Perfect Family

Whenever the title of a book contains the word “perfect” you can be sure that the author intends it ironically. Thus, the Carterets, the Perfect Family of the title in Pam Lewis’s literary thriller, are, not surprisingly, far from perfect. The widowed patriarch of the well-off New England clan, Jasper Carteret, has not been forthcoming with his children, and before the action wraps up all the secrets he’s harbored for many years on behalf of his late wife Olivia lay revealed. The complex plot pivots around a single tragic event: the family’s youngest daughter, Pony, drowns at the family's summer home on Lake Aral, Vermont. However, her siblings (sisters Tinker and Mira and brother William) are not convinced that Pony, known show more for her strong swimming skills, died accidentally in the water due to carelessness or as the result of a drunken misadventure, especially not with her baby Andrew in a playpen on the front lawn of the house. But if it was not an accident, then what happened? Pam Lewis provides the answer to this question through a skilful layering process, revealing small but telling clues one after another, allowing the reader to assemble an intricate puzzle one troubling piece at a time. Lewis is a patient writer who knows how to set a scene. Her descriptions of the natural world are often startlingly vivid and evocative. She lavishes much attention on her characters, especially the Carteret sisters, describing their clothes and hair, angsts and mannerisms in close detail. By contrast, the male characters remain shadowy. The ending is somewhat predictable, but the chapters leading up to it are a joy to read. Perfect Family comes across as a character-based novel that, with variable degrees of success, incorporates elements of genre fiction to generate suspense. It is also an ambitious and sophisticated piece of writing. show less

I enjoy books where the characters are not perfect - yet they have some redeeming qualities. This book is masterful at that. Lewis takes what to most people would seem to be the perfect family - rich, old-money, beautiful - as exposes the secrets that show their numerous flaws. And secrets is a key component of this novel. Family secrets held for many years finally find their way to the surface with devastating results. Along the way we search along with the the characters for the answer to the age-old question of what exactly makes a family. This book was engaging to the last page.

"He envied them over there, the Nicelys, the Garners, the Wrights, and their neighbors, for the long slow afternoons filled with late light and the lazy wane of day".

Perfect Family by Pam Lewis

"and everything-the house, the lawn, the shore, and half the lake-was in shadow. A stiff wind was kicking up whitecaps on the water. a handful of sailboats scudded quickly, their small white sails crowded together as they headed for the last race buoy".

Perfect Family by Pam Lewis

When William's sister Pony, mysteriously dies in a drowning accident, her family is left reeling. And William himself has many questions.

Pony's always been an amazing swimmer. So how could she have drowned? What happened that night?

As William tries to adjust, he begins to show more suspect there is more to Pony's death then meets the eye. But as much as William wants to find out what happened, he is discovering that Pony may have had some secrets. And he also must deal with his family who is unraveling around him.

This was a really fun read. So much so that I suggested it to a former book group and we chose it as one of our monthly selections.

I really enjoyed the moodiness throughout this book. It takes place mostly in New England where I am from. One really feels the atmosphere all through the book and that just adds the allure of Family Secrets.

Daniel is an interesting and complex man. I liked him as well as feeling for him.

It was tough for me to warm to all the characters however....Tinker especially.I found her strident and annoying. I have known to many "Tinkers" in my life not to think of them as I read about her.

If there was one thing I did not love it was how easy it was to figure out some..not all..but some..of the details.

Also..Pony dies so early..she was such an interesting character she could have had her own book. I wanted to know her more. I'd still rate this a four though because it is an interesting and moody book

SPOILERS:

I really love the trip to Idaho. Love the unexpected humor. ("This is Idaho".) It is like saying "Your not in Kansas anymore!"

However I will never ever go white water rafting after reading this book!

A very good mystery. Had much fun reading it. show less

Adequately-executed literary thriller, centering around the mysterious death of Pony Carteret, the beautiful and charismatic scion of a Yankee clan out of Cheever or Auchincloss. Plot is formulaic (family secrets! incest! crusty patriarchs! rebellious daughters!) and somewhat clumsily handled, but Lewis has a deft touch for family interrelationships, dense with knotted history and resentments. It's sexy, too.

A who done-it mystery that really is more about how the family that had everything, that seemed perfect to the outsider’s eye was really self destructive. Although there is a legal guilty party to the crime, the real culprit is the family who lives in their expected roles and never really communicates with each other or even really know each other.

I felt that the book was very predictable. I had figured out the entire plot and how the book would end by about the third chapter. Although the book changed narrators often, that was not enough to bring enough depth to the book. I also didn't feel like the author gave enough background information on Pony so there was a disconnect with her character, especially since she died so early in the book. I also felt like the author could not decide if she wanted William to be a good guy or bad guy when she was writing the book so it is hard to get a good read on that character as well.

I did like how the author wrote the family as a not so perfect, perfect family. The family ties were tight yet there were total misconceptions by family show more members which you find so often in families.

Overall, the book is an easy read and not too bad as long as you are not expecting too much from it. Although predictable, the book was just interesting enough to hold my interest until the end. show less

The story opens with William, the eldest Carteret, being called to the family lake house, by his beloved younger sister, Pony. After a disagreement he leaves, and some time later Pony is found dead, drowned in the lake.

Whilst their father is quick to inform everyone that it was a tragic accident, William is not convinced, and he sets out to find out what happened.. discovering secrets along the way.

The majority of this book is more focused on the family dynamics, with the actual thriller a little in the background. This isn’t a bad thing however, as I enjoyed getting to the know the various members of the family, and their dynamics. We catch a glimpse into their pasts, their relationships with each other, and the way that their lives show more are turning out.

Towards the end, the focus is on William’s investigations, and this page turner builds to a thrilling end. Although I had a fair idea where the story was going, I still enjoyed the journey. show less