Perfect by Judith McNaught

Julie Mathison was a foster child in trouble with the system and headed for more when she was taken in by a minister and his wife. The love she received from her adoptive family gave her the security she longed for and she's determined never to do anything to make them regret the chance they gave her. She's a respectable teacher in the small Texas town were she was raised, working hard to make a difference in the lives of her neediest students and to make her family proud.

Zachary Benedict was an Academy Award-winning actor turned director, living a charmed life until his wife was murdered and he was convicted of the crime. After exhausting his options he gave up on the system and decided to find his own way out of prison. With the help of a friend he broke out, intending to leave the country and never look back. Unfortunately bad weather and bad timing force him to abduct Julie and use her and her car to get away.

Julie is first scared and then furious about being forced to help an escaped felon, but in spite of her best intentions and Zach's terrible attitude something draws her to him. The problem is that she can't be sure if he's really innocent or if he simply calls to a part of her that she left behind years ago. If he's innocent and she doesn't help him she'll regret it forever. If she trusts him and she's wrong the perfect life she's built for herself will be irrevocably damaged.



I found Zach interesting as a character, but the details about his life in Hollywood rang false. There's a lot of name dropping, but instead of lending authenticity it simply made the book feel dated (it was originally published in 1994). I understood and sympathized with Julie's reasons for valuing her reputation so highly. However, at times the fact that she was wound so tight made it difficult to relate to her.

In spite of that, the real problem with this book was that it dragged. At 677 pages in paperback, this is a long book and unfortunately there were times when it felt even longer. There was a lot of detail and story, but no surprises. Everything felt predictable, right down to Julie's inevitable crisis of faith in Zach. I was even able to figure out who the real killer was even though McNaught withheld critical information until the end.

It wasn't a bad book, but iI ultimately didn't feel that it was worth the amount of time it took to read. I would have liked it much better if it had been a couple hundred pages shorter.

Grade: C-