Cover Image: Pretty Little Things

Pretty Little Things

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Member Reviews

DCI Claire is not going to have it easy with this one. Six teenage girls are missing. The bodies are not found and when four are found in one area next to each other, it seems the killer is almost egging them on to try to find him. Other than the fact that they are local girls, there seems to be no common link. Typical teenagers confronting authority both society and at home a couple of them had threatened to run away and had done so previously. What had made them accept a lift on a lonely road after explicit instructions had been given not to hitch hike. Did they know their kidnapper and murderer.



Charlotte has just this one child. She is determined to keep Elle safe. Elle is not happy with the situation at all and when her birthday party is cancelled after the four bodies are found she is furious. The story upto this point was the usual thriller/mystery/murder sequel. Detectives trying to piece together fragmented stories, no CCTV footage so the killer seemed to be aware of them, no finger prints, and a community tense and in turmoil.



Midway suspects emerge. As a reader you go through the whole gamut of obvious people around - John who is just separated from his wife, making a play for Charlotte, then there is Iain in whose garage a toolbox is discovered with keepsakes from each girl who was murdered. At this point it looked very bleak for Iain but the end is not in sight for the detectives who are fearful when another woman this time goes missing. A woman who has harassed Charlotte over and over again even in public. The fact that it is a older person kidnapped makes detectives fear that the killer is now spiralling out of control.



The end is twisted, unexpected and I guess no single reader has guessed it until now! I doubt any reader will.



An absolute page turner.

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A slow start but put you in a death grip when you it grabbed you. This book is one I almost gave up on, because it's one that just started slowly and really made me think I was wasting my time reading, but it shocked me and the ending was amazing!
Will highly recommend in Chapter Chatter Pub!

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Wow this was so intense it took my breath away! Fantastic book I loved it and devoured every page. A really clever piece of writing I would never have guessed that ending in a million years. A really well deserved 5 stars for this it was awesome.

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Wow. This is a real page turner, I honestly could not put it down. It’s a really clever story and the characters are so well written you really do empathise with them. It has a jealous husband, a stalker-ish person, a potential affair, a solid police procedural, teenagers and a murderer. And the ending was a real shock, absolutely loved it. This really did have a proper, unexpected twist.....oohh brilliant.

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I would like to thank Netgalley and HQ Digital for an advance copy of Pretty Little Things, a stand alone psychological thriller set in Buckinghamshire.

There is a serial killer on the loose in the villages around Milton Keynes and DI Madeleine Wood and her team are at a loss. With four teenage girls missing they suspect the worst but can't prove it. Charlotte Moore, a local woman, almost lost her life six months ago in a car crash and having had to re-evaluate all she holds dear is currently making her daughter, Elle's life a misery by smothering her with overprotectiveness.

I found Pretty Little Things to be a bit of a mixed bag for my personal taste but have rated it 4 stars because I recognise the novel's strengths and know that most readers will love it. The novel is mostly told in the first person by Chalotte Moore with a switch of perspective to DI Madeleine Woods' investigation from time to time and an occasional interjection from "Anon". I chose to read this novel as I love police procedurals but the police perspective is muted with Ms Walsh preferring to concentrate on Charlotte, so it's another novel, another unreliable narrator. I really struggle with this approach as flaky characters don't hold my interest and I get annoyed with their poor decision making.

This reservation aside, Ms Walsh does an excellent job of ramping up the tension and disguising the killer's identity and motive. I was clueless and had several suspects in mind as the novel progressed. The last few chapters are masterful as the full scale of events is revealed. It's fair to say you won't see it coming and while it may not be the most believable ending it fits the novel completely.

Charlotte Moore is obviously struggling with some kind of post traumatic stress after the accident and has behavioural issues. She's paranoid, mistrustful, erratic and extremely unlikeable. I felt no connection with her and groaned at most of her decision making so I can't say she is an enjoyable companion.

I'm glad I stuck with the novel as the ending makes it all worthwhile but I didn't always enjoy the journey.

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This book was a really fast ride. I loved every twist and turn. I also really liked that the author explained the reveals thoroughly. I look forward to reading the Claire Winters series by this author.

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I got this story yesterday afternoon and started reading it as soon as I cam home from work. I finished it in a couple of hours.

All in all, it was an enjoyable read though I did find it hard to believe everything that happened. The ending seemed almost rushed and I also found that the court case was not resolved at all. In fact, it got pushed into the background even though it was an important factor.

Charlotte is quite an annoying character. She comes off weak and very stubborn and refuses all and any help. I did enjoy this story even though I felt it was a bit predictable.

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