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A review by michellewords
Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I finished this book two days ago and I'm still spinning. Pretty Girls is AMAZING! This book is absolutely incredible and everything I want and need in a book/audiobook.
Pretty Girls is also one of the most graphic fictional books I've ever read. TW: sexual assault, rape, violence, snuff, porn, violence, gore, and various forms of murder/death).
That said, I loved this book so I don't know what to say.
The book takes place decades after a young woman (Julia) has gone missing. Another girl in the city is missing and it triggers some heavy memories of the 3 POV characters: her sisters ( Lydia & Claire) and her dad.
The most interesting chapters were from her dad's perspective. His chapters read like a journal or a series of unsent letters to his missing daughter with tales of the past and his experience trying to find his daughter's assailant. These chapters felt so real, I swear he felt like my dad at times.
Lydia and Claire are equally as interesting. Lydia is an ex-con ex-addict and self made mom of a teen daughter. Claire married smart and rich. She's feisty, but has skated through life until a terrible event with her husband in an alley.
This book has it all. It read like a true crime podcast, with bits and pieces of the fill story revealed a little at a time. Though you find out the truth earlier than I expected, the story gets bigger and wilder. I love the genre nods from other thrillers (house fire, international crime ring, interviews with prisoners, a knife fight, and some pretty awhile VHS tapes).
The ending, like so many other thrillers, goes for a little longer than necessary, but that's a minor quip.
I love this book and I've already recommended it to multiple people and I'll probably keep recommending it for a while. Such a great mystery with a lot of thriller moments. It's so good
Pretty Girls is also one of the most graphic fictional books I've ever read. TW: sexual assault, rape, violence, snuff, porn, violence, gore, and various forms of murder/death).
That said, I loved this book so I don't know what to say.
The book takes place decades after a young woman (Julia) has gone missing. Another girl in the city is missing and it triggers some heavy memories of the 3 POV characters: her sisters ( Lydia & Claire) and her dad.
The most interesting chapters were from her dad's perspective. His chapters read like a journal or a series of unsent letters to his missing daughter with tales of the past and his experience trying to find his daughter's assailant. These chapters felt so real, I swear he felt like my dad at times.
Lydia and Claire are equally as interesting. Lydia is an ex-con ex-addict and self made mom of a teen daughter. Claire married smart and rich. She's feisty, but has skated through life until a terrible event with her husband in an alley.
This book has it all. It read like a true crime podcast, with bits and pieces of the fill story revealed a little at a time. Though you find out the truth earlier than I expected, the story gets bigger and wilder. I love the genre nods from other thrillers (house fire, international crime ring, interviews with prisoners, a knife fight, and some pretty awhile VHS tapes).
The ending, like so many other thrillers, goes for a little longer than necessary, but that's a minor quip.
I love this book and I've already recommended it to multiple people and I'll probably keep recommending it for a while. Such a great mystery with a lot of thriller moments. It's so good
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, and Murder
Minor: Violence, Kidnapping, and Gore