Pretty Things

Pretty Things by Janelle Brown

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Nina is a thief who specializes in stalking people on Instagram. She works her way into her victim’s lives by showing up at the places where they go, flirting, doing whatever is necessary to take advantage of her targets, who are usually drunk, and usually male. She takes things weeks later after she is nothing more than a drunk memory and then gets away with no one the wiser.

She does this with her companion, Lachlan, an older Irishman whom she met through her con artist mother, who is ill and needs money for an expensive treatment. Nina and Lachlan’s thefts are never personal, and they only take from people who can afford to be taken, and who also deserve it.
Meanwhile, Vanessa is a rich heiress who has crossed paths with Nina before, albeit only superficially. Her Instagram triggers Nina’s vindictive streak: “sunshine and light!”; mindless aphorisms that belie the privilege beneath it.

With Lachlan’s help, they concoct a scheme to rob Vanessa blind and finally get revenge for a past transgression. But things aren’t what they seem, and soon it is unclear who is fooling who.
My two main criticisms are connected:

1. It’s about 100-125 pages too long which

2. Forces a plot development that I wasn’t crazy about.

The beginning was so promising, I was hoping for an Ocean’s 11 style caper where it’s fun to root for the thief. But the con job that is at the center of the story takes you into a backstory and the way it ties together might have been tighter without the last development. Just my two cents.

Told from the point of view of the dueling narrators, Pretty Things is a lively and entertaining novel that mostly delivers. It’s fun and keeps you guessing. It was a solid read and I’m happy to give it four stars.




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