The Perfect Child

A Washington Post and Amazon Charts bestseller.

A page-turning debut of suspense about a young couple desperate to have a child of their own--and the unsettling consequences of getting what they always wanted.

Christopher and Hannah are a happily married surgeon and nurse with picture-perfect lives. All that's missing is a child. When Janie, an abandoned six-year-old, turns up at their hospital, Christopher forms an instant connection with her, and he convinces Hannah they should take her home as their own.

But Janie is no ordinary child, and her damaged psyche proves to be more than her new parents were expecting. Janie is fiercely devoted to Christopher, but she acts out in increasingly disturbing ways, directing all her rage at Hannah. Unable to bond with Janie, Hannah is drowning under the pressure, and Christopher refuses to see Janie's true nature.

Hannah knows that Janie is manipulating Christopher and isolating him from her, despite Hannah's attempts to bring them all together. But as Janie's behavior threatens to tear Christopher and Hannah apart, the truth behind Janie's past may be enough to push them all over the edge.

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Published Mar 1, 2019

370 pages

Average rating: 7.28

301 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

What Bookclubbers are saying about this book

✨ Summarized by Bookclubs AI

Readers say *The Perfect Child* by Lucinda Berry is a gripping psychological thriller with vivid writing and a dark, disturbing atmosphere. Reviewers ...

Paolas_shelf
Dec 28, 2022
6/10 stars
While each chapter did keep me wanting more, WTF KIND OF ENDING WAS THAT? or I guess what kind of ending was it not? Who ends a book that way…? I feel like the author just decided to quit writing the book!
Nesie.marie
May 06, 2023
6/10 stars
The story was fine, once I started it I wanted to finish it so I could find out exactly what was going on. Parts of the book were frustrating because one of the main character’s was so blind to what was actually going on— I wanted to reach into the book and shake them. I was really sad about how two of the characters stories unfolded. All in all I’d say it is worth a read, but I wouldn’t say you’ll love it.
Mary Pat Holt
Feb 05, 2026
8/10 stars
Another debut novel to start off 2025. This is definitely dark and disturbing but also predictable. Christopher and Hannah are a happily married surgeon/nurse couple. They desperately want a child and when 6-year-old Janie turns up abandoned in the hospital she seems to be the answer to their prayer. Christopher forms an instant connection to the little girl. Hannah is a bit more hesitant but willing to bring Janie home to foster and eventually adopt. Janie is damaged way more than they ever imagined. Hannah has a hard time connecting with Janie. Christopher is an idiot.
Cori Jensen
Jan 26, 2026
6/10 stars
Remember "The Good Son"? That, but make it a girl and set it in the 2020's. Page turning suspense for a plot that was largely unrealized. The social worker angle could have been written so much better. Constantly talking about how close she was with the family, but that never hit because she just was not.
The ending deserves 0 stars. Still got 3 stars overall because this book genuinely made my breasts ACHE at the description of mastestotus and infection.
Ladybu68
Oct 17, 2025
10/10 stars
Sooo good! Full of suspense, twists and turns. Could not put it down!

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