A gritty page-turner about the crimes perpetrated against women and the devastating effect on those who love them. The e e e la i a ed checkli f e e hi g, f i e i i g he d ig ble h i g he a/ e , hich e cl el e e bled a NASA c l b a d.

Pretty Girls is a white-knuckle thriller that will keep you turning the pages long after you should really have gone to sleep. The genre is more of a crime thriller (no romance) which I almost never read but this particular blurb really grabbed me. His chapters completely redeemed the book imo, and made it worthwhile to finish the book until the end. I was starting to skip over the descriptions (very graphic descriptions) and feeling quite bothered.It was an absolutely intense read with shocking twists that had me totally engrossed in every single page I was reading! shudders* The story keeps you on your toes, catching you off guard with it's surprises over and over again. It probably originated with two of the seminal books of my childhood—HELTER SKELTER, by Vincent Bugliosi and THE STRANGER BESIDE ME, by Ann Rule. They find hundreds of VHS tapes filled with the same violent pornography, including tapes of Anna Kilpatrick and their missing sister Julia.

My enjoyment of them hinges more on the character development and the way the story is written, which I thought was fairly average when compared to my favourites from the genre - Tana French and Gillian Flynn. Sisters Claire and Lydia grieved in very different ways and were estranged having not spoken in many years. I do feel like I've read a lot of books recently that jump around in terms of POV (point of view), but after I got used to the flow of this one it was like putting together a puzzle in terms of connecting all of the pieces. After a celebratory dinner out, Paul wants to do the nasty in an adjacent alley, way out of character, but, whatever. Certainly there is peril about for those blessed with pleasing countenances, whether it comes from a wicked witch or the ravages of time.Meanwhile, Lydia withstands intense emotional and physical torture, spurred by her resolve to protect Dee, whom Paul also threatened. And when the book isn’t showing women being tortured, raped, murdered and cut up into little pieces, it’s actually kind of boring. For me, there was not one particular moment that hooked me so I was surprised to find that at some point during reading, I just could not put the story down. I loved learning about Claire and Lydia’s history, uncovering the reason behind their falling out, and watching them piece their relationship together in the direst of situations. Particularly in Claire’s case, as she has tried to keep her head down in most situations for most of her life.

He a ed l a d l f kid i c la e hi elf agai l , a d Clai e had ied a d ied i h hi il fi all he had ag eed g ee a fe ili e e h had i f ed Clai e ha he c ld ha e child e beca e he had a IUD a d a aki g bi h c l ill . Even though the major revelation was done in the first half of the book it still kept me goingtilltheend. Her mother retreated inward; she stopped talking about Julia, but she kept her bedroom exactly the way the 19-year-old left it. It is the fracturing within a family that chistles away at all that we hold precious and untouchable.

One caveat: Slaughter's many fans know to expect hard-edged scenes, but this novel contains some of the most gruesome she has ever written. She is the author of more than twenty instant New York Times bestselling novels, including the Edgar-nominated Cop Town and standalone novels The Good Daughter and Pretty Girls. After debating whether or not I could pass that off as my cardio workout for the day, I kept going and was sucked into the craziness that continued to transpire page after page.