This is the first book I have read by this author. I was thoroughly impressed! It's not quite as dark and mysterious as some thrillers can be. I don't think that was the point of it. There is indeed some mystery to it but to me it was more than that. It was a story about two people and how the smallest silliest thing and the biggest most terrible thing can change your life forever.

First and foremost I think the premise of this book may have been loosely based on Canada's most notorious killers, Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka in the early to mid 1990's. Dubbed the, "Ken and Barbie" killers. I remember that case so well. The utter panic, outrage and extreme sadness it triggered. How many still to this day remember the, "Deal with the Devil" that Karla Homolka's legal team arranged. She only received twelve years in prison for participating in such horrendous acts of crime. This book seems to examine (fictitiously) how one can continue a life after such a horrific past.

Kate and Frances are both stay-at-home mom's whose children attend the same private school. Their two sons become friends and the two women form a close friendship. They are both hiding something. At first we do not know what they are hiding. It is a slow build-up of friendship and the writing is superb. It kept me glued to the story. I could not put it down.

The story is told through three voices. Frances, Daisy, and DJ. This story really makes you question what you know, who you know...

This is a five star winner that I highly recommend!

This is a great book that explores how well you know someone, Is the person you meet exactly as they appear or are there events in their life that you know nothing about. Would you begin a relationship with them if you knew what their past held or would you steer clear. Does their past define who they are or has it caused them to change to who they are now,

Frances Metcalfe has a hard time fitting in with the crowd of wealthy moms at the Forrester Academy. This is made even harder after her son commits an act of retaliation against one of his fellow students.
Then she meets Kate Randolph who seems to have it all. Everything that Frances feels she doesn't have, Kate is a beautiful, confident, secure women who all the other mothers want to befriend but Kate picks Frances.
After some time Frances begins to think that there is more to Kate than what you see on the surface. Little by little pieces of the puzzle of Kate start to fit together to give a clearer picture of just exactly who Kate is and what her past holds.

The suspense in this book is constant. I kept telling myself "Just one more chapter than I'll stop". This book had too good a hold on me to let that happen. The author, Robyn Harding, did a great job of slowly doling out little bits of information. Just when I thought I had every thing figured out I would be pointed in a different direction.

Thanks to Netgalley for my copy.

If I had been reading this book without me living in Canada and knowing and following the Homolka/Bernardo case this would have probably been a better book for me. As it was it made me feel distinctly uncomfortable with the glaring similarities to that case.

The whole storyline of forgiving a past crime is engaging and definitely thought provoking but my sympathies lie with the victims. I just wonder how the families feel about this book.

(This review has been posted on both Goodreads and librarything as well as amazon, Kobo and indigo)

“The party” by Robyn Harding was one of my favourite books from last year so I was thrilled to receive a free copy of “her pretty face” from net valley in exchange for an honest review.
Forrester Academy is a private school with the yummy mummies of the students are very exclusive. Frances’s son Marcus goes to Forrester and after an incident at school, Frances has become somewhat of a pariah, often invisible. Until Kate. Beautiful and confident Kate came to the school with her son Charles, same age as Marcus. Marcus and Charles became fast friends as did Kate and Frances.
But both women each have a huge secret. A secret they don’t want anyone to find out or life would never be the same for either of them. Can a person really change to become a good person? Can evil be conquered or is it just hidden behind a pretty face?
Kate and Frances have the kind of friendship many of us envy and was a lifeline for Frances. They spent so much time together as inseparable as their boys. But then there are a few things about Kate that begin to concern Frances; the biggest being her casual treatment of her teenage daughter Daisy. Daisy at 15 can pretty much do whatever she wants which would be some teen’s dream but Daisy is wounded by Kate’s indifference and is ripe to fall into some trouble of her own. My heart ached for Daisy, strong but unloved and confused and I cringed as I watched her heading for what would only be disaster.
This story goes back and forth, from past to present, giving us more and more information then halting to the next chapter leaving us yearning for the answer to the biggest question and where it was all leading. The author’s storytelling is remarkable, keeping us guessing and engrossed in the story yet I couldn’t help noticing a lot of parallels to a very well known case in Canada from the 90’s.
Nonetheless, intriguing well written story that’s a quick read. I can’t seem to get enough of this genre and this is one closer to the top of my list. It’s a 4 1/2 for me.
Thanks to the publisher and net galley for sending me this book free in exchange for an honest review.

This is a really good domestic thriller. Frances is the unpopular mother at her son's school. She can't shake the feeling that neither her nor her son belong among the wealthy families at his elite new school. When Frances meets Kate, the mother of her son's only friend, her life is changed. Kate opens a new world to Frances--one where she can relax and be herself without feeling judged.

As Frances and Kate and their families become closer, Frances begins to question why this seemingly perfect woman would want to be her friend. Later when she stumbles upon an old photograph of Kate, she begins to look into her past and what she finds is horrifying.

This book is different from most of the recent thrillers I've read. Frances is a great character. She is normal but flawed and the book's plot doesn't revolve around these flaws--like for example in The Girl on the Train,

Ultimately, it's a great summer read and I'd recommend it to anyone reading the thriller genre.

If I had known Her Pretty Face was based on the Paul Bernardo and Karla Holmoka murders, I would have stayed far far away from this one. But given how much I ended up enjoying it, I’m glad I went in blind. The story is told from three perspectives. Frances is having trouble fitting in as a parent at her son’s private school, but Kate throws her a lifeline through friendship. Daisy is Kate’s troubled teenage daughter. And DJ, who’s narrative is set in the past, is the brother of a teenage girl who was brutally killed. It quickly becomes clear that DJ’s story is linked to the present, but it takes a while to figure out how. I found Her Pretty Face to be a taught clever book and I definitely had trouble putting it down. I was impressed by the fact that there was little graphic violence, despite the background story. Again, I liked this one far more than I expected. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read an advance copy.

A enjoyable, quick and easy read. The story progressed at a nice pace. However, not as suspenseful as I was expecting from the synopsis.

Thank you to Netgalley, the Publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book in return for my honest opinion.

I kept hearing about this book and finally had the opportunity to read it, all the hype was worthwhile. This was a great summer read! This book was a thrill-ride for sure, it was full of lies, murder and deceit and betrayal. It's the suburbs, and an upscale private school full of soccer moms, but do you really know who the soccer mom next to you was, in her past, what secrets she might be hiding?

I read it like I was Columbo, trying to solve the mysteries that the book gave us, I was sure I knew what was going on and then bam, I was wrong, again and again. I liked the interactions between the characters and as you got to the end of the book, you saw Frances and Kate for who they were and how they became who they are now. The book is in three voices, Frances, Daisy and DJ, I liked the way the chapters were arranged and the way the storyline was released and slowly came together. I read this book over the course of a weekend, and when I wasn't reading it, I was trying to sort out who was who, I was so impatient to get to the end. I liked the ending, it was again, a bit of a surprise.

I will definitely be watching for more books by this author. Very enjoyable.

A solid 3.5 star read.

If you are Canadian, or into True crime, you are likely aware of the Paul Bernardo / Karla Homolka murders. The crime and murderers depicted in this book will remind you of them. If that makes you uncomfortable, or brings it too close to home, this book might not be for you.

It certainly made me uncomfortable. A book about truth, lies, forgiveness and despicable acts towards other people.

This story is told through alternating points of view - Frances; mother of Marcus (a child with learning difficulties), who is overwhelmed with her life caring for her son and trying to fit into the private school her son attends.

Daisy; daughter to Kate, Frances' only friend at the school. Daisy is a 14 year old who is seriously unhappy and seeking love and acceptance outside of her home. She and Kate have a difficult relationship to say the least. Made even more difficult by Kate appearing to the outside world as the perfect mother, wife and friend.

DJ; brother of the victim. He is the one who retells the murder and it's through him that you get the gruesome details.

Flipping back and forth between the present and the past, this is a story that is more than meets the eye - it's not just about a woman with a past, but also about the dynamics between friends, family, children. About struggling with adolescence; fitting in, being bullied, finding solace in the wrong places.

Well paced, well written, this is a good summer read. Recommended.

Thank you Netgalley, Simon & Schuster Canada, Gallery and Scout Press for an advanced copy in return for an honest review.

Omg I loved this book!! Such a great story to read that was inspired by the Karla Homolka and Paul Bernardo case. It was chilling to read about a character who has such a brutal, terrifying past, and makes you think if people really can change over time.
I found myself re-reading about the cases involving Homolka and Bernardo, and it’s scary to think that a person is able to get away with murder.
Amazing writing from Robyn Harding’s second book! ❤️👏🏼

Told from the point of view of DJ, Daisy, and Frances, we learn the events surrounding the murder of 15-year-old Courtney Carey in 1996 and the lives of two present-day stay-at-home moms whose sons are in the same grade. Over the course of the book, we are introduced to Amber Kunik, the young girl who was convicted to 6 years in prison for her involvement in Courtney's murder. Soon after she strikes a plea bargain, evidence comes out that she was way more involved than previously thought. We also learn that one of those sweet stay-at-home moms is really just Amber in disguise.

It was an interesting read, and I definitely see how the concept for this novel was ripped from the headlines and based on the story of Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka. There are even similarities to Homolka's post-prison life. I'd have to say this is one of the best psychological thrillers I have read in a while that kept me turning the pages till the end. I also love how it is left fairly open-ended, so you are left questioning how the relationship between the two mothers actually ends.

Her Pretty Face by Robyn Harding was the perfect summer thriller. It was very Big Little Lies - a suburban mystery where the reader doesn’t know who to trust. I raced through the book, I found it very fast-paced and easy to read. 4 stars. This book took me 3.5 hours to read. I was given this arc from @netgalley for my honest review.

SPOILERS ALERT!!!


Well I'm a little bit mixed on this one. The framework for this story appears to be loosely based on Canada's most notorious serial killers Karla Homolka and Paul Bernardo. Any Canadian will know the unfortunate circumstances that led to Homolka being given a plea bargain in exchange for her testimony against her husband Paul Bernardo only to discover her enthusiastic participation after police were made aware of videotapes. By then the deal had been made, and Homolka was given a rather short sentence for her heinous crimes. To this day, many Canadians recognize the injustices of having her now live among us after being involved in the brutal sexual assault, torture and murder of two teen girls (14 & 15 years old). Behaviour that in my opinion deserves a life sentence with no chance of parole. Homolka now lives under a fake identity, married, with kids of her own. There was actually a recent incident in which parents of a private school at which her kids attend discovered her true identity and notified the press in an attempt to get her out of the community and away from their children.

I wish the author had provided a warning that Her Pretty Face is loosely based on true events. Had I known it mirrored Homolka's crimes, I probably wouldn't have chosen to read this book in the first place. As a result, i felt like the author took advantage of a horrendous crime and sensationalized it as thriller fiction

In part, this book seemed to question whether a person's past choices (that involve the cold blooded murder of a child) could be forgiven with time? Are they a different person 20 years after the fact? My short answer is NO! I don't even need to give that one ounce of consideration. How could any person with a conscious find themselves in that situation???

As for the mystery element, there really wasn't much of one for me. Even not knowing the details of Homolka, there are only 2 choices of who the real psychopath is and it didn't take Sherlock Holms to figure it out right from the start.

With that said, fans of the thriller genre will probably get swept up in the prose to some degree. It is the type of book that keeps the reader engaged with low grade suspense. I gave 3 stars because it is an okay read but probably forgettable and not much of a wow factor. A quick read that is easy to put down and pick up when you have time.

Thank you to publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. Her Pretty Face is now available for purchase.

Her Pretty Face is a riveting character-driven, suburban thriller that reminded me of Paul Bernado and Karla Homolka's Canadian murder case.

Her Pretty Face, which takes place in Seattle, is about marriage, parenting, friendship, loyalty, secrets, and betrayal. How well do you think you know your spouse? Family? Friends? If you found out they did something horrible many years ago, could you forgive them? Would you keep their secrets?

Jason and Frances's marriage has become mundane. Frances doesn't have any friends, and is insecure about her weight. She's a stay-at-home mom focused on her family. Jason is a workaholic, yet attentive husband and father. Their son, Marcus, diagnosed with ADHD and Oppositional Defiance Disorder, is adjusting to his first year at private school, Forrester Academy.

Kate and Robert have two kids, Daisy and Charles. Charles is also new at Forrester. Kate and Frances bond over their hatred towards the snobby Forrester moms. Fourteen year old Daisy feels like her mother doesn't love her, and her insecurities get her into a lot of trouble.

DJ is a little boy who has his whole world come crumbling down around him after his sister's raped, tortured, and killed.

Her Pretty Face, told from Frances, Daisy, and DJ's perspectives, flips back and forth between THEN and NOW. Thankfully, each chapter clearly provides the perspective and time period.

Daisy, Frances, and Kate are well-written, interesting characters. I can relate to them, and understand their motivations. DJ, Jason, Robert, Marcus, and Charles, are bland, one-dimensional characters. My favourite characters are Daisy and "Amber". They are intriguing, complicated, well-rounded characters.

I did not like the constant comments of weight insecurities. It's mentioned MANY times that Frances, DJ, and Marcus all had weight problems that made them "invisible". From what I remember, it's specified that Frances is five foot six inches and has an extra twenty pounds? I mean...come on. An extra twenty pounds don't make her "hefty" or a "fat girl". There is also inconsistency with describing Marcus. Throughout the novel he's described as overweight, yet at the end of the book he's suddenly "gangly".

Also, why is it mentioned multiple times that Daisy's vegan friend was pale? She's described as ghostly. "Pale, vegan Mia was there..." "Mia and the rosy-cheeked carnivore". I know a lot of vegans, and I don't find them any more pale than meat-eaters LOL This was ludicrous and I have absolutely no idea why it's in the story.

🌟🌟 It was OK.

Her Pretty Face is a quick read centered around a simple mystery - Did Frances or Kate kill Courtney? This is a brand new release that will make a great summer read.

I received a complimentary copy in exchange for my honest, unbiased opinion. Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley, for allowing me to review.

I read this book in one day. I couldn’t put it down!

At the beginning everything was a little confusing. There are three different narratives. One by Frances, the mother of an autistic boy. Another is by Daisy, the daughter of Kate and sister of Charles. Charles is friends with Frances’s son. The third one is by DJ, who tells the story of the trial for his sister’s murderer decades ago.

The connection between the three stories becomes clear about halfway through the story. I began to piece together who everyone was and how they were related to the larger story. This kind of thriller, that slowly unravels throughout the book, can be hard to write well, but this one was very good.

Even though I had figured out what was happening, I was excited to read until the end. This story didn’t have a dull moment! I really loved it.

I was lucky enough to be a part of a Canadian blog tour for The Party by Robyn Harding last year. I was sent cute little champagne candies with the book and invited to join this party, and I hated every single person there. That book stirred some conflicting emotions and I wasn’t really sure how I felt about it, but I commended the book for making me have such a strong reaction. So I picked up Her Pretty Face with some hesitation, but also a bit of adrenaline fueled anticipation, prepared to have a lot more feels.

There was a lot of secrets swirling around in this book. It’s an interesting dynamic; we’re told right up front that someone isn’t who she claims to be and what this person did long ago, kind of revealing the twist at the start, but then we’re strung along through the majority of the book trying to figure out who is lying, which of the women is the one who fits that role. I liked this subtle spin.

I didn’t feel like there was any climactic, shocking moment here, but I enjoyed the read a lot. The situation and the people wrapped up in it was complex and it was really interesting to see the repercussions and impact that the horrible situation had on all the various characters involved. Harding did a great job of showing the intricacies of a sociopath and that part was pretty chilling.

I couldn’t help but draw some comparisons to the awful Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka case that devastated Canadians in the ’90s and wonder if that was in part an inspiration for the story. Either way, it was chilling and a fascinating read. I wasn’t blown away but I enjoyed it significantly more than Harding’s last effort and definitely suggest jumping into this dark and torrid story.

Customer Review
5.0 out of 5 starsCouldn't put it down
ByMaggieon July 11, 2018
Format: Kindle Edition
I couldn't put Her Pretty Face down. The themes of forgiveness of self and others, and reactions to those who are 'different' kept me up until the wee hours

This book was so good! I started this last night and just finished it! I don’t remember the last time I read a complete book in less than 24 hrs! The writing style was amazing, it told the story from a few different perspectives which I loved! It went back and forth from THEN and NOW and just kept me captivated the whole time! I did guess some of the plot twists but I was okay with that!

Overall I rated this book 🌟🌟🌟🌟/5 If you are looking for a fast paced summer read this is your book! I can’t wait to read Robyn Harding’s next book! 📚❤️

Thank you again to NetGalley, Simon & Schuster Canada, Gallery/Scout Press & Robyn Harding!
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Her Pretty Face is a domestic thriller that deals with deceit, hidden pasts and whether people with heinous pasts can truly change. The book focuses on the lives of two suburban moms whose lives start to unravel as their pasts come back to haunt them.

This was a quieter, fairly predictable read that I wouldn't consider an edge-of-your-seat thriller. The story is told via alternating points of view as well as flashbacks involving an old murder. While there is no mention that the plot is based on a real-life crime, Canadians will easily recognize the striking similarities between a highly publicized, violent crimes that happened here in Ontario in the early 1990's. The book follows this notorious crime so much that the suspense suffered for those of us who still remember the details of Canada's notorious serial killers.

Overall, this was an okay, lighter read but could have been so much more with added twists, more complex characters and a stronger ending. While I don't consider it a thriller, it is an interesting look at whether a person can truly change after committing a horrendous crime.

In this new domestic thriller by Robyn Harding, we meet two present-day suburban mothers, both stay-at-home moms with sons in the sixth grade. Throughout the narrative, we are given more and more information about the murder of fifteen year old Courtney Carey in 1996. The reader gradually comes to know all about Amber Kunik, the young woman who served only six years for her involvement in the murder, while her ex-boyfriend, with whom she committed the crime, gets life in prison. What’s especially sad about this situation is that after her plea bargain, video was discovered showing Amber to be a willing participant in the sexual assault and torture of the victim.

And guess what, one of our soccer moms is really Amber Kunik.

Harding clearly drew inspiration for Her Pretty Face from the renowned murderers, Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka, but surprisingly, this is not mentioned in the introduction or acknowledgements. The details of the fictional murder of Courtney Carey, closely mirror the murders of Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French, as do the trials in the novel and the real-life Karla Homolka. What’s more, Homolka’s life since her release from prison is clearly reflected in the life of Amber Kunik, however outlining the specifics would require spoilers. There is even some allusion to the death of Homolka’s sister, Tammy Homolka, although the details are not exact.

It’s interesting how Robyn Harding has taken an actual criminal case and turned it into a domestic thriller, without writing a book about the crime itself, but I’d like to see it acknowledged somewhere in the book itself where the idea so clearly came from. Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for the ARC. It was an enjoyable read.