A novel of terror from the Bram Stoker Award-nominated author of PRESSURE.A serial kidnapper is preying upon women. He abducts them, then locks them in one of the cages dangling from the ceiling in a soundproofed basement. There, he sits quietly and just watches them, returning night after night, hoping he’ll be in the room at the moment his beautiful captives finally starve to death.Charlene and … death.
Charlene and Gertie have become fast friends at the restaurant where they work. But Charlene is concerned when she hears how her co-worker spends her evenings: Gertie’s cousin is one of the missing, and Gertie wanders the city streets where many of the abductions took place, using herself as bait with a high-voltage stun gun in her pocket. Charlene reluctantly offers to trail her in a car, just in case she does lure the kidnapper and things go wrong.
Unfortunately, the women find themselves the source of unwanted fame. And now they’re on the radar of a very, very dangerous man…
“MY PRETTIES is full of twists and turns, and just when I thought I knew where Strand was going with the story, he turned it on its head and shocked the shit out of me. And being Jeff Strand, he made me laugh as much as he was making me cringe.” — Horror Drive-In
Amazon reviewers are saying…
“One of Strand’s best novels.”
“One of Strand’s darkest and most disturbing novels.”
“One of the most original and suspenseful horror releases of 2019.”
“One of Jeff Strand’s best if not his best book to date.”
“The story twist had me floored.”
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My Thoughts – A disturbed spin on a “collectors” self love of inflicting macabre torture. Jeff Strand delivers frequent unyielding intense moments that flow easily into a chaotic unpredictable conclusion. Grab a copy of My Pretties and enjoy the grisly escapades only Strand can deliver.
A family that slays together…
There’s a serial killer taking women from the streets. When Charlene meets a new waitress named Gertie, she learns that her cousin is just one of many. Gertie, desperate to know if her cousin is still alive or dead, has a plan to lure the serial killer to her. Worried for her safety, Charlene decides to go with her. From there, the girls lives descend into a twisted game of murder and despair.
Wow. Just wow. I don’t even know where to begin. This book had everything I could hope for in a creepy little read: a sadistic psychopath, a snarky kick-ass heroine, and a lot of dark humor. I absolutely loved Charlene. She was punk and fearless. One the best characters I’ve read in a long time. Her relationship with Gertie was both hilarious and believable. Gertie herself was a FOIL character to Charlene. She was quiet and calm though her plan to trap a serial killer wasn’t the best.
The serial killer, Ken, was his own kind of personality. The women he stole, he locked in cages, watching them slowly starve to death. Though the reason for this method of murder wasn’t explored in much depth, I thought it made him a unique killer from similar books in the genre. Not to mention his sense of dark humor.
I loved absolutely everything there was. My only qualm is that I wished this was longer. I picked up this book on Kindle Unlimited first but then bought the audiobook. Both formats are splendid, but the audiobook gives it that extra bit of awesomeness because the narrator absolutely nailed the characters.
If you love creepy books, dark books, or slasher fictions, I highly, highly, HIGHLY recommend this story.
This was my first time reading a Jeff Strand novel, and he’s a good find.
Despite evidence to the contrary, I’m not into horror books. Just like a good story. This has a good story, nasty characters and a lot of action that has you skipping through pages.
It may not seem like it but one of the best compliments I can give is that Strand wrote this very cleanly. You know when you go to a new place and order a pizza and you go, “Shit, what’s with all this crust. And pineapple?” Madness.
This novel is all pepperoni, sauce and mushrooms.
I’m ordering another.Jeff Strand
Very good. New to this author, pleasantly surprised. Unique storyline.
This riveting novel features a gripping plot, dialogue that had me laughing out loud, and one of the most diabolically disturbing married couples in horror fiction. If you take away that couple’s warped impulses and twisted desires, you’ll figure out their relationship might be just like yours. If you like horror novels, this is a must read!
New to the author. I enjoyed his twist on things. Easy to read and an entertaining book. I’ll explore my that the author provides.