Years ago, in the town of Saxon Falls, young Kelsey Willard disappeared and was presumed dead. The tragedy left her family with a fractured life—a mother out to numb the pain, a father losing a battle with his own private demons, and a sister desperate for closure. But now another teenage girl has gone missing. It’s ripping open old wounds for the Willards, dragging them back into a painful past, … past, and leaving them unprepared for where it will take them next.
Bureau of Criminal Investigation agent Mark Foster has stumbled on uncanny parallels in the lives of the two missing girls that could unlock clues to a serial killer’s identity. That means breaking down the walls of the Willards’ long-guarded secrets and getting to a truth that is darker than he bargained for. Now, to rescue one missing girl, he must first solve the riddles that disappeared with another: Kelsey Willard herself. Dead or alive, she is his last hope.
more
At last! A psychological thriller where I didn’t guess the serial killer in the first 50 pages. Or ever. The author left at least one clue, but I was so engrossed in the multiple plot lines I missed it. She didn’t, however, distract me into thinking the man arrested was the killer because one of his hairs was found on the victim. The real killer admits to the plant, but I’m never sure when that happened. I also wonder why after 7 years, the Ten Mile Killer starts killing again. Occasionally, the ruminations of the last kidnapped girl slow the pacing, but she’s so spunky, I kept reading. Five different points of view add a depth to this story and to the characters with deft skill. The title, the killer’s “rationale for killing,” and the common thread among the ten or twelve or more murdered girls reflects more insight by an author I cant wait to read again.
A psychological look into the lives of 5 people effected by a serial killer.
When an already imperfect family suffers a devastating loss it shatters their foundation and causes irreparable damage. The mother, Claire Willard, a mental mess since her daughter Kelsey was taken 7 years ago. The younger sister, Janie who before her sister was taken suffered from a social anxiety and has struggled to keep her head above water even more since she went missing. And the father, David Willard who is rife with guilt over something from the past.
Mark Foster is a Special Agent with the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations, investigating the latest disappearance. He is also a father and husband whose dedication to his job with the Ohio BCI puts his marriage on the line.
Whitney DeVries, is the latest victim taken by the Ten Mile Killer. She struggles to stay alive through his sick twisted games and gains strength from personal notes she is finding in her prison from the last girl that was there – Kelsey Willard.
This was not a pretty story and for the most part is depressing. The human mind is such a fragile thing and once a crack forms it can bring even the toughest to their knees, and if they don’t have the will to fight, can destroy them.
This thriller wins the award for most characters that I wanted to give a hug. I would say I judge a thriller by whether I predicted the ending or killer (which I didn’t) and whether it held up the suspense (which it also did). The only drawback for me was that I didn’t really understand where this book took place. The locations such as state and era were not clear so there was a bit of confusion for me, but nothing that drew me out of this gripping story.
This book kept me thinking. Great mystery.
Engaging…
I liked this book so much after I read it I listened to it on audible.
I couldn’t put it down – Interesting characters – didn’t guess the ending.
Took it a little while to becoming interesting but once it did, I couldn’t put it down. A very surprising ending.
I listened to it and the audio book was well done. I was surprised at the resolution and usually I have it figured out pretty early in. The characters were all believable. Good book.
I am still listening to it but I have enjoyed it so far and can hardly wait until tonight so I can continue it. Wonderful character development. Truely talented story teller.
The ending was superbly disguised.
Pretty Girls Dancing by Kylie Brant can be classified as a mystery or suspense novel. The story is told from 5 different points of view in relatively short chapters. Seven years ago Kelsey Willard disappeared from Saxon Falls, Ohio. The family doesn’t have closure and has fragmented her parents and sister. Each is coping or not coping in their own way. When another teenage girl goes missing, the Willards are unprepared for the past to reignite and Whitney DeVries’ family goes through the experience for the first time.
Bureau of Criminal Investigation Special Agent Mark Foster is called in and realizes there are similarities in the two cases. Can the kidnapper be identified? Will the Willards and DeVries get a resolution? Are Kelsey and Whitney alive?
While I never fully connected with several of the characters including Agent Foster, some were likeable while others were scary or unlikeable or failed to show significant character growth or depth. But what happens when people have secrets? How does that affect the investigation?
Despite the slow pace, the story line kept me interested. It is twisted, heartbreaking at times, and suspenseful with a dramatic ending. 3.5 stars rounded down to 3 stars. I am in the minority on this rating. There are many readers who loved this novel, including readers whose opinion I respect. While the multiple viewpoints gives readers insight into more than one character, it broke up the flow for me.
Overall, this book had a great concept, but the flow and character depth didn’t work well for me. Despite this, I liked it, but it didn’t escalate to the next level for me.
I received a digital copy of this book in a Goodreads Discussion Group Giveaway. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way.
I have so many mixed feelings about this one! On one hand, it was just interesting enough to keep my interest and to keep me reading far longer than I should have, but on the other hand? Something was definitely missing.
To begin with, this story is told from multiple points-of-view. Each chapter brings in a different perspective as told from one of the characters, and while in some cases this approach worked really well, a lot of the time it seemed to fall a little flat. This is one of those rare cases when I wish we would have gotten to see some chapters from the killer’s perspective, maybe then it would be easier to understand his motives and rationalizations because honestly? Even after finishing the book I still don’t understand exactly why he did what he did.
The chapters that are written from the point of view of Whitney are engaging and somewhat tension-filled. I say somewhat because we can see what the author was obviously going for, but again I feel like there was a missed opportunity to get the depth that this story needed. Other chapters written from the point-of-view of other characters are one-dimensional at best, and seem to serve as nothing more than adding length to the word count. And some of the so-called “secrets” are just irksome. I don’t care what so and so did in their past when it has no bearing on the story.
I’m also still not completely sold on the ending. Bonus points to the author for making it somewhat of a surprise (even though I really wondered about something that was said prior which turned out to be the right thought), I still feel like there were so many loose ends to be tied up in order for this to rate higher (for example without giving away any spoilers, we are never told what secrets a certain wife is protecting). There were a lot of red-herrings in this story which sometimes worked, but just as often did not.
This, unfortunately, is just one of those novels that people are either going to love or hate. Or like me, be completely meh about. I would give this author another shot though.
Not one of her best.
This book was extremely slow. The story didn’t start to pick up until about 3/4 of the way through. It was a decent story, just way too slow.
Suspense, heart wrenching, mystery. Was completely wrong on who the killer was. Wow, so off base. You feel for everyone in this story. Such a great read, I look at everyone twice now. I listened to this on audible for most of it, till I was cringing, waiting for the other shoe to drop. I would recommend this to any one who likes thrillers, psychological, suspense, mystery and hope.
Story not original and I knew early on what linked the pretty girls. I added a star because I didn’t guess who the serial killer was.