I have never read a book by Jodi Picoult that has not been a page turner, so when I saw Picture Perfect sitting among the Playaways on the library shelf I grabbed it along with several other Playaways. Here was a Picoult book I had never heard of. I popped the triple battery in, plugged in my ear plugs and began to listen to it as I walked back to my car. No point wasting any time!
“The first thing the groundskeeper saw when he went to tend the small cemetery behind St. Sebastian’s was the body that someone had forgotten to bury”
When Cassie opened her eyes she had no idea where she was or how she had gotten there. She had no idea who she was and the contents of her pockets revealed no clues. She had a nasty gash in her head and blood on her hands. Cassie was in a graveyard and began to walk to the church she saw in the distance to get help.
Will Flying Horse was new in town. He had taken a job with the LA police force and had not yet reported for his first day of work when he came upon Cassie. Cassie trusted Will from the first moment she met him. She felt safe with him and without hesitation got into his car. Will took Cassie to the hospital and it was there that she noticed the diamond on her finger. She was married. Surely someone was looking for her.
No one could have been more surprised than Cassie when Alex Rivers, Hollywood’s hottest actor came to claim her. She was married to Alex Rivers, a gorgeous charming man. She was a world-renowned Anthropologist. Her life appeared to be picture perfect. So how did she come to find herself in a graveyard with no memory?
Picture Perfect flips back and forth in time revealing clues little by little. Clearly Cassie and Alex’s life was not picture perfect. Alex was not all he appeared to be. Picoult did a wonderful job of showing both sides of Alex’s personality. It was easy to see how Cassie fell for his charms. Even I fell in love with him and wanted to be wrong about him. Wanted a happily ever after ending.
I was bothered by the fact that other than Will, no one seemed overly concerned as to how Cassie had come to find herself in the graveyard. No one asked any questions. No one did any investigating. Cassie just went back to their Malibu apartment, one of the many homes they owned as if nothing had happened. As if people got amnesia all of the time.
Picture Perfect was written in 1995 and was one of Picoult’s earlier books.After listening to a few chapters of Picture Perfect, I actually checked the cover. Had I been mistaken? Was this really written by Jodi Picoult, the same Jodi Picoult who had written My Sister’s Keeper, Nineteen Minute and Handle With Care? It was certainly entertaining, but it did not measure up to Picoult’s later books. Picture Perfect was missing Picoult’s signature gut wrenching twist that we have come to expect.
Friday Morning Bookclub 
I have read all of Jodie Picoults books and Picture Perfect is not one of her best. You are right, it is missing her famous twist at the end. Did you read The Pact which is also one of her first books, but one of my favorites?
Comment by JP — June 23, 2012 @ 3:17 pm |
Hi JP! I read The Pact many many years ago, but I must have really liked it, because the story has stuck with me.I probably should reread it one of these days though. I remember the suicide pact between the teens, but not all of the details. Thanks for blogging with us!
Comment by Susanbright — June 23, 2012 @ 3:20 pm |