I love home improvement and real estate reality shows so much that I became a real estate agent. The profession isn’t nearly as glamorous as the shows make it out to be—no one dresses like the women of Selling Sunset—but I still find myself obsessed with the behind-the-scenes gossip. Chrishelle and Jason? Tarek’s cancer and the gun incident? Tarek and Christina splitting up, and his marrying Heather from Selling Sunset? The best drama sometimes happens off camera.
Daniel Kenitz captures these vibes perfectly in his debut thriller, The Perfect Home. Wyatt and Dawn Decker are the Chip and Joanna Gaines of Nashville. He’s the hunky, eager contractor; she’s the voice-of-reason decorator. Their relationship began when she was a producer on his show, The Perfect Home, and she has never hungered for fame the way he has. Shy in her dealings with fans, Dawn also has to deal with looking like a normal woman and having people openly wonder how she snagged a guy like Wyatt. Now Wyatt and Dawn live in their own perfect home, and the only thing missing is children. When Wyatt’s sperm count comes back low, he decides to take an illegal supplement to boost his supply. Although Dawn is worried about the known personality side effects, she reluctantly agrees, and soon becomes pregnant with twins.
After the babies are born, Wyatt’s personality changes, and he becomes cruel and demanding. But Dawn has no idea of everything he’s hiding from her until she stumbles across Wyatt’s written plan to ensure bigger fame. When she takes the babies and flees, Wyatt uses his camera skills to paint Dawn as suffering from post-partum psychosis, and as a danger to their children. On the run and not knowing whom to trust, Dawn knows she’ll have to beat Wyatt at his own game to ensure her children’s safety.
Written from both characters’ first-person perspectives, The Perfect Home is a nice addition to the domestic suspense genre, providing a quick, fun read. Kenitz doesn’t color inside the lines in his writing—there are some humorous characters and a funny plot twist that drew me out of the tension. I’m a stickler for tone, though, and other readers may appreciate the diversions. Dawn comes across as real and authentic, and with postpartum depression becoming a popular trope in domestic suspense, it was a good twist to have the diagnosis used against her. I found Wyatt to be less believable, though, and the side effects of the supplement didn’t come across in his narrative voice. I also found Dawn’s best friend unbelievable, as well as the denouement between them.
I wonder what the book might have been if Kenitz had opted for more of a slow burn. He hints at toxic masculinity and Instagram culture but doesn’t really explore what it feels like for a man to come up short in a personal way like Wyatt did. Since the audience for domestic thrillers is primarily female, it’s an understandable choice. But women are also victims of toxic masculinity, and an in-depth examination would have been interesting.
Still, The Perfect Home will please fans of the genre, especially if they’re also fans of those home improvement shows, like I am. It’s a fast read with a fun setting. And a good reminder that those folks on reality shows are performing a role, and renovations and real estate are never as easy as they look.
Thanks to Scribner for the book in exchange for an honest review.
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