Pretty Girls-Book Review

Hey everyone!

It has been WAY TOO LONG since i’ve done a book review. But truth be told, it has been awhile since i read a book! With school and work, i don’t have the time to read. But i have about a month break now, so i want to read as much as i can in this short amount of time!

This book, i first remember seeing a poster for it at a local B&N in the fall time, and i remember my sister and i just saw the poster and commented that it looked interesting. But months passed…and neither of us read it. Then recently, when i wanted to get a book to read, i decided this was the time to get it!

I checked it out of my local library (i want to buy all the books i read…but i don’t have my own place and am running out of shelf space in my current room…so bookshelf dreams will have to come true when i move out lol), anyways; i began the book and finished it within a matter of a week or less!

Title: Pretty Girls
Author: Karin Slaughter
Genre: Thriller/mystery/suspense
Overall rating: 4.2/5

Let me get into a brief overview of the plot of this book….

Essentially the story centers around a family. Julia Carroll disappears in 1991 with no body found, leaving her family behind to deal with her mysterious disappearance. She has two sisters and parents. The fact that this book dealt with 3 sisters, made it ironic and funny, because I am 1 of 3 sisters in my house as well.
The mother is a forever quiet griever but eventually moves herself of to a better life. The dad’s reaction and the way he dealt with the loss…is the most heartbreaking part of the story. Every few chapters, it jumps to letters/journal entries by the father to his missing daughter, explaining essentially how crazy he went after she went missing.

The two sisters remaining; Claire & Lydia–are the main portion of the book. They are estranged and have not spoken to each other for decades (explained in detail why throughout the book), and every chapter alternates with the POV of one sister. These women characters are quickly and easily drawn to by the reader, and creates for a page-turning novel.

The sisters are forced to come together to solve the mystery behind their sisters disappearance when Claire’s husband, Paul is killed in front of her. The murder of Paul + the missing of Julia from years ago; are connected-and the sisters have to figure out how and why.

Ever since i read The Girl on the Train (review here), i’ve basically been obsessed with this genre and am always on the hunt to find books in this chick-mystery-psycho-thriller. This book is WAY more than about a missing girl, there’s a lot of twists and turns in the plot that are quite unexpected, and at times, a bit much.

One thing that put me off about this book, is that the details are explained in some gruesome amount of detail. I literally had to skip/skim over a few paragraphs of description because it was wayyy too graphic. I’m sure some people can handle it, but it was like too monster for me to bear, but it’s not SO terrible that you need to put the book down.

The book was a page turner for me, and i found myself literally holding my breath as i read and as things unfolded in front of me. It’s like watching a scary movie!

The book is quite sad as well, and realizing that there is so much truth behind the story, and that these horrific events DO happen in today’s world make it so real and riveting.

The end was quite moving, which I was very pleased about.

I believe this author has many more books, but this is the first i’ve read by her. Let me know if you’ve read this book and what you thought of it! Do let me know below if you know of any of her other books as well, i’d love to read more by her!

I would def recommend this to anyone who’s looking for a new book to read! You won’t be disappointed!

I’m on the prowl for more books (esp this genre) let me know of any suggestions!

Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram to stay up to date on my blog happenings!

Until next time, XOXO