Lee Child says it’s “stunning… certain to be a book of the year.” Kathy Reichs calls it “extraordinary… a major achievement.”Jeffery Deaver says that “fiction doesn’t get any better than this.” Gillian Flynn says of Karin Slaughter: “I’d follow her anywhere.” See for yourself what these #1 New York Times-bestselling authors are talking about. Sisters. Strangers. Survivors. More than twenty years … Times-bestselling authors are talking about.
Sisters. Strangers. Survivors.
More than twenty years ago, Claire and Lydia’s teenaged sister Julia vanished without a trace. The two women have not spoken since, and now their lives could not be more different. Claire is the glamorous trophy wife of an Atlanta millionaire. Lydia, a single mother, dates an ex-con and struggles to make ends meet. But neither has recovered from the horror and heartbreak of their shared loss—a devastating wound that’s cruelly ripped open when Claire’s husband is killed.
The disappearance of a teenage girl and the murder of a middle-aged man, almost a quarter-century apart: what could connect them? Forming a wary truce, the surviving sisters look to the past to find the truth, unearthing the secrets that destroyed their family all those years ago . . . and uncovering the possibility of redemption, and revenge, where they least expect it.
Powerful, poignant, and utterly gripping, packed with indelible characters and unforgettable twists, Pretty Girls is a masterful novel from one of the finest writers working today.
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This is an extremely graphic, violent story about 3 sisters intricately connected to one man who is evil, truly EVIL. It’s told from different points of view and I was on the edge of my seat for most of this book. I don’t want to give any of the story away so let’s just say it was quite the page turner and now that I finished reading it, I can breathe normally. Quite the roller coaster ride!
Read this one with the lights on and your doors bolted!
This was my first time reading a Karen Slaughter book and I wasn’t sure what to expect. I’d heard many good reports of this author’s work and no I see why.
This book is intense!
It starts with a father’s journal account of the loss and subsequent search for his daughter, Julie, which immediately made me empathize with him and the family he lost. We learn of his sense of helplessness, his anger and most of all, his determination to find his girl. It cost him his job, his wife, and to a lesser extent, his daughters.
So very sad.
Then we’re introduced to the vastly different estranged siblings, Lydia and Claire. Each sought security after the loss of their sister in different ways, drugs for Lydia, and marriage with a ‘safe’ guy for Claire.
The sudden, violent murder of Claire’s husband, John, brings the sisters together again and sheds light on his sadistic background.
This story has so many twists and turns my heart didn’t know whether to weep with all this poor family had been through, or shiver with fear at what they were living now.
Strong, eloquent writing. To be frank, it scared the hell out of me.
If you like your thrillers dark and twisted, this book is for you.
I give Pretty Girls 5 lovely kisses
Trigger warning that this book is quite graphic/violent, but I still really liked it. Even though it can lean a bit more horror than a psychological thriller, I liked that it was different and kept me enthralled until the end!
Let me start by saying that this book is not for the faint of heart. It has graphic depictions of rape and torture.
That being said, I think this might be my favorite Karin Slaughter book since she started the Will Trent series. On the one hand, it’s a pretty typical suspense/thriller. But Slaughter knows how to tell a story so you’re drawn in from the beginning. And freed from having to concentrate on Will Trent and Sara Linton, she creates compelling new characters with rich backstories. The main plotline kept me guessing (I figured out a few of the bad guys but there were still surprises at the end) while the side plot of two sisters reuniting after years apart and learning to trust each other again kept me extra invested in their stories.
I look forward to the next Trent/Linton story, but I hope Slaughter does more stand-alone books like this one. It was a nice change!
Wow, Karin Slaughter. Some names put chills in a crime writer’s heart. It’s hard to see how modern crime writers can shape up to Slaughter’s outstanding standards, and this book is the perfect example of needle point plotting and sweeping writing. Tragic, edge of your seat, heart in mouth stuff. A tale of two polar opposite sisters with a horror in their past that won’t be left alone when it echoes into the present. I just loved it. You will too.
Wow, wow, wow! This was one of the most intense, most twisted psychological thrillers I’ve ever read. I started out listening on Audio but couldn’t read it fast enough so I got the book. This is definitely one that I simply couldn’t put down. I wondered who could be trusted the entire book and was shocked by many of the plot twists. I will definitely read this one again!
I inhaled this book in 2-days. It was everything I was looking for. Highly recommend.
How well do you know your husband? Claire Scott would’ve sworn she had the perfect marriage to uber-wealthy businessman Paul Scott, until, in the wake of his murder, she discovers his snuff porn collection. Countless young women are brutally tortured, raped, and murdered on film, and the most recent is the spitting image of a missing local girl.
Grief-stricken and fragile, on probation and suddenly a person of FBI interest, Claire struggles to reconcile the past couple decades of her life with the disaster it has become. How long ago should she have suspected Paul of wrongdoing? How involved is he? And in what? Claire isn’t even certain the tapes are real, but the resemblance of that victim to the girl in the news…
There’s an old missing persons case and some family drama as Claire turns to her estranged sister, Lydia, for help figuring out what Paul may or may not have done. Lydia has her own reasons to want Paul found guilty of pretty much anything, since he’s the reason she and her sister (and their mother) haven’t spoken to each other in years.
This is my first Karin Slaughter book, but it won’t be my last. The premise is wild. The author seamlessly blends past and current events from multiple points of view, and I can see why she is a best seller. The writing is concise, action-driven, and unflinching. Where a less gutsy author may have shied away from the inherent evil of the subject matter, Ms. Slaughter goes right for the jugular. There are several scenes (including one with a squirt gun), that I couldn’t erase from my mind if I had to. I wouldn’t recommend this one to anyone sensitive to violence and viscera, or who may be triggered by scenes of graphic rape. Tragic but with a glimmer of hope, Pretty Girls is unlike anything I’ve read before and stands out as one of the most disturbing books I’ve read this year.
Absolute must read!! This was my first Karin Slaughter book ever read. I finished it in one sitting and I then binged on everything else she ever wrote!
I could not put this book down and at 20 hours via audio, that’s really saying something. Not…bored…once.
Pretty Girls is a suspense/mystery/thriller novel written by Karin Slaughter. This story slowly spirals down to very dark places and I was surprised by how intense the reading experience was. But even when the subject became hard to read, I couldn’t help but flip the pages (well in my case, keep the earbuds in). I was completely engaged, and my investment in these characters just grew stronger as the story progressed. The characters and relationship dynamics featured in this book are built perfectly which made the interactions that occurred all the more emotional (and not in an “Awww, that’s sweet” kind of way!). Oh… and the audiobook!!!! Kathleen Early’s narration was amazing. She really brought the emotions in this story to life for me personally. With her first terror-filled whisper, I was sold.
If you like the genres listed for this book and can stomach some pretty disturbing mentions of violence, then check out Pretty Girls. Also, if you enjoy listening to audiobooks every now and then, consider the audio version for this one. It’s phenomenal!
Wow!!! What a book!! Loved every page of this and wished I could have finished it in one sitting…unfortunately I had to spread it out over 3 days. A thriller full of twists and revelations that will keep you guessing and on your toes not knowing who to trust. While I was able to guess a fair amount of the plot twists before I read them, I was still super excited and entertained once my guesses were revealed to be true. I totally recommend this book, but it definitely deals with some twisted sexual violence which isn’t for everyone….and most definitely is not appropriate for younger readers.
I was on the edge of my seat vacilating between who was the good guy and who was going left standing by the end of the book. The characters were vivid and realistic with both obvious and hidden flaws. The suspense was masterful, weaving seeds of doubt and suspicion from beginning to end. Had this been a movie, I would have had my eyes closed multiple times. This is a story not to be missed if suspense thrillers are your cup of tea.
Horrible graphic violence but couldn’t put this book down. Gripping read.
Wow, I very rarely read books more than once, but this book has been calling me to read it again. The second time was just as twisted as the first. I can’t even tell you what an action packed, gory, twisted and unexpected story this is. And I think everyone needs to read it. It will stick with you for a long time to come. And lets not forget the scene with the two female characters in chapter four. I’ve never read anything like that before! Happy reading!
I have read a lot, and by a lot, I mean almost ALL of Karin Slaughter’s books at this point. I don’t know how I missed this one but when it came available in my library I snatched it up and I read it in about a day and a half. I absolutely could not put it down. I had things to do and yet I found myself unable to stop reading until I had followed every single twist and turn down the rabbit hole Slaughter sent these characters down. I don’t write spoilers in my reviews so I won’t get into those twists and turns but I will warn that this book goes into graphic details of rape, torture and murder. I don’t think in my opinion that it was done for shock value or unnecessarily. It fully added to the weight of the story and the tragedy of what was unfolding on the page. I winced a few times and I cried once too and if that’s not a sign of a good book, I don’t know what is. This may well be my new favorite Karin Slaughter novel.
I love Karin Slaughter’s books in general but this one is a definite favorite for me. I will be reading it again that’s for sure!
This book had so many twists and turns I sat on the edge of my seat, expecting one thing to happen and then just the opposite occurred. There were times I had to put it down and come back because of the unexpected and mind boggling scenes. Highly recommend this book for all who study the criminal mind or who are ignoring the world of sex trafficking!
complex, complicated, twisted crime with step-by-step revelations of the characters involved. Different points of view that melded at the end of the book but were easy to follow as the narrative progressed (none of this “Who is this speaking now?”) Interesting were the journal entries from the father’s point of view written to his missing daughter. Good read – stand alone Karin Slaughter
A thriller about 3 sisters. Julia was abducted, tortured, and raped, but no one can confirm her death. The girls’ father commited suicide, possibly be use of his missing daughter. The 2 remaining sisters grieve in their own while and distance from each other for a lot if years. The 2 sisters then run into each other and find that they need each other. When Lydia gets abducted by the son of her sisters murderer, Claire will so whatever it takes to get her back, but will she save her in time and bring closure on Julia? Find out while reading this book.
Good book enjoy her crime scene descriptions . I worked crime scenes for over
20 yrs . in Atlanta. I can follow her through the Atlanta area & picture the areas &
Crime scenes in my mind.