Pretty Ugly Lies by Pamela Crane is a 2018 Bloodhound Books publication.

Pamela Crane’s dramatic thrillers never fail to draw me in. In this story, the author explores the dark side of motherhood and marriage, by giving us a peak into the lives of Jo, Ellie, Shayla, and June.

Each of these women have a full plate and hidden thoughts about the mental toll of raising children and maintaining relationships with their husbands. It’s heavier than anyone fully knows or understands- with the pressure building and building until finally- one of them snaps…

This is a dark, twisted thriller that packs a good potent punch! The inner thoughts of women who are putting on brave public front, who appear to have charmed lives or have everything together, but who are increasingly finding it harder and harder to cope with their realities.

As per Crane’s usual style, the drama is heavy and unrelenting. We have a missing child, adulteries, mental illness, and neurodiversity, and it all culminates in murder. It’s a train wreck- but you know what they say about train wrecks- you can’t help but watch.

The author delves into some pretty black territory, giving insights into what might propel someone to do the unthinkable. It was also a nod of understanding for the challenges mothers face, the thankless sacrifices, and the need for greater support from home and community.

Overall, a chilling, thought provoking, breakneck thriller full of foreboding and suspense! ( )

If I could only write two words for this book it would be: ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT. Talk about hooked from the start! Once I'd read the opening page, I simply couldn't put the book down until I found out whose family had been killed and why.

What an absolutely jaw dropping start to a book: a woman holding her dead husband's hand whilst her other hand holds a knife covered with the blood of her children. WHAT!?!? Who is this? Who lives at 15 Oleander Way? Well I couldn't read fast enough to find out and as we peep through the curtains into the lives of four women we realise that any one of them could be our killer.

Jo Trubeau is hiding a secret from her past that comes back to haunt her when her youngest daughter is abducted from the playground. It soon becomes clear that Amelia was chosen because she's Jo's daughter and Jo must decide exactly how much her secret is worth keeping. As tension mounts between Jo and her husband, Jo is very close to breaking point and if Amelia is not found, who knows what she might do.

Ellie Harper has given up everything to be a wife and mother but her family treat her like dirt. Her 11 year old daughter, Darla, acts like an insolent teenager and her 9 year old son, Logan, has been expelled from school for biting. Both children treat Ellie like a slave and when Ellie finds lipstick on her husband's collar, it really could be the straw the broke the camel's back.

Shayla Kensington is suffering from bipolar disorder and has an affair in her manic state which she soon regrets, but by then it's too late. When her son, Arion, finds Shayla with her fancy-man he transforms from a 'wet noodle' (as Shayla calls him) to a stick of dynamite. If Shayla wants to stop Arion from telling her husband, she has to take matters into her own hands.

Our final suspect is June Merrigan. We are introduced to June as she is hiding in a closet (a wardrobe to those of us this side of the Atlantic), desperate to escape her autistic son, Austin. Also in the closet is a shoebox with a gun inside and June has very vivid fantasies of putting that gun to her head and pulling the trigger. What secret is she hiding that would make blowing her brains out preferable to it being revealed?

Each woman became my prime suspect at one time or another and because of their juicy stories, any single one of them could have killed their family. The way the whole story is put together is simply sublime; it's like doing a jigsaw with a missing piece and only when that piece is slotted in, can the whole picture be revealed.

The gripping, gruesome opening scene reminded me of the TV show Damages and Liane Moriarty's Big Little Lies, where you see the end of the story and can't watch or read fast enough to find out how the characters got there. I loved how the woman in Chapter 1 could easily be any one of the four women we are introduced to. Their stories are quite heartbreaking when you delve into them despite each of them having the appearance of a Stepford Wife. One of these women is a murderer...will you guess which one?

Pretty Ugly Lies is what domestic noir is all about; gripping, shocking, surprising and absolutely brilliant. If you like Liane Moriarty, you will LOVE Pamela Crane. Take my word for it: Pretty Ugly Lies is pretty freaking great!

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion. ( )

3.5 stars - This book was just a bit confusing to me with so many characters and storylines going. It was a quick read though with plenty of secrets, lies and family drama. ( )

Pretty Ugly Lies by Pamela Crane, or Domestic Bliss Gone Wrong!



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In "Pretty Ugly Lies" Pamela Crane reveals the lives of four very different women in this dramatic, intimate domestic noir, of which I could not put down, especially upon opening the book to suddenly discover how someone is killing a whole family!

As the story unravelled I foun
d myself really keen to find out who had murdered not just the husband but the kids in such a horrific way! We hear, through the voices of four women, Jo Trubeau, Ellie Harper, Shayla Kensington and June Merrigan, how their seemingly unconnected lives and problems eventually intertwine in this cleverly written tale of domestic bliss gone wrong.

We also hear the evil thoughts of the kidnapper and for me that made this read even more entertaining, sending chills down my spine!

Overall, Pretty Ugly Lies raises some series issues, from kidnapping a child, stalking, and infidelity, to marriage breakdowns, autism, and suicidal thoughts. There's certainly a huge amount of problems within these girl's lives and the neighbourhood they live in. I wouldn't want to live there, however affluent it looked on the outside.

If you love a book full of some pretty ugly lies, then the killer secrets and domestic misery within this dark thriller will have you
double checking what's lurking in the shadows as you read! Not to mention checking where your kids are. A powerful statement of how a twisted, disfigured need for love can evolve into a terrible tragedy with disastrous consequences!

Oh, and as a side-note, I loved how, at the very end of this story, Pamela's daughter Talia (7) wrote her own version of "The Girl Who Got Kidnapped" and why! It's such a cute, Grimm Fairy Tale like story, (totally different to the actual book) and pretty well written for such a young age. I can safely put money on Talia definitely following in her mum's footsteps as a writer herself! I hope I get to see that day!

My thanks to Bloodhound Books and NetGalley for an advanced readers copy of this book. All opinions are my own and not biased in anyway. ( )

Terrifying and intense, this books takes an unapologetic look into the mind of mothers and wives. Brutal and honest, it's not an easy read, but it's, without a doubt, a very good one.

I had taken the book just to get an idea of it, a quick look as I was reading another one at that moment, and I simply couldn't stop until I finish. This was the first book I read by this author, but most certainly it won't be the last.

A very recommended book. ( )