Susan's Review of Perfectly Famous by Emily Liebert

As a mother and a famous author, Ward DeFleur has it all. She lives in a beautiful estate in picture-perfect Connecticut, along with her teenage daughter, Stevie, where nothing can go wrong. Until, one night, when Stevie is brutally murdered and Ward’s entire world is shattered. Consumed by panic and grief, Ward vows never to put pen to paper again.

Enter Bree Bennett.

Bree is a recently-divorced, former-journalist-cum-housewife, desperate to fill her days with something other than Pilates classes and grocery shopping. So she decides to start writing for the town newspaper. What begins as Bree’s effort to tell Ward’s tragic narrative turns into a fixation with finding her favorite author. Unfortunately, Ward doesn’t want to be found. Even worse, Stevie’s killer is still on the loose…

A chance encounter connects journalist Bree Bennett with author Ward DeFleur. On paper, the two woman have a lot in common; both have 16 year old daughters, live in the same town and both of them write for a living. The well-defined, complex characters and the fast-paced plot drew me into the story immediately.

Emily Liebert tells the story of bestselling author Ward DeFleur and Journalist Bree Bennet from the first person viewpoint by alternating chapters. I enjoyed this narrative choice because I was able to understand each characters feelings and motivations. This technique also heightened both the tension and the mystery elements in this page turner. Ward DeFleur is a bestselling author who vanishes after her daughter is kidnapped and dies. Ward disappears without a trace. Bree feels a connection with Ward and decides to tell Ward’s story.

The author creates outstanding female characters in this book. Loved Bree’s relationship with her mom and best friend Maggie. Bree’s mom is hilarious. She cares for Bree by trying to fix her up on dates with her friend’s sons. And she advises Bree to update her Facebook page with a photo with makeup. A subtle way of saying Bree needs to step up her image to find her next husband. Maggie is Bree’s true north friend-they share everything. Maggie is a psychologist and understands Bree’s need to move on emotionally. The push pull relationship between teenage Chloe and Bree was spot on. I understood Bree’s desire to reinvent herself after her divorce. She’s no longer someone’s wife; and her cookie baking and carpool days are behind her.

I figured out who was out to get Ward early on in the novel and I was patiently waiting for Bree to put the puzzle pieces together. I was invested in Bree’s desire to find Ward and to tell her story. The mystery of Ward’s disappearance held my interest—how can someone disappear in this age of the internet and social media?

In my opinion, the last few chapters seamed rushed and didn’t resonate with the feel of the book. I felt that the conclusion was more dramatic than suspenseful. The last page came out of nowhere and I have had a hard time believing the resolution.

Would I read another book by this author? Yes, I would. I enjoyed the fast paced suspenseful storyline and thought the characters of Bree, Maggie and Chloe and Ward were complex yet, very relatable.

Reviewed by Susan Gorman

ARC provided by Net Galley