A searing novel of the terrifying power of love from one of America's leading novelists. Nina has a perfect, well, close to perfect life. She's a successful district attorney with a handsome husband named Caleb, who has a thriving contracting business of his own. They live in a picturesque little town in Maine, and they have an adorable little 5-year-old boy named Nathaniel. They both work too hard and sometimes Nina wonders if she's juggling too many balls, but Nathaniel makes it all worthwhile. Then one day he simply stops talking. It's obvious that he's been traumatised, but in what way and by whom? When Nina finds out that the abuse has been sexual (her speciality as a district attorney is in rape and sex abuse cases) she won't rest until they find out who did it. When the police finally come through, she naturally attends the arraignment of the accused. Then, in front of all assembled, she shoots him dead. This is a novel about the unbreakable bond between mother and child, about a woman who takes justice into her own hands only to discover how very dangerous playing God can be and about the destructive, redemptive, terrifying power of love.
This was yet another fantastic read from Jodi Picoult. I am slowly making my way through the books I haven’t read by her and I got a whole bunch from the library that included Perfect Match.
What I love about Jodi’s books is that she really makes you care about her characters - what Nina does is absolutely wrong, but her reasons for doing it are absolutely sound. I wasn’t against her at all - you have to do what you have to do for your family. It obviously wasn’t all plain sailing, with other things coming out, but I was on Nina’s side the whole damn time.
It is one of my biggest frustrations that the court system in any country (particularly in the UK, though) cannot adequately punish somebody for a crime. Sexual abuse should be a life sentence without parole and I don’t care who that offends. Ditto murder and manslaughter and people who kill other people by accident (car accidents etc). So I felt a sense of justice by what Nina did, whether it was right or wrong.
This was yet another brilliant, gripping read and I’m very excited to dive into another one of her backlist titles.
