Pretty Girls

Product Information

The compelling standalone novel from Sunday Times No. 1 bestselling author of Girl Forgotten and Pieces of Her, now a major Netflix series . Re-issued with a stunning new cover. Wow that last line. Wow! How strangely beautiful for such a chilling story as this. Definitely a beautiful way to end things. Loved the book!

The following version of this book was used to create this study guide: Slaughter, Karin. Pretty Girls. HarperCollins, 2015. Blonde Hair, Blue Eyes by Karin Slaughter is a 2015 Cornerstone Digital publication. I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher and Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. I’m a little concerned that there’s not a single decent male character in this book. Well, there’s one, but the man is dead. I’m also uncomfortable with the way beauty is viewed and how Pretty Girls is heavily centered around violence against women. It’s not just the predictability of the narrative, it’s how absolutely nothing happens that annoyed the crap out of me. Sure Slaughter can write a convincing portrayal of a young woman’s life but give us a reason to care about what we’re reading! This book was so damn freaking spectacular that I don't even know where to start. This has climbed to the top of my list as my favorite psychological thriller ever. This tops Dark Places and That Night and I never thought that would happen! For any book to triumph over those is a win for me :) although they are still right behind this book.After I was well into the book I started to realize that the gruesomeness might be too much for me. I was starting to skip over the descriptions (very graphic descriptions) and feeling quite bothered. Other readers may not have an issue with it but I just felt a bit overloaded with details of such horrific acts. I ended up having to skip over quite a few parts. Twenty years ago, Claire and Lydia Scott's older sister vanished without a trace. Her disappearance had a devastating effect on their family. This is some seriously effed up story. It’s graphic and appalling and will probably give you nightmares, especially if you’re a girl. Particularly, the pretty ones with blond hair. Cause you know, some bogeymen are just so . . . basic and more vain than the others. Sam is a determined sort, bulldog with a bone. He never believed the official cop line that his Julia had simply run away. So he dedicated his life to finding out what had really happened to his eldest daughter. It cost him his marriage, and maybe even more. We see the progress of Sam’s investigation through his journals, from the time when he was on this quest. Claire and Lydia’s adventure takes place today.

Karin Slaughter's Pretty Girls asks all of the questions and then answers them in the creepiest way I can imagine. It's been a while since I laid in bed at night hoping that what I had just read doesn't give me nightmares, but this one had me doing just that. Add that on top of the fact that I absolutely couldn't put this book down, and we've got a real winner on our hands. Authors are always asked where they get their ideas, and the truth is that most of the time we don't know. An idea is a weird thing--usually, it's like a grain of sand that your brain worries into a pearl. When did the sand start to turn into something shiny and beautiful? No way to know. Overall, I thought that it was a fantastic story. It was suspenseful and kept me in a hyper-vigilant state until every question had been answered. I had chills while listening to this story. This has got to be one of the most screwed up, disturbing stories that I've "read". I don’t even have time to touch on the weird beauty stuff in this book. Claire’s beauty is mentioned constantly, as is Lydia’s chubbiness. In fact, the dude torturing her BY WATERBOARDING HER WITH HIS OWN URINE, manages to get a couple of digs in about how she’s gained so much weight, he doesn’t even want to rape her anymore. Apparently, that’s how we’re supposed to know that he’s a REALLY bad guy. This book is gripping and I wanted to keep writing to find out what would happen next. This is a hard book to review because I do not want to give anything away that will ruin the story for anyone. I liked the dialogue of the characters they talked as "real" people talk to each other. I found that I liked most of the characters and shook my head when some did not always act in their own best interest i.e. mouthing off or being sarcastic.this story goes to show that you really don’t need a paranormal story to show true evil. Sometimes, humans can make the very worst monsters of all.

After Claire’s husband is killed in a mugging-gone-wrong, she uncovers some dark things about her husband. And her sister is the only one who can help her get to the bottom of his vast mountain of secrets. On their way, they uncover an underground snuff ring, a conspiracy that goes ALL THE WAY TO THE TOP, and an FBI agent that seems to be doing his best Foghorn Leghorn impression.

The Pretty Girls Series in Order (2 Books)

holy exposition batman. I feel like I've just have this flood of information streaming into my head for the last few percents. It almost feels like this book will never end. I don't mean that in a bad way but there's just so much going on. Karin Slaughter is at the top of her game with this book. She continues to have great character development, characters you root for, characters you despise and those that are right in the middle. She does her research and her plots are multilayered and engaging. I could not put this one down! The story is atmospheric from the beginning with a palpable sense of foreboding, and by the end of this short story, I was very, very uneasy and disturbed. Karin Slaughter truly has some of the strongest writing I've read. Like seriously. It doesn't matter if you end up loving or hating the story, it doesn't change the fact that the writing itself is top notch. The reason I rare read other genres is that they're rarely able to hold my attention -- I crave the emotional connection in romances -- so it's a real testament to how good this writing was that I was that into this story. A stunning family tragedy and a hold-your-breath pedal-to-the-metal thriller...certain to be a book of the year."

I love this author. I fangirl so hard over her Grant County/Will Trent books so much that if I go anywhere that has them I must be restrained from recommending that people read them. Yes, Library ladies I will try and behave. HOLY HELL. So, I just spent the last 2 days reading this awesome book. It went waaaaaay the freaking hell outside of my "usual" reading preferences. The genre is more of a crime thriller (no romance) which I almost never read but this particular blurb really grabbed me. So I opened the book. By the end of the prologue, I had CHILLS running through me and tears in my eyes.... So, I had to read it!!! And honestly I loved it!!While it’s listed as a short story, Karin Slaughter’s Blonde Hair, Blue Eyes is more of a prologue to her latest novel, Pretty Girls. It’s just sold separately for some reason (coughmoneycough!). Karin Slaughter is the author of more than twenty instant NEW YORK TIMES bestselling novels, including the Edgar–nominated COP TOWN and standalone novels THE GOOD DAUGHTER, PRETTY GIRLS, and GIRL, FORGOTTEN. She is published in 120 countries with more than 40 million copies sold across the globe. PIECES OF HER is a #1 Netflix original series starring Toni Collette. The Will Trent Series is on ABC (and streaming on Hulu in the U.S and Disney+ internationally). THE GOOD DAUGHTER and FALSE WITNESS are in development for film/tv. Slaughter is the founder of the Save the Libraries project—a nonprofit organization established to support libraries and library programming. A native of Georgia, she lives in Atlanta. This is also a book with absolutely no fluff. You can't skim anything because you'll miss crucial elements or reveals. It's intricate and layered. This author clearly spent a great deal of time plotting out her story before writing it because everything happens for a reason, every piece of the story has a purpose, and by the end, they all fit together. One reason I'm always wary of thrillers is I rarely find them satisfying but this book gave every single answer to every single question. I'm a fast reader and will usually breeze through full-length book in an afternoon but it took me 2 days to read this (3 technically since I read the first 10% one night, and the rest over 2 days) because there was just so MUCH going on in it...