The Perfect Death

Brannon House #1

by Stacy Claflin, Tina Wolstencroft (Narrator)

Suicide or the perfect cover-up?

Kenzi Brannon loves the single life in California. She hasn't looked back since the day she walked away from her painful past.

Everything comes crashing down when Kenzi gets a call about her estranged sister's suicide. If that news isn't shocking enough, she also learns that she is now guardian to Ember, a niece she doesn’t even know.

Kenzi heads up north and finds herself in her family’s long-abandoned house. Neighbors whisper rumors of hauntings, but Kenzi has a more serious concern—mounting evidence points to her sister’s death not being self-inflicted.

When things in the house move seemingly on their own, Ember thinks it’s ghosts. But Kenzi fears something far more sinister. Could the person who killed her sister now be after her and her niece?

The Perfect Death is the first book in the exciting Brannon House domestic thriller series by USA Today bestselling author Stacy Claflin. She has published over 70 books, including the popular Alex Mercer Thrillers and the bestselling Gone Trilogy. You can expect page-turning suspense all the way to the nail-biting conclusion.

Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Fiction, Suspense, Amazon, Crime

Audible Audio

First published January 21, 2020

About the author

Stacy Claflin writes about complex women overcoming incredible odds. Whether it's her Gone trilogy of psychological thrillers, her ongoing Transformed paranormal saga, or her Seaside Hunters sweet romance series, Stacy's three-dimensional heroines shine through.

Decades after she wrote her first stories on construction paper and years after typing on an inherited green screen computer that weighed half a ton, Stacy realized her dream of becoming a full-time author.

When she's not busy writing or educating her kids from home, Stacy enjoys watching TV shows like Supernatural, Pretty Little Liars, and Once Upon a Time.

Join Stacy's newsletter to get free books: http://stacyclaflin.com/newsletter/

Reviews

[Carol]

It was the perfect mix of fast-paced action and suspense. There are creepy, ghostly shadows to give it an unsettling atmosphere along with major traumatic life changes for Aunt Kenzi and her niece Ember as they struggle to understand why Ember's mother suddenly ended up dead. The abandoned house they move into is a mysterious character all by itself. The story's quick and easy to read. I did it in one sitting. This is the first book I've read by this author but I will certainly be searching for more.

[LG (A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions)]

Kenzi Brannon works for an agency that provides people with fake dates, fake fiancees, fake friends, etc., whatever they need in order to get through a public or family event with a minimum of stress and awkwardness. She's in the middle of a job, pretending to be a handsome and wealthy client's fake girlfriend, when she gets a call informing her that her estranged sister (whose name I can't remember) has committed suicide. As if that weren't enough of a shock, apparently her sister named her the guardian of Ember, her teenage niece. Although her sister's husband isn't Ember's biological father, he's been part of her life since she was two. Why leave Ember in the care of Kenzi, someone who barely knows her?

Thankfully, Kenzi's sister also left her their family's old home, because she wouldn't have the space to take Ember in otherwise. Unfortunately, the place has been abandoned for a few years and is a bit worse for the wear. Also, there are rumors it may be haunted. However, Kenzi has worse things to worry about, as she begins to suspect that her sister's death wasn't a suicide after all.

What the cover of this book promised: creepiness, atmosphere, suspense. What it delivered: bad and unnecessarily repetitive writing, and no creepiness or suspense whatsoever. Simply saying that a house is probably haunted and that at least one of the characters worries it's true isn't enough to make the house creepy. The author's few efforts at "creepy" moments were tepid at best.

The book switched between Kenzi and Ember's POVs, and unfortunately they sounded similar enough, both in terms of wording and the audiobook narration, that I tended to get confused. Sometimes they communicated the same information to readers (for example, that Kenzi was closer in age to Ember than to her own sister), so I wondered why the author bothered with separate POVs.

There were several moments that felt like they were building up to something more but then just fizzled out. For example, initially there was a lot of focus on Kenzi's rich and handsome fake date and the expensive necklace he just casually allowed her to keep. This hardly came up again, as Kenzi found herself dazzled by another handsome guy, one of the cops looking into Kenzi's sister's death. I suspect the author has plans for some sort of love triangle later in the series, especially considering the additional complication that popped up at the very end of the book, but putting that much emphasis on that first fake date and the necklace made it seem like those might be important in this book.

The mystery was horrible, so obvious that the only surprise was that all those clues weren't red herrings. It's really too bad that the book didn't live up to the promise of its cover. I don't plan to continue this series.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)

[SCSoftballMom]

Great read! Surprise ending!

[SpookySoto]

I just couldn't continue. Her sister died and she is annoyed.

[Marissa Trafton]

This is what I get for picking a free audio book.

[Debbie Eyre]

I absolutely loved this! From the very first page I was hooked on this haunting and suspenseful story. There were several OMG moments and More then once I felt the hairs go up on the back of my neck. Throw in a little action, mystery and some great characters ( I love Kenzi and Ember) a haunted mansion style house, murder and some twists I did not see coming and you have a fantabulous thriller read. I just could not put this down!

[Michael Dawson]

Great story. Got me hooked from beginning to end

[Wendy Del Toro]

Stunned by the 5 star reviews. I found this to be very poorly written, very amateurish. The story was dull, no red herrings so the killer was exactly who you' think it was. Zero tension, zero sense of place, no sense of the characters as actual human beings; they were written as one dimensional cutouts just there to move the silly plot along. An episode of "Murder She Wrote" is better than this pablum. Waste of time but thankfully it was a short and fast read.

[Cassandra Doon]

Book: The Perfect Death
Read By: Ebook
Author: Stacy Claflin
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
Recommend: Yes
< b>Age recommendation: 18-30+ Years
My feelings:


The story was a masterful blend of heart-pounding excitement and spine-tingling tension. The eerie, spectral shadows lurking in the background only added to the unsettling ambience, while Aunt Kenzi and her young niece Ember braved life-altering events following the mysterious death of Ember's mother.

Kenzi I drop the last of Claire’s boxes in the entry and take a deep breath. It’s amazing how heavy they are. And even as tired as I am, I can’t wait to dig in. Maybe there are more

The abandoned house they move into serves as an enigmatic character in itself, casting a foreboding presence over the entire tale. With a swift pace that kept me on the edge of my seat, I devoured this gripping read in one sitting. This isn’t my first book by this author, and every time she delivers perfectly.

[kesy_books]

suspenseful

This book was so hard to put down. It was so good, mysterious and suspenseful. When it got down to the plot twist, even though I guessed some of it, there was some that I did not see coming. It got really tense and I ate this up.

[Anne - Books of My Heart]

This review was originally posted on Books of My Heart
 



The purpose of Thrifty Thursday is to read a book which was free  (at some point).
Kindle freebie on November 16, 2020  (currently $4.99 and in Kindle Unlimited as of writing this post)
 
I liked Kenzi. She was smart, cool in the face of situations, and kind to others.  She did a good job with getting to her niece and providing what she needed. She cared about what Ember wanted and let her be involved in the decisions.  I did feel neither of them were quite concerned enough about their safety with a murderer out there.

Most of the characters other than the few main ones were cliche. I would have preferred more development or more gray scale rather than all good or all bad.  This added to the unbelievable feel for me.  The mystery plot was straight forward and expected.  I can't believe they didn't think it was a murder initially!

The Perfect Death is the start of the new Brannon House series. My favorite parts were the development of Kenzi and Ember. With the twist at the end, there is sure to be more along those lines in the next book,  Family Secrets. It releases next week and I'm reviewing it on audio.

[Starlequinn Angel]

I try not to leave bad reviews as I know the hard work the author put into this book. Buuuut this was by far the hardest book I had to get through. I only pushed through it to add to my book reading goals. And I did NOT like the narration on the audiobook. The characters were annoying and didn’t act as though they just had an unexpected death in the family. The wording was very repetitive and had me rolling my eyes constantly. I don’t even know how many times a character asked “are you sure?” Annoying. Things were mentioned in the book that didn’t add to anything and it was extremely predictable. I feel bad saying this but it’s just my opinion. It was a terrible read for me.

[Kyler Broach]

It was free on Apple Books and entertaining enough to read during lunch. Characters were all cliches and stereotypes. Character motivations didn’t always make sense. I would not recommend this book but I also do not regret reading it. In a word, adequate.

[Kassandra Philson]

DNF at 33%

[Angel]

This was a terrible mystery, not mysterious at all. The characters were flat and basic, and not given full development.

[Jenny]

The Brannon House

The Perfect Death is the very first book that I have read by Stacy Claflin and let me tell you it will not be the last..shhh I have already downloaded a few more. I am new to this troupe as well. I can't wait to read more this one was fabulous and kept me sucked in right from the start

[Sadie's Cosy Book Corner]

What a book! Was truly gripped all the way through. Didn't want to put the book down. Loved the short chapters and even with the two different point of views it flowed nicely. What an ending!! With the book being left with shocking ending, it truly makes you want to get the second book to find out more.
I would definitely recommend this to others

[Lauren Hill]

Whirlwind story

I'm always a sucker for a dual pov. This book was a little slow to start but once it got going, it took off! All the secrets, lie, and that cliffhanger? I can't not wait to see what happens next. Workout spoiling the end, please let him be the dad!

[Amanda Estes]

This was one of the worst books I have e er read. The writing is repetitive and the end if mostly predictable. The twist was not good. Maybe it's just me but making the new love interest your niece's mystery sperm donor was a little gross.

[Renita Cohill]

Cool Fast Paced Read

I would say I didn't love the book, but I didn't hate it either! It had an overall decent plot. I liked the suspense and "creepiness" of the book. The conclusion was cool as well. I like it enough, that I will read the series! I would actually give it like a 3.5 if I had that option.

[Jackie]

What a fabulous story. The essence of mystery kept you reading until the very end. Kenzi ends up taking care of her dead sister’s child. Couldn’t stop reading.

[Rachel]

Loved the ending. Did not see that coming!!

[Shelby Beard]

Honestly, I loved this little novella.

[Kaitlynn]

Easy quick thriller
Will read the other books in this series

[Diana]

First book was good

Very quick read (only took me a few hours off and on. Engaging characters, good plot. I'm interested in continuing the series.
I received this book free.

[Loyda Peroza]

This is my first book from this author. I already had an idea of who murdered Claire, and it turned out to be who I thought it was, but that plot on the last page left me in shock.

[bailey]

3.5 ⭐️

this was just a little bit too predictable for me, but it was still a nice, easy, thrilling read!! one thing i didn't expect though was that last chapter.

[Stephanie Sabo]

This just didn’t do it for me. I did like Kenzi, Graham and Ember but the story was predictable.

[Doug Branscombe]

Easy read. Fun characters and story line.

[Lisa Mayo]

Okay, the only reason I got this book was because it had such good reviews on here. No offense to the YA crowd, but this book would be so so for teens. However, the writing was subpar and the plot so predictable. Good grief; I mean, it was obvious from the first few chapters that the lawyer was an antagonist, so it wasn’t much of a jump to tie her to the murder, especially since she found the body. 🙄 And the coincidences at the end just pushed the plot into horrible. If you are under the age of 13, this might be a good read. Otherwise, don’t waste your time.