Perfect Family

Pam Lewis

Average Rating 7/10 (1 Review)

A story of a family secret with deadly consequences.

When Pony Carteret is found drowned in the waters of Lake Aral her family is quick to accept a verdict of accidental death, but something doesn't seem to fit: how could Pony, an able and experienced swimmer, die within feet of their exclusive holiday home while her toddler son played on the shore? Pony's death opens a whole Pandora's box of questions: who is her son's father? Who was the man a neighbour saw arguing with her only hours before she died? What had she meant to tell William, her older brother, whom she had summoned to the house that day? William is absolutely shattered by his favourite sister's death, and as he begins to challenge the official version of events he makes a devastating and very personal discovery. And how should he respond to Keith Brink, a stranger who spoke at Pony's funeral, and has now begun to insinuate his way into the life of their vulnerable younger sister, Mira?

Review by Ben Macnair (310713) Rating (7/10)

Review by Ben Macnair
Rating 7/10
The Crime writer Pam Lewis has drawn a tight web of intrigue in her latest novel Perfect Family.

The Carteret’s are a well off, seemingly perfect family, but as is often the case, the family has dark secrets of its own.Pony, the rebel daughter of the family is found dead in the waters of Lake Aral, and although she is a strong swimmer, it looks like it was a tragic accident. William, her brother, and the only son of the family has other ideas. Why did she swim out by her own? Why did she leave her baby son on the shore by the lake? Why had she called him, to reveal a secret on the day of her death? All of these questions are answered through the course of the novel, although the ripples will be felt by every member of the family, particularly Jasper, the Cartaret’s stubborn, authoritarian patriarch.

Pony was a popular member of the family, but her death is the second to have an impact on he family, for their mother died many years ago. William and Jasper have a difficult, and fractious relationship, William’s sister Tinker has issues of her own, and the wider family, especially William’s flamboyant Aunt, and his Mother’s sister have secrets of their own they need to share.

William is the oldest of the Carteret children, and in fact has a different father. His biological father is a completely different man to Jasper, and the two men share a love of the outdoors, and the wilds of America, although his father is dead by the time William realises the truth about his biological heritage.

The book has a number of other narrative twists, and any more would spoil it for readers who might want to read this well written study in character and psychological thrills.
Ben Macnair (31st July 2013)