NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Who’s really following you on social media? The scam of a lifetime brings together two wildly different women in this page-turning thriller about greed, legacy, and betrayal from the New York Times bestselling author of Watch Me Disappear.An ID Book Club Selection • “It’s Dynasty meets Patricia Highsmith.”—The Washington Post Nina once bought into the idea that her … Highsmith.”—The Washington Post
Nina once bought into the idea that her fancy liberal arts degree would lead to a fulfilling career. When that dream crashed, she turned to stealing from rich kids in L.A. alongside her wily Irish boyfriend, Lachlan. Nina learned from the best: Her mother was the original con artist, hustling to give her daughter a decent childhood despite their wayward life. But when her mom gets sick, Nina puts everything on the line to help her, even if it means running her most audacious, dangerous scam yet.
Vanessa is a privileged young heiress who wanted to make her mark in the world. Instead she becomes an Instagram influencer—traveling the globe, receiving free clothes and products, and posing for pictures in exotic locales. But behind the covetable façade is a life marked by tragedy. After a broken engagement, Vanessa retreats to her family’s sprawling mountain estate, Stonehaven: a mansion of dark secrets not just from Vanessa’s past, but from that of a lost and troubled girl named Nina.
Nina’s, Vanessa’s, and Lachlan’s paths collide here, on the cold shores of Lake Tahoe, where their intertwined lives give way to a winter of aspiration and desire, duplicity and revenge.
This dazzling, twisty, mesmerizing novel showcases acclaimed author Janelle Brown at her best, as two brilliant, damaged women try to survive the greatest game of deceit and destruction they will ever play.
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This fast-paced novel with plot twists is told in alternating points of view and set in a cold lakeside mansion. Two women who knew each other years ago harbor resentments, and each seeks revenge. The story looks at income inequality, family expectations and the impact of social media on our inner lives. I enjoyed the plot twists and surprise ending.
I’ve been terrible about starting books and then, unless they’re utterly captivating, skipping the whole middle and reading the end. Same with movies. But I read (listened, actually) to every bit of this one. Really fabulous!
This was an absorbing read. A grifter and an heiress. The story goes back and forth between the two POVs as each tell their sides of the story. The heiress, a fashion influencer, was eye-opening as such a position wasn’t possible prior to social media.
The few characters were extremely well-developed. This was a page-turner, hard to put down. I will read this author again. Highly recommended
This was the best book I’ve read all year. HANDS. DOWN. One second you think you have it all figured out, the author throws in another curve ball. You never know who is conning who! Amazing read.
This book was well-written with a clever and slow building plot. The book begins to develop in one direction, but later in the book, it takes a very different turn.
Nina and Lachlan are lovers, and they run scams, stealing from the wealthy and selling these riches. Lachlan does it for his own benefit, but Nina is tripping to pay for her mother’s cancer treatments.
They decide to pull a big con on Vanessa, am Instagram star, who owns an estate on Lake Tahoe. Nina had been friends with Nina’s brother, Benny, while in high school, however, she was sure that Vanessa would not recognize her. So, as Ashley and Michael, they planned a con on Vanessa.
This book has several twists and turns, and you will question what you think will happen. Some of what happens is expected, but other things are not. I would have preferred the book to be about 100 pages shorter!
#PrettyThings #JanelleBrown
Okay, so I will be the first one to admit that I decided to go for this one because bookstagram wouldn’t shut up about it, and the cover is gorgeous. Yes, that’s superficial, but at least I own up to it.
I am so glad that I went into this one blind (I didn’t even read the synopsis) because this one was such a pleasant surprise.
I’ve never read a story featuring grifters and heists, so I was a bit wary of where exactly this book was trying to go. Let’s just say, there are so many twists and turns in this book that I feel like I should sue the author for whiplash, lol. Nothing in this book is as it seems, and I loved it. I don’t want to give anything away, so just go read it.
I do highly recommend the audio for this one because Julia Whelan, Lauren Fortgang, and Hillary Huber are amazing.
An enjoyable story with really messed up characters who’s issues mostly stem from the parents. You have the rich kids and the grifter scholarship kid who try to mix but don’t. Fast forward to their adulthood and then the story gets good. The ending was predictable but it was still a great summer read!
It was different a mother and daughter who had to go to the wrong side of the law to survive in life. It was quite a few twist and turns that I did not see coming.
Loved this twisty, tangled story of a con woman, an Instagram influencer, the gradually revealed history between them, and the escalating tension that drives to a breathtaking conclusion. A thriller that truly thrills.
Pretty Things is my first time reading a book by Janelle Brown and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. It pulled me in right away and I loved Nina so much as both a character and grifter.
The book is definitely a slow burn, but I loved every minute of it. I also liked that it switched back and forth between both Nina and Vanessa. The dual narrative with those two really made the book for me, and I loved getting all the background to them as characters, especially when their paths connect. None of the scenes seemed repetitive for me even though there are a few told from both their perspectives. I really appreciated this because I hate when the same scenes are told from different POV’s and you learn nothing new.
Pretty Things did draw me in right away, but I especially enjoyed it once the secrets started being revealed. The last quarter of the book blew me away and I couldn’t put it down. While I did most of the book on audio, I ended up reading the last 116 pages because I couldn’t wait to find out what was going to happen. The narration on the audio was awesome as well, and while I didn’t realize there were three narrators (I thought there were only two) I can say I loved all of them. Julia Whelan, Lauren Fortgang and Hillary Huber made the book even better with their voices and tones, and I would highly recommend the audio.
If you are looking for a slow burn that is part family drama, part heist ‘film’, and part thriller I would recommend checking out either the book or the audio. Pretty Things made me fall in love with Brown’s writing and she has an instant fan here!
Thank you to The Book Drop and the publisher for providing me with an advance review copy of this book, all opinions and thoughts are my own.
I loved how timely the story was of thieves going after Instagram influencers. After that, the story and characters build and it became such a page turner for me, I could not put it down! Can’t wait to see what Nicole Kidman does with it onscreen.
I really enjoyed this book. The writing was original and atmospheric – the characters real and relatable, and the story was great. Lots of twists, lots of compelling situations. I won’t give anything away, except to say that if you’re looking for a good story that you’ll be totally engrossed in, this is the one to pick up!
What a great book! These well-written and developed characters were twisted into a complex story that never took the easy road.
“Perspective is, by nature, subjective. It’s impossible to climb inside someone else’s head, despite your best-or worst-intentions.” – Pretty Things
So many people used the word “captivated” when describing their experience with this book and I can understand why. The characters are so real, with good and bad qualities, that you can’t help feel very quickly as if you know them. That sort of complexity never let go either. Janelle Brown never took the easy road in this book, weaving two very different women into one world. She challenged my own assumptions in a way that I loved, forcing me to see our commonalities as women when we remove the outer veil of social media and society expectations.
This book explores misconceptions, mental illness, and manipulation in a very interesting light and it will keep you guessing again and again as it twists deeper. The two main characters, Nina and Vanessa, were given real room to grow and react in a way so authentic you forget you’re in a book. You can have a whole idea of someone in your head and be completely wrong and that misinformation can be the narrative for how you shape your life. I was often kept guessing while cheering for the intelligent decisions made throughout and I loved the resolution, which is the best, right? I could not stop turning the pages until I was on the last one. I highly recommend this book!
Bestselling author Janelle Brown follows up Watch Me Disappear with a saga of two women spanning more than a decade that features numerous unexpected revelations, shocking plot twists, and endlessly intriguing characters.
Nina was raised by a single mother with big aspirations for her brilliant only child, but no motivation to settle down and earn an honest living. Instead, because her mother was pretty and knowledgeable about how to use her appearance, she pulled off con jobs that paid the rent for a time, always on the verge of a really big payday. When the marks got wise or the police began investigating, they moved on.
After college, Nina’s dreamed-of big career in the New York art world never became a reality. So when she learned her mother was alone in Los Angeles, stricken with cancer and in need of expensive treatment not covered by insurance, Nina gave up her job as a third assistant to an interior designer specializing in redecorating luxurious vacation homes in the Hamptons. Now she’s in Los Angeles, running scams with her on-again, off-again boyfriend, Lachlan, a charming Irishman. She maintains a store where she poses as an antiques dealer but, in reality, she works with a fence who takes most of the proceeds from the sale of the goods Nina steals.
Vanessa Liebling comes from West Coast old money. Her father ran the family business — a San Francisco real estate investment firm. Her brother, Benny, was the worrisome child. Their father feared that Benny inherited their mother’s mental illness, a disability that she was never able to manage. They came to the family home, Stonehaven, in Lake Tahoe, a sprawling, medieval-like house filled with antiques and massive portraits of the Liebling ancestors, so that Benny could attend a prep school there after being expelled from a Bay Area school. There, Benny met Nina, who was also enrolled because a teacher recognized her potential and arranged for her to receive financial aid. Her mother secured a job in a casino and put forth the pretense of working a regular, steady job, as Benny and Nina’s relationship blossomed. The school was known for launching its graduates into ivy league colleges and big careers. But for Nina, it was another chapter that ended with heartbreak, disappointment, and graduation with a liberal arts degree from an ordinary college, accompanied by a six-figure student loan balance. Nina has always blamed Benny’s family, especially his father.
It’s twelve years later. Benny’s parents are both dead, Nina hasn’t seen Benny since she and her mother left Lake Tahoe so long ago, and Vanessa has moved back to Stonehaven after being dumped by her fiancee because he feared she would not make the right kind of wife for an up-and-coming politician. Vanessa became an Instagram influencer with half a million followers and a photographer she employed to ensure that her pictures perfectly illustrated her glamorous life. Her father did not hold back his disappointment, expressing his opinion that her activities did not constitute a career. Vanessa has very little money left and is transitioning the focus of her Instagram posts to more natural and spiritual pursuits. She has to decide what to do about the estate and all of its contents. In the interim, she decides to rent the caretaker’s cottage to tourists to bring in some much-needed cash.
Nina has kept track of Vanessa’s social media presence and recalls that her father kept a million dollars in a safe situated within Stonehaven because Benny used to pilfer money from his father’s stash. She also knows that Benny’s birthday was the safe’s combination. If she can gain access to the safe and the cash is still there, she will have enough money to pay for her mother’s cancer treatment, make a fresh start . . . and evade arrest. No matter what, she has to get out of Los Angeles if she wants to remain free.
Brown relates Nina’s story via a first-person narrative with a voice that is compelling, credible, and infuriating. Because Nina is self-aware. She knows that she has made bad choices and is solely responsible for them, as well as the consequences. Yet she is emotionally stuck because, in her mind, the Lieblings stole her future from her and she has never forgiven them. She wants to finally get revenge. She and her mother were forced to leave town. Their unceremonious exit from Lake Tahoe and her inability to complete high school there signify the beginning of the end of the glorious future her mother envisioned for her. She and her mother returned to Las Vegas and her mother resumed grifting. The time they spent in Lake Tahoe destroyed Nina’s self-confidence and self-concept. Now that Vanessa is back at Stonehaven and Nina needs money, the time is right. Lachlan signs on and they rent the caretaker’s cottage from Vanessa, adopting fictitious identities and histories in order to befriend Vanessa and, hopefully, find that the Liebling safe still holds enough cash to solve Nina’s problems . . . and make the Lieblings pay for their treatment of her and her mother.
Nina’s narration alternates with Vanessa’s who, like Nina, is self-aware in many respects, but also deeply flawed. Vanessa recognizes that she is capable of leading a life that is far more substantial than posting a series of staged photos on a social media platform, but she is self-absorbed and accustomed to a comfortable lifestyle, and uncertain about how to make her own way in the world now that her parents are gone, her trust fund is nearly depleted, and she is responsible for her brother. She has a love-hate relationship with Stonehaven, and is quite lonely and at loose ends in familiar surroundings under the current circumstances.
Pretty Things is an inventive, creative story about hope, regret, grudges, and stunning betrayals. Her development of the characters of Nina and Vanessa is mesmerizing, and Brown ramps up the dramatic tension as the two are reunited, gradually revealing what each knows about the other. Brown’s telling of her intricately-plotted story is masterful, the subject matter timely and contemporary. She capitalizes on her settings, evocatively establishing her characters’ moods and intentions, and utilizing Stonehaven especially effectively. The estate practically serves as an additional character in the story. Her rich prose grants readers an intimate look into the lives and psyches of Nina and Vanessa, keeping readers on edge as they ponder which they should root for. Or, perhaps, if they should cheer neither of them on. Because the characters are fully formed and multi-dimensional, neither woman fully good or fully bad, the story resonates emotionally, especially with respect to Benny, the troubled young man that Nina never forget. Brown delivers one unexpected development after another, ramping up the story’s pace until it culminates with a jaw-dropping finale that most readers will never see coming.
Acclaimed author Harlan Coben says that Brown is “your new must-read author” and he’s right. Pretty Things is a smart, entertaining thriller that is thoroughly un-put-down-able.
Thanks to NetGalley for an Advance Reader’s Copy of the book.
This is a book filled with suspense. And tragedy. There are not many characters, but they are so well developed, with such deep stories. They have all experienced heartbreak and loss of hope, life hasn’t turned out like they hoped it would. Missed chances? Fate? Something they did? Their interactions are fascinating as they weave in and out and cross over and back. Everyone is connected to something that connects to another one of them. But you can’t figure it all out, you are surprised over and over again. On the surface Pretty Things seems to be about a grifter and a shallow rich girl, and a big scheme. But it’s so much more. I guess it’s true that no one is all good or all bad, you can’t make a snap judgement or take everyone at face value.
Nina grew up with a single mom, who was a grifter and the picture of the helpless woman. She always told Nina she could do and be more, that she had a FUTURE. And Nina believed it. Until she didn’t. She worked hard but still that future seemed elusive, and then her mom got sick and she had to earn money for treatment using the only role model she had – a grifter.
Vanessa is the rich, spoiled heiress who grew up in the very, very, very dysfunctional family. Who never felt like she was enough, did enough, was noticed enough, especially after her mother committed suicide.
Everyone is flawed but everyone (well, almost everyone) also has redeeming qualities. They want love or security or fortune – or just to be seen. Actions from the past changed the future, and some actions taking place now are going to set things in motion that can’t be undone. It’s an unsettling book, but mesmerizing. Leaving you unsure, flipping back and forth as to who you should hope wins, who you feel the most sorry for, who is sincere and who is lying and pretending to be someone they are not.
Pretty Things is extraordinary, touching, thought-provoking and a very enjoyable read. I received an advance copy from publisher Random House. All opinions are my own. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommend it without hesitation.
A grifter,, Nina, and a Social influencer, Vanessa, are our narrators telling their stories in alternating sections. It becomes difficult to figure out who has the advantage. I really liked the development of these characters and the twists and turns as the story unfolds. My only complaint is many long chapters. I had fun trying to figure out what would really happen. This book would make a great movie! I can see bookclubs having fun deciding on the cast! Thank you Random House and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
4.5 stars
I drank down Janelle Brown’s Pretty Things in one greedy gulp, speeding through the pages even as the sharp, insightful writing made me feel compassion for each narrator… Mesmerizing, provocative, surprising and thoughtful — a must-read.
A can’t-look-away story of and for our generation, Pretty Things combines a spellbinding setting with dark, slippery secrets to expose what we’ve always known — or maybe just hoped — to be true about the gilded lives presented in our social media feeds. Janelle Brown is a literary powerhouse.
Hungry, sexy, and packed with twists, this latest novel from Janelle Brown exposes what’s hidden behind the stone walls of the elite’s mansions and the slick facades of con artists’ scams. Money, family, and Instagram collide to make a book you won’t be able to put down.
I really really liked this one – until the end when it felt a little overplayed…
There’s just something about con artists… I think a part of the fascination is how easy it is to imagine ourselves falling for someone who has so carefully crafted a story to deliver exactly what we need to hear when we need to hear it. It makes us realize how vulnerable we are to the people around us, and how the only way we could truly protect ourselves would be to cut ourselves off from everyone and everything.
Brown does a fantastic job with the set up here. Her characters are well-developed and each neurotic in their own way. It makes them relatable even when their lives are so very different from your own. She does a nice job pacing the revelations and red herrings early on, and a couple of times the flips and turnarounds caught me by surprise. There’s a tremendous slow build that goes on for the vast majority of this book, with secrets and lies building layer upon layer. The back and forth narration really helps build that tension and offered multiple first person perspectives in a way that I found engaging and entertaining.
That said, I thought the ending felt a little forced, and it lost me a little. I can’t exactly pinpoint how or why the shift happened, but at some point as the revelations began flowing fast and furious, I started to feel a disconnect from the characters. I don’t know what that was about exactly – I’ve tried to figure it out, but can’t put my finger on it. It was still a thoroughly enjoyable read, but my attention did start to wander a little at the end and I thought things fell into place a little too tightly. Still, this was a solid read and I will definitely look for more from Janelle Brown.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my review copy.