Fast Boys and Pretty Girls has a dual timeline, is written at a slow pace and although the synopsis grabbed my attention the full story didn't. After modelling and making money during her teenage years Danielle is now married with children and living in her old parent's home. Things start to become complicated after her girls found a bound in the property and the police is called and an investigation is started. She knows who the deceased is but is not straight forward with her knowledge. The story has all the elements of a good plot but it was one of those difficult to read and to finish.
I thank the author, her publisher, and NetGalley for this ARC.

"Fast Boys and Pretty Girls" by Lo Patrick is a gripping coming-of-age mystery that explores first love, family dynamics, and the hunt for belonging. The story follows Danielle Greer, a former model turned married mother, as she navigates her past and present colliding. Patrick's writing is powerful, and her portrayal of insecurities, willfulness, and obsession is superb. With its character-driven narrative and atmospheric setting, this novel is a riveting read that masterfully weaves together past and present. The book has received praise for its haunting and suspenseful storytelling, making it a great fit for fans of mystery and literary fiction. A compelling and haunting read.

Fast Boys and Pretty Girls, a novel by Lo Patrick, is a tale of “slow life” meets “big city”, self-discovery, and first love. Our FMC, Danielle Greer, is first discovered as a model while shopping with her mother at the mall. As a split-timeline novel, with both time periods told from our FMC’s POV, we learn that Danielle’s actions, and of those around her, have severe consequences.

Seventeen year old Danielle Greer has just left her family and small town in Georgia to live the model life in NYC. She thought she’d be leaving her old life and small town behind, but her heart just can’t seem to quit yearning for the rebellious boy back home. Seventeen years after being “discovered”, Danielle’s own daughters find themselves with their own shocking discovery…bones in the woods behind their home. Danielle has an idea who the bones might belong to, but isn’t sure how they would have gotten there.

••••••••••
“The ripple effect. I’m still rippling. He is too. We live with our feet in the sand while the tide pulls out. We sink deeper and deeper, up to our ankles, and then slowly we’re up to our shins, knees, thighs. I was unaware the effect my tide would have on my family.”
••••••••••

This novel’s cover, titled, and blurb immediately caught my attention; small town, secrets, slow burn, self discovery- all the tropes I’m usually drawn to. However, I felt a bit confused when starting the first couple of chapters, not just in the sense of keeping track of the timeline and characters, but with the author’s writing style. The mystery of the bones had me hooked enough to continue on. I wanted to find out more about the 2019 timeline and see how it would eventually tie in with Danielle’s POV from 2002.

This was a difficult novel for me to review. I was intrigued with the details surrounding Danielle’s modeling career and her NYC lifestyle, but found Danielle herself to be a bit insufferable. Again, I enjoyed the overall plot and “idea”, but the author’s writing style (repetition, overuse of similes and metaphors, unlikable FMC) was difficult to fall in love with.

••••••••••
Thank you Sourcebooks, Lo Patrick, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an arc of Fast Boys and Pretty Girls
••••••••••

This was a compelling enough story for me to want to know what happened. But the characters were all unlikable, except for maybe Benji and Cady, and you don't really get much of Cady. It also ends pretty abruptly. We don't see much of the aftermath of figuring out what happened. I also don't think Danielle's marriage will last much longer towards the end. I think the situation will have a pretty big impact on her marriage to Jasper. If by some miracle it does last, it will be solely for their daughters. Considering Danielle is sort of using Jasper. She's still very hung up on Benji. And Jasper(and his mother)don't seem to really like Danielle. This is just my speculation, as we don't see the full impact the finding of the body and the solving of the case has on everyone. overall a pretty good book. Just not entirely for me. I'd still recommend it. It is YA, and it fits pretty well into that category. So it's perfect for teenagers.

Lo Patrick, a former Atlanta attorney turned bestselling storyteller and novelist, is back with her latest creation, FAST BOYS AND PRETTY GIRLS.

This atmospheric Southern small-town suspense is a testament to her expertise in blending coming-of-age, crime, and literary fiction, as she weaves dark secrets from a small-town rural Georgia setting into a compelling narrative that seamlessly merges the past with the present.

"They say you can never go home again. And sometimes, you shouldn't."

About...

Set in Pressville, Georgia, Danielle lives with her family on Bell Road in rural North Georgia. Located between Atlanta and North Carolina in the North Georgia mountain area. Everyone knows you must drive carefully on Bell Road.

There is a stigma attached to this town and this road. Years ago, a teen girl went missing, and a teen boy was dead. An accident. The bad boy she loved. On this road.

Present 2019: Danielle has moved back to her childhood home in Georgia with her husband, Jasper, and four daughters (Tessa, Leigh, Palmela, and Rose). Her life did not turn out as she had planned. Little does she know, it is about to become worse.

Past 2002: Danielle used to be Dani a model. A pretty girl, she was discovered by a scout at a local mall and ended up with an agent, moving to New York City alone at the age of 17 after dropping out of school during her junior year. She went a little wild and crazy, thinking she could conquer the world.

However, things did not go as planned. What changed was that she came home for a visit and met the bad boy Benji Law, who had just turned sixteen, a motorcycle-riding, drug-dealing, high-school dropout from her hometown. He and his brother, Blake (boys every parent wanted to keep away from their daughters).

She soon became obsessed with him, dreaming of a life with him and wanting him to move to New York with her. But he was not interested. He wanted the Southern life. Nothing more. So she found herself trying to control him, and then another girl came along.

In the present timeline, Danielle's daughter, Tessa, and her sisters discovered bones (human remains) in the woods behind their house. The woods and the house had been in her mother's family for a hundred years. Her husband was away at a conference, and now she must call Cady Benson, the local detective. They have a long history.

What happens next is a mystery of intense proportions. Cady leads the investigation. Who do the bones belong to on their land? What happened to Benji? Was it an accident? These questions will keep you on the edge of your seat as you delve deeper into the story.

My thoughts...

FAST BOYS AND PRETTY GIRLS is a compelling, moody, gritty, darkly layered mystery of the past. As dark secrets are unraveled, the truth will emerge, along with consequences, twists, and surprises.

Atmospheric and suspenseful, this is more than just a mystery. It's a poignant exploration of dysfunctional family dynamics, mother-daughter relationships, lies, secrets, dreams, desires, jealousy, obsession, and control. Murder?

By showcasing how greed and control transcend class, privilege, and urban-rural divides, the book offers a thought-provoking reflection on our society today.

No stranger to Southern tales and complex characters, the author delivers a compelling mystery that will keep you turning the pages.

Told from Danielle/Dani's POV, with dual timelines, readers get an inside view of the self-absorbed teen and her relationship with her mother, and, of course, her obsession with the bad boy. The dual timelines add depth to the story, allowing you to see how the past influences the present.

The author does an incredible job portraying the actions and innermost thoughts of a teenage girl from this age range. Great characterization. Defying parents, expressing their independence, forbidden first love (bad boys), and the desire to leave a small-town life behind,

As an NC native and an Atlanta resident for most of my media career, and with a beautiful log cabin in Big Canoe (North Georgia Mountains), I am always drawn to books set in the South, and the author knows her way around this genre.

Even though none of the characters were particularly likable, I think this was a realistic view of the time, place, setting, and situation in which these characters find themselves.

The multi-generational novel would make an ideal pick for book clubs and further discussions (questions included). It will appeal not only to YA readers but also to parents, mothers, and readers of all different ages who enjoy Southern fiction.

Recs...

The novel is for fans of Southern small-town crime mysteries, family dramas, literary fiction, and coming-of-age stories. For fans of the author and those who enjoy works by Diane Chamberlain, Stacy Willingham, Ken Jaworowski, Mary Alice Monroe, Julia Heaberlin, Kristin Koval, Amy Pease, Kelly Mustian, Suzanne Redfearn, Marybeth Mayhew Whalen, Megan Miranda, and Laura Lippman. (all favorites).

Special thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark for the gifted advanced reading copy, provided via NetGalley, for my honest thoughts. As always, I love the cover, which draws you in.

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My Rating: 4.5 Stars
Pub Date: July 8, 2025
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Great story. Kept me on the edge of my seat the whole way through. Lo Patrick is a great writer. Highly recommend this book and all of the authors other books.

I read and enjoyed the author's previous books, but Fast Boys and Pretty Girls never grabbed my attention. A very slow burner and repetitious, things didn't get interesting until about the 80% point and by then it was too little too late. I didn't care about or connect with any of the characters and was glad to finish. Very disappointing.

My thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark for permitting me to access a DRC of the book via NetGalley. Publication is 7/8/25. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own and are freely given.

2.5 Stars

I loved the books The Floating Girls and The Night the River Wept by this author. In this story, Danielle (Dani) returns to Georgia after living in New York City and working as a model. She’s even living in the house she grew up in, with her husband and four daughters in tow. One afternoon, her kids are playing at the back of the house, and they find a dead body. I should have loved everything about this slow-burning, southern, coming-of-age tale, but I didn’t.

This book has an awesome setting and an excellent premise, but for some reason, it didn’t click with me like her two previous books have. I think the pace was just too slow for my liking. I didn’t like Dani very much either; I felt no sympathy for her. Even though the writing is great, it often feels like a young adult book. I think more of a backstory was needed, and the development of the characters wasn’t there. I loved the past-and-present format, but it missed the emotional punch I got with the other two books. I also found the mystery a tad predictable. Would I read this author again? Absolutely, but this one missed the mark for me personally.

This is a slow-burn Southern mystery about first love, buried secrets, and the kind of guilt that doesn’t stay buried. Atmospheric, messy, and quietly devastating.

Fast Boys and Pretty Girls by Lo Patrick really wanted to be something special and it failed to do so for me. Perhaps this is a young-adult novel and I am far from a young adult. The characters were self-centered and her children seemed to be afterthoughts. Sure there was a missing person mystery, but this was a going nowhere story and I....needed somewhere to go.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review.

A very well written slow burn story. Even though this was a slow burn, I felt totally engaged and couldn't wait to find out what happened next. Dani (Danielle) is a semi successful model from North Georgia. Told in as dual timeline (2004 vs 2019). The story unfolds as Dani is starting out as a new model in New York, her mother is supportive but very "all about me".  On one of Dani's return trip home, she falls head over heels,  madly in love with Benji,  a boy her mother does not approve. In 2019 Dani's girls are out playing in behind their home when they discover skeletal remains. Dani is a flawed, very human strong female lead. This was a very enjoyable read, I really enjoy stories that are set in the south.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark for the ARC.

3.5 stars rounded up

I was interested in reading Fast Boys and Pretty Girls by Lo Patrick because I enjoyed her last novel, and the premise of this one sounded similar. It is partly a coming of age story, a little bit mystery, and kind of a love story (if a one-sided obsession with a bad boy teenager can be considered a love story). After a somewhat slow start, and after I got used to the back and forth of the dual timelines, I liked this new one quite a bit, though I was a little distracted by dislike of the main character and found her amazingly immature and self-centered.

The mystery part was the strength of the novel, even though it was fairly obvious what had happened once the body was identified. The moral dilemma at the end of the book was realistic and somewhat relatable as a parent. Lo Patrick's writing is what keeps me reading her novels, I enjoy the way she describes life in the South, and in this case the 'relationship' between Dani and Benji highlighted the small town gossip and biases that are so prevalent.

Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the digital ARC of Fast Boys and Pretty Girls by Lo Patrick. The opinions in this review are my own.

The title says it all. Dani has come home again with her daughters and her husband but her past looms up to haunt her. This is a coming of age story tied in to a mystery. She was a teen model who at 17 fell hard for Benji, a 15 year old proverbial bad boy. That relationship was not meant to be because Benji was killed in a motorcycle accident. But now bones have been found (by Dani's daughters no less) and she's to both give and get answers. She's not the most sympathetic character (I did really feel for her kids) but the story is good. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. YA but can also keep older readers engaged.

3.5 stars.

Fast Boys and Pretty Girls by Lo Patrick is a dual time period novel.

In 2002, Danielle Greer is a teenager when she is discovered by a modeling scout in her small hometown in Georgia. In the modeling world, she is known as Dani as they play up her country roots. Although she works hard, Dani’s predicted meteoric rise never really gets off the ground. She works hard but she only achieves a modicum of success.

Back home during a visit, Dani falls hard for local bad boy Benji Law. Although he is mostly indifferent when they are not together, Dani is completely obsessed with Benji. While her family tends to ignore her, they repeatedly warn her away from him and delight in sharing local gossip about Benji with her.

In 2019, Danielle, her husband and four daughters now live her old family home. The past catches up with the Greer family when Danielle’s daughters discover skeletal remains on the property. Local detective Cady Benson is determined to uncover the truth about the events that occurred so long ago.

None of the characters in Fast Boys and Pretty Girls are likable except for Danielle’s dad and Cady. Danielle alienates a lot of people, including her family, with her attitude and behavior. Her family is unpleasant and the way they treat each other is appalling. The mystery surrounding the remains is intriguing and plays out in between flashbacks to the past. Lo Patrick brings the novel to an abrupt conclusion that does leave any loose ends

Fast Boys and Pretty Girls is one of those books that had such a strong setup, it’s moody, Southern, mysterious, and full of emotional undercurrents. It follows Danielle, a former teen model who’s now back in her childhood home in rural Georgia with her husband and daughters. One summer afternoon, the girls find something behind the house, and that discovery cracks open old memories Danielle has tried to forget.

There’s a lot of emotion packed into this story: grief, guilt, the intensity of first love, and how the past can shape (and haunt) who we become. The writing is lyrical and atmospheric, which I appreciated, and the mystery had me intrigued from the start.

That said, I didn’t really connect with Danielle as a character, which made it hard for me to feel fully invested. Her choices and emotional distance kept me at arm’s length, and the pacing was pretty slow in places. I was hoping for a twist that would shake me but it didn’t quite get there for me.

Still, I think readers who love slow, character-driven mysteries with a strong Southern vibe might enjoy this one more than I did.

Big thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the ARC!

A Haunting Return to the Heart of Georgia

“One year lasts a lifetime when it’s the year that changes everything” shares former teen model Danielle “Dani” Greer in Fast Boys and Pretty Girls by Lo Patrick, available July 8. As Dani, she saw New York City, Miami, and Paris, but after a short modeling career, Danielle moves back to Pressville, a small town modeled after Ellijay, Georgia, in a story that burns slowly and leaves deep scars.

Now married with four daughters all living in her childhood home, Danielle wakes from a nap to the excitement of the girls’ discovery of a body in the wooded ravine behind their house. While the majority of the book flashes back to Dani’s modeling years when she found herself enamored with a Georgia underage misfit, the current timeline revolves around the mystery surrounding the bones found on Danielle’s property.

As Danielle reveals that her boyfriend died in a motorcycle wreck on the curve of the road in front of her house more than a dozen years ago, she suspects that she knows the identity of the body in the woods although she has no idea how it could have ended up there. The past refuses to stay buried.

The investigation of the found remains by Cady Benson, a woman whose trajectory has been similar to Danielle’s with a brief career in New York and now settled as a police officer in Pressville, has triggered Danielle’s mental visit back to the confusing time in her life when she was a 17-year-old on her own in the Big Apple trying to carve out a modeling career.

Once again Danielle enters a puzzling phase in her life causing her to ask, could it be who I think it is buried in the woods? How much if anything do I know about the quickly identified body?

A satisfying exploration of love, loss, and the weight of secrets in small-town America, a surprising twist will devastate Danielle’s family.

Georgia native Lo Patrick is proving to be a compelling voice in Southern mystery fiction. A lawyer-turned-writer, she lives in the Atlanta suburbs with her family. Her debut novel, The Floating Girls, earned a starred review in Publisher’s Weekly in 2022, and she followed it with The Night the River Wept, another gripping Southern-crime tale.

My review will be posted on Goodreads starting June 25, 2025.

I would like to thank Sourcebooks Landmark, an imprint of Sourcebooks, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in return for an objective review.

Fast Boys and Pretty Girls by Lo Patrick is a very highly recommended literary Southern mystery and coming-of-age story told in a dual timeline. I have read and loved every novel Lo Patrick has written.

Danielle (Dani) Greer moved back to North Georgia after a brief career as a teen model in NYC. Now she is a married mother of four daughters living in her childhood home. One afternoon her girls coming running back into the house saying they found bones in the ravine behind the house. Danielle knows who it couldn't be, but may know who it was. She calls local police officer Cady Benson.

Years ago when insecure teenage Dani, 17, came home from NYC for a visit she fell in love with motorcycle riding bad boy Benji Law, 15, and quickly became obsessed with him. Her modeling career may not be taking off as fast as promised, but her fixation on Benji is overwhelming, although seemingly not reciprocated in kind. He was killed in a motorcycle accident on the road in front of her family's house so she knows the body in the ravine isn't his and still recalls the events leading up to his death.

The extremely well-written literary novel held my complete attention throughout. The narrative unfolds through chapters following events in dual timelines set in 2004 and 2019. Danielle is the narrator and the novel follows her point-of-view. Even though it is a slow-burning novel, it is full of psychological insight, complex family dynamics, and tackles the emotional intensity of a first love. We have both a mystery and coming-of-age story, that follows the folly of a youthful and the realities of adulthood.

Danielle is portrayed as a fully realized individual, with strengths and flaws, especially since we meet her as a teen and later as an adult (who is likely suffering from depression). Her character development is carefully crafted and Patrick manages to capture the heartbreak, confusion, and resignation she experiences in pitch-perfect prose that is both insightful and poignant.

When the realization of what happened becomes clear toward the end with clues provided in the plot, it is both surprising and shocking, yet somehow understandable. I may be an outlier in my love and appreciation of Fast Boys and Pretty Girls, but I was completely immersed in the novel from start to finish.

Fast Boys and Pretty Girls is a perfect choice for those who enjoy literary novels, Southern fiction, mysteries, and coming-of-age stories. Thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

The review will be published on Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

“Fast Boys and Pretty Girls” is by Lo Patrick. I so wanted to enjoy this book more than I did. The premise sounded interesting, but there was just something about this book that didn’t work for me. The pacing was slow, the dual timelines okay, but at the heart of it, I just couldn’t really care about Danielle, the main character. This book being a slow-burn one didn’t help with the pacing, at least for me. I will note, however, that Ms. Patrick did a great job with “rebellious, don’t give a darn, everyone’s jealous of me” teenage Dani. Have to admit, the romance between Dani and Benji - didn’t really feel it. I think if you've read other books by Ms. Patrick and have enjoyed them, this book might be another one to add to your collection.

Dani is home. she did the big city after leaving her small town to begin her modelling career. shes now back and living in the home she grew up in with her husband and daughters. when one day her daughters stumble across a body whilst playing all the darkness starts to begin again for Dani as her own secrets threatened to become uncovered. it all links to her younger years when she fell for the local "bad boy" much to the disdain of her family. and then came a tragic accident which changed everything once again.
we are given this story in a dual timeline so we got to know her now but also then the reveal of what happened in her past. it was a really good way of storytelling and worked well for the tension building and character building in this book. Lo did a great job of being able to write both those teenage years and 'those' feelings and behaviour some have and also the woman Dani is now. it drew a greater picture for us readers too, we got to know Dani and you are then so much more immersed into her story.
its definite in its YA genre and fits itself in there really well. it doesn't ever take it too far but neither is it immature in themes or writing.
a real solid read for me and i was captured by the story all the way through.

I found the modeling world interesting and the present time line but the past chapters were difficult to read as Dani was so immature, naive, and stubborn!