A Perfect Psychological Thriller

The focus of this blog is Leonbergers but sometimes I post about books that are not about Leonbergers but are books that I love, and I therefore want to promote. This time I would like to promote Perfect by P.J. Gudka – April 3, 2026. In this book P.J. Gudka, or Pooja, tells a dark and very suspenseful story about family secrets, generational curses, teenage love, and murder. I bought the paperback edition.

• Paperback –  Publisher : Wild Ink Publishing (April 3, 2026), ISBN-10 : 1964885639, ISBN-13 : 978-1964885636, 322 pages, Item Weight : 13.1 ounces, dimensions : 5.5 x 0.81 x 8.5 inches, it currently cost $ $14.99 on US Amazon. Click here to order it from Amazon.com.
• Kindle – Publisher : Wild Ink Publishing (April 5, 2026), ASIN : B0GS3RJJJC, 317 pages. It is currently $3.99 on Amazon.com free with kindle unlimited. Click here to order it from Amazon.com.

Amazon’s description of the book

A mother protecting her son.

A boy spiraling into darkness.

A girl who never stood a chance

Sally thinks she’s succeeded in breaking generational curses until she finds out her eldest son, James, is the prime suspect in Lily Johnson’s murder. After years of bliss, she’s forced to revisit dark family secrets she believed she had left behind. Even more unsettling is that the deeper she digs, the more she realizes that she may not know James as well as she thought.

James is certainly not the perfect son his mother believes he is. In fact, he has always felt painfully different from everyone around him- until he meets Lily Johnson. Initially, their relationship seems flawless, but soon the cracks begin to show, leaving James questioning everything- including his own sanity and just how far he’ll go to protect the girl he loves.]

After her father’s death, Lily’s mother marries Paul- a man Lily despises. And if that wasn’t devastating enough, Paul moves their family to the small town he grew up in. They thought Lily would be safer there, but little did they know that the small town holds secrets none of them could have ever imagined. Secrets some would kill to protect. And Lily finds herself in the middle of it all.

Perfect is an emotionally gripping psychological domestic thriller that explores the impact of dark family secrets and the generational trauma it leads to. It will have readers questioning how well any of us know those we love and how far we’re willing to go to protect them.

This is my five-star review of the book Perfect by P.J. Gudka. Click here to see my review on Amazon

Lies, rage, powerlessness, suffering, and why nothing can be Perfect

Perfect is a psychological thriller, or perhaps psychological horror. Sally grew up under horrible circumstances, and her first marriage was a cruel disaster. However, now she has a wonderful family, and she wants it to be perfect. She has a wonderful husband, John, and three great children including the oldest James, who is a good student and he plays football for his school. There is also John Jr, and Sophia.

James has a girlfriend named Lily. As it turns out James is far from perfect and Lily is far from perfect, and Lily has a very imperfect family. As it turns out, the friends of the family, the friends of her children, the town, the school, the teachers, everyone is imperfect. Almost nobody is truly good, smart and honest, just like in real life. Unhappiness and ruined dreams are the ghosts that haunt many of the characters. Perfect does not exist.

When Lily is found dead and it is determined that she has been murdered, James becomes the prime suspect. The death of a child is every parent’s worst nightmare. Well, there is one nightmare that is worse, and that is if your child is suspected of being the murderer and you don’t know what the truth is.

The book continues by telling stories from the perspectives of different people, particularly Sally, James, and Lily. The stories are character driven and delve into subjective experiences, subconscious drives, moral dilemmas, and emotional complexity. The author focuses a lot on why the characters behave as they do and explain their actions through internal reasoning. I love how the author does this. She shifts the story telling between objective depictions of everyday life and subjective psychological truths. She presents a realistic and insightful portrayal of the mind. It felt very real as if this was a lived experience by the author (well I hope not). The stories are dark and reveal shocking secrets. These surprises do not spring upon you out of the blue sky; they very much make sense within the overall narrative.

More than anything this is a suspenseful and captivating story. I found it very difficult to put down the book because I found myself really caring for the characters, and there was so much family drama, so many mysteries and, well, sadness and shocks too. In fact, I can’t get the book out of my head. It is a dark book but a great book. It is a book that changes your perspective on life. The lives of the characters may not be perfect but the story telling is. I highly recommend this book.

About the Author

With almost thirty thousand followers on her blog and over ten thousand followers across social media platforms, she has been able to turn her hobby into her full-time passion. Her writing has been published in bestsellers like Hidden In Childhood: A Poetry Anthology as well as multiple magazines.

Website: https://lifesfinewhine.ca/

In the past I have reviewed and posted about another book by P.J. Gudka, All the Words I Kept Inside. Truths Never Before Told Now Revealed with Powerful Poems. Click here to read it.