Rach's Reading Club

Such a Perfect Family
by Nalini Singh

"A man with a deadly past marries into the perfect, most respectable family in this riveting thriller from New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh. . . .

A woman buried.
A woman broken.
A woman crashed.
A woman burned.
And the man who knew them all.

Love at first sight, a whirlwind Vegas wedding, a fairy-tale romance.

For forty-three days, Tavish Advani has been the happiest man in the world—until his new life turns to ash, his wealthy in-laws’ house going up in a fiery explosion. His badly injured wife lies in a coma, her family all but annihilated.

Tavish thought he'd left the sins of his Los Angeles life behind, but it’s not so easy to leave behind an investigation into the deaths of several high-profile women—all of whom he'd professed to love. Tragedy and death follow him no matter where he goes . . . but this time, he knows he’s innocent.

Desperately trying to clear his name as the authorities zero in, Tavish begins his own investigation into the fire—and learns that his wife’s picture-perfect family may have been nothing but a meticulously constructed mirage. The truth is much darker than anything Tavish could’ve imagined. . . ."


So I thought this would go for January but decided to put it in July. I love this author's archangel series... she does paranormal romance very well. This... I don't even know how to process. I did read it all. I didn't read the description before checking it out from the library though. I should have. I probably wouldn't have checked it out. Am I glad I read it? I'm not sure. It was not something that edified my brain in any way. It was, ironically, more "thrilling" than the last "thriller" I read. But it was only a page turner in places. And it took a while to get to like Tavish, even though he's supposed to be such a charming guy. The hints of his past sins were overblown for what he really did, which probably didn't help his likeability.

Basically, lots of family secrets from three families are revealed (Tavish's, his new wifes, and her brother's wife and her family). The villain was who I expected, though there is one person who did accidentally kill someone and I hadn't expected that (revealed near the end).

I did like the end, except that (SPOILER skip the rest of this paragraph if you don't want a spoiler) there was one big loose thread... maybe I missed something? As I mentioned, I wasn't exactly riveted most of the time, so it's possible. But the USA obsessed police officer's notes indicated Tavish would be arrested within a few days... then nothing ever came of that. I know that someone else was convicted of the murder, but the arrest notes were for financial malfeasance, of which he probably was guilty... so how did that get dropped? They never say. I think it should have been explained. Would only have taken a line. But again, maybe it was there and I missed it. It just seemed weird.

The big thread of the story was that people whose mother didn't love them can end up seriously messed up. Tavish worked out his messed up ness and found a healthy obsession (loving his new wife).

In solving the mystery of who killed Tavish's new wife's parents, the mysteries of other "accidental" deaths that were really murders came to light and, in the end, were mentally resolved by Tavish, though he didn't share all of these conclusions with the world, which was also interesting.

The most interesting things for me were the insights into Indian culture and New Zealand culture and geography. Some of the places sounded amazing. I wish I could go see them for myself.

I had forgotten until right now, that I think she had written at least one thriller before and it was set in New Zealand too. That one was even more weird. But more gripping maybe, if I remember correctly. I guess this is her thing now. She's okay at this, but she's great at paranormal romantic suspense. I hope she goes back to it.

There was a slight paranormal element to this book... but I'd have to do another spoiler to share it. I thought it was well done though. I was very happy the truth came out, for Diya's sake, and the deceased who created the paranormal events finally had the truth too and could rest in peace.

I just finished this today and my thoughts aren't all consolidated, but I didn't review the last two books yet so I figure I ought to review while it's fresh. Better a stream of consciousness review than none at all.