Book Review: The Perfect Daughter | Joseph Souza

With The Neighbor and Pray for the Girl, Joseph Souza proved himself a master of twisty and unpredictable psychological suspense. In this riveting new novel, a mother is unwittingly drawn into the dark underbelly of her picture-perfect Maine town . . .

Shepherd’s Bay has been home to generations of lobstermen and their families. Lately, affluent newcomers have been buying up waterfront property and mingling uneasily with the locals. Tensions are high, especially since Blair Pryce—a teenage boy from the wealthier side of town—disappeared weeks ago. But another disturbing incident soon follows.

When high school junior Katie Lee and her friend, Willow Briggs, fail to come home after a night out, Katie’s mother, Isla, is frantic. Two agonizing days go by before Katie is found, bruised and bloodied, yet alive. Isla is grateful. But Willow, a wealthy newcomer from Los Angeles, is still missing. And Katie can’t remember anything about the night their disappearance.

Isla tries to help her daughter sort through her hazy recollections, and to recall the truth of her tangled friendship with privileged, beautiful Willow. At the hair salon she owns, Isla hears dark whispers about wild parties, drug deals, and love triangles gone wrong. How much truth is in the gossip? Is Blair’s disappearance linked to the others? And what other shocking secrets lie at the heart of Shepherd’s Bay—and of the family Isla is struggling to hold together?

Reflection

This is my first Joseph Souza book and I was excited to read it because I know he has a lot of fans! Quick paced, intriguing mystery, and some good twists—it definitely lived up to the author’s hype.

The setting in a coastal town in Maine had me transported right out of the Midwest. While I saw the town as an adorable get away, leading lady Isla sees Shepherd’s Bay as the town she always dreamed of escaping, but never did. Returning home without a college degree and with all of her dreams slipping away, Isla married high school basketball star Ray and lives a life she always thought she didn’t want.

Now, with a high school-aged daughter of their own, Isla helps support their family by offering pricey haircuts to the wealthy clients of the salon she owns. But when Katie fails to return home one night, Isla quickly forgets her other worries. Katie isn’t at her friends’ houses, and Katie’s friend Willow is missing as well.

But when Katie shows up a few days later with no memory of what happened, things get even stranger. Where is Willow? And what happened to Katie during those missing days?

I loved all of the gossip in this small town. Afterall, that is the thing small towns do best—gossip spreads like wild fire through the residents, and secrets don’t stay buried for long!

Meanwhile the local police officer is of course Isla’s ex-boyfriend from high school—another classic small town phenomena! In a town where no one moves on, those pesky old relationships always seem to resurface. And Isla needs Karl’s help, so I’m sure you can guess where this is going…

I loved the juxtaposition between the socioeconomic status of the townspeople. The wealthy clients at the salon were in such stark contrast to Isla and Ray (and other characters) financial struggles. The conflict between the privileged and less privileged was a fascinating element to this mystery. I also loved the feeling that a dark force was at work within the small town of Shepherd’s Bay.

Well-plotted and twisty, this was a great mystery to lose myself in!

Thank you to Kensington Books and TLC Book Tours for my copy. Opinions are my own.