Someone is targeting young girls. The first body is found posed, nude, at the tourist attraction in Nashville called The Parthenon. The second is found in the river. Taylor Jackson and her team are called to the murders and soon realize that both girls are connected to Vanderbilt University so this will be a high profile murder.
Jackson is recently back at work after being involved in an internal situation where she ended up killing another detective. She was cleared of any wrongdoing but her dreams haven't cleared her yet and most nights are consumed with nightmares.

Dr. John Baldwin is an FBI profiler. But he hasn't worked in months, not since one of his suggestions about a murderer led to three other FBI members being killed as they tried to arrest the culprit. Baldwin feels guilty and can't believe he isn't the cause of three of his co-workers losing their lives. He has come home to Nashville, taking a leave of absence from the bureau, although in his mind he has quit. He is in a deep depression but agrees to help out Jackson's team when his former boss calls and asks him to.

More bodies turn up and they all have a connection to Vanderbilt. Taylor and Baldwin work the case and soon sparks are flying between the two of them. Both these wounded detectives could find a way out of their issues as they work to solve the case before more victims can be targeted. There seems to be a connection to the classics and hopefully that will propel the case forward.

Although this is not the first book published about Taylor Jackson and her team, it is the first one in terms of backstory and introducing the characters. There is Sam, the forensic pathologist who is Taylor's best friend. Her team members' background and expertise are all explored. Readers who are interested in police procedurals will find this a good introduction to a series that has been successful. This book is recommended for mystery readers.

Though this book is listed as the 8th in the series, it is actually a prequel and gives a look into the characters set before the first book in the series. I've been reading the series for years and this definitely wasn't my favorite book, but it may be a good opener to people who have never read the series, to see if they'd like the characters, though still listed as book 8 on GR, no one would know to read it first.

My main issue with this book is that it focused on a religious fanatic. And just as a personal thing, I hate those types of books. It just wasn't the story for me. The characters were just as good as always and it was good to get back to them before some stuff happened through the series, but just the storyline itself was awful for me. If it had been any other story (without the religious stuff) it could have been a 4 or 5 star book. Still, I will read pretty much anything the author writes because I do enjoy the books overall.

Setting = B
Plot = D
Conflict = D
Characters = B
Theme = F

J.T. Ellison weaves a story like no other! All the Pretty Girls got me hooked on the series. When characters are well written it makes me feel as if I know them and what to know more about them. The Taylor Jackson series is filled with such characters. Reading this book helped me to understand Taylor Jackson, Dr. Baldwin and Samantha Owens so much more. The action is non-stop. This serial killer prequel is a must read.

I have been wanting to read one of J.T. Ellison's books for a while and finally got around to do it with this book - number 8 in Ellison's Taylor Jackson series set in Nashville, Tenn. What a great decision that was - reading the book, that is, not necessarily starting with number 8 in the series.
Jumping late into a series can be tricky due to references to past cases, occurences, relationships etc., but Ellison holds the newcomer's hand and gently eases one into the setting and cast. And what great company that is! Ellison writes her cast with plenty of flaws and doesn't give away too much of the plot at a time.
Ellison clearly knows how to develop a plot and keep the reader hooked from cover to cover - I know that I was, and now I have a lot of other books by this gifted writer to dive into - I can't wait!

I enjoyed this book that went back and showed what went on with Taylor before the series began. It was good to see her interacting with John Baldwin and Samantha Owens in this one.

I thought that the characters were great, the storyline was interesting, and I loved the amount of suspense!

This was essentially the story of how Taylor and Baldwin met. Interesting and well-written story, although I felt it was a "prequel" which should have been published before the series began. Nevertheless, it was well written and worth the read.