The Perfect Ruin: A Riveting New Psychological Thriller

This book falls short in a lot of ways. The execution is poor across the board: it’s married to the current fad of a “twist” (what used to be called an O’Henry ending) and everything else is sacrificed to the twist. The characters are underdeveloped with incomprehensible motives, a setting that could have added depth and texture is wasted in cliches, the plot is senseless and the writing is serviceable at best. But I want the author to write the sequel she set up at the end and work on all of these issues. Because the only writing in the entire book that came alive was her acknowledgments and reading those I started to root for the writer. SPOILERS AHEAD!Revenge is a juicy topic and should have fueled the entire book. But the psychology is muddled and nonsensical and doesn’t match up to real life even for people who have been damaged by the trauma of losing a family member to a careless driver. Our protagonist, Ivy, has enough psychological problems that they couldn’t have developed only in response to a single trauma. The author hints at erotomania and obsessive compulsive disorder, directed at people is the wishy washy explanation given as psychological motives but ignores what is known and speculated about these disorders. The author invents psychology based on neither knowledge or observation and I wondered if she’d ever actually met any other human beings. Self-hating codependence is the final explanation given for our heroine but we don’t know why or how and it doesn’t coincide with what little we’re told. Ivy’s behavior doesn’t match up to any of this so it’s a waste of words. The motive for revenge is already a problem. The reader doesn’t believe in the character or why the character is doing such terrible things.Like the protagonist, the antagonist is an unbelievable mess too. The author removes any genuine responsibility for the tragedy from the evil rich lady, making it just a tragedy and removing the moral imperative for vengeance. Then there is the “twist” character, the butler that did it (in this case literally) that nobody is supposed to see coming and the reader mostly doesn’t but only because her motives are just as ridiculous and over the top and unbelievable as everyone else’s motives are. Again, has this author ever met any other people? The reader just can’t believe that the woman wouldn’t just quit her job. No contract is that iron clad. There are other jobs, especially at that level of service. Nor can we believe that the employer would fight to have the blackmailing housekeeper that hates her installed for an additional ten years after the first ten years! Who wants a blackmailer near them? It makes no sense because the only thing the woman is seen to do is mix drinks and act creepy. Why would any person want this for the first ten years much less the second ten years? Everyone is trying to extort and/or blackmail the evil rich lady about a car accident that was in fact an accident when the juicy tidbit, that the charity she runs is a front from which she funnels the money into her own pocket to maintain her millionaire lifestyle, something actually worth concern especially when combined with the fact that this famous lady isn’t famous for anything, not even as an influencer, is dropped in as an afterthought. Now there’s a motive worth blackmailing and murdering for! But it’s not even explored because everything is in service of the ridiculous twist.But then at the end the author sets up the sequel. The psychologist that treated Ivy and accepted a bribe (again in absolutely ridiculous circumstances) is trying to thwart Georgia and clear the now jailed Ivy. To Hades with the stupid twist. Learn some psychology and read the thriller and mystery writers that came before and I would happily pay my book money to read about a flawed but decent person going up against a sociopath. But Georgia needs more motivation than the ridiculous $10M, the acquisition of which again makes no sense. It would be genuinely suspenseful to see the psychologist heroine overmatched by the evil she’s chasing. And make us understand Georgia too. Because the reader can sympathize with a character that is terrible if they’re written well. Think of the Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith.My advice? Read. Writers have to be readers first and your work doesn’t read like you love books and stories. Read Patricia Highsmith and Dorothy Hughes for what top women were doing in the golden age. Read Walter Mosley and Ross MacDonald for how a recurring character and setting is handled and for beautiful language. Read Lianne Moriarty (Big Little Lies only), Ira Levin and Dashiell Hammett to see how plots go together like a Swiss watch as Stephen King put it. Read Dope by Sara Gran to see an O’Henry ending done well and setting used to marvelous effect. Read. And please learn some psychology both from formal reading and from observation of human beings because not one of these characters bore any resemblance to a person.I guess I panned and encouraged both. I want the author to do better because I would love to read about the kind psychologist going up against the sociopath, overmatched and behind the eightball already when her quarry doesn’t get on the right flight. I’d pre-order that but only if these other issues are addressed.TL;DR. For mystery and thriller readers of even the slightest experience and sophistication I would recommend taking the biggest possible pass on this one. The author is a nice lady and a hard worker but this book is practice at best.

Shanora Williams takes us on a ride like no other and just when you think you know the direction of Ivy Hill's journey to revenge, there are sharp detours that will ever so subtly make your jaw drop. I was truly blown away by how she crafted this new venture and I'll just say this: you will be on the edge of your seat from start to finish while devouring this incredible book.I couldn't put it down and loved that Williams has conquered yet another genre like only she can.Hold on tight, you will experience a thriller like no other. Really well done, The Perfect Ruin deserves all the stars and more!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book by Shanora Williams and simply could not put it down. It grabbed me from the very first page and took me on a fantastic ride. A revenge tale with all the bells, the book twisted and turned like a roller coaster, then offered a bang of an ending. Ms. Williams is a talented writer who captures the real essence of her characters while putting forth a well written story. This book was recommended to me, and I am delighted to have read it! Kudos, Ms. Williams!!!

3.5 rounded to 4 Stars!Ivy Hill’s parents were killed when she was young and she was raised in foster homes. She had a very tough life and was a difficult teenager, often landing herself in trouble. The book opens with her as an adult, visiting a counsellor to work through her feelings. When she is ready to be discharged, she is given the name of the person who destroyed her world. She devises a plot to infiltrate Lola Maxwell's life and ruin everything for her, even better, she wants to take over her life and it seems like she might just get what she wants.The Perfect Ruin is an entertaining story. There were parts that were a bit slow for me, so there were times I loved this story, and times it was just okay. It's a multiple POVs storytelling with wonderful narration by Chante Ellison and Nola Vance. I felt for Ivy and all she had gone through, but she crossed the line a few times. For her, it was all about revenge. Lola was a character that I liked one minute, and detested the next. She is rich, pampered, adored and at times, MEAN. She treated her household manager terribly and it cost her a lot.This is one of those books that is over the top, so you need to suspend belief, but if you can do that, it is an interesting story. I was waiting for that moment when my jaw would be on the floor and I would hold my stomach because of the absolute shock of it all and sadly I never got that. A lot of things felt rushed and glossed over to me and I needed to root for SOMEONE. If you love a fast pace revenge story, then this one might be for you.

What a waste of $9.99. Couldn't finish it...deleted it from my Kindle the day after I downloaded it.

Great read, and greater would be the movie. Had me from the first page to the last. Once you start you can't stop.

I really enjoyed this book. To be completely honest I never wanted to put it down, but with a husband and kids I had to at times. As soon as I had time to myself I had my nose in this book. Great read.

This book was suggested for my Bookclub group. It was very good! It kept me interested from the first paragraph. It was weird reading like it was a letter written to someone, then switched voices. It was strange that the main character was supposed to be the crazy one with a host of mental health issues but it was the supporting characters who were the craziest! Lola, Corey, Keke, Georgia… ALL CRAZIER than Ivy! Lololol. Great read!

I enjoy a good psychological thriller and this hits the spot. The writing is polished. The plot is outrageous but makes crazy sense. A page turner that at the end leaves you fulfilled but still wondering..Highly recommend for a beach read!