by Ellen LaCorte
Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Jun 2019
304 pages
Genre: Thrillers
Publication Information
In this propulsive debut thriller, two women with deep secrets are thrown together by an unexpected meeting that plunges both their lives into chaos. But it's a sick little girl whose fate hangs in the balance.
Motherhood is tough. But then, so is daughterhood. When we first meet Claire, she's living in Sedona, Arizona with her boyfriend Cal and ducking calls from her mother. Her mom is a world class psychic on the East Coast and Claire doesn't want her to discover the truth. Claire works in the family business and calls herself a psychic, but she doesn't really have "the gift" and hasn't for a long time. She's a fraud.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the country, Rena, a young mother, has family issues of her own. She's divorced and her four-year-old daughter, Stephanie, suffers from mysterious, seemingly incurable stomach problems. No matter how many specialists Rena drags her to, no matter how many mommy-blog posts she makes about her child's health issues, trying to get help and support from her online community, Stephanie only gets sicker.
When Claire and Rena meet by chance on an airplane, their carefully constructed lives begin to explode. Can these two women help each other and can they help Stephanie before it's too late?
"This is a dark, dark thriller, and the villain is absolute. But alternating voices allow for a more nuanced building of tension as LaCorte contrasts this darkness to Claire's own fragile optimism." - Kirkus Reviews
"[An] accomplished page-turning debut...Those who like a dash of the supernatural in their thrillers will be well satisfied." - Publishers Weekly
"LaCorte's debut novel combines a darkly twisted plot with excellent character building, and the eerily realistic setting nicely supports the haunting narrative. This is psychological suspense with a gut-clenching finale, perfect for readers of Gillian Flynn and Brandon Massey." - Booklist
"Be sure to set aside a full few hours because once you begin, you won't be able to stop. The Perfect Fraud is exactly what a good book should be—a dazzling plot, unforgettable characters, emotional depth—all presented in a fresh new voice that is sure to make Ellen LaCorte a household name." - Aimee Molloy, author of The Perfect Mother
"A slow motion train wreck that won't let you look away, The Perfect Fraud is a canny examination of the lies we tell to others, but more importantly, the lies we tell ourselves." - Rufi Thorpe, author of The Girls From Corona Del Mar
This information about The Perfect Fraud was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Ellen LaCorte worked for many years in HR. She now writes full time from her home where she lives with her husband in Titusville, New Jersey. She is the mother of two grown sons.
The God of Endings
by Jacqueline Holland
A suspenseful debut that weaves a story of love, history and myth through the eyes of one immortal woman.
Once We Were Home
by Jennifer Rosner
From the author of The Yellow Bird Sings, a novel based on the true stories of children stolen in the wake of World War II.
To win without risk is to triumph without glory
Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
