A review by nclcaitlin
Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter

4.25

This book was BRUTAL. And it was so addicting…

More than 20 years ago, Claire and Lydia's sister vanished. Their family fell apart and the two sisters are now estranged.  

Claire is the glamorous trophy wife of a millionaire who is murdered protecting Claire from a robber in an alleyway. 

Lydia is a single mother with a strong and clever daughter, a recovering addict, struggling to make ends meet.

Everything is brought up again when another teenage girl goes missing. 

The two sisters are drawn together as dark secrets connected to their past and the horrific truth of their sister’s disappearance starts surfacing. 

This was my first Karin Slaughter book and all I know going in was that it was very dark and full of twists that would snap my neck 360. 

My first thoughts were - “Wow, these people are messed up.” When Lydia first finds out that her sister’s husband had been murdered, she goes to urinate on his grave (where they first reunite). This gives you an idea about the convoluted relationships between our characters. 

Lydia had such a strong narrative voice. She is fed up with everyone and extremely wry and snarky, determined to raise a strong daughter who can protect herself and stand up to the world. 

Claire is a bit more vanilla, but she starts to question her life as she discovers hidden depths to her husband after his death. 

The world stops for you when you’re pretty. That’s why women spend billions on crap for their faces. Their whole life, they’re the center of attention. People want to be around them just because they’re attractive. Their jokes are funnier. Their lives are better. And then suddenly, they get bags under their eyes or they put on a little weight and no one cares about them anymore. They cease to exist.

Slaughter knows how to build tension and I couldn’t listen to the audiobook fast enough. 

I did have my suspicions the major plot twist, but it was still pretty shocking. And then they kept piling up and I was entranced by how twisty (and messed up) it got. 

I also really enjoyed Slaughter pointing out mundane things someone might think - like jealousy, spite, intimate insights. This just made it feel all the more real, especially after listening to the non-fiction Everyday Sexism. 

That’s my main qualm against thrillers. They never feel real as they’re too popcorn-like - fast-paced with not much character study or depth. 

This did not suffer from that. 

It’s the truth. I’m sorry to be blunt about it, but girls don’t like guys who are doormats. Especially pretty girls, because there’s no novelty to it. Guys are hitting on them all of the time. They can’t walk down the street or order a coffee or stand on a corner without some idiot making a comment about how attractive they are. And the women smile because it’s easier than telling them to go fuck themselves. And less dangerous…

I do think the bonus chapter from Julia’s point of view actually damaged the story. It seemed a lot more political bringing in stats and emotive facts about AIDs, homelessness, etc. 

I think it also detracted from having some of the mystery of Julia completely taken away. However, it was nice seeing the relationship between the three sisters before the horrible tragedy.  

This started as a five stars, but the latter third turned it into a strong four stars. It just felt slightly too prolonged and some of the decisions of the antagonist was completely out of sorts with the wry intelligence they had previously displayed.