Four women with seemingly ordinary lives are on a collision course that will end in disaster. Shayla hides her sadness in a haze of parties and booze, June keeps her secrets well hidden, Ellie discovers she can trust no one and Jo’s daughter has been kidnapped. What could make an ordinary woman go mad? Make her destroy all she has been taught to hold sacred?

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley, first off, for allowing me to read and review this book. What a book it was! This is one of the best books I've read in a while. The characters were dynamic, flawed, and human, which in fiction is imperative. No one is perfect all the time, even if they try to keep up appearances that they are.

This book is about four women that appear to have the perfect life, but underneath the varnish of the great neighborhood, there are deep, dark secrets that threaten their families, and even lives. At its heart, it's also about the struggles of being a mother, and I loved how it wasn't sugarcoated with the usual platitudes. Crane didn't shy away from the loneliness, or the frustration, or the darkness that can come with being a stay at home mom. I could relate to some of these themes, being a SAHM myself. This book shows the sides of motherhood that aren't often talked about, or written about.

As the main characters struggle with varying factors from mental illness, autism, infidelity, and so on, you can feel the darkness creeping closer. The pace of the book is consistent, and the twist at the end is a good one! I wasn't expecting it, but in the context of the whole novel, it made sense. I would highly recommend this book to anyone that loves a good thriller!

Pretty Ugly Lies dangles the first chapter of this book out there like a worm on a hook. A quick snag and the reader is on the hook for the rest of the story. The intro, a mother has killed her kids and her husband and is dealing with the emotions of the aftermath. The author spends the rest of the book introducing four mothers who are all possibly the murderess. Each mother is at the end of her rope, angry, depressed, or feeling unappreciated or unfulfilled. Motherhood has transformed their lives in such a way that they do not recognize themselves anymore. Each seem to be haunted by lies, some current and some by the past. Throw in some infidelity, depression, and even a kidnapping and you have a whopper of a story that you cannot put down. The suspense drags the reader along waiting for the other shoe to drop that turns a mother into a murderess. The author does not disappoint as unexpected twist are tossed in for a really good read. My voluntary, unbiased review is based upon a review copy from Netgalley.

What a treat this book was an honest account of how we are not all suited to being a perfect example of an earth mother. Some of the characters really didn’t like their children or liked themselves more but the consequences were dire and there were no winners. Fabulous book read in one mammoth session during a very hot day can’t recommend highly enough

"My children had become my prison, my husband my jailer, and my life the executioner of my soul."

Pretty Ugly Lies is a domestic drama that begins with a woman awaiting the arrival of the police to the scene of the murder of her husband and children. Definitely an attention grabbing beginning. What follows is the story of 4 women that live in the same neighborhood. Each woman tells her own reality in alternating chapters, which is hard to keep up with at first but it gets easier. This is not a butterflies and rainbows story but I do think it's more relatable than most women are willing to admit. I know I certainly relate to these women and perhaps that is why I enjoyed the book as much as I did. It certainly gives you pause for a moment to reflect on your own life and the choices you made that led you to that life...and would you change it if you could. A thought provoking look at what being a wife and a mother feels like when you realize you've lost yourself along the way.

I was provided an ARC of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A moving, incredible book for every woman who has ever felt a moment of unappreciation, exhaustion or of just never being enough. Not for the weak of heart, we get a glimpse into the lives on Oleander Way... Following four different women throughout each of their own daily private struggles to be a wife and mother, providing for their families while getting so little in return - all while upholding the image they have created about their perfect lives. Jo, Ellie, Shayla, and June, each dealing with their own private turmoil, never finding a moments peace or an outlet for the growing pain inside them.

I can't imagine there isn't a woman or mother alive who could not connect with this story on some personal level. We get a glimpse into four not-so-perfect lives and witness the heartbreak of a woman finally losing it. Incredibly painful yet such a beautiful story, I was brought to tears at not only the struggle and loss but of the strength of those who held on and found the good in their lives.

Highly recommended ~ First book by this author and can't wait to see what's next!

I enjoyed this book and read it in less than a day. It opens on a murder scene, although we don't know at this point which of the characters is involved. The narrative then alternates between four different women - Jo, Ellie, Shayla and June. To the outside world, they all have seemingly perfect lives but behind closed doors, there are definite cracks and secrets being hidden. One of these secrets ultimately leads to the opening scene. There is a bit of a twist towards the end as I kept thinking that I had guessed what had happened but ultimately I was totally wrong! I'd recommend this book and will look out for other things from the author.

This book had such potential but it didn't work for me. I very rarely put books down before I finish them and I only made it 72% through. I did skip to ending and it did not make me regret skipping a large part of the book. Outlandish story lines and too many characters for me to keep up with.

The scary truth is that the shocking tragedy depicted in the prologue of this twisty,thought-provoking domestic drama happens with frightening regularity throughout the modern world.We very often see reports in the newspapers or read stories in magazines about people who murder their partners and/or children.And after they commit these terrible acts they insist that they loved their victims.Love,that four letter word that rules our lives and our hearts yet is so hard to describe and put into words.This emotionally charged thriller is a story about love,a parent's love for their child,a wife's love for her husband.The lengths people are prepared to go to in the name of love,the secrets they are prepared to keep to continue feeling loved.It's a twisted tale of love,secrets,lies,obsession,fear,betrayal,manipulation,misconceptions,parenting,depression and forgiveness that may be fictional but also has a very heavy dose of gruesome reality.

The chapters alternate between the points of view of the four main characters Jo,Ellie,Shayla and June.Four realistic individuals who are each struggling to cope with their own personal crises.Jo`s three year old daughter has been abducted,Ellie has discovered that her husband is having an affair.Shayla has to make a life - shattering choice that could cost her everything and June is struggling to cope with four children,one of whom is autistic,one who is antagonistic and a husband who doesn't seem capable of staying employed.As a parent I would have liked to have felt some sympathy with at least one of these ladies but I honestly couldn't.Jo cared more about what her posh neighbours would think about her than her missing daughter.And the other three were always moaning,whinging and wining about how bad their lives were and how much of a struggle it was to get through every day.All parents have days when their children drive them insane but suddenly one day your children are all grown up and getting on with their own lives and you seriously miss their noise and mess. All these women were so wrapped up in themselves and their little secrets that they didn't stop and appreciate what they had.The women certainly had issues and more than one may have suffered from depression but which one reaches her limit,cracks and commits multiple murders?.Interspersed throughout the story we get insights into the mind of the twisted individual who has abducted Jo`s young daughter.Some of this person's thoughts were spine chilling and uncomfortable to read.

I really enjoyed this chilling,well written domestic thriller and look forward to reading more books by this author in the future.Highly recommended

The story begins with the murder of a husband and children of a family and the thoughts of the person being with them ‘til the police arrives. Is it the killer? The mother/wife? You don’t know that. After that the story is told in alternating chapters between four women, all having problems in their so seemingly perfect lives and everything starts to unravel for them. It proves, that you don’t know your neighbor, friend, colleague just from what you can see. Nobody in the suburban street they all lived thought something was wrong with anybody living there. Sure, there is gossip and pressure to fit in, but no one knows for sure what’s happening behind closed doors. I has some problems in the beginning with the four different pov’s but after a while it just flowed and I got the hang of who is who. The sad thing, I didn’t like any of the women, or their husbands for that matter. They all were self centered and just whining. They didn’t talk to their husbands, they didn’t try to change their lives. They just wanted to blend in, in this fake neighborhood. Sure, I felt sorry for them, but I also was mad at them for being passive and waiting for someone to do something, instead of doing it themselves.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thanks to NetGalley and Bloodhound Books!

Wow... this book really makes you think. As a mother there were so many feelings and emotions that the women in this book felt that were all too close to home. Feelings that make us all human and real. Scary how easily something can click and tragedy strikes.

The stories in this book come from real life, families that struggle, women who lose themselves, kids that take over. I think that anybody reading this book will feel some connection to the characters.

Thank you Pamela Crane for writing such a thought provoking and powerful book. And thank you for allowing me to be part of it by reading it Thank you Bloodhound Books and Netgalley for the advanced copy

I was given an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review

This one was really hard to get into as the pacing was off and the characters a bit one-dimensional. Skip it.