Pretty Girls

    by Karin Slaughter  

This is a really tough book to review and it isn't a book for the faint of heart. The first chapter grabs you and doesn't let go.  I listened to it on audio and the reader, Kathleen Early, was very good.  The story is set in Atlanta where young woman have been abducted and presumed to be dead.  Claire's sister, Julia, disappeared more than twenty years ago and the family fell apart after this tragedy.  Their parents divorced and her sister, Lydia, became a drug addict. Their father wrote heartbreaking letters to Julia before he died.  Claire is estranged from her sister, in part, because, Lydia is living with an ex-con, former drug addict and Claire is in the midst of the Atlanta social set. After another murder occurs, Lydia and Claire form a wary alliance to try and find out if their sister might still be alive.

There is so much going on in this novel and it is really hard  to review it  without giving away too much.  There is violence, sexual sadism and murder. It is also a stunning, suspenseful thriller that will keep you reading even when you don't want to keep reading it!

  Did I like it? Yes, and no... Loved the plot twists and the suspense but the violence was difficult to read, or in my case, listen to. If you like well written, psychological thrillers and  can handle sexual sadism, betrayal and violence, then  you will want to read Pretty Girls.

Grade:  A for plot and writing but this book isn't for the squeamish.

Adult Psychological Thriller