I must be in a thriller mood* because I’ve finished another one – Perfect Little Children (also known as Haven’t They Grown) by Sophie Hannah.

Perfect Little Children has a premise that grabbed me immediately: Unable to resist her curiosity, Beth takes a detour to her ex-best friend, Flora’s, house. It’s been twelve years since they’ve last seen each other, so imagine Beth’s surprise when she sees Flora with her two children – her two children who seemingly haven’t aged. What on earth is going on?

Honestly, I was hooked as soon as the book started. The premise seems incredible and honestly the truth is almost unbelievable, but the book is kept grounded by Flora and her family. In the last few female-centered thrillers that I read (e.g. The Family Upstairs or The Wife Stalker) the protagonist tends to work by herself, for better or for worse. Here, however, Flora is supported by her family. Admittedly, her husband is not enthusiastic about it, but he does go with her to the school and the police station, and her daughter seems to be positively enthusiastic about the whole thing. The only one who wasn’t quite involved was her son, but overall, I really liked the fact that this was a family who was working together and working to make sure that Beth didn’t go overboard (though you know, she kind of does).

With regards to the mystery, we figure things out slowly but you do get a sense of progress. Thinking back, most of the revelations happen at the climax, but there were enough clues scattered about that it made perfect (and horrifying) sense to me.

I don’t really have any complaints about the book. Perfect Little Children is a twisty, addictive read that hooked me from the first page and took my breath away. I’d definitely recommend this for people who like thrillers and/or mysteries.

*Very generally speaking because I feel like I’ve been reading more thrillers/psychological suspense novels than usual?