Cover Image: Future Perfect

Future Perfect

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Member Reviews

Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

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I really struggled with this book.
I do struggle with artificial intelligence and understanding it
the writing was really entertaining however I really struggled to be engrossed by this book

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Absolutely fantastic read. I have loved this and been completely unable and unwilling to put this one down.
This is a great read which I will be highly recommending.

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Near future fiction treads that line of fantastical, and being almost too real - and this book walks that line perfectly, with the technology advanced enough to push into the futuristic but in a way that is chillingly imaginable, and was probably one of my favourite aspects of the book. Future Perfect was a gripping read between the world that Yap developed, and the storyline, and I loved the blending of speculative fiction with a thriller especially when it was as well done as here, with all the twists and turns of a good detective story. Where I did struggle a little was with the characters, as I found myself unable to engage with them as much as I wanted - with Viola in particular grating on me. However, the writing, plot and the world were enough to keep me wanting to read more.

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Set in a futuristic app-run 2030, a bomb goes off in a fashion show in Manhattan and its a race against time. An edge-of-your-seat thriller with futuristic elements too, it was great read, not read anything quite like this before.

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I’ll admit that I’ve been waiting for this book since I read Yesterday, also from Felicia Yap, and this book hasn’t disappointed me at all! Intriguing, complex and futuristic, it makes you wonder if the technology that we all depend so much is really so good.
Everything will start when a bomb explodes at a fashion show, the police are scared that this will not be the only terrorist attack on the artist of the show by a famous fashion designer, Alexander King, who also has a weird obsession with her dead muse, Maya. Yes, this seems a normal thriller plot, but this is not the interesting part of it but the characters involved in the plot and more explicitly, all the technology that surrounds the story.
Because, when one of the main characters, Police Commissioner Christian Verger, receives the daily update of the most famous application (I-Predict) that there’s a 99.74% possibility of dying, all his actions and motivations will be to change this percentage. This makes you wonder if this is what really triggers the high percentage and if he will be able to change it.
On the other side, Viola, Christian’s fiancée is working also in a super secret technology to discover killers, the program is not yet finished but as a test she will enter the details of the bombing and, can you guess who is the main suspect? There are some drops from the past, to make the story more complex, understandable and dark but they need to be there to explain the full story.
I loved this read, impossible to put down or stop thinking about it.
Ready for the “Future Perfect”?

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This is such a cleverly written book. Set in 2030 the world is run by apps and drones. Not too far away from where we are now to be honest. The commissioner of the police wakes up to find his I Predict app says that he will probably die today, a 99.74% chance. So his mind is quite rightly pre occupied with this when he finds out that a bomb went off at the high profile fashion show of Alexander King. Not normally something he would worry about but Alexander King has another show planned tonight in London, surely history won’t repeat itself…..

The world is now replying on technology to live their lives, from using the I Predict app down to government agencies predicting how people will behave. A tech geek has managed to develop a system that can produce the six main suspects for the fashion show bombing, is it accurate? Can the geek help the police in trying to track down the culprit and how does a cabin burning down in America over twenty years before have any relevance to this case?

The story is brilliantly woven by the author, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

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When a model is killed and several high-profile guests injured at a prestigious Manhattan fashion event showcasing the work of designer Alexander King, the race is on to catch the perpetrator before they can strike again - at a second show due to take place in London.
Police Commisioner Christian Verger has other worries on his mind though - his fiancee, Viola, has left after an argument, and his i-predict horoscope app is warning that he has 99.74% chance of dying that day. Maybe if he can catch the killer, he'll reduce those odds? Meanwhile, unknown to Christian, Viola is working on hunting the bomber too, using a piece of software she's been developing to identify potential criminals - unfortunately the program points its finger firmly at Alexander King's close associates.

Set in the not-too-distant future, Future Perfect is a cleverly-plotted who-dunnit, with flashbacks to the troubled life of a teenager in Montana interleaving with the current day police hunt.

The flashback sequences work really well. They tell the backstory of one of the main characters, without stating which one, and, of course, lead the reader to try to guess who it is and how their story fits with the attack on King.

It wasn't as futuristic as I'd imagined it would be (I'd half-expected something closer to Minority Report) so although set in 2030 it's nearer to the crime sector of genre fiction than it is to sci-fi. In many ways I found the story-telling reminiscent of a classic detective novel in which the crime is solved by interviewing suspects, and spotting the weak link in their account of their actions, rather than relying on cyber ware. There are various tech-y advances - bird-shaped delivery drones (rather like mechanized versions of Harry Potter's owl postal service), Viola's criminal-catching software, the i-predict horoscope app which foretells the day's events with uncanny accuracy - but these don't take over the story.

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Set in 2030, a hair breadths in the future, explores our relationship with technology, individuality and marries this with a crime scene backdrop in the world of fashion..
There are four main voices Viola tech genius and spook, Christian the police commissioner and Violas fiancé, Xander celebrated fashion designer, and Maya, Xanders model, muse and enigma. Mayas death 20 years previously has haunted Viola, Christian and Xander in a myriad of ways, each of them are connected by the past to Maya.
In 2030 Alexa has dominated the AI market and can connect everything from your household appliances, car and diary. Drone deliveries are standard and iPrediction app uses smart algorithms that could even predict your death. The novel reflects on the reliance we have on technology, our need for perfection - yet it may be our imperfections which make us beautiful, and the corrosive effect of secrets on our relationships.
Possibly not a book I would normally have read but thoroughly enjoyed it and gripped by the narrative which tantalized leading to a very late night reading!
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing access to this ARC, all opinions are my own.

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Future Perfect by Felicia Yap is a book I have wanted to read this for months. I got the chance to take part in the book tour so I jumped at the chance. The synopsis and cover got me straight away!
It is set in the near future with things looking quite similar to now just with a few 'tweaks', ie embedded technology. Humans are still as delicate as they have been forever.
Police Commissioner Christian Venger is having a really bad day, he is new to his job and isn't even certain he is capable of doing it. Then there is a bombing in New York that he has the fallout from which had the ability to cause death and destruction at a London high profile fashion show. To top it off his fiancée, Viola has left him AND Alexa has informed him he may not live to see tomorrow! We see the events play out from various characters views who are linked to the fashion designer Alexander King whose model has her arm blown of on the New York catwalk. The London show is the one that is the 'cherry on the cake' of his glittering career.
Christian is the one who has to attempt to stop this killer in their tracks before anyone else is affected. Viola ( Christians ex who has just left him) has a computer programme she has been working on. It has the capability to identify the suspects of the crime. It brings some names out that Viola wouldn't expect, so we see her attempting to solve this case at the same time as Christian.
The story time slips back to Montana in the 1980s, then New York in the 1990s and then back to 2030 and the investigation. This shows us some past lives and glimpses of secrets that we are never really certain eho is really who and what secrets belong to who. Creating a really intriguing story for me. I feel it has been beautifully and skilfully created with Felicia Yap weaving a tale that is the perfect pace and and the a tension that rises to a cresendo for the London fashion show and the climax we have been heading for. The unravelling of mysteries and the truth all happen here! The skills of Felicia Yap are second to none with this story filled with misdirection and red herrings.
I loved the way Felicia has shown us a world that isn't a million miles from how we are now and it makes it seem possible and quite real that this is how tech could go. The combination of thriller, mystery intrigue, and friendship works well and on that note, the title is a great one with the Future to be perfect and the fact that the author raises the concept of perfection too. I am happy to say I am going to check out Felicia Yap's other books...definitely found a fabulous author!
Thanks to Rachel's Random Resources and NetGalley for my copy of the book.

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Oh this is such an interesting book. It siting in that really interesting uncanny valley of the near future. It takes place in a world where technology is just that one step further one than our own, where out smart home appliances are smarter, with a bit more predictive capacity, where delivery drones are common place, where we have gone back to messenger pigeons but they are machines and not birds. Driverless cars, technology driven shopping all, predictive algorithms from everything from love lives to crime to the probability of death that day. It encapsulates both the great advance of technology and creates a slightly creepy dystopia. I really enjoyed this, it really does leave you with that weird and creepy feeling when things are just a little too close for comfort. It adds to the atmosphere of the book immensely.

It is one of those books that is probably being slightly miss-marketed. I came across it being promoted as a Sci-fi based police procedural/thriller. It leans far more heavily towards the Thriller, the sci-fi elements are extremely light and extremely recognisable so if you are not a sci-fi fan you will probably enjoy this regardless. Sci-fi fans maybe might be left a little disappointed as it doesn't quiet reach far enough towards future tech for me to be a satisfying sci-fi read.

I have to admit I do wish there were slightly fewer perspectives. The narrative voice between each one didn't feel that clear cut to me and while the layout of each chapter helped distinguish between all three future perspectives. I found myself a little bored with Alexander and Viola's perspective, they didn't seem completely necessary, there aspects of the story for the most part could have been told within Christian's perspective. Christian's perspective which gave us the police procedural aspects and those that took us back in time to Montana and Manhattan were far more interesting to me. It was really interesting to see the unfolding of past events and how they they slowly unfolded there links to events of the future. This is the really interesting and really hooked me into the plot, more so than the sci-fi aspects.

Overall this was a really well crafted Thriller, that for me was a page turner. I could easily see this being translated into a gritty blue toned BBC drama as that is what it feels like while reading, I think anyone that loves a good police procedural with a darker edge.

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Tick tick boom.

This book had me at so many things, the explosive start figuratively and literally. The death prediction from Alexa, which bizarrely when I asked my Alexa she said she can’t see in to the future and she was unsure if I would want to know anyway. I will let her off though as she has ten years to evolve, but speculative fiction always makes me think what if. Would I want to know? I think the answer will divide most people but for me it’s a resounding yes.

If you were to know what would you do differently? What choices would you make? Would you try to change something to prevent your death? These are all things that Christian Verger has to contemplate while trying to solve a murder and stop it happening again.

With high stakes and set in the glamorous world of high fashion and technology, it moves between various settings and timelines making the pace relentless as the chase is on. I liked Christian and the dynamics between him and his ex fiancée Viola as they both work on the case from different aspects. Christian coming from the side of the law and Viola from developing tech to flag up suspects.

This is a high concept thriller showing scary future possibilities that still retains a good old fashioned mystery at its heart. Now I just need Alexa to be able to make me a cup of tea and my future will be perfect too.

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A book unlike any other I have read in the genre in recent times. I was fascinated by the story, intrigued by the mystery and plot just based on the synopsis. And since this is a new-to-me author, I was very excited to learn more and get to know an author.

The book has a brilliant setting that captivated my attention from the entry line of chapter one. I felt like I was going on this futurist yet close and contemporary journey, not only learning more about the world, but also about the various characters involved in the mystery and the plot, and of course the society and culture.

I love when a book is different from what the others I have been reading. It makes it stand out and be excited for all the unexpected moments and twist & turns. This novel definitely gave me the thriller feel which I appreciate a lot. I'm no expert on the genre, I just know what I like, and I loved this story.

The characters kept things interesting. As we follow them during different times, as we try to figure out the secrets and what will happen next to them or that they will do... There was never a boring moment for me. Every character made sense to me, even when I couldn't fully connect with them, because I was trying to figure them out, I was so caught up in the book and in their lives.

The pace was just perfect for me. I enjoyed how it had a nice equilibrium in relation to the characters personality and actions, as well as in relation to the plot and the mysteries we had to uncover.

Overall, I so want to read more of this author's work. And I almost want to grab this book again and reread it, just to see if I missed any detail or any clue that may lead me to the truth and the information quicker. It's that kind of story: A book I will keep rereading because I just know each experience will allow me to see things in a different perspective.

[I want to thank Rachel, at Rachel’s Random Resources, Felicia Yap and Wildfire - Headline, for the ebook, via Netgalley. Thank you for allowing me to join in the fun and being a part of the blog tour with my honest review of the book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.]

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On 8 June 2030, iPredict informs Police Commissioner Christian Verger that he has a 99.74% chance of dying tomorrow. A model was blown up at Alexander King's fashion show in New York City yesterday, the same show that's going to be at Old Billingsgate tonight - and he has to find the killer in time to make sure it doesn't happen again. Of course, this just has to happen on the day his fiancee leaves him.

Yap keeps you guessing with each new revelation that comes to light. Three different people tell three different stories of the same event. Viola's program, CriminalX, is spitting out results that don't make sense. Everyone has secrets to hide - but are they secrets worth killing for? Will Christian be able to pull the answers - and himself- together in time to prevent another death from happening? Is he even looking in the right place? Is this a helpful clue? Or is this another misdirection?

Future Perfect is not just a crime thriller, though. Yap explores the impact of technology on our lives, taking trends in tech and pushing it forward ten years to a plausible future. Alexa not only manages the household, it also directs Christian's & Viola's lives even when they don't want it to. Predictions of the future become self-fulfilling when the tech themselves make it happen because it was predicted. Only people who have something to hide use cash. And maybe, just maybe, software can be programmed to be creative enough to create art, denying the need for humanity's creative eye and spark.

With a deft hand, Yap brings you through a harrowing day as told from four main perspectives: Verger, his fiancee Viola, the designer Alexander King, and an unnamed person from the past whose story may be the key to unravelling this dense web of lies. And haunting them all is the spectre of another dead model, the same one Xander is dedicating his show to.

Future Perfect is just... perfect.

Note: I received a digital ARC of this book via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Review to be crossposted to blog.annatsp.com on 17 March.

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The year is 2030 and the book begins with a bomb going off in New York at a fashion show of fashion designer Alexander King. The model carrying the bag is dead and Xander has another one scheduled in London tonight.

The two main characters are Viola and Christian, Viola works for MI6, as a computer specialist, unbeknown to her partner Christian and works with a system called CriminalX which identifies people who are most likely to have committed a crime. When Viola run the system on who is a suspect in the bombing and Alexander appears as a suspect. Meanwhile Christian has had a notification on his i prediction app which tells you the probability of something happening and it tells him that he is 99.74% likely to die today. Christian is the police commissioner and he has no idea what Viola is working on and she can’t tell him. She thinks the system is flawed then she receives an even bigger surprise. Viola thinks that Christian maybe has another woman as he keeps saying Ella in his sleep and so she leaves him and returns to her own cottage.

The Prime Minister tells Christian that her daughter is a model at the fashion show this evening and is looking for reassurance that it will be safe. This adds even more pressure to the situation. Xander is a troubled soul, he has a history and his muse Maya was found dead over 20 years ago in what looked like an accident.

There is another story from the past in this book, someone with a horrific past in Montana and who comes to New York to find someone. I don’t want to give anything away so I will leave it there. However, the story just begins when they arrive and it’s not the one they imagined. This side of the story unfolds really slowly and I was very surprised about how it all turns out.

This is a clever book and it is also terrifying as it is all possible. Post is delivered by drones and e pigeons. Every transaction you make in a shop is recorded unless you pay by cash which hardly anyone does. Alexa knows everything and the future does not seem as perfect as it is perceived.

I really enjoyed this book because it gave me a lot to think about and ponder and I really like this in a story something that really moved me outside my comfort zone, and it is a unlike anything I have read before and I will be definitely reading Felicia’s first book. Gripping, fast paced, immersive and very unique.

4.5 stars ****
I did have some problems with the formatting at the end of the chapters.

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It’s pretty good, and strange and bizarre but really well thought out. I loved how a fashion show and murder are all connected within a futuristic setting that is scarily looking likely. Not sure I liked any of the characters or felt any sympathy but it was quite fun and entertaining.

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I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest Netgalley review. Thank you to the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this.

I was really intrigued by this title and everything I read on it but ultimately struggled with some aspects, while wishing others had been more developed. This is ofc a highly subjective review so salt with everything, as always.

Starting with the good:

It's well written and highly accessible. The speculative concepts are fascinating (prediction technology and it's corrosive, corruptive effect on psyche), the extent to which lives can and are led by drones or dictated by algorithm. Christian was a great character and the timeline/pov plot twist was genuinely good, I didn't see it coming till it was almost unfolding. I think those are all good reasons to dip into the book.

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Things that that didn't click for me:

Subjective, but I didn't like Viola (one of the main povs) and struggled with Alexander, too. In Viola's case, she seemed exasperatingly self-absorbed at times for someone who is supposed to be 40 and a professional, and I found myself getting frustrated by her emotional immaturity. Relationship basics seemed to amaze her, and she had a tendency to engage in that wilful refusal of miscommunication that drives autistic readers mad (by which I mean her relationship with Christian is strained because, imo, she's unwilling or unable to ask straightforward questions like an actual adult.)

I realise that's a common 'thing' in novels but it frustrates me all the same. On the other hand, I struggle enormously to relate to neurotypical people, and likely this is part of why. So much of their communication is riddled with a kind of obstinate refusal to *explain* and an overwhleming need for you to guess, anticipate, and pre-empt their reactions; it's fucking exhausting. Viola is similarly exhausting. She's a reminder of all of those interactions with neurotypical folk that leave me tired and discouraged. Sorry, Vi!

Alexander, I was just a bit indifferent to. He wasn't a bad character, but he seemed priviledged and rather elitist, from that particular class of posh Londoners who live in their own universe and don't really compute for me on a day to day, working class level. Ymmv on that.

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As before, the characters were well written, but having 2 major povs not clicking for me made some parts of the reading a struggle. I found myself skimming Viola and Alexander's sections to get back to Christian and Mystery PoV, but of course that in turn meant I had to double back to reread to follow the plot.

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My last grumble is maybe one of genre. I wish the book had done more with its cool setting ideas. The predictive app (which projects what it thinks you will do, which then arguably influences you to do those things, and which tries to make sure you 'stay on track' with its predictions) was a core concept that drew me to the book, but as is often the case with litfic, this aspect of the setting was touched on and not really dug into.

I'd have liked to see more done with the app and its implications, and perhaps some wider philosophical implications, but I also don't think that was what the novel was about. The focus is on the tangled lives of the characters and that's fine, just maybe for a slightly different readership than mine.

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This is a police procedural with a difference. Told through three narrative voices, each of whom are inextricably linked to the others through a web of secrets that lies at the heart of the story, is a touching, mesmerizing read. It is all the more intriguing because it is set firmly in the world of fashion, high end clothes designers, wealth and conflict and also in a futuristic 2030's world where ipredict apps, Alexa and more have taken it upon themselves to decide what's best for humans.

The narrative takes us back in time and is beautifully executed to give us glimpses of clues that we have to slot together to make sens of the whole picture - which will culminate in the massive cat walk show in London where one of our narrators has been threatened with death.

I loved the glimpses into a possible cold and harsh future where we are less and less in control of our lives, but I also loved the glimpses into the past where the story begins. This is a really well plotted to derive the maximum tension and yet keep you hooked right to the unexpected ending.

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An adrenaline-fueled futuristic thriller that has so much bite I couldn't put it down in the second half.
Felicia Yap writes such great concepts that are futuristic, full of tech but in a believable reality and that explore human relationships and psychology.
This book is set a decade from now when inevitably AI and apps are leading the way in which our day to day lives go. A terrible murder occurs and while the police are trying to investigate and prevent an imminent repeat of the crime, other intelligence branches are turning to tech to track criminals and reveal suspects. It becomes a game of cat and mouse, of past and present secrets, and revelations that change the whole story.
I felt the characters were so well written and their stories each compelling. The concept of predictability and possibility being interwoven and obsessed over and it's potential to kill creativity and spontaneity was an interesting one, particularly reading this book during such uncertain times when perhaps we'd all hope for a glimpse in to the future.

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Future Perfect follows the world of high-fashion through a series of unwitting tragedies; the bombing of a catwalk in Manhattan, the impending financial ruin of previously famous labels, a handful of personal traumas and the dramatic break-down of relationships. Thrust into the middle of this complicated mix of events is Christian Verger, newly appointed Police Commissioner of the London Metropolitan Police department, his fiancée Viola and her dear friend, Xander.

The main three characters of Future Perfect are gripping, each having their own voice throughout the story – which is presented in the first-person perspective regardless of which characters chapter we are visiting. It’s a testament to Felicia Yap’s writing skills that she’s able to craft each of these characters in a unique way. There is a real sense of understanding coming from each perspective. Each one has a life and energy to their prospective chapters that are personal to the character and each chapter moves the story eagerly in forward momentum.

Touching upon the characters in a little more detail, I found their emotional quirks gave them depth. These characters aren’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination; Christian’s imposter syndrome added an unexpected level towards his high-profile occupation. Viola’s impatience and desire for perfection left little room for failure, in both herself, others and her work – the secrets of her own employment adding just a touch of hypocrisy for judging Christian on his own shrouded past. Xander, and his obsession with the deceased model Maya, was an enigma of his own and discovering his true motivations as the plot unfolded added additional layers to the overall mystery.

The plot of Future Perfect is, in essence, a straight-forward thriller. There are clues interspersed throughout the book that help to lead it to its inevitable conclusion. It’s an unpredictable thrill that kept the pages turning as best as it could.

The reason I say this as such is that the formatting of the copy I was given did the book a great disservice – I won’t reflect this in my overall star rating of the novel but as this was an ARC I do believe it worth saying. At times patterns of speech blended from one speaking character to the next, at the end of each chapter there was a quotation from one of the characters from an interview (for example) that merged with where the chapter should have ended, the was no proper break between the chapters and this was often broken. As a reader, I found this rather jarring and it put me off the flow of the book; as this book isn’t officially released until March 2021, I can only hope that these formatting errors will be addressed and future readers will have a much smoother reader than I did.

Having said that, and on a much more positive note, there was so much to enjoy about Future Perfect. Of particular note to me was the near-future world-building that was been created. Modern life has been over-taken with new elements of technology that are highly believable; drone delivery, software that can predict the future (among other things) driverless transportation; with day-to-day aviation transport being implemented in the near future. I find all these things firmly in the realm of science-fiction, but who is to say that they won’t be developed by the time we reach the year in which Future Perfect is set? It made the story highly imaginative but felt realistic as nothing felt too far ‘out-there’ in terms of disbelief.

As well as the thriller element to the story there is the undercurrent of personal drama – it’s no secret that two of the main characters have had a recent falling out and part of the story covers how they come to terms with their failing relationship. More-so there is a darker side to the story one of traumatic experiences. The first chapter I came across that was set during the 1980s in Montana, I wondered if I was reading the same book, these chapters have a very different feeling to them compared to the ones set in modern times and it was this chapter that really made me sit up and pay attention to what I was reading; they give the whole story its backbone and have the most surprising resolution. It is the thread that weaves the entire plot together; a plot that keeps the reader guessing.

Another place in which Future Perfect shines is the descriptions of the fashion scenes. I found these to be so well written that I could easily envision the manic chaos behind the curtain, the designs of the clothing and the emotion of the models. They were so well researched the experience of them felt real, as though I was really there as a fly-on-the-wall, the grounding in reality of them left an impression as imaginative as the creativity behind the world-building.

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