This was harder to rate I was thinking 3.5 *rating but gave it a four as did enjoy the characters in this book,but lacking in areas of gritty parts missing in the book as it's more about the characters,it starts with a husband a serial killer he goes to prison for his crimes and escapes and his wife who has a child who manages to escape from her husband who was tortured by him and gets her child into hiding.but she doesn't trusts cops you soon get to know why.and finds help from a troubled alcoh...

This Review reminded me of this book's existence!I read this book two times, my best friend says I'm disturbed for this, and thought it was wonderful both times. I haven't read it in a few years now so my feelings are not as crystal clear and precise as they would be were they all fresh and new, so bear with me!Tess had the perfect life: She was young, in love and married to one of the handsomest men she had ever seen.... what more could a woman want?!Life isn't as fucking perfect as all this

Well, if this had been my first Lisa Gardner book, I guarantee it would have been my last. It fulfilled my worst suspicions about a much more recent book, which actually was pretty good. But this one - groan! It's basically a romance novel with a thin veneer of murder mystery/thriller. If you like Mary Higgins Clark, this is the book for you. If you're a fan of more recent Gardner books, don't read this one! The plot is weak, the characters are shallow and predictable, the dialog is trite, and t...

Is this supposed to be a suspense thriller? Okay. Technically it was. But for me it was an awesome romance story and a female empowerment story to boot. Loved JT and Tess. Loved them together. I loved how Tess went from mild and meek to kickbutt heroine. Did not love psychopathic ex-husband. But it was worth reading for the fantastic love story (okay I guess I missed the point of this book, didn't I?).

3.5 StarsTo be honest, I have nothing clever to say. It was enjoyable...ish. It could have been so much better, though.A mystery which wasn't mysterious at all and romance that wasn't really a romance. Like I want to read about the hero's love for his ex-wife for the ENTIRE book.The hero was f*cked up and intense, just the way I like them. Miraculously, I didn't like him too much.The heroine was okay-ish, neither likeable nor unlikeable. I couldn't relate to her, just couldn't...All in all, it's...

This is my first shot at a "suspense/thriller" novel. I am a sucker for romance and also for serial killers...strange but true. My ideal movie night would be "Pretty Woman" followed by "Silence of the Lambs". This little ideosincrasy of mine set me up perfectly to love this book....only I really didn't. Here's why.... 1. Tess has been through hell. An physically abusive father and an emotionally abusive and controlling psychopath for a husband. Why couldn't this author have made J.T. Dillon a "h...

Disclaimer: This is the second Lisa Gardner book I have read. The previous book of hers I've read was written much later, and I enjoyed that book. This review is about this book only, not about Gardner's ability as a writer. Unfortunately, I can't say that I liked or enjoyed this book much. The premise, a woman on the run from an insane serial killer, sounded intriguing, but the execution wasn't good. Usually in a mystery, there is a puzzle, something unknown (such as the identity of the killer)...

Tess Williams thought she was marrying the man of her dreams. Jim Beckett a police officer who did he's job well and was well thought of by his colleagues. Tess believed he was a loving and caring person unlike her father who was an abusive man. Being a young bride at the age of eighteen, Tess was eager to please her husband. It was only a couple of weeks after they'd been married that Tess noticed her husband change. He no longer was the sweet loving man that she'd first met. If things around t...

I binge read this one. It was so good! The characters were awesome. The bad guy husband was beyond demented and cruel. Definitely gonna read more of this series.

4.5/5 “Jim Beckett is a pure psychopath. Most of you out there probably think you know what that means. I'm here to tell you that you don't.” Oh my God! What did I just read?Lisa Gardner is a genius! This was such an intense and gripping suspense/thriller story with a touch of romance. It left me exhausted as if it drained all my energy away after I finished it. The Perfect Husband gave me chills from the very start and I felt more and more terrified of what would happen to Tess and her daught...

First published in 1997, this book has aged like milk. Battered wife goes to masculine ex-Marine looking for combat lessons; he slaps her around a bit (it's ok, he wasn't expecting her and was on his annual 5 day bender to celebrate the day his former love interest/stepmother and half brother were killed...oh yes); her terrible husband defies several laws of physics and storytelling to track her down; final showdown ensues.It earned itself two stars by actually being very well written, if you ig...

This is listed as the first book in the Quincy & Rainie series but Quincy is not a major character and there is no Rainie. I have read several of Lisa Gardner's books including one other in this series. I have enjoyed her other books and decided to read this series in order. In my opinion this is not one of her better books. It was okay and I will probably still read the other books in the series but if I had started with this I probably would not have that interest.Tess Williams thought she mar...

Going to make this quick! I grabbed this to read on the plane on my trip to Booktopia Bellingham as I wanted a book that was "light". It was certainly light in regards to weight but not "light" reading in the typical sense. I don't know if I've read any other Gardner books but found both the violence and sex more graphic than I was expecting. This is a comment, not a criticism. Good edge of your seat thriller, with great character development and a plot about domestic violence and control that i...

Off the charts on suspense. Too much detail on the s-e-x.

Very disappointing book. This is because the book tends to focus more on J.T., the mercenary who Tess goes to for self-defense training, than it does on Tess and her recently escaped serial killer ex-husband.J.T. is crude, rude, and a very unlikable character. He’s tortured by his past and full of self-pity and he’s constantly thinking of - his abusive father, the colonel - his sister Marion, who he feels he didn’t protect from the colonel - his dead wife and kid. When he’s not thinking about th...

“Lock your closets.” That’s the best defense against this serial killer who is brutally bashing young, blonde women?The Perfect Husband by Lisa Gardner is billed as “Quincy and Rainie #1” with FBI profiler Pierce Quincy – but where’s Officer Rainie Connor? I think she doesn’t show up until the next book. At any rate, this novel is more about Theresa “Tess” Williams and JT Dillon, with JT’s sister Marion, who is an FBI agent, in a supporting role.The “perfect” husband? He’s a strong, handsome cop...

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

"Someday soon he would kill her. He'd promised to cut out her still-beating heart, and he always did what he said." If only this book were as interesting and thrilling as the above quote. Well, friends....I WAS LIED TO.This book is a romantic suspense novel devoid of all the suspense and all of the romance. Which is kind of like Winnie the Pooh saying that his favorite sandwich is peanut butter and honey (without the peanut butter).Now, I wouldn't normally have a problem with this if not for

*Rating* 4 Creme Filled Donuts*Genre* Mystery/Thriller/Romance*Review*The Perfect Husband is the first book in what is supposed to be the Quincy/Raine series by Lisa Gardner. FBI profiler Pierce Quincy does play a small part in this series, but it is Theresa (Tess) Williams and J.T. Dillon that the storyline follow throughout the book. The Perfect Husband is an intense drama with a sick, evil, twisted, and sadistic serial killer named Jim Beckett. Beckett, was once a cop, decides that he needs t...

This was one of the first books that Gardner wrote... she has definately become a much better writer. I have loved the other books by her (alone, gone, killing hour), but i really didn't like this one.The story line is very unrealistic and the characters are not likable.The story centers around "tess" Her husband, is a psychopath who kills many people, he gets arrested, breaks out of prison, and comes back for her and her daughter.That plot sounds great, but the storyline was very bad.Tess goes