Hello everyone and welcome to a brand new edition of Lil Red’s Book Club! In a spoiler free setting, as always, we are going to be discussing a thriller by Nicole Trope called A Perfectly Nice Family. This is the second book of Trope’s that I have read and it was pretty good! It didn’t blow my mind but it was still a solid, twisty suspense novel. After breezing through this book in three sittings, I am excited to start the second book in the Stillhouse Lake series next! Before we begin our chat, I will be placing a trigger warning on A Perfectly Nice Family for disturbing content, general violence, and sexual violence. Now, let’s get to it:

Stephanie is a divorced mother of two to sixteen year old Luke and twelve year old Avery and she is barely getting by. She works part time while trying to obtain a degree, care for her children, and budget like crazy to make ends meet. It doesn’t help that child support from her ex-husband, Doctor Christopher Gordan, is so sporadic and she is sick and tired of begging him to do better. However, a change in luck might put Stephanie’s financial troubles at bay. Thanks to a suggestion from her best friend, Gail, she has decided to rent the granny flat behind her home to a struggling family called the Kemps. They recently lost their home in a fire and need somewhere to stay until they gather their bearings.

In a mere few days, the Kemps have moved in. Husband and wife, Cecilia and Jason, as well as their fifteen year old daughter, Polly. Although she knows that this family has been through a lot, Stephanie can’t help but feel that she has made a big mistake. Jason might be kind and friendly but Cecelia and Polly are a different story. They are rude, mean spirited, and all around off putting. Each respective member of the family seems to be constantly at Stephanie’s door with a request or a complaint. They have signed a six month lease and it promises to be the longest six months of Stephanie and her kids’ lives.

Shortly after the Kemps move in, things in Stephanie’s home begin to fall apart. A broken dishwasher, rotted window frames, and busted pipes occur within weeks. All repairs that Stephanie simply can’t afford to make. She has been suspicious of the Kemps since their arrival. There are no traces of them on the internet and their strange demeanor can’t go unnoticed. But, surely, they are A Perfectly Nice Family, right? Unfortunately, they are far from it and the damage that the Kemps are causing is just beginning. What is their end game? Read this book to find out!

A Perfectly Nice Family fell under my “good but not great” category. I did enjoy the quick read, though! This book went back and forth between Stephanie, Cecilia, and Avery and I loves me a back and forth narrator. It’s always interesting to read the different perspectives and watch as the pieces begin to come together! As far as the plot went, it was a classic Lifetime Movie novel (As Johnny calls my books!) through and through… Strangers are introduced, strange things start happening, and you know the rest. It wasn’t the most inspired story I have ever read but it definitely kept me turning the pages. Even though I easily figured out the grand reveal! Detective Lil Red on the case!

My primary issue with A Perfectly Nice Family were the characters. While I was, of course, rooting for Stephanie and her family, I failed to feel any kind of connection with them. They just seemed to be there to move the plot along and, of course, I sympathized with them deeply but I didn’t have a fondness for them. The Kemps were terrible, to be sure, but every character felt surface level at best with little to no development. If I could have hooked onto just one person in this book, I think I would have liked it better. It just didn’t work out that way.

Overall, I am going to rate A Perfectly Nice Family with a six out of ten stars. This is a thriller you can take or leave. It was fine for what it was but it’s also fine if you skip on it!

Have you read any of Nicole Trope’s books before? What did you think of them? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah