Book Tour Review – Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter

I received this book free from TLC Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Pretty Girls on September 29th 2015
Pages: 416
Format: Hardcover
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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 Girlsis a masterful thriller from one of the finest suspense writers working today.

‘You couldn’t turn on the TV without hearing about the missing teenage girl. Sixteen years old. White. Middle class. Very pretty. No one ever seemed quite as outraged when an ugly woman went missing.’

Twenty-four years ago, nineteen-year-old Julia Carroll was walking home one night and disappeared without a trace. The cops believed that she had joined a commune or had run off with a guy and that she’d turn up in a few months. She never did and no body was ever discovered. The Carroll’s have never quite recovered from the loss of Julia, most especially her father who took his own life years after continuing the investigation long after the police had stopped. Claire, Julia’s younger sister, found herself a quiet, comfortable life to rely upon, however, it’s tragically upset when she bears witness to the brutal murder of her husband. Following his death, she discovers a side of her husband that she wouldn’t have thought possible. This discovery sets in motion an inability to know who to trust, and when you don’t know who to trust, what can you do?

Most thrillers these days tend to involve the actual kidnapping, but rather in Pretty Girls, Slaughter hits fast-forward and focuses on the impact on the family left behind even decades later. Most heartbreaking are the snippets between chapters of the fathers journal, his passages written in the form of letters to his deceased daughter. It paints a tragic picture of his inability to give up hope. Their mother, we learn, has kept Julia’s room completely intact as if she’s still expecting her to walk through the front-door. The best characterization is given to Julia’s two estranged sisters, Claire and Lydia. Claire has found a way to have the most normal life possible, one where tragedy doesn’t unexpectedly occur. Lydia seems to have been the one to overcome the memories, yet they crop up when it comes to raising her teenage daughter to not be just another statistic. Claire turns to her sister to help her sort through the chaos that’s become her life, but what she managed to uncover was only the tip of the iceberg. The villain of the story, well, once clues started popping up it all became a bit predictable albeit still incredibly distressing to watch everything unfold.

Kidnapping statistics are pretty heartbreaking to review. Did you know, that according to the FBI’s National Crime Information Center (NCIC), there are 84,924 active missing persons cases as of December 31, 2014? [Source] 74% of kidnapping victims that aren’t taken by a parent, are female. Also, 74% of victims who were ultimately killed had died within 3 hours of being taken. [Source] That’s the harsh reality of the world we live in and Karin Slaughter’s story of “pretty girls” being kidnapped is unfortunately far more common than I think any of us realize.

This post was a part of the ‘Pretty Girls’ blog tour.
Check out the other tour stops below!

Tuesday, September 29th: Sara’s Organized Chaos
Wednesday, September 30th: Curling Up by the Fire
Wednesday, September 30th: Imaginary Reads
Thursday, October 1st: For the Love of Words
Friday, October 2nd: Mary’s Cup of Tea
Monday, October 5th: JulzReads
Tuesday, October 6th: The Book Bag
Wednesday, October 7th: A Bookworm’s World
Thursday, October 8th: Why Girls Are Weird
Friday, October 9th: Cerebral Girl in a Redneck World
Monday, October 12th: No More Grumpy Bookseller
Tuesday, October 13th: Kahakai Kitchen
Wednesday, October 14th: Stephany Writes
Thursday, October 15th: I’m Shelf-ish
Thursday, October 15th: Book Hooked Blog

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