by
3.92 of 5 stars
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 ... read full description

reviews

Nov 06, 2011
Shelley rated it: 4 of 5 stars
*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. Becke More...
0 comments like (1 person liked it)
Mar 23, 2009
Anna rated it: 5 of 5 stars
A true thiller....just when you think you have it figured out....wham! I love her books for great suspense and awesome stories. The twists are crazy! I can usually figure out suspense novels pretty quickly...but hers -- not so much. Love it.
0 comments like (4 people liked it)
Oct 05, 2011
Anne (Booklady) rated it: 5 of 5 stars
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...
Jul 23, 2010
Lizz rated it: 4 of 5 stars
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here
May 19, 2010
Crista rated it: 2 of 5 stars
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 could More...
4 comments like (4 people liked it)
Sep 03, 2011
Cindy rated it: 4 of 5 stars
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...
Mar 15, 2011
Adrienne rated it: 5 of 5 stars
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 More...
0 comments like (1 person liked it)
Aug 15, 2011
Theresa Leone rated it: 3 of 5 stars
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...
Aug 10, 2008
Naomi rated it: 4 of 5 stars
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!
1 comment like (3 people liked it)
Jan 07, 2012
Book Him Danno rated it: 5 of 5 stars
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 thing More...
0 comments like (1 person liked it)
Apr 04, 2009
Louise rated it: 3 of 5 stars
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 sec More...
Aug 05, 2011
C. Teresina rated it: 5 of 5 stars
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
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 More...
Dec 16, 2011
Rachael rated it: 5 of 5 stars
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 More...
Feb 06, 2011
Britney rated it: 4 of 5 stars
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 som More...
0 comments like (1 person liked it)
Jan 29, 2009
Doug rated it: 4 of 5 stars
On its face, this story is overdone. Inside this book, this story is well-written and strongly finished. There's a little something missing for me, but the story wraps around the void and stamps it out. Good book, good authoring, good reading.
0 comments like (1 person liked it)
Mar 06, 2009
LJ rated it: 5 of 5 stars
THE PERFECT HUSBAND (Suspense-Tess-Cont) - Ex
Gardner, Lisa - 1st in series

From Fantastic Fiction: Jim Beckett was everything Tess had ever dreamed of... But 2 years after Tess married Jim and bore his child, she helped put him behind bars for savagely murdering 10 women. Even lockedup in a max security prison, he vowed he would come after her and make her pay. Now the killer has escaped, and Tess has got to learn to fight back. With the help of a burned out ex marine, Tess lea More...
0 comments like (1 person liked it)
Jul 21, 2010
Jess rated it: 3 of 5 stars
I'm finding it hard to rate this one, so I guess I will go with explaining what I liked and what I didn't like.

Pros
- Jim Beckett's character was unbelievably creepy and sadistic. This made for great reading as he was unpredictable and I was really rooting for him to be caught

-The storyline overall was very suspenseful and although I had an idea of what may happen I wasn't entirely certain.

-I liked Tess's character. She was strong and was trying to help h More...
1 comment like (1 person liked it)
Oct 04, 2010
Nancy rated it: 5 of 5 stars
It's been a long time since a book gave me nightmares, but this one did it consistently and will probably continue to do so until I get it out of my mind! Wow! What a story! This is the first Lisa Gardner book I've read and I thought it was her first, but now I'm not sure. In any case, I'm definitely reading more of hers! The whole atmosphere of the book is sinister and creepy. The main character is married to a serial killer and tries to escape.......you get the idea, but what an incredible sto More...
Mar 25, 2011
Marcia rated it: 2 of 5 stars
There were times when I was reading this that I was afraid I had inadvertently purchased a romance book, or a soft-core book. I have nothing against those books but I prefer my romance in-person and if I'm going to go for porn I'm going to really go for it and buy actual porn not a crime novel with loads of sex thrown in. Overall the book was ok. The characters were roughly drawn stereotypes- the macho warrior; the cute blonde girl who's learning to be tough; inept but sincere police officers; a More...
Mar 06, 2011
Jeanne rated it: 3 of 5 stars
This is a thriller which runs along at a brisk pace and is full of suspense and good description. It was very predictable though and I felt as though I knew what was going to happen at the end having just read the first few chapters.
I enjoyed the characters and thought they were written well enough. Good subplots with J.T. and his sister were explored well, although mostly left unfinished.
There is an incredible amount of absolutely unnecessary sex scenes. They were there in abundan More...
Nov 30, 2009
Lois rated it: 4 of 5 stars
Troubled characters don't find any easy answers in this suspense/romance made for an excellent page-turner. I loved the tortured hero, J.T. Tess is just what he needed. Solid writing.

A couple choices made by well-trained people bothered me as being convenient to the plot: for one, Marion going off at the end without telling anyone what she figured out. The author did try to justify it beforehand, but since it made a difference to other people's lives, it was a little hard to suspend More...
Jun 22, 2009
Suzanne rated it: 4 of 5 stars
Totally gives me nightmares! Really good mystery.
0 comments like (1 person liked it)
Nov 09, 2011
Brenda rated it: 5 of 5 stars
What an unbelievably powerful, nerve wracking and thrilling suspense novel!

Tess married the man of her dreams. He was good, kind and loving, and that meant so much to her after the abuse of her father. But within weeks of their marriage, things began to change, subtly, but scarily! She could never do anything right, and if the dinner wasn't on the table at exactly the minute he wanted, she was beaten. If the bathroom wasn't cleaned to his specifications, she was beaten. She was an 18 More...
2 comments like (1 person liked it)
Aug 10, 2011
Sami rated it: 3 of 5 stars
While this book has some redeeming qualities, such as highlighting the devastation of emotional and mental abuse as well as the difficulties facing women who try to leave abusive husbands, it is a simple story with simple writing. Lisa Gardner knows her audience and writes for an uncomplicated mind. She quickly switches from scene to scene, in often disconcerting ways. She tells the reader everything, without ever leaving the option to show them her characters qualities.
Overall a nice vac More...
Dec 06, 2009
Georgiann rated it: 4 of 5 stars
Jim Beckett seemed like the perfect man but two after Tess married the decorated cop and bore his child she helped put him behind bars. for savagely murdering 10 women. He vowed he would come after her and exact his revenge. Now he has escaped and Tess is on the run for her life and her childs life . with the help of a burned out exmarine Tess is going to learn how to fight back and protect her daughter. as the largest manhunt in four states is going on looking for Beckett. the clock winds down More...
0 comments like (1 person liked it)
Oct 03, 2011
Heather rated it: 4 of 5 stars
The 1st in the series and clearly enough for me to keep reading the rest plus another series. It dragged some in the beginning but picked up and the 1st sex scene literally made me want to re-read it again because I was just shocked. I can't remember what drew me to try the book but I'm absoluteky glad that I did. Make sure to read the books in order because they draw off of one another and old characters re-appear throughout the series in an intriguing little way.

Quincy vaguely c More...
Sep 06, 2011
Ning rated it: 4 of 5 stars
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แต่งได้หลอนดีจริง ๆ
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แล้วยังบวกความรันทดของตัวเอกอีก ..

อ่านแล้วต้องวางเป็นพัก ๆ (ไหนว่า วางไม่ลง)
แต่สนุกจริง อะไรจริงมาก

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Aug 02, 2010
Vicky rated it: 4 of 5 stars
What motivates a psychopath? Methodical dedication? A high? Discipline? Read “The Perfect Husband” By Lisa Gardner and find out.

Clark Kent wasn’t the only one with a secrete identity. Jim Beckett did, too. Becket: a cop, smart, someone to be trusted, someone who would save Tess Williams from a lifetime of abuse. Jim would be her white knight. Little did Tess know her white knight had the heart of a deadly, cold killer.

Now, under her husband’s oppressive hand Tess had to l More...
Sep 19, 2008
Susan rated it: 3 of 5 stars
A young woman shows up on the doorstep of mercenary J.T. Dillon. She says her name is Angela, and she needs his training to learn to fight an abusive ex-husband. It all sounds simple enough, except for the fact that it's all a lie. Angela is really Tess Williams, and her ex is Jim Beckett, a serial killer who recently escaped from prison. After Tess helped put him away, Jim promised her that he would come back for her.

This was a great suspense novel. Jim stalked and intimidated like More...
0 comments like (1 person liked it)