Lily Atwood has a perfect life. She is a popular journalist on her local television station, she’s beautiful, and she has a darling daughter who loves penguins. She has the perfect house, the perfect nanny, the perfect Instagram. Everyone loves Lily. And she makes perfection look so effortless.
Her producer, Greer, should know that Lily’s life looks perfect. She’s the one who has helped create that perfect façade. But what’s behind it? Greer doesn’t really know, because Lily won’t let even her get too close to the perfection. They work so closely together on their stories, but they don’t go for drinks together, they don’t hang out on weekends, they don’t share secrets. So Greer doesn’t know that Lily is actually sitting on two big secrets that could destroy that perfect life she’s worked so hard on. But she’s about to find out more than she bargained for.
When Lily was just a kid herself, her older sister Cassie went missing after her first semester of college. The police swore that they were working hard on the case, but as time went by and the clues dried up, the case went cold. Now it’s been over twenty years, and Lily still can’t help but wonder if her sister is still alive.
And then she gets a phone call, a source, a man calling himself Smith and offering Lily stories. And as she and Greer follow-up on the stories that Smith leaks to them, they find legitimate stories. They don’t know how Smith comes across these leads, but they are gold. But then he calls Greer and wants to meet with her. Alone. And he gives her one more lead to check out—Lily’s missing sister Cassie.
Greer goes to meet with Smith, and she finds out that he is a private detective and his client is the father to Lily’s daughter. He wants to meet her daughter, but Lily keeps him away from her. Smith asks Greer to set up a meeting between father and daughter, and then maybe Smith will help facilitate a meeting between Lily and her long-lost sister, something heartwarming that that the viewers will love. Greer finds herself pulled into his story, and she decides to go along with it.
But the more Lily learns about Smith and his theories about what happened to Cassie all those years ago, she finds herself trying to make sense of what he’s saying and if it fits in with her memories of when she had gone missing. Smith says that she’s alive, and that she’s in danger now, and only Lily can help draw her out to keep her safe. But Lily wonders if she can really trust Smith after all? Is it possible tat Cassis has been alive all this time? Why had she not contacted Lily?
And what would happen to her perfect life if all these secrets came to light?
Hank Phillippi Ryan is back with Her Perfect Life, another taut thriller about the secrets we keep to protect ourselves and the lies we are willing to tell to protect those secrets. Her Perfect Life is a smart novel about the lengths we go to to protect our family and how the truth finds its way to the surface. Ryan is known for her tightly written thrillers about professional women and their secrets and sacrifices, and this one definitely fits in that genre.
I really liked Her Perfect Life. I love these characters, and I thought Lily especially was a fantastic character that I would love to read more about. If you’re looking for a deep dive into family secrets and a slow unraveling of the truth, then this is the perfect book to curl up with.
Egalleys for Her Perfect Life were provided by Macmillan/Forge Books through NetGalley, with many thanks.
