“Pretty Things” by Janelle Brown
Published: 4/21/2020 Random House
Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense
A friend of mine recommended author, Janelle Brown, to me so when I saw that she came out with her latest book called “Pretty Things” in April of last year I grabbed it.
“Pretty Things” is about a woman named Nina who grew up in an unstable home. Her mother kicked her abusive father out of their lives and started stealing to support them. Because her mother was a grifter they couldn’t stay in one spot for too long. Nina had a hard time forming relationships so when she befriended an awkward rich boy in Lake Tahoe her life changed. When his family threw her out of their fancy mansion and forced Nina and her mother to move again she grew hateful.
Vanessa is an Instagram influencer. She spent enough time living off of her trust fund and wanted to find a way to make her own money and as a socialite, with a high powered name, social media was her path to independence. But fame and fake relationships was draining. When her father died Vanessa inherited her family’s estate in Lake Tahoe. As much as she hated that house growing up, she knew that this would be the place she could get away. She never wanted the place and it wasn’t supposed to be hers, her brother should have been burdened with it, but he’s in an institution. The girl he befriended in high school got him into drugs and drove him crazy.
Nina got a college degree that comes in very handy as a grifter. With a knowledge of art history it’s easy for Nina to spot the most valuable items in a mark’s home. She knows just what to steal when she cons her way in and with the help of her boyfriend they make enough money to support themselves and for Nina to pay for her mother’s cancer treatments. Nina thought she’d have an honest career until her mom got sick. That’s when she met Lachlan and he convinced her to work with him so she could take care of her mother.
When things get hot Nina needs to leave Los Angeles, she remembers the news of the villain of her past dying and she knows just where to go…Lake Tahoe.
Overall I liked this book. I felt like the story was intriguing and I thought the character development was good for both main characters. I thought the flashbacks really helped you connect and understand them, but some other reviewers didn’t like this style. The book is long nearly 500 pages so some readers questioned the need for so much history, but I never felt like it was too much.
Janelle Brown is a great writer and I will read another of her books for sure. As for this one I would recommend it if you have some time on your hands.
