Her Perfect Life
By Hank Phillippi Ryan
I figured it all out. That is not necessarily a bad thing.
The book didn’t have a satisfactory ending. That is a bad thing.
A satisfactory ending doesn’t mean a happy ending. One characteristic of a satisfactory ending is that any loose ends are tied up at the end of the story. There were plenty of loose ends to be addressed, both in the past and present timeframes. What are the secrets kept by Lily, the perfect reporter with the seemingly perfect life? What happened to Lily’s sister Cassie, who disappeared when she was 18? Who is the mysterious Mr. Smith and why does he keep calling Lily with potential story leads? There’s nothing wrong with including twists, but too many dilutes the story. These are a few loose ends that are tied up at the end of the book. Even if you’ve figured out the main story (like me), you appreciate seeing all of the pieces put together.
A satisfactory ending also shows how the characters are impacted by the events of the story. This is where the book falls short, because the ending just pushes a reset button. The characters have learned very little from the events that have little impact on many of the characters. Even the character with a bad outcome declares that since they built themselves up before, they will just move somewhere else and do exactly what they had done before.
Her Perfect Life had a promising start. Using three different narrators fleshed out the story. Since events were happening in multiple locations, the narrators were able to show important situations and how they were viewed by the participants. I did like the initial premise. Unfortunately, the ending didn’t live up to my expectations.
Thank you, NetGalley and Forge Books, for providing an Advanced Review Copy.
