74th out of 1,076 books
—
1,545 voters
The Perfect Husband (Quincy & Rainie #1)
by
Lisa Gardner
What would you do if the man of your dreams hides the soul of a killer?
Jim Beckett was everything she'd ever dreamed of...But two years after Tess married the decorated cop and bore his child, she helped put him behind bars for savagely murdering ten women. Even locked up in a maximum security prison, he vowed he would come after her and make her pay. Now the cunning kill...more
Jim Beckett was everything she'd ever dreamed of...But two years after Tess married the decorated cop and bore his child, she helped put him behind bars for savagely murdering ten women. Even locked up in a maximum security prison, he vowed he would come after her and make her pay. Now the cunning kill...more
Mass Market Paperback, 432 pages
Published
July 27th 2004
by Bantam
(first published December 1st 1997)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
3,000)
*Rating* 4 Creme Filled Donuts
*Genre* Mystery/Thriller/Romance
*Review*
The Perfect Husband is the first book in what is supposed to be the Quincy/Raine series by Lisa Gardner. FBI profiler Pierce Quincy does play a small part in this series, but it is Theresa (Tess) Williams and J.T. Dillon that the storyline follow throughout the book.
The Perfect Husband is an intense drama with a sick, evil, twisted, and sadistic serial killer named Jim Beckett. Beckett, was once a cop, decides that he needs t...more
*Genre* Mystery/Thriller/Romance
*Review*
The Perfect Husband is the first book in what is supposed to be the Quincy/Raine series by Lisa Gardner. FBI profiler Pierce Quincy does play a small part in this series, but it is Theresa (Tess) Williams and J.T. Dillon that the storyline follow throughout the book.
The Perfect Husband is an intense drama with a sick, evil, twisted, and sadistic serial killer named Jim Beckett. Beckett, was once a cop, decides that he needs t...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Another favorite from Lisa Gardner. It was perfect because the characters were so complicated and bears emotional scars that made them more important or vital to this book. It was fast-paced and in a sense just a simple chase story. The characters were really the gem of this novel.
I love how Tess was the typical victim, meaning that her past made her the perfect bride for a psychopath like Jim. Abused emotionally and physically, she wanted to love and be loved. Typical? Yes, but the difference...more
I love how Tess was the typical victim, meaning that her past made her the perfect bride for a psychopath like Jim. Abused emotionally and physically, she wanted to love and be loved. Typical? Yes, but the difference...more
Disclaimer: This is the second Lisa Gardner book I have read. The previous book of hers I've read was written much later, and I enjoyed that book. This review is about this book only, not about Gardner's ability as a writer.
Unfortunately, I can't say that I liked or enjoyed this book much. The premise, a woman on the run from an insane serial killer, sounded intriguing, but the execution wasn't good.
Usually in a mystery, there is a puzzle, something unknown (such as the identity of the killer)...more
Unfortunately, I can't say that I liked or enjoyed this book much. The premise, a woman on the run from an insane serial killer, sounded intriguing, but the execution wasn't good.
Usually in a mystery, there is a puzzle, something unknown (such as the identity of the killer)...more
A Lisa Gardner tale is always worth the all-nighter I pull to finish the book! Gardner knows how suspense works-taut pacing makes a thriller. Titled the PERFECT HUSBAND because Jim Beckett thinks he is. As a handsome charming Police Officer, Theresa (Tess) can't believe he's interested in her. For years, she lives with an abusive father and unwitting leaps into the marriage bed of the worst sociopath, she can imagine. Jim swore he'd kill his 'perfect wife' for helping the police putting him, Jim...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
This is my first shot at a "suspense/thriller" novel. I am a sucker for romance and also for serial killers...strange but true. My ideal movie night would be "Pretty Woman" followed by "Silence of the Lambs". This little ideosincrasy of mine set me up perfectly to love this book....only I really didn't. Here's why....
1. Tess has been through hell. An physically abusive father and an emotionally abusive and controlling psychopath for a husband. Why couldn't this author have made J.T. Dillon a "h...more
1. Tess has been through hell. An physically abusive father and an emotionally abusive and controlling psychopath for a husband. Why couldn't this author have made J.T. Dillon a "h...more
Mükemmel Koca Lisa Gardner adı gibi mükemmel bir kitap idi...
Orjinal adı The Perfect Husband olan Mükemmel Koca'nın Goodreads puanı 5/3,98 benim puanım 5/5 ..Yazarın diğer kitaplarini da en kısa zamanda okumayı planlıyorum. Harika bir romantik polisiye gerilimdi. Hikayede her şey vardı. Kapaktan ceviri ve edite kadar dört dörtlük bir kitaptı.Sayfaları nasıl çevirdiğimi fark etmedim..
Kocanız hasta ruhlu olsa ne yapardınız? Babasının zulmünden kurtulmak icin genc yasta evlenen Tess'in hayatı cok...more
Orjinal adı The Perfect Husband olan Mükemmel Koca'nın Goodreads puanı 5/3,98 benim puanım 5/5 ..Yazarın diğer kitaplarini da en kısa zamanda okumayı planlıyorum. Harika bir romantik polisiye gerilimdi. Hikayede her şey vardı. Kapaktan ceviri ve edite kadar dört dörtlük bir kitaptı.Sayfaları nasıl çevirdiğimi fark etmedim..
Kocanız hasta ruhlu olsa ne yapardınız? Babasının zulmünden kurtulmak icin genc yasta evlenen Tess'in hayatı cok...more
This was my first foray into romantic suspense, and even though the romance wasn't quite to my taste, this still made for an entertaining and very fast read that would appeal to both romance fans (provided they don't mind a heavy dose of violence, sex, and language), and suspense fans (provided they don't mind the romance angle).
The story centers around Tess, who marries a charming police officer named Jim Beckett. Two years into the marriage, however, Tess discovers that Jim is a sadistic seria...more
The story centers around Tess, who marries a charming police officer named Jim Beckett. Two years into the marriage, however, Tess discovers that Jim is a sadistic seria...more
4,5 estrelas
Minha até à Morte é o primeiro livro que leio de Lisa Gardner. Ouvi falar desta autora e fiquei curiosa. Depois encontrei por acaso este livro na biblioteca e a sinopse deixou-me obcecada. Tinha de o trazer, tinha de o ler!
Originalmente pensei que se tratasse de um Thriller, baseado no casamento de Jim e Tess Becket, na descoberta do verdadeiro carácter do marido, do papel de Tess na sua captura e depois da fuga deste da cadeia e subsequente medo que Tess sentiria por saber que o ex-...more
Minha até à Morte é o primeiro livro que leio de Lisa Gardner. Ouvi falar desta autora e fiquei curiosa. Depois encontrei por acaso este livro na biblioteca e a sinopse deixou-me obcecada. Tinha de o trazer, tinha de o ler!
Originalmente pensei que se tratasse de um Thriller, baseado no casamento de Jim e Tess Becket, na descoberta do verdadeiro carácter do marido, do papel de Tess na sua captura e depois da fuga deste da cadeia e subsequente medo que Tess sentiria por saber que o ex-...more
For you ladies that like your hero to be a straight up good guy this isnt the book for you.. But if you dont mind your hero playing in that gray area then read this book. Tess would have done about anything to get away from her over dominate, basically slave driving father.. So when a handsome cop starts paying attention to her she cant resist him and marries him.. Two years and 1 child later she realizes she made a grave mistake.. For he is a serial killer that has murdered ten women. With Tess...more
Lisa Gardner always leaves me wanting more. The book ends and I'm disappointed because I "know" her characters and I want to keep reading about them.
"The Perfect Husband" is loaded with suspense. It revolves around the life of Theresa "Tess" Beckett. A beautiful young wife and mother living in absolute terror of her husband and police officer Jim Beckett - a sadistic serial killer of young beautiful blonde women.
He is captured with the help of Tess and he vows from the prison that he will kill...more
"The Perfect Husband" is loaded with suspense. It revolves around the life of Theresa "Tess" Beckett. A beautiful young wife and mother living in absolute terror of her husband and police officer Jim Beckett - a sadistic serial killer of young beautiful blonde women.
He is captured with the help of Tess and he vows from the prison that he will kill...more
I have to admit that I had a really hard time getting into this book. The premise seemed promising - woman married to a police officer; woman finds out husband is serial killer; woman hunted by husband until eventual showdown. In theory, this is what took place in the book, however, most of the book was about Tess (the wife) living with a mercenary, J.T., who unwillingly is dragged into training her to fight and their eventual romance. Because romance would CLEARLY be the first thing on the mind...more
I read the fifth in the series first, a couple of months ago, so I had to go back to the first in the series. It's about the hunt for a serial killer, with the killer's wife as the main character. She turned him in once but now he's escaped from prison and she knows he will be coming after her. She hires a mercenary to train her in self defense, and of course they fall for each other. The suspense was riveting and got me through the book in only a day and a half. I scored it only a three, howeve...more
Holy CRAP! Pretty much my thoughts as I read this book. It spooked the hell out of me. I liked it...but really had to sleep with the lights on afterward. Yes I am a bit of a chicken but yeah good book, I thought the story behind it was very creepy but it held my attention like no other. I had to keep going to find out what would happen next scared or not! If you like a good suspenseful book with psychos and ghosts and all things just creepy this is it!
My aunt has talked about this book for awhile and she finally just gifted it to me from Amazon for the Kindle. Wow I have to say that it kept me on the edge of my chair wondering what was going to happen. Her bad guy was BAD, he scared me to the point that I was checking the locks, the windows and the closets before going to bed. He was freaky scary and I hope never to meet someone like him in real life.
I liked that the female, Tess, took control of her life and didn't just let things happen to...more
I liked that the female, Tess, took control of her life and didn't just let things happen to...more
Tess Williams, after a dismal childhood, found herself married to the "perfect husband" who turned out to be her biggest nightmare. After discovering he was responsible for the murder of at least ten women, Tess helped in his capture. Now he's escaped from prison and she knows his ultimate goal is to find her and her daughter and kill her. She decides to go on her own and prepare herself physically and mentally for the inevitable confrontation by hiring a mercenary to train her. J. T. Dillon is...more
A good read, although a tad too much info. for me. Nothing gory, just alot of extra detail I personally didn't think was needed. I kept wanting this author to "get to the point already". Nonetheless it was indeed a good story.
From back cover:
"Jim Beckett was everything she'd ever dreamed of...But two years after Tess married the decorated cop and bore his child, she helped put him behind bars for savagely murdering ten women. Even locked up in a maximum security prision, he vowed he would come a...more
From back cover:
"Jim Beckett was everything she'd ever dreamed of...But two years after Tess married the decorated cop and bore his child, she helped put him behind bars for savagely murdering ten women. Even locked up in a maximum security prision, he vowed he would come a...more
This was the first Lisa Gardner book I read and I absolutely loved it! The title sounds a little misleading (I almost thought it was a romance at first). While there is some romance in it, it is most definately not a G/R. The main character Theresa (Tess) is on the run from her abusive husband who has escaped prison. She has hidden her young daughter away with friends and is determined to learn how to kill Jim, a sociopath with charm a la Ted Bundy. This is also the first of Gardner's books to i...more
Jun 15, 2011
Jane Lee
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
people who love profiling, murder, mystery
I knew that if I wanted to read something disturbing and something that would cajole me out of a good night's sleep, Gardner was one of the authors to run to. The first Gardner book I read was Say Goodbye and even up to now, the book is ingrained into my memory. The book affected me that much although I couldn't quite pinpoint why.
THINGS I LOVED ABOUT THE BOOK:
1. The suspense nearly killed me. I had tons of work to do and I should have been asleep. However, I started reading at 11 p.m. and I cou...more
THINGS I LOVED ABOUT THE BOOK:
1. The suspense nearly killed me. I had tons of work to do and I should have been asleep. However, I started reading at 11 p.m. and I cou...more
A friend of mine told me about this book. I would like to thank her because i have not done anything for the last two days but grip this book so tight in my hands that my muscles are sore. Packed full of supense!! It gave me a couple of chills and alot of "OH MY GOD's". This is my first book i have read by Gardner and for sure not my last. At times i caught myself hold my breathe and thinking.....Holly Crap!!
Jim beckett is Tess's husband/ex-husband and a total sick-o!! Crazy!! A complete Psycho...more
Jim beckett is Tess's husband/ex-husband and a total sick-o!! Crazy!! A complete Psycho...more
What would it feel like to be married to a psychopathic serial killer? Teresa Matthews is only 18 and from an abusive home when the handsome young police officer Jim Beckett proposes to marry her and offer her an escape from her dreary existence. Little does Tess know that soon her life is about to become a lot worse. Suffering psychological and physical abuse from her husband she is also worried that behind Jim’s covert nightly activities lies a terrible secret. As more and more young women dis...more
What would you do if the man of your dreams hides the soul of a killer?
Jim Beckett was everything she'd ever dreamed of...But two years after Tess married the decorated cop and bore his child, she helped put him behind bars for savagely murdering ten women. Even locked up in a maximum security prison, he vowed he would come after her and make her pay. Now the cunning killer has escaped—and the most dangerous game of all begins....
After a lifetime of fear, Tess will do something she's never done...more
Jim Beckett was everything she'd ever dreamed of...But two years after Tess married the decorated cop and bore his child, she helped put him behind bars for savagely murdering ten women. Even locked up in a maximum security prison, he vowed he would come after her and make her pay. Now the cunning killer has escaped—and the most dangerous game of all begins....
After a lifetime of fear, Tess will do something she's never done...more
The first book in the Quincy & Rainie series by Lisa Gardner. Tess Williams lives in fear of her ex-husband, Jim Beckett, ex-cop and serial killer. He vows vengeance against her for her part in putting him in prison. Edge-of-your-seat creepy. First novel I've read by this author and I will now have to go find more.
Jan 29, 2013
Phil Stokoe
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Phil by:
Amy Orton
This book was given to me to read by my good friend Amy as I was leaving after a visit one night and as such I had no idea what it was about or what kind of book it was and to be totally truthful, I'd never heard of Lisa Gardner, so this was a journey into the unknown for me, which I guess is what reading a book really should be.
For reasons I won't go into the book did resonate with me on a few levels and made my mind wander to some real life issues that made me like the book more than I maybe o...more
For reasons I won't go into the book did resonate with me on a few levels and made my mind wander to some real life issues that made me like the book more than I maybe o...more
This was one of the first books I read in the FBI ex-profiler Pierce Quincy series. It is also the first book of the series; unfortunately, I did not feel that I truly had been introduced to Pierce Quincy and his mate Rainie in this book; although the book itself was fantastic.
The plot evolves around an escaped prisoner who is determined to kill his ex-wife, the woman responsible for discovering that her decorated cop husband was a serial killer and chose to assist the police in putting him beh...more
The plot evolves around an escaped prisoner who is determined to kill his ex-wife, the woman responsible for discovering that her decorated cop husband was a serial killer and chose to assist the police in putting him beh...more
To be honest I never really liked the main characters in this book and Quincy only had a minor part in it. In her other series of books, I liked the fact that all the characters, even the "good guys" had flaws, some of them serious. But in this book those flaws were dragged out repeatedly over and over until I felt like screaming "I get it already!" Plus the romance between the abused woman and her mercenary rescuer oozed unhealthy dysfunction to the point that even when they got together in the...more
It takes a lot for me to give a thriller 5 stars. Pushing 4 1/2? Sure, I can do that here. I am not generally a nail biter yet the last few chapters of this book left me gnawing away! I actually gasped at one revealing point in the story.
Two things:
1) I have read Lisa Gardner books before (never disappointed in her!) but decided to read her Quincy & Rainie series in order starting with book 1. Quincy played a minimal part in The Perfect Husband. I don't think it matters if you read these out...more
Two things:
1) I have read Lisa Gardner books before (never disappointed in her!) but decided to read her Quincy & Rainie series in order starting with book 1. Quincy played a minimal part in The Perfect Husband. I don't think it matters if you read these out...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What's The Name o...: SOLVED about a woman whose husband is a serial killer cop escaped from jail [s] | 3 | 18 | Apr 29, 2013 06:32pm | |
| Blue Moon Book Lo...: April 2013 BOTM - "The Perfect Husband" by Lisa Gardner | 1 | 2 | Mar 11, 2013 11:37am |
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
(1) mystery & thrillers, suspense
aka Alicia Scott
New York Times bestselling crime novelist Lisa Gardner began her career in food service, but after catching her hair on fire numerous times, she took the hint and focused on writing instead. A self-described research junkie, she has parlayed her interest in po...more
More about Lisa Gardner...
(1) mystery & thrillers, suspense
aka Alicia Scott
New York Times bestselling crime novelist Lisa Gardner began her career in food service, but after catching her hair on fire numerous times, she took the hint and focused on writing instead. A self-described research junkie, she has parlayed her interest in po...more
Share This Book
4 trivia questions
More quizzes & trivia...

Loading...

































Nov 01, 2012 10:37am