The Perfect Husband

OMG! Lisa Gardner has come up with one of the creepiest villains ever. This book is chilling and full of suspense. It has an outstanding climax. I would be giving it 5 stars except for the editing. J.T had a cast put on his broken, shattered arm then he’s swimming in the motel pool. Tess’s daughter was just kidnapped and she’s having sex with J.T, who has a broken arm. Come on! Let’s be realistic. I am not a mother - but if my child was kidnapped by her father, who is a nasty as they come - sex would be the last thing on my mind.

This was the first Lisa Gardner book I ever read. It's no Stephen King, but it's still a solid book with exciting twists and turns as you wonder what the psychotic husband is going to do next while he maintains his sweet and innocent appearance before he finally snaps and goes after her not caring who gets in the way. I rate this book 3.5/5 stars for a thrilling and entertaining if light read.

From page one this book surprised me. I expected the story to start out predictably enough given the description on the back cover: boy meets girl, boy woos and marries girl, boy turns out to be a psychopath, girl takes daughter and flees etc. But instead, the book starts there, from after the moment she's fled. We get the back story in pieces throughout the first half of the book in various--and interesting--ways (nightmares, police interrogations transcripts, flashbacks).

Surprise number two: the romance. I'd never read anything by Ms. Gardner before, and the book description gives no hint of romance in the plot, but this is definitely a romantic suspense (think [[Linda Howard]] ). The ex marine that Tess enlists to train her is a show more flawed alpha love interest with his own fleshed out demons (a significant plot point involves his damaged relationship with his FBI agent sister).

There was a lot more depth to this book than one might expect from this genre. And even thought there is necessarily some disturbing subject matter, it isn't as detailed and drawn out as in other books involving serial killers. That's not to say it isn't realistic, but it doesn't go on for pages at a time either.

All in all, a good, well plotted romantic suspense.

PLOT SUMMARY:Tess Beckett was married to a cop for two years, and she thought he was perfect... but she was wrong. After learning the truth about her husband she helped put him behind bars. He vowed he would get his revenge, and now that he's escaped Tess is fearing for her life and the life of her daughter. After a lifetime of fear, Tess will do something she's never done before. She's going to learn to protect her daughter and fight back, with the help of a burned-out ex-marine. show less

Theresa Matthews met and married Jim Beckett thinking he was everything she'd ever dreamed of. But after becoming pregnant she learns that her perfect husband is hiding a horrific secret. Two years after Tess helps get Jim locked up for the serial murders of ten women, she thinks she and her child are safe. But Jim escapes from his maximum security prison and pledges revenge on his wife. Tess puts her daughter in police protection and then sets out on her own. She believes the time has come to stop running and start fighting for her life, so she turns to the burnt out ex-marine J.T. Dillon for fighting lessons. J.T. has his own demons, and he doesn't want the responsibility of protecting Tess. Battling his way through a horrible show more childhood, J.T. came out scarred. He knew that he didn't protect his younger sister, Marion, from their father and suffers extreme depression over the loss of his wife and child, the only people he cared for. Now, after two weeks training with Tess, J.T. knows that he cannot lose another woman he's come to care for.

I found the concept for this story to have a lot of potential but it's obvious this was one of the first books ever written by Lisa Gardner. Normally I like them much better than this one. I found the relationship between Tess and J.T. to be pretty shallow and awkwardly written. It didn't make sense to me that a woman with a background of violence in relationships would be attracted to a hot-headed, drunken, and seemingly violent man. The characters were not developed enough for me to care too much about them. To be fair, I'm not a huge fan of romantic suspense.....I like a grittier style of mystery. I think many people will enjoy it more than I did. Lisa Gardner does write some really good books and I've enjoyed her D.D. Warren series quite a bit. Like many early books, Gardner has gotten a lot better with time. show less

This is the first Lisa Gardner book I've read and I'm delighted that she's written so many more, because I'm addicted. The suspense never ends and keeps you enthralled all the way through. The plot is thick with heart-poundingly tense twists and turns and you just don't want to put this book down! Lisa Gardner definitely ranks amongst one of my favourite authors now.

This was my first foray into romantic suspense, and even though the romance wasn't quite to my taste, this still made for an entertaining and very fast read that would appeal to both romance fans (provided they don't mind a heavy dose of violence, sex, and language), and suspense fans (provided they don't mind the romance angle).

The story centers around Tess, who marries a charming police officer named Jim Beckett. Two years into the marriage, however, Tess discovers that Jim is a sadistic serial killer who has murdered ten women. She has Jim arrested, but not before he attacks her. Now, several years later, she learns that Jim has escaped from prison to find her.

Most people in Tess's position would go straight to the police, but show more because Jim Beckett is an ex-cop, and because he managed to get past the cops before, Tess decides on a different strategy...she decides to fight back. With the reluctant help of J.T. Dillon, an ex-Marine, she learns to defend herself. But the whole time, Jim is planning his ambush...

Even though the plot centers around Tess, the story is told from the perspective of multiple characters, the two main ones being Tess and J.T. But through this multiple perspective approach, we learn a lot about the characters and their back stories, and the suspense increases dramatically, especially when we get inside the head of Jim Beckett.

And, of course, we have the romantic attraction between Tess and J.T. As I mentioned before, I wasn't a fan of the romantic angle, but that's just a personal preference of mine. At any rate, the romance wasn���t excessive, so it didn���t detract too much from the rest of the story, and it did provide some interesting insights into the characters.

For me, the story���s biggest strength was in the suspense it created, and the plot twists introduced in the last half of the book. By letting the reader inside Jim Beckett���s head, we know more than any of the rest of the characters, and we get a better sense of his razor-sharp intelligence, making him an even more terrifying villain. This is a classic example of the page turner ��� you���re sure to blast through this one within a few days.

Readalikes: Catherine Coulter, Tami Hoag, Sandra Brown, Julie Garwood are all popular romantic suspense authors who write thrilling stories with strong female protagonists. For less of a romantic suspense angle, try Harlan Coben, who also writes well-plotted suspense stories with intriguing characters and accurate forensic details. show less

The Perfect Husband
(FBI Profiler Series #1)

What would you do if your perfect husband wasn’t perfect after all?

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

SUMMARY
Strong and handsome, Jim Beckett was everything Tess Williams ever dreamed of for a husband. Two years after Tess married the decorated cop and had his daughter, she helped put him behind bars for savagely murdering ten women. Even locked up in a maximum-security prison, he vowed he would come after her and make her pay. Now he has escaped and Tess is running for her life.

Tess is tired of living in fear, she wants to learn how to protect herself and her daughter. She has sought the help of JT Dillion, a burnt-out ex-marine mercenary. JT has problems of his own and has no interest in helping her show more evade capture or learn how to fire a gun. As a large manhunt mobilizes, Tess knows that she will have to be the one to face off with her husband because it is she that he wants. Her only choice is to kill or be killed.

REVIEW
THE PERFECT HUSBAND was a suspenseful novel of unrelenting tension.
Lisa Gardner’s writing draws you in with a deranged serial killer on the loose who has promised to cut out his wife’s still beating heart. Tess, of course is scared and you watch delightedly as she evolves from weak and needy into a strong, determined and confident woman doing what it takes to take care of her daughter and her future.

This book was originally published as a romantic suspense or “grisly romance” novel in 1997 and is one where Gardner was transitioning from a romance writer (as Alicia Scott) to ultimately the queen of suspense novels. You’ll find more sex and sexual tension in this novel than in her later suspense works. JT Dillion just can’t seem to keep his clothes on, Perhaps it’s the Arizona heat or perhaps it the massive amount tequila he is consuming, but the man has no inhibitions. If you want romance with your suspense this is the book. I prefer mine without!

Years ago, I started reading this series somewhere in the middle and loved Quincy and Rainie. This book was recently offered as the Deal of the Day on Audible so I thought I would go back to the beginning and see how it all started. FBI Profiler Series #1 Pierce Quincy role is fairly minor, and Rainie Conner does not show up until the next book in the series, but you can tell this is the start of something good. Gardner’s writing has gotten better with time and there is a reason she is a best selling author. She can definitely put a captivating story on paper.

I listened to the Audible version of this book and thought Sarah Zimmerman did a great job with the narration. Easy listening.

Publisher Brilliance Audio
Published December 25, 2018
Narrated Sarah Zimmerman
Review www.bluestockingreviews.com show less