This book will immediately grab your attention as it at once thrown in a murder scene, and a murder of a family at that, in its opening chapter. The suspect is in the center of the carnage waiting for the police to come and get her. Who would not be interested to know who would commit such crime? Told in the POVs of four women, Jo, June, Shayla, and Ellie, we get a glimpse of what they are going through and how they come to resent the family they used to love. The alternating perspective set a steady pace and keeps the suspense coming one after the other as each woman have gripping stories to tell. They all have different family issues they’re dealing with but the common factor would be their struggles of being a mother. At first, they appear whiny and just unlikeable. But the more I read about them, the more I am convinced that their frustrations and resentments can actually happen. That there are people out there going through the same thing. That sometimes, they longed for peace and quiet. I can’t relate to the characters on that matter but I can very well understand their plight. Theirs struggles felt real and I can’t help but sympathize.

The author did a great job of writing an engaging novel but also creating realistic and well-developed characters. It was impressive how she managed to cast doubts on each character that it was hard to guess who could be the killer. On my part, I get to spot it, but not easily and definitely not that surprising twist. Pretty Ugly Lies is indeed a thrilling yet disturbing novel. It was not an easy read as it can be depressing at times. It also is very dark, as the opening scene alone will prove that. And so, it is safe to say that this novel would not be for everyone’s taste. Thought-provoking but I can do with less whining. Still, a good read overall.

WOW! Pretty Ugly Lies is a crazy tale that you will not want to put down. You think you know "who done it" and you may be right but can you figure out who was the victim?

All four of these women have issues they are trying to deal with and the lengths some of them will go may just surprise you.

Can't wait for Pamela Crane's next book!

The story starts with a shocked wife surrounded by the blood of her family, murdered in her own home. Yet, she sits there feeling no emotions, just numbness. Did she kill them?

Then slowly, we get introduced to the lives and families of 4 women living in a beautiful friendly neighborhood, where crimes like abduction, rape, burglary are not prone to happen. They’re meant to be the SAFE haven. Yet, bad things happen and a 3-year old girl gets abducted from the neighborhood park, just as the mother of 3, closes her eyes for a few negligible seconds. Will the girl return home safe?

While these are two main themes the story fixes to develop, there is also significant development of other characters including the families of the women in question. They are narrated in each women’s POV and the writing is so brilliant, you might even tissues to wipe your tears.

In this book, I see a perfect mixture of suspense, crime and thrill surrounding the lives of a neighborhood, where families are important, and anything external can lead to an automatic destructive mechanism. For instance, Lies. Small, negligible ones, that we might not think will come to haunt us in the future, but sadly, it does.

As humans, we lie. It’s just a defense mechanism, right? While each lie we utter has its own consequences, women do have the bigger lot to lose, don’t we?
This book showed me the ultimate destruction that happens to a family, when a small lie, however insignificant that can be, comes to haunt in the future. Family is important, and kids are responsibility. A BIG responsibility, yes. But why bring them to Earth, when you can’t take care of them? They’re after all, dependent on their parents.

THIS is why I LOVE women’s fiction. This book gives the picture of the reality behind bringing up kids, big families, and the sacrifices they involve in the contemporary world. I’d strongly recommend women to read this, for courage, self-esteem, and Inspiration.

All the opinions are my own.
Happy reading. XoXo!

Pamela Crane has an addictive style of writing which certainly gripped my attention from the start.
The opening sets the scene with an unnamed woman killing her husband and children.
Their are four very different women living in the same affluent neighbourhood. Each of them are living with a secret. We are drawn into their lives with the purpose of trying to guess which of these women finally snap.
I read this book in 2 sessions as I found it difficult to put down. An extremely enjoyable read.

Pretty Ugly Lies is like Desperate Housewives on steroids - full of melodrama, sex, lies and more drama. I thought the story was very clever in itself, but the book did give me some anxiety as it headed toward the climax and things got really intense.

The book has four main characters, all of whom live in an upscale neighborhood, but are hiding secrets behind their perfect exteriors. In the first chapter, we learn that someone has finally cracked and murdered their family in a raging bloodbath - but then the story shifts backward in time to depict the events leading up to the murders and slowly reveal who the killer is. Each of the four women is facing a crisis: Jo’s daughter is abducted; Ellie’s husband is cheating on her; Shayla is the cheater in her marriage; while June is overwhelmed by the demands of raising four young children, including a special needs son. Who finally cracks under the pressure? Gotta read to find out.

I liked the story, because it really puts you right into the middle of the action. And the action is quite intense. None of these women are dealing with kids’ problems. But like episodes of your favorite television drama, some of the drama can be a little overwhelming. Without giving anything away, it’s like everything that can possibly go wrong in these ladies’ lives, does. I had to put the book down at point because it was stressing me out.

The ending is pretty good too, though I had my suspicions (but I certainly didn’t get it right on).

If you’re into domestic dramas and soap opera-y stories, you’ll love this book. It’s got everything that you could possibly want from a drama: sex, lies and murder. But if you’re looking for a low-key mystery or quick thriller, this isn’t a great choice for you.

Thank you Netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

What causes a woman to murder her whole family?

Jo's idyllic life would make most people jealous. Until one day her daughter is abducted and the only way to find her is to unravel her dark past.

Ellie is a devoted wife... until she discovers the pain of betrayal. Now vengeance is all she can think about.

This was the first time reading anything from this Author and she didn't disappoint. The book was a page turner from the start. Just when I thought I had figured out the ending there was another twist. The characters were well written drawing you into the story instantly. I highly recommend this book.

Thank you to Net Galley and Bloodhound Books for giving me this book in exchange for my honest review. I liked this one, it hooked me and I kept wanting more. I did not exactly like the fact that it was told by 4 different people's point of view, that got to be a little confusing and I had a hard time keeping track of who's who. But I did overall like this one, especially some twists at the end that I didn't see coming.

#PrettyUglyLies
#Netgalley




Would a mother kill her children? Could she? Why?

The book starts out with a murdered family. The rest of the story is told by different women, and we learn who the killer is.


Being a mom it was hard to read in parts but it held my attention and I read it in one sitting.

I was glad it was told by the different characters it helped me see their viewpoints.

Good thriller.


My thanks to netgalley and the publisher for an honest review of the free ebook.

Wow!! This book was a show-stopper!! I absolutely could not put it down!! The story and characters were flawlessly developed and always kept me begging for more! Fast paced and so many twists you never see coming. So highly recommend!! Pamela Crane is a force to be reckoned with. Just brilliant!
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and give an honest review of this book.

I enjoyed this book, it wad the front cover that first attracted me. You wont be disappointed at all, hooked from the start. Great read ****

As a reader, this is fantastic. As a mother, it is disturbing and thought provoking. Are we really capable of harming children? What does it take for a mother to snap? I only had one child, and she is now grown, but were there moments in her childhood when I was ready to give it all up? I can't say that I recall, but it was tough. This book makes you think. It makes you guess which mother is the one who snaps. I recommend this to anyone who wants a great read with serious undertones.

Pretty Ugly Lies by Pamela Crane is a book about domestic women in trouble. Women who take care of their children and cater to their thankless husbands, some of them while holding down jobs, and in balancing all that manage to fall through the cracks themselves. Their needs are unmet, their desires are forgotten; they feel forgotten. This book is about what happens when those women snap. In some cases, there are violent consequences.

I respect the concept of this book. I respect that it's female-driven and unapologetically so. I respect that it doesn't shy away from the ugly, selfish, cruel thoughts that must fly through some women's heads when they think of all the thankless tasks they complete in a day on behalf of their ungracious families. I respect that to death.

What I struggled with was the length of the book and the decided lack of depth in the plot. The book was short. The plot was shallow. Every inch of it. The characterizations were the same. Every one of the four main characters is caught in a psychological rut and none of them really escape it until someone takes drastic action. Despite otherwise devastating behavior, until the end nobody suffers permanently. Nothing *changes*. There are net zero consequences and I left the book wondering what it was all for if nothing really changed only now some folks are happy about it.

As I said, I respect the effort that went into this book but I wanted the visceral emotionality of the book's opening to be equaled by the remainder of the story and it simply never reached that level again.

Thank you for allowing me to read this book ahead of its release.

This booked booked me from the first line. I wanted to find out who it was talking about. I could not put this down. The way all the lives intertwined and came together was wonderful. The writing style was easy to read and kept me interested till the very last page.

Motherhood really is life's toughest job. It can shake the most confident woman to her core. Pretty Ugly Lies tells the story of 4 women, all struggling with different family issues. This is not a happy book. It exposes the dark side of marriage and motherhood told from each woman's perspective.

Despite their flaws, I liked these characters, I pulled for them, I felt for them. I enjoyed this book and definitely recommend this for anyone looking for a good read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This was the first book I’ve read by Pamela Crane. I requested this book on the description alone and I’m glad I did.
I was hooked from the first chapter and found it to be well written.
It was a difficult read at times yet as a mother I could understand some of the anguish the characters felt.
I don’t want to give much away because I absolutely did not see the twist coming.
I really enjoyed this book and will be on the lookout for her next one!

While some of these situations are a little outlandish the overall theme that motherhood is hard resonated with me. Taking a peek into these women’s lives was super entertaining. I was kept guessing until the end of who killed their family, I was not expecting it!

Short Take: Like a bad knockoff Michael Kors bag.

(*Note - I received a free copy of this book for review purposes.*)

It might be a sign of impending old age, but I find myself getting more and more annoyed with books that try to piggyback on the success of previous bestsellers, instead of just being themselves. I mean, with a title like “Pretty Ugly Lies”, this author is obviously trying to appeal to readers who enjoyed Liane Moriarty’s “Big Little Lies”. The comparisons are pretty obvious on the surface: Take four main female characters who are all moms living in an upscale neighborhood, add some drama, and bam! Success. Maybe. Probably not.

Pretty Ugly Lies opens with a gruesome scene - an entire family has been slaughtered. It’s not revealed whose family it is, but then we meet our leading ladies.

Jo - Queen Bee with the best house, most handsome husband, and prettiest kids, one of whom is kidnapped right off the bat, leading to a whole lot of torment. See, she has a Deep Dark Secret that could destroy her perfect life.

Shayla - Jo’s best friend, bipolar, two kids. She has a nice husband who she cheats on with a really awful guy, making herself deeply unhappy.

June - mom to four kids including an autistic son with a lot of specialized needs. Wife to a husband who doesn’t like to work or parent when he could be watching tv. Also miserable 24/7. Best friends with Ellie.

Ellie - sick of being a mom to two demanding kids (really, are there any other kind?) and wife to a cheating husband. Utterly miserable, all the time, and prone to writing melodramatic journal entries full of self-pity and purple prose.

So you have a couple of interesting plot points, and a lot of misery. And angst. And sadness. And anger. And pain. And tears. And so on and so forth, spelled out in the most overwrought language possible. Like “Lies piled on top of lies. Secrets smothering secrets. I was beginning to feel bound by the web of deceit I had woven”, and much more in that vein. No joke, even the letters from the bad guy/kidnapper read like a teenage girl’s livejournal, the ones with sparkling black rose gif’s and crying wolves all over them.

And that’s the problem. Because where Big Little Lies also had murder, infidelity, abuse, and other awful things, it managed to include fun, and levity, and happy new relationships (both friendship and romantic) and the ways that being a parent or spouse can be the best part of a life. Pretty Ugly Lies focuses only on the negatives. Everyone is so bitter that their lives aren’t some sparkly sitcom paradise, the entitlement and self-pity is infuriating.

Seriously, who thinks things like “Not once did the kids ever thank me for my servitude”?? Are you kidding me?? Kids are kids, they need things, and no, four kids under eight are not going to thank you for your servitude for providing those things. If you’ve genuinely tried to teach them some manners, you might get a “thank you” when you give them a glass of milk, but that’s about it. You have kids, you make sacrifices, and no, it’s not always butterflies and unicorns, but it’s what you chose. Correction: What you chose FOUR TIMES.

I’m shocked, SHOCKED I tell you that the kids don’t have hearts overflowing with love and gratitude for these moms who treat them like so many unwanted burdens. In the end, the only surprise is that just one of the moms went on a murder spree.

It’s also kind of annoying that we have four main characters, but basically two entirely separate plots. You have the two pairs of best friends, and nobody ventures outside their clique in any meaningful way. Part of the fun of Big Little Lies was when the new, single, young, broke mom came to town, seeing her form friendships and become part of the group despite all of her differences.

Maybe I’m being unfair, and maybe Ms. Crane wasn’t just trying (and failing) to copy another author’s work. Then again, maybe her next book will be called Vanished Girl.

The Nerd’s Rating: TWO HAPPY NEURONS (and a re-read of Big Little Lies. The original one.)

Whoa is mostly all I have to say right now. I also have to admit, not only was the title closely similar to the popular Big Little Lies, the style definitely was as well the chapters are told from 4 suburban, wealthy mothers’ POVs. They all have dark secrets beneath their perfect life facades. I was honestly a little annoyed with the similarities at first because I loved Big Little Lies so much and I really like creativity; however, the story did not disappoint. It sucked me in immediately and kept me turning the pages all day.

I have to warn that there is some disturbing material in this book. Most thrillers have this but because much of the disturbing material centered around children, I had a hard time digesting it.

Not being married or having children, as I read into this book, I couldn’t help but be petrified of dabbling in either of the two. The author paints marriage and motherhood in such grim ways all around. All of our female characters have major marital and maternal flaws and it’s hard to find much good in them but June and even she had some major flaw that leaves her broken and unlikable.

Even with the unlikable characters, this was hard to put down. Drama unfolded in every page and it was impossible to wonder what was happening and even more impossible to put down when I started seeing character connections that characters themselves did not see. As said before though, much of the story is disturbing in ways you never see coming. It’s tragic yet impossible not to keep reading on about.

I suggest the read as it is entertaining but will really have you thinking and feeling broken. It is most definitely not for the faint of heart and be prepared not to have a lighthearted read or your average murder mystery.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced readers copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This book starts off with a shocking opening murder scene that forces you to read the whole book in order to find out why and who committed it.
I thought this book was a well written psychological thriller that kept me interested and guessing the whole time.
This is the author’s 1st book and I can’t wait to see what she writes next.
I highly recommend this book to everyone.

This book was absolutely amazing from page one until the end! It's a gripping tale of friendships, marriages, and love, that will keep you guessing until the very end. I thought it would be so different than it was, but was completely taken by surprised! Get ready to pull your hair, scream a bit, and even cry; and then wonder what love is really about!