Synopsis
What is ‘perfect’ trying to hide?
Jen Garner tries her best to be ‘wife and mother of the year’. She helps organise school plays and accompanies her husband to company dinners, all with a big smile on her face.
But Jen has started to receive strange gifts in the post … first flowers, then a sympathy card.
It could just be a joke; that’s what she tells herself. But then the final ‘gift’ arrives, and Jen has to question why somebody is so intent on shattering her life into pieces …
Book 1 – Lisa Carter Files. Book 2 – A Silent Child
Available as an eBook & audiobook on all platforms. Paperback available from all good book shops and online stores.
Claire Sheldon
Claire lives in Nottingham with her family, a cat called Whiskers and a dog called Podrick.
She suffers from Multiple Sclerosis and as a result of the disease had to reduce her hours working in insurance for an Insolvency Insurer. This spare time enabled her to study a creative writing course which inspired her to write her debut, Perfect Lie.
When Claire isn’t working she enjoys reading crime novels and listening to music – the band Jimmy Eat World is her biggest muse. Claire is also an avid reader and book blogger. The inspiration for her novels comes from the hours spent watching The Bill with her grandparents and auntie; then later, Spooks and other detective programmes like Morse, A Touch of Frost and Midsummer Murders.
 |
 |
 |
|---|
5* Excellent
An eye catching book cover for Claire Sheldon’s fabulous debut novel.
Written throughout from several points of view, this gripping thriller begins with a normal day for Jen, happily married with two children, and the nearby discovery of a woman’s body.
What follows is the unravelling of Jen’s perfect life when, to protect her family, she is forced to disappear from home and re-enter her past life of crime and violence.
The nightmare continues as the police search for Jen, now a missing person, before she becomes another victim.
At times quite unsettling, Perfect Life is a compelling read that I thoroughly recommend. A thrilling plot with plenty of unexpected twists and turns.
I’m not usually a fan of detective stories but this novel really stands out. Jen is living the life of a normal wife and mother, like many of us. However what is the real truth? The story has so many twists and turns that you won’t see coming but never loses the fact that Jen and her husband are characters we care about and we want to learn the truth. Even the main detectives are interesting characters in their own right. I throughly enjoyed this book and did not want to put it down. Very satisfying ending too! Highly recommend!
If you like your books to be full of suspense, drama, tension, twists and turns then you’re in for a treat. Belter of a page-turner.
This is a very well crafted tale. It is a story which starts in a very familiar setting in which Jen is an housewife who loves her husband and family. In a very short space of time her history is brought to meet her present. She takes the only way out but nothing seems to be as it should be. I loved the way the crimes were brought to life, played out and ultimately sorted. It is all the more scary as so subtle. I was lulled into a false sense of security by the opening chapters but then couldn’t put it down. The relationships between the characters are very believable and by the time you finish this book you will look at all your relationships closely!
This was a great read, from an exciting new author, a completely believable story that had me hooked from the first page. A tight plot with twists and beautifully drawn characters. I lost a weekend to reading it, but enjoyed every minute. There was no way I was putting it down until I’d finished. Great story, great characters. Thank you Claire Sheldon for Perfect Lie and I can’t wait for her next book especially as the next one will follow the same characters.
A debut novel that gripped me from the first page. This book has many twists that keep you reading and guessing. I definitely recommend you read this book if you love a good mystery. I honestly cannot believe it was the first book by this author. Its also the part of a series…. so I’m ready to read book 2, A Silent Child next.
brilliant……..loved the characters……couldn’t put it down……now searching for more from Claire.