"Pretty Girls" by Karin Slaughter

When I dove headfirst into “Gone Girl” at a good friend’s recommendation, I never dreamed that I’d delve even deeper into the mystery/thriller genre. I’ve always been a rom-com, chick lit kind of reader, more Meg Cabot than Agatha Christie. But after reading Gillian Flynn’s breakout novel, I couldn’t get enough. Even after tearing through Flynn’s other two novels, “Sharp Objects” and “Dark Places,” I was still hungry for more thrillers. Amazon suggested Paula Hawkins’ “The Girl on the Train,” and I devoured it. A few months later, Amazon recommended “Pretty Girls” by Karin Slaughter, and I bit. It’s billed as a story of estranged sisters uncovering the truths of a family tragedy, and it comes with raving recommendations from other authors of the genre, including Gillian Flynn herself.

It wasn’t what I expected at all. Claire, the younger sister, watches her husband die in her arms by the end of the first chapter. Lydia, the older sister, is a former druggie still grappling with the lifelong repercussions of addiction. Their eldest sister, Julia, has been missing under suspicious circumstances since 1991, and bits of her story are told through letters from their deceased father. Factor in a sociopath and some monstrous violence, and this book is dark.

That’s not to say it isn’t good. Slaughter is a crime novelist at heart, known for her Will Trent cop mysteries, and she weaves the essence of the long con into this gripping story. The violence described is graphic and brutal, so it’s probably a hard pass for anyone with a weak stomach. Slaughter also employs a particularly dark brand of humor—fitting, considering the nature of the story—that equally pokes fun at the media’s treatment of missing girls, men who feel the need to sit with their legs spread as far as humanly possible, obviously pandering politicians and former UGA coeds. These glimmers of humor, the kind that makes you bark a laugh or chuckle at the veracity of Slaughter’s observation, break up the constant barrage of twisted secrets Claire and Lydia uncover throughout the novel.

This book is not for everyone. While other authors in the genre have raved about it, this isn’t exactly a beach read. The violence isn’t alluded to; it’s quite graphically described (though not gratuitous). The third person point of view and ragged page edges may bother you, but they’re worth getting past to unravel the various mysteries surrounding the Carroll sisters.