Book Review: Kenitz's debut novel transforms 'The Perfect Home' into a gut-roiling thriller

Dawn and Wyatt Decker are a reality TV couple renovating homes on-screen and dealing with fertility problems off-screen. Their story and their marriage seem like a foregone conclusion, but only a few chapters in, a sharp twist turns this unassuming world of domesticity upside-down.

Daniel Kenitz's debut novel is a cleverly paced domestic thriller named for the protagonists' TV show, ''The Perfect Home.'' The story shifts between the husband and wife, taking turns with the narration building up sympathy for both characters.

Dawn has the role of the nagging wife. If a stranger recognizes her on the street, they're liable to send a backhanded compliment Dawn's way and then expect an apology from her. Wyatt, on the other hand, is the stunningly handsome, joke-cracking, all-American husband who only has to flash his charming smile to subdue an upset fan. But it's an emasculating revelation that his low sperm count is behind the couple's lack of offspring, and he has an image to uphold.

These first few chapters are easy enough; a silky-smooth journey through character introductions and early plot developments. Dawn and Wyatt have small tiffs but manage to get pregnant. They trade inside jokes and Tennessee lore. Their story is predictable, comfortable and perfect for lulling you into a sense of security so you never see what's coming next.

Then, a shocking discovery has Dawn taking their newborn twins on the run. Suddenly, all the trappings of their perfect home and life seem like traps.

Dawn and Wyatt soon become entrenched in a game of public relations chess where both of their lives and the things they hold most dear are at stake.

Kenitz carefully aligns the pieces so the odds are stacked almost insurmountably. It's going to take something really big to overcome the sheer cliff-face that is reality TV and how it shaped the country's perception of Dawn, from the hotel clerk to the local police chief.

You could easily devour ''The Perfect Home'' in one sitting if it wasn't so nerve-jangling that you have to put it down to regain your composure. This book had me shocked, despondent and furious in turns, and I loved it.

Kenitz crafts a terrifying modern-day villain. And he's refined exactly what makes domestic thrillers so gut-roiling: They turn the places and people that should be safest — home and family — into something to be avoided at all costs. Kenitz turns the perfect home into a nightmare with proficiency and horrifying pizzazz.

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