The Perfect Husband

Rating:
Summary: WOW!
Review: This was an awesome read, I couldn't put it down. I immediately read the Other Daughter and I can't wait for her next book!

Rating:
Summary: Engrossing thriller with some interesting twists and turns.
Review: "The Perfect Husband" is another serial-killer thriller, but with a difference. In this case, the serial killer is a cop who knows police procedure, who is a self-disciplined perfectionist, and who is so thoroughly psychopathic that there is absolutely no way to reach him emotionally. He wreaks havoc in the lives of his wife, Tess and his daughter, Samantha. He also destroys the lives of the many women whom he kills without remorse. He is a thoroughly nasty piece of work. Interestingly, the author does not go with the "Mommy made me do it" excuse that so many serial killers use. The villain, Jim Beckett, is just evil, for whatever reason people become that way. His evil nature is not explained away by logic. This is true to life, because often people do horrible, inexplicable things and there is no logical explanation for their actions. Our heroine, Tess, is in danger because Jim (her husband who has escaped from prison) has promised to kill her, so she turns to J. T. Dillon, a trained ex-marine and former mercenary. Unfortunately, his character is a cliche. He is a bitter young man who has contempt for his parents and has given up on life. Tess brings him back to the land of the living and he helps her learn how to stand on her feet and feel more self-confident in defending herself physically. I liked the relationship between J. T. and his interestingly drawn sister, Marion, a troubled FBI Agent. That relationship is one of the highlights of the book. Very rarely are sibling relationships developed well in thrillers, but Garder, the author, took her time describing the dynamics of the relationship between J. T. and Marion very nicely. The dialogue is, for the most part, fast-moving, and the tension is kept at a high level throughout. The book is appropriately violent for this genre and the ending is exciting and climactic. If you like police procedurals, suspense and edge-of-your seat tension, you might enjoy "The Perfect Husband".

Rating:
Summary: Great
Review: This was a great book. I liked it so much i am dong my book review over it in my high school english class. I NEED AUTHOR INFORMATION FOR THE PROJECT!

Rating:
Summary: Disturbing story but doesn't flow well
Review: I enjoyed the concept of the story of a frightened woman trying to take charge of her life in preparation for a meeting with her serial killer psycho husband, but I found the realtionship between Tess and JT to be pretty shallow and odd. I find it hard to believe that a woman with such a background of violence in relationships would be attracted to a hot-headed drunkard mercenary. I also felt that although the plot could have been really great, that the characters were not developed enough for the reader to care too much about their fates. In short, a decent read but don't expect too much

Rating:
Summary: one of the all time best
Review: Lisa Gardner is a genius. The Perfect Husband is one of the best books I've ever read in my life. I have just finished The Other Daughter and I cannot wait to see what she comes out with next. Keep up the good work. Your a great writer!

Rating:
Summary: A great read
Review: This book was hard to put down. For her first novel, this book was well written and very detail oriented. The character development was smoothe and interesting. I liked all of the characters and believed them. To me, that makes a believable story. "The Other Daughter" is a better book, but this one was great too.

Rating:
Summary: Flashes of Brilliance.
Review: Felt led on, then disappointed. Flaws: 1) No exegesis on why the guy is so homicidal; 2) Children of abuse issues that are simply abandoned; 3) Even romantic sex is kind of a brutal thing; 4) No maniac in his right mind would walk into such an obvious trap.

Flashes of brilliance check this out: "until the little kid who'd been beaten by his father loved her, and the adolescent who'd been rejected by his younger sister loved her, and the man who'd gone off to fight wars because he no longer cared if he lived or died loved her. Until every single deranged, hopeful, frightened part of him loved her."

(sigh)

It's an ok straight up chase, but *The Other Daughter* is far superior.

Rating:
Summary: Not even close to "The Other Daughter"
Review: I, too, read "The Other Daughter" first, and couldn't wait to get this one. I was very, very disappointed. If I had read this one first, I wouldn't look for anything by this author again. Among many other flaws (in my opinion), the heroine was woosey, even though she's purported to be strong and tough, and the kid is obnoxious and unbelievable. Since this was Lisa's first book, let's hope that the trend is upward in quality.

Rating:
Summary: This was a great book.
Review: I recommend this book. After reading The Other Daughter, I had to read this one. I could not put it down.

Rating:
Summary: A Tie for the best
Review: A tie: this novel or Justine Dare's Dangerous Ground would be my pick of Romantic Times best Mainstream novel. I liked this story and the suspense throughout the book. It was well written.