Jane Haseldine, author of the outstanding four-volume Julia Gooden mystery series, has, for the first time, published a stand-alone thriller, Everyone Is Perfect Here. And like her prior books, it is a fast-paced, inventive, and intricately plotted mystery that will keep readers guessing right up to the very end of the story.Haseldine says that when she settles on an idea and begins writing a book, she knows the general direction the story will take. But it is critical for her to “follow the story.” Planning is helpful, but even though “you have the plan in place, . . . sometimes a story is going to take you in another direction and if you don’t follow it, it is not going to be as good” as if the writer had allowed him/herself to let inspiration lead. “Sometimes stories come to a writer. It’s like a gift. . . . When the story is guiding me, I know it is the best version of the story that I can write.”After penning her Julia Gooden books, Haseldine wanted to write a psychological thriller. During the COVID lockdown, she binge-watched a lot of old movies and while watching “Gaslight,” inspiration struck. She wanted to explore the idea of someone “being so diabolical and having the ability to” convince another person that they are losing their sanity. She also re-read “The Talented Mr. Ripley” by Patricia Highsmith and enjoyed some of Liane Moriarty’s books. Several concepts began coalescing – “gaslighting, a psychopath, friendships, deceit” – and her main character, Carly Bennett, came to life.Everyone Is Perfect Here features a large cast of fascinating and fully developed characters. But Carly Bennett is at the heart of the tale. Unlike Julie Gooden, who is competent, driven, and confident, Haseldine describes Carly as “a young, rising star, professional.” By all outward appearances, she is a success. Not only is she a professor of Creative Writing in the English Department at the University of Southern California, but she has also been included in the prestigious (fictional) “30 Under 30” list compiled by the Los Angeles Times. Even so, Haseldine notes, Carly lacks the confidence with which she imbued Julia and struggles with “imposter syndrome.”Carly’s mother, Emily, married a prominent, wealthy physician fifteen years her senior when Carly was just twelve years. The two of them moved into the opulent Malibu home he shared with his two sons, Julien and Victor. His late wife, Lauren, had taken her own life about four years earlier. The arrangement did not last long. Soon Carly was banished to an exclusive all-girls’ boarding school in San Francisco that was known for its special program for students with behavioral problems. Problems Carly insisted she did not have. She vehemently denied engaging in the behavior she was accused of. She was utterly miserable at the school, missing her mother desperately, and longing to be back with her. She had only been away at school for two months when she learned that her mother was murdered during a break-in at her stepfamily’s home. Her mother’s killer was never brought to justice. And Carly was not completely forthcoming when interviewed by the detective investigating the case. She withheld information because she was afraid of the potential repercussions that might follow if she revealed the whole truth.Now, fifteen years later, Carly has, as noted, established a flourishing career. But as the book opens, it is about to be derailed and Carly’s whole future hangs in the balance. She has a conflict with one of the campus janitors, Ed Russo. He is aware of a lapse in judgment by Carly and threatens to report the matter to the dean. Shortly thereafter, Carly discovers his body in her office. Her name is scrawled on the floor next to his corpse and the police presume that the writing is the decedent’s dying declaration — evidence of Carly’s guilt. The one person who can attest to her whereabouts when Russo was killed has vanished, but Carly’s good friend, Ava, operates Ava’s Bail Recovery and is skilled at finding people who don’t want to be found. She is determined to locate him so that he can supply Carly’s alibi.Julien White, one of Carly’s stepbrothers, is now a thirty-three-year-old psychiatrist. They have had no contact since the death of Carly’s mother, but he suddenly materializes. He claims that his father has died and he wants to make amends for the way he treated Carly all those years ago. He also delivers surprising news about Carly’s mother. But is any of it true? Carly has to know so she seeks out her younger stepbrother, Victor, hoping to gather more information.Before long, as a result of more calamities, Carly finds herself suspended by the university and she suspects that she should never have trusted her seemingly faithful assistant, Rebecca, a former student she hired because she was eager, ambitious, and desperately needed a job. Carly’s life is rapidly spinning out of control, and she is exhibiting physical symptoms as a result of her sudden down...
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