The Fussy Stuff

Title: The Perfect Son

Author: Freida McFadden

Narrator: Daniel Thomas May, Suzie Althens

Format: Audiobook

Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Thriller

Quick Take: Genuinely disappointing. A strong premise that completely failed to deliver, with predictable twists, weak character motivation, and zero real stakes.

My Take

The Perfect Son had such a good setup. I can’t say much more without getting into spoilers, but I was genuinely excited to see where it would go. Unfortunately, the answer was: nowhere.

In recent days, I have learned more about Freida McFadden and the controversy surrounding her. Still, I generally try not to let that kind of thing sway me. You know I believe a book does not need to be deep, layered, or intellectual to be enjoyable. Sometimes a book just needs to be fun. But this is the first one where I really understood why she gets so much criticism. The idea behind this book is strong, but the execution felt so flat that I spent most of the time wondering how something with this much potential could be so thoroughly squandered. I’m not even sure if I’m allowed to say this, but I would genuinely love to see this same concept written by someone else.

The biggest problem is that the main twist felt painfully obvious, and I am someone who almost never guesses the twist correctly. The book seemed to think it was being clever long after it had already shown its hand. In fact, it was so obvious that I kept assuming there had to be something else coming, some second reveal that would make the predictability feel intentional. But no. What looked like the twist was the twist. There is kind of an unspoken agreement in a thriller like this: if the answer is that obvious, there had better be another layer. But there just wasn’t. Then the ending tried to land on a cliffhanger that also felt completely predictable, which somehow made the whole thing even more underwhelming.

I also never felt like the book gave enough motivation for the characters to be doing what they were doing. People made huge choices without enough emotional logic behind them. When a thriller depends on suspense and character behaviour, that is a pretty major problem. Instead of building tension, the book kept drifting into distractor material that was boring, irrelevant, and not remotely effective as misdirection. It did not deepen the story, and it did not make the reveal more satisfying. It just made the whole thing feel longer than it needed to.

This may genuinely be the book that makes me give up on Freida McFadden entirely. I almost never think reading a book is a waste of time. Even books I dislike usually give me something to think about. But this is one of the very few that left me feeling like I got absolutely nothing from the experience.

Unfussed Verdict

If you are already a big Freida McFadden fan, you may still want to try this one for yourself. But for me, this was a miss in every way that counts. Great concept, weak execution, and not nearly enough payoff to justify the ride.

Unfussed Homework (Optional, Obviously)

What is worse in a thriller: a twist you saw coming from a mile away, or a twist that makes no sense once you think about it?

– Read what you love, The Unfussed Reader