate between the point-of-view of Dawn and Wyatt. Dawn is the more completely realized character and everyone will immediately know her point-of-view is the trustworthy one. There were several times I did feel like yelling at her to use her head. Basically, all of the characters are caricatures of a type of person. You won't become fully invested in them. Dawn's looks are consistently describe as less than perfect, while Wyatt is describe as a handsome, perfect manly specimen.

Initially, the infertility in the plot was a turn off for me but once I kept reading the novel certainly became much more entertaining and grabbed my attention. It is written in an easy-to-read style that allows the pages to fly by, however, you will have to set disbelief aside and make it through the initial opening chapters. There isn't the tension found in a thriller until the end and the story felt like it has been done before.

This is an entertaining debut novel. 3.5 Thanks to Scribner for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2024/12/the-perfect-home.html show less

The Perfect Home is Daniel Kenitz's newly released novel.

Okay, hands up if you've ever got lost in the 'house' channels. You know, flipping, restoring, decorating and so much more. (I have!)

The Perfect Home is one of those shows. Married couple Wyatt and Dawn Decker are the perfect hosts. Their show is doing well, but how can they make it better? Wyatt has some suggestions....

And I'm going to leave things there for you to discover what's next. I have to admit it's a darker plot I had show more imagined. And, that was a good thing.

Kitzen allows each lead to tell their take on what is happening. The narrative switches back and forth between husband and wife. This style of story telling always keeps me reading 'just one more chapter'. There were some really tense sections that I hadn't imagined when I started the book. The author did a great job of keeping the tension and action rising to the final pages. I wonder about the behind the scenes - I'm sure they're not too far from reality. show less

So I pretty much could not put this book down. I stayed up way past my bedtime to finish in one setting. I loved Dawn and I relate to her feelings of betrayal by Wyatt. All of the characters were well developed and the storyline kept me engaged.

* I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.*