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3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
3.5/5⭐️
This mystery/thriller was just OK for me. It’s the beginning of a series of 8 featuring Taylor Jackson, a Nashville Metro Homicide Lieutenant. She (with help from her live-in FBI profiler lover) has two cases to solve here…the Rainman serial rapist and the Southern Strangler, a serial killer who leaves his victims’ bodies in one state, then leaving one of their severed hands in another state with the next body.
While there were some twists and turns, I found some things that didn’t ring true/feasible regarding police procedures, and I also felt that the highly emotional elements weren’t really there (dealing with horrific crimes and their tortured victims). Plus, I never really got a sense of heightened danger for the protagonists or a real sense of impending possible doom.
While the writing was fine, I just hoped for more from this one.
This mystery/thriller was just OK for me. It’s the beginning of a series of 8 featuring Taylor Jackson, a Nashville Metro Homicide Lieutenant. She (with help from her live-in FBI profiler lover) has two cases to solve here…the Rainman serial rapist and the Southern Strangler, a serial killer who leaves his victims’ bodies in one state, then leaving one of their severed hands in another state with the next body.
While there were some twists and turns, I found some things that didn’t ring true/feasible regarding police procedures, and I also felt that the highly emotional elements weren’t really there (dealing with horrific crimes and their tortured victims). Plus, I never really got a sense of heightened danger for the protagonists or a real sense of impending possible doom.
While the writing was fine, I just hoped for more from this one.
I had recently finished another Ellison thriller in which the killer used the same cover story- so this one fell flat for me.
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
There was a lot going on in this one. I felt like a couple of the side plots could have been cut out only for clarity sake.
I’ll give this one a 3.5, it was written pretty well in my opinion and some parts were quicker than others. I think a lot of this story could have been cut out and the story would have been better. Some characters were useless and used for fluff.
I agree with some of the other reviewers, Taylor’s personality is very similar to other female cop dynamos, and frankly I found her to be somewhat unlikeable- not that I don’t like strong female characters but she’s annoying. Wtf with all the gore and killings/rapes, I don’t think the story needed as many victims. I think 3 or 4 would be fine for this story. At parts I was just thinking, get to the point!!!
At page 134 it becomes clear that the killer could be 1 of 2 people, yet the book drones on another 300 pages, which just isn’t necessary. I enjoyed some of the vignettes about the victims but goddamn how depressing!
It was pretty good, I know that JT has written more books in this series, and I’m hoping that they get better. This was her debut after all.
I agree with some of the other reviewers, Taylor’s personality is very similar to other female cop dynamos, and frankly I found her to be somewhat unlikeable- not that I don’t like strong female characters but she’s annoying. Wtf with all the gore and killings/rapes, I don’t think the story needed as many victims. I think 3 or 4 would be fine for this story. At parts I was just thinking, get to the point!!!
At page 134 it becomes clear that the killer could be 1 of 2 people, yet the book drones on another 300 pages, which just isn’t necessary. I enjoyed some of the vignettes about the victims but goddamn how depressing!
It was pretty good, I know that JT has written more books in this series, and I’m hoping that they get better. This was her debut after all.
I love a good crime book. And All the Pretty Girls did not disappoint. I found that I had figured it out about 1/5th of the way in, but this did not change the fact that this is a well written book, that i enjoyed reading.
This book was a little dull at first. Once I learned more about the main characters, I started to get more into it. Once I got towards the end, I literally could not put the book down. It had so many great twists that I stayed up & finished the last 80 pages or so late one night.
I purchased this book on my iPad during a Goodreads Daily Deal and I’m so glad I did! You’re immediately sucked in when a local girl is found dead and linked to a string of murders in which the serial killer leaves behind a disturbing memento at each scene. While there are plenty of stereotypical situations involving cops and the FBI, this is truly a page-turning thriller that has many twists and turns. There was at least three times I thought I knew what was going to happen only to be totally wrong!