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Little Pretty Things
OLD RIVALRIES NEVER DIE. BUT SOME RIVALS DO.
Juliet Townsend is used to losing. Back in high school, she lost every track team race to her best friend, Madeleine Bell. Ten years later, she’s still running behind, stuck in a dead-end job cleaning rooms at the Mid-Night Inn, a one-star motel that attracts only the cheap or the desperate. But what life won’t provide, Juliet takes.
Then one night, Maddy checks in. Well-dressed, flashing a huge diamond ring, and as beautiful as ever, Maddy has it all. By the next morning, though, Juliet is no longer jealous of Maddy—she’s the chief suspect in her murder.
To protect herself, Juliet investigates the circumstances of her friend’s death. But what she learns about Maddy’s life might cost Juliet everything she didn’t realize she had.
Juliet Townsend is used to losing. Back in high school, she lost every track team race to her best friend, Madeleine Bell. Ten years later, she’s still running behind, stuck in a dead-end job cleaning rooms at the Mid-Night Inn, a one-star motel that attracts only the cheap or the desperate. But what life won’t provide, Juliet takes.
Then one night, Maddy checks in. Well-dressed, flashing a huge diamond ring, and as beautiful as ever, Maddy has it all. By the next morning, though, Juliet is no longer jealous of Maddy—she’s the chief suspect in her murder.
To protect herself, Juliet investigates the circumstances of her friend’s death. But what she learns about Maddy’s life might cost Juliet everything she didn’t realize she had.
303 pages, Paperback
First published July 7, 2015
394 people are currently reading
5055 people want to read
About the author
Lori Rader-Day
15 books1,057 followersLORI RADER-DAY is the Edgar Award-nominated, Agatha, Anthony, and Mary Higgins Clark Award-winning author of Wreck Your Heart, The Death of Us, Death at Greenway, The Lucky One, Under a Dark Sky, The Day I Died, Little Pretty Things, and The Black Hour. Lori’s short fiction has appeared in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Time Out Chicago, Good Housekeeping, and others. She lives in Chicago, where she is the co-chair of the mystery reader event Midwest Mystery Conference and teaches creative writing for Northwestern University. She is a former national president of Sisters in Crime. Visit her at LoriRaderDay.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 394 reviews
August 13, 2016
Juliet Townsend's life hasn't gone according to plan. Well to be honest, it hasn't really gone anywhere. After her father's death, her mother was unable to cope so Juliet dropped out of college to come home and 10 years later she hasn't left.
Juliet works at the Mid-Night, a seedy motel where she cleans as well as checks in guests. With it's one star rating the Mid-Night seems to attract a certain type of clientele. But it's a job and she needs it to try and make ends meet. Juliet feels stuck in this small town. A town where everyone gathers at the only bar, to drink and catch up on the latest gossip.
Out of the blue an unexpected guest arrives, Juliet's former best friend Maddy Bell. Back in high school Juliet always came in second place to Maddy in the Track races. But even with all of the competition they were able to remain best friends. However, on the day they are to run their most important race yet something happens that changes everything....
Now all these years later, when Maddy returns, Juliet feels some of the same past resentment, possibly even more. Maddy seems to have it all. There's the fancy clothing, fancy car and huge diamond ring. Can Juliet let the past go and will their friendship have a second chance?
******************************************************************************
I don't think I'm writing any Spoilers as the events are mentioned in the book blurb. However if you plan on reading this book and haven't read the book's entire description you may want to stop reading here.
******************************************************************************
Apparently there won't be a chance of a renewed friendship as the morning after Maddy checks in she's found dead and now Juliet is suspected of murdering her.
But Juliet wants to clear her name. However, as she does her own investigation and talks to old classmates, teachers, coaches, and other people in Maddy's life she starts to learn more about Maddy and realizes that she may not have known her at all....and is she putting her own life in danger?
I had a really hard time rating this book. There was a moment or two when I wasn't sure I wanted to continue reading it. But I wanted to know what happened and so I kept reading.
This book had a decent plot and was full of intrigue and painful secrets that refused to remain hidden any longer. Secrets involving not only Maddy but many other characters. Friendships turned to rivalry, high school competition and much more.
There were times I felt confused about what was currently happening or what had just happened. At times it just felt really scattered. I was able to figure out the killer's identity within the first few chapters (there were a lot of hints). In regards to some other parts of the story it just didn't completely come together for me. I did get the gist of it, but in my opinion there was too much repetition and information about some things and not enough about others. Plus a few holes in the plot, along with some things that I still didn't really understand...even after I was done the book.
I think that the author really wanted to deal with a lot of issues, especially those involving teens and I think that she did get a lot of that across. However I felt that the issues I mentioned above kept me from fully enjoying the book. On the positive side there were a lot of really well-written characters, a lot of suspense, and I thought the ending came together quite well.
In my opinion Little Pretty Things by Lori Rader-Day is a decent psychological thriller but I felt it had a few issues that kept it from being one of the better ones I've read.
2.5 stars
Juliet works at the Mid-Night, a seedy motel where she cleans as well as checks in guests. With it's one star rating the Mid-Night seems to attract a certain type of clientele. But it's a job and she needs it to try and make ends meet. Juliet feels stuck in this small town. A town where everyone gathers at the only bar, to drink and catch up on the latest gossip.
Out of the blue an unexpected guest arrives, Juliet's former best friend Maddy Bell. Back in high school Juliet always came in second place to Maddy in the Track races. But even with all of the competition they were able to remain best friends. However, on the day they are to run their most important race yet something happens that changes everything....
Now all these years later, when Maddy returns, Juliet feels some of the same past resentment, possibly even more. Maddy seems to have it all. There's the fancy clothing, fancy car and huge diamond ring. Can Juliet let the past go and will their friendship have a second chance?
******************************************************************************
I don't think I'm writing any Spoilers as the events are mentioned in the book blurb. However if you plan on reading this book and haven't read the book's entire description you may want to stop reading here.
******************************************************************************
Apparently there won't be a chance of a renewed friendship as the morning after Maddy checks in she's found dead and now Juliet is suspected of murdering her.
But Juliet wants to clear her name. However, as she does her own investigation and talks to old classmates, teachers, coaches, and other people in Maddy's life she starts to learn more about Maddy and realizes that she may not have known her at all....and is she putting her own life in danger?
I had a really hard time rating this book. There was a moment or two when I wasn't sure I wanted to continue reading it. But I wanted to know what happened and so I kept reading.
This book had a decent plot and was full of intrigue and painful secrets that refused to remain hidden any longer. Secrets involving not only Maddy but many other characters. Friendships turned to rivalry, high school competition and much more.
There were times I felt confused about what was currently happening or what had just happened. At times it just felt really scattered. I was able to figure out the killer's identity within the first few chapters (there were a lot of hints). In regards to some other parts of the story it just didn't completely come together for me. I did get the gist of it, but in my opinion there was too much repetition and information about some things and not enough about others. Plus a few holes in the plot, along with some things that I still didn't really understand...even after I was done the book.
I think that the author really wanted to deal with a lot of issues, especially those involving teens and I think that she did get a lot of that across. However I felt that the issues I mentioned above kept me from fully enjoying the book. On the positive side there were a lot of really well-written characters, a lot of suspense, and I thought the ending came together quite well.
In my opinion Little Pretty Things by Lori Rader-Day is a decent psychological thriller but I felt it had a few issues that kept it from being one of the better ones I've read.
2.5 stars
March 2, 2020
“Running quiets the voice in your head,”
― Lori Rader-Day, Little Pretty Things
DNF.
I liked it at first however the gloomy hotel got to me or maybe it is just I have read to many books like this. I started getting a bit gloomy myself and though I do not like to DNF, I will do it if I cannot get into a book by fifty or sixty pages. I read more then that here (and cheated and checked out the ending.) I did that because I did not want to read anymore.
I think the gloomy tone may fit those interested in a good mystery about two best friends and who done it. I am just tiring a bit of reading so many of these types of books plus the majority of this one seemed to happen inside that hotel which just didn't do anything for me.
― Lori Rader-Day, Little Pretty Things
DNF.
I liked it at first however the gloomy hotel got to me or maybe it is just I have read to many books like this. I started getting a bit gloomy myself and though I do not like to DNF, I will do it if I cannot get into a book by fifty or sixty pages. I read more then that here (and cheated and checked out the ending.) I did that because I did not want to read anymore.
I think the gloomy tone may fit those interested in a good mystery about two best friends and who done it. I am just tiring a bit of reading so many of these types of books plus the majority of this one seemed to happen inside that hotel which just didn't do anything for me.
June 8, 2015
I have a special fondness for stories about far from perfect, less than amazing characters. Throw in an insular small town setting and I’m generally hooked--which certainly proved true with mystery thriller Little Pretty Things; I could barely put the book down to get on with my own life.
Juliet Townsend was a promising track star in high school, but she always took second place because her best friend Maddy ran just a little bit faster. Never coming in first meant no scholarships to prestigious schools and when her father died suddenly Juliet dropped out of college and returned home, which is where she still is ten years after high school graduation. She works cleaning rooms in a dive hotel, barely supporting herself and her mentally fragile mother and compulsively pocketing random items left behind by guests. After a decade of no contact, her former best friend shows up with a huge diamond engagement ring and the desire to reconnect, but Juliet, full of resentment, brushes Maddy off. By the next morning Maddy is dead, and Juliet is a suspect in her murder.
Of course Juliet investigates, partly to clear her name but also to find out what happened to the friend she regrets rebuffing. This takes her back into the world of high school, this time as a substitute gym teacher coaching girls on the current track team, and being there gives Juliet new perspectives about her own participation in the sport. Juliet also spends time sneaking around in the dark, going after possible clues, and though I had a fairly good idea of who the murderer would turn out to be the story is highly suspenseful.
Without being didactic Little Pretty Things addresses some important issues, racial prejudice and teenage sexulity among them. The well drawn characters really made the story for me--I especially enjoyed the relationships between Juliet and Lu, the slightly older Hispanic woman who also cleans rooms at the hotel, and Juliet and the female cop investigating the murder, a testy former high school classmate Juliet had ignored when she and Maddy were track team celebrities. I’ll be looking for the next book from Lori Rader-Day.
Juliet Townsend was a promising track star in high school, but she always took second place because her best friend Maddy ran just a little bit faster. Never coming in first meant no scholarships to prestigious schools and when her father died suddenly Juliet dropped out of college and returned home, which is where she still is ten years after high school graduation. She works cleaning rooms in a dive hotel, barely supporting herself and her mentally fragile mother and compulsively pocketing random items left behind by guests. After a decade of no contact, her former best friend shows up with a huge diamond engagement ring and the desire to reconnect, but Juliet, full of resentment, brushes Maddy off. By the next morning Maddy is dead, and Juliet is a suspect in her murder.
Of course Juliet investigates, partly to clear her name but also to find out what happened to the friend she regrets rebuffing. This takes her back into the world of high school, this time as a substitute gym teacher coaching girls on the current track team, and being there gives Juliet new perspectives about her own participation in the sport. Juliet also spends time sneaking around in the dark, going after possible clues, and though I had a fairly good idea of who the murderer would turn out to be the story is highly suspenseful.
Without being didactic Little Pretty Things addresses some important issues, racial prejudice and teenage sexulity among them. The well drawn characters really made the story for me--I especially enjoyed the relationships between Juliet and Lu, the slightly older Hispanic woman who also cleans rooms at the hotel, and Juliet and the female cop investigating the murder, a testy former high school classmate Juliet had ignored when she and Maddy were track team celebrities. I’ll be looking for the next book from Lori Rader-Day.
August 9, 2018
Juliet Townsend’s life had not worked out the way she thought it would. Even though she spent years coming second in every athletics race to her friend Madeleine Bell, Juliet still thought she would one day leave town and be successful. It never happened. Ten years later she and Madeleine have lost contact after Madeleine moved away, while Juliet is still in the same town of her childhood. Added to that she is stuck in a dead end cleaning job at the Mid-Night Inn, a seedy one star motel. Both she and her co-worker Lu are barely making ends meet. Then the glamorous Madeleine comes to motel flashing a huge diamond. Jealousy rears its head in Juliet. But come the next day, Juliet is staggered to find herself under suspicion for murder.
This is a readable story and it is to empathise a little with Juliet who feels life and opportunity has passed her by. Juliet has a secret store of little things she acquires from the motel rooms. Sad, to see the value she places on these little random objects. Even though I picked the murderer early on there is a lot more going on at that motel than is obvious at first. A lot had gone on in Madeleine’s life too and it was not as perfect as Juliet always assumed it was. The characters and some of these other added issues are what made this book a quite interesting read. It wasn’t startling by any means but it was an easy read that I was happy to spend time in without it being absolutely gripping. I thought it was an interesting title with its double meaning.
This is a readable story and it is to empathise a little with Juliet who feels life and opportunity has passed her by. Juliet has a secret store of little things she acquires from the motel rooms. Sad, to see the value she places on these little random objects. Even though I picked the murderer early on there is a lot more going on at that motel than is obvious at first. A lot had gone on in Madeleine’s life too and it was not as perfect as Juliet always assumed it was. The characters and some of these other added issues are what made this book a quite interesting read. It wasn’t startling by any means but it was an easy read that I was happy to spend time in without it being absolutely gripping. I thought it was an interesting title with its double meaning.
February 29, 2016
It took me forever to finish this book because I just couldn't get into it :( I guessed who the killer was very early on, and the rest of the story really dragged. I appreciated that the characters were all flawed, but I found myself wanting to shake Juliet at times. A lot of the details around the investigation seemed unrealistic too - I can't imagine a cop really handling a murder the way Courtney did. Despite the plot dragging, the ending felt a bit rushed too.
March 1, 2016
Look, I read this thing at LEAST three, four times this year, so I'm counting it on my 2014 books.
November 11, 2015
"The dark didn't seem as frightening, once you grew up, once you realized how many ways there were to lose someone."
I'm left on the fence about this one. If Goodreads did half stars, it would probably get an extra half star from me. I expected an incredible thriller and an unsolvable mystery, but I got neither.
The characters keep this a two star. Did I like them? Not exactly, they were all really annoying and unlikeable at one point or another. But the thing is, they were written so well. They were all perfectly flawed and I like that, it makes them more real and relatable. I saw myself or others I knew in them, with the good and bad traits. How characters are written and how I react/perceive them really makes or break a book for me. For how Rader-Day wrote Juliet and Beck and Courtney and even Maddy I have to give credit and that comes in the form of an extra star.
The writing, though, is where this falls flat. The style of her writing didn't bother me so much, it read well, but it's the plot bothers me. I had guessed who'd committed the murder and why about a quarter way into the book, and considering it's only 300 pages that isn't very far. Hints were given so obviously I have a hard time seeing how anyone could not figure it out! Perhaps I've read too many books and watched too many movies and it's an unfair judgement, but it just seemed too easy. Honestly, a big part of the reason I finished was simply because I wanted to know if I was right without skipping pages or having to google it.
Overall, I was disappointed. The writing was done well, but seemed so concerned about dropping hints to us that they gave away the end. I won't be hurrying to pick up another Rader-Day book anytime soon, though I'd be willing to give her books another shot.
August 1, 2015
Found it boring and really not for me.. Did not like the writing style or the characters. Skipped to the end after reading first 30% of book.
November 18, 2015
I did not enjoy this book. Even though we get a dead body within the first few chapters of the book I don't think it read like a thriller or suspense. The main character, Juliet, was amazingly boring to me. All of the references to high school track championships was mentioned too much. Maddy Bell was a track star. Okay. We know.It didn't need to be written on every other page.Juliet's "problem" with the itchy palms was just weird. At the end of the book the reveal of Teeny's secret wasn't really exciting. Little Pretty Things was just not my cup of tea.
August 5, 2015
I was into this. I could identify with the aimless Juliet, 29-years-old and pretty sure she'd peaked in high school. Her 20s and time had been unkind. And I'm often a sucker for murder mystery.
It didn't live up to hopes.
The police investigation was woeful. I really hope there aren't investigations conducted as shoddily as this. Things happened (or didn't) to suit the story the author wanted to tell. She wanted to set up the main character as the unfortunate victim of police interrogation. But the MC kept getting in the way of clearing herself...in ways that I doubt any sane person would try. Going to the crime scene before it's been processed? Stealing things from the crime scene and the victim's step-mother's house? (though really, that wasn't a good tangent). Then the MC started acting like she was the smartest person in the room but missed an obvious connection for so long that I began to doubt my theory (I was correct). It's not fun being that far ahead of the story.
But the real grievance came during a conversation between the MC and her coworker. The subject: police harassment because "I see brown people." (the coworker was Hispanic). The MC says: "What do they have to do with [the murder investigation]? Or me?"
Um, callous much? Racial component asidem that, to me, was a heartless thing to say to someone.
I got properly riled and took it on Twitter. After I cooled off my hope was that the author was trying to broach the topic of white privilege when it came to cops questioning/mistreating/brutalizing brown/black people in the name of justice. (The author found my tweets and proved this idea correct.) But it came off poorly executed to me. The bluntness, the lack of compassion didn't fit with the MC's character...she was supposed to be talking to her best friend! She'd not been that unsympathetic to that point. The conversation, which tries to go for repairs a few sentences later, changed how I perceived the MC. I got taken out of the story. I was never able to get back in. (But this moment comes way past halfway into the book...so I finished because I wanted to know what happened.)
Now, I could 'maybe if' that moment into the ground. Maybe if police brutality of all sorts wasn't in the news so much right now...Maybe if I hadn't read this the same week the Sandra Bland story broke...Maybe if I wasn't a PoC and able to see why the police where questioning the best friend before the MC was...Maybe if the sentence/convo had played out still clueless on the part of the MC but w/ curiosity and confusion instead of cruelity...Maybe if I didn't read this book immediately following Gone Girl which, for its other flaws, did the 'wrong-person-framed-for-murder' part to creepy perfection...Maybe if...
But those things happened (or didn't) and I read it when I did and she wrote it how she did and...the baggage I brought with me to the story skewed how I felt about it. It was just okay.
It didn't live up to hopes.
The police investigation was woeful. I really hope there aren't investigations conducted as shoddily as this. Things happened (or didn't) to suit the story the author wanted to tell. She wanted to set up the main character as the unfortunate victim of police interrogation. But the MC kept getting in the way of clearing herself...in ways that I doubt any sane person would try. Going to the crime scene before it's been processed? Stealing things from the crime scene and the victim's step-mother's house? (though really, that wasn't a good tangent). Then the MC started acting like she was the smartest person in the room but missed an obvious connection for so long that I began to doubt my theory (I was correct). It's not fun being that far ahead of the story.
But the real grievance came during a conversation between the MC and her coworker. The subject: police harassment because "I see brown people." (the coworker was Hispanic). The MC says: "What do they have to do with [the murder investigation]? Or me?"
Um, callous much? Racial component asidem that, to me, was a heartless thing to say to someone.
I got properly riled and took it on Twitter. After I cooled off my hope was that the author was trying to broach the topic of white privilege when it came to cops questioning/mistreating/brutalizing brown/black people in the name of justice. (The author found my tweets and proved this idea correct.) But it came off poorly executed to me. The bluntness, the lack of compassion didn't fit with the MC's character...she was supposed to be talking to her best friend! She'd not been that unsympathetic to that point. The conversation, which tries to go for repairs a few sentences later, changed how I perceived the MC. I got taken out of the story. I was never able to get back in. (But this moment comes way past halfway into the book...so I finished because I wanted to know what happened.)
Now, I could 'maybe if' that moment into the ground. Maybe if police brutality of all sorts wasn't in the news so much right now...Maybe if I hadn't read this the same week the Sandra Bland story broke...Maybe if I wasn't a PoC and able to see why the police where questioning the best friend before the MC was...Maybe if the sentence/convo had played out still clueless on the part of the MC but w/ curiosity and confusion instead of cruelity...Maybe if I didn't read this book immediately following Gone Girl which, for its other flaws, did the 'wrong-person-framed-for-murder' part to creepy perfection...Maybe if...
But those things happened (or didn't) and I read it when I did and she wrote it how she did and...the baggage I brought with me to the story skewed how I felt about it. It was just okay.
June 24, 2015
Can success or failure in high school continue to define a person ten years down the road? In Lori Rader-Day’s latest novel, Little Pretty Things, Juliet Townsend seems forever stuck in the fallout from coming in second, never the winner or the one who receives the accolades and the rewards of being first. Juliet has settled for less because she has never had more. Working in a one-star motel on the edge of her small town Midway, Juliet herself admits that “(She) hadn’t moved on.” It was typical of Midway, where people seem to fit the name, where people acquiesced instead of chasing dreams. Juliet’s one piece of salvation is her “little pretty things,” which she keeps hidden away.
But, the past can often prove to be a catalyst as well as a prison. When Juliet’s best friend from high school, Madeline Bell, shows up at the Mid-Night Motel, Juliet is less than thrilled to be reunited with the person who beat her in every track race throughout high school and kept Juliet from a coveted scholarship to a brighter future. Maddy is everything Juliet is not—well-dressed, well-traveled, polished, perfect face and hair, and wearing an enormous diamond engagement ring. Maddy had escaped Midway, and hadn’t been in touch in the intervening decade. Maddy wants to reconnect with Juliet and talk to her about “some things,” but Juliet brushes her off. And then, Juliet finds Maddy dead, murdered. Realizing that she is high on the suspect list of who killed Maddy, Juliet must revisit her and Maddy’s past to uncover long kept secrets with far-reaching effects.
Little Pretty Things is my first Lori Rader-Day read, and I can hardly wait to go back and read The Black Hour, her award-winning debut. Her writing is brilliantly suspenseful, and she makes even the most ordinary of characters interesting. Little Pretty Things is a mystery, a self examination, a journey through time, and a cautionary tale. I was indeed fortunate to receive an ARC through Goodreads, and I can guarantee this book is going to collect nominations and awards, too.
But, the past can often prove to be a catalyst as well as a prison. When Juliet’s best friend from high school, Madeline Bell, shows up at the Mid-Night Motel, Juliet is less than thrilled to be reunited with the person who beat her in every track race throughout high school and kept Juliet from a coveted scholarship to a brighter future. Maddy is everything Juliet is not—well-dressed, well-traveled, polished, perfect face and hair, and wearing an enormous diamond engagement ring. Maddy had escaped Midway, and hadn’t been in touch in the intervening decade. Maddy wants to reconnect with Juliet and talk to her about “some things,” but Juliet brushes her off. And then, Juliet finds Maddy dead, murdered. Realizing that she is high on the suspect list of who killed Maddy, Juliet must revisit her and Maddy’s past to uncover long kept secrets with far-reaching effects.
Little Pretty Things is my first Lori Rader-Day read, and I can hardly wait to go back and read The Black Hour, her award-winning debut. Her writing is brilliantly suspenseful, and she makes even the most ordinary of characters interesting. Little Pretty Things is a mystery, a self examination, a journey through time, and a cautionary tale. I was indeed fortunate to receive an ARC through Goodreads, and I can guarantee this book is going to collect nominations and awards, too.
March 23, 2021
Another well-written mystery from Lori Rader-Day! I admit that my initial suspicions were correct, however, she did a great job of making me suspect virtually everyone. I can appreciate the fact that Juliet overlooks what was happening "right under her nose" (so to speak) because she was a naive teen at the time. Perhaps one of the most appreciative aspects of Rader-Day's writing is her characterization. I feel as if I truly know each character so very well, and that is my main goal in reading a book--if I can't get to know the characters, it is not a good book to me. This is why I don't read a lot of mystery writers whose books seem formulaic to me, conspiracy within the government, corrupt FBI/CIA, one is enough for me, give me the human element of characterization to attract and keep my attention. I would love to know a bit more about Juliet's mother's seemingly immediate recovery and what prompted that, but that would be my only question. When I attended one of Lori's author events last week, I was impressed with her humor and honest talk about writing, being published, etc. And I believe she did very accurately depict the desolate atmosphere of this (from real-life) establishment as she intended to do. If you ever have the opportunity to meet and talk with her, it is well worth your while. She is very down-to-earth and personable! She is currently at work on her third novel, with a tentative publication date of June/July 2016. I will plan to be reading it soon after release! :)
April 13, 2020
4.5 Stars rounded to 4. Very good, fast paced read. I recommend to people who have been out of high school for a few years and are open to high school reflection.
The plot itself is straight forward. A high school friend returns to town and is killed. A who dunn-it.
The central part of the story is about two girls who were track stars/competitors/ always first and second place finishers. The first place star (Maddy) is the one killed and her friend second placer(Jules) wants to find out who did it. The memories/feelings that go with a friendship created through competition are brought back to Jules; Jealousy, discipline, failure, embarrassment, success, popularity, all those fun things of high school. These memories played out during the story turn out to be relevant to solving Maddys murder.
The book's rather low rating (3.6stars) had me waiting for a fall off the cliff moment that would have me throw the book to the curb. Pleasantly, this never happened. The ending came the closest but it really wasn't significant, the story was more than a who-dunnit. The story brought back high school memories good and not so good, complicated but needed friendships, how high school memories can stay with you even if have temporarily forgotten them, and the emotions remembering high school can bring.
P.S. Pretty little things are those strange trinkets you keep, you don’t know why you keep them but you do. Maybe if you brought them to your shrink he could tell a lot about you:)
The plot itself is straight forward. A high school friend returns to town and is killed. A who dunn-it.
The central part of the story is about two girls who were track stars/competitors/ always first and second place finishers. The first place star (Maddy) is the one killed and her friend second placer(Jules) wants to find out who did it. The memories/feelings that go with a friendship created through competition are brought back to Jules; Jealousy, discipline, failure, embarrassment, success, popularity, all those fun things of high school. These memories played out during the story turn out to be relevant to solving Maddys murder.
The book's rather low rating (3.6stars) had me waiting for a fall off the cliff moment that would have me throw the book to the curb. Pleasantly, this never happened. The ending came the closest but it really wasn't significant, the story was more than a who-dunnit. The story brought back high school memories good and not so good, complicated but needed friendships, how high school memories can stay with you even if have temporarily forgotten them, and the emotions remembering high school can bring.
P.S. Pretty little things are those strange trinkets you keep, you don’t know why you keep them but you do. Maybe if you brought them to your shrink he could tell a lot about you:)
February 22, 2016
I wanted to like this more than I did. I appreciated that the characters were imperfect and flawed, but they were also too one-dimensional and predictable. The plot just wasn't compelling enough; frankly, I didn't know a book with a murder could be so dull.
July 31, 2015
Last year I read and LOVED Lori Rader-Day’s debut novel The Black Hour (which I reviewed over on WatchPlayRead), so when Lori said she would send me an ARC of Little Pretty Things, I was SO excited! Lori’s second novel was just as thrilling, suspenseful, and well-written as her first.
I was immediately drawn into Juliet’s world – her job as a cleaning lady in a dive hotel in a small town, her compulsive desire to take the “little pretty things” left behind by her customers, her friendship with Lu, the slightly older Mexican woman who cleans at the hotel too, and her decade-old, but not forgotten rivalry with her best friend from high school, Maddy. Juliet and Maddy haven’t spoken in ten years, but Juliet hasn’t forgotten always trailing behind Maddy during all their track races, so when Maddy comes into town, Juliet brushes her off. But then Maddy gets murdered, Juliet is a suspect, and a lot of secrets come to light.
I am a big fan of books with flawed, far from perfect characters. They feel more human and more believable to me. This is a big reason in why I loved Little Pretty Things so much; Juliet is pretty messed up, she struggles with her compulsions, with her relationships, with her future, and I found myself rooting for her the whole time. She was stronger and more independent than she thought, and I liked seeing her realize who she could be. All of the characters in the book had their own problems and were all well-rounded and three-dimensional. I especially enjoyed the friendship between Juliet and Lu.
Lori did a great job at subtly hinting at who the real murderer was. I will say that I figured out who the murderer was pretty early on (I read and watch a lot of crime fiction), but it did not hinder my enjoyment of the story in the least. In fact, I was on the edge of my seat, racing through the book to see everyone figure it out. Lori does suspense SO well with pacing that reminded me of Maddy’s and Juliet’s races, fast and powerful.
The bottom line: While the story revolves around murder, this is a story of self-discovery and it questions how much our past can affect and shape us. It’s full of flawed, interesting, human characters that will pull you into the story immediately. Little Pretty Things is the best kind of mystery, and it’s not one you want to miss.
NOTE: I was provided with an ARC of this book from the publisher and author in exchange for an honest review. Thank you so much, Lori and Seventh Street Books!!
I was immediately drawn into Juliet’s world – her job as a cleaning lady in a dive hotel in a small town, her compulsive desire to take the “little pretty things” left behind by her customers, her friendship with Lu, the slightly older Mexican woman who cleans at the hotel too, and her decade-old, but not forgotten rivalry with her best friend from high school, Maddy. Juliet and Maddy haven’t spoken in ten years, but Juliet hasn’t forgotten always trailing behind Maddy during all their track races, so when Maddy comes into town, Juliet brushes her off. But then Maddy gets murdered, Juliet is a suspect, and a lot of secrets come to light.
I am a big fan of books with flawed, far from perfect characters. They feel more human and more believable to me. This is a big reason in why I loved Little Pretty Things so much; Juliet is pretty messed up, she struggles with her compulsions, with her relationships, with her future, and I found myself rooting for her the whole time. She was stronger and more independent than she thought, and I liked seeing her realize who she could be. All of the characters in the book had their own problems and were all well-rounded and three-dimensional. I especially enjoyed the friendship between Juliet and Lu.
Lori did a great job at subtly hinting at who the real murderer was. I will say that I figured out who the murderer was pretty early on (I read and watch a lot of crime fiction), but it did not hinder my enjoyment of the story in the least. In fact, I was on the edge of my seat, racing through the book to see everyone figure it out. Lori does suspense SO well with pacing that reminded me of Maddy’s and Juliet’s races, fast and powerful.
The bottom line: While the story revolves around murder, this is a story of self-discovery and it questions how much our past can affect and shape us. It’s full of flawed, interesting, human characters that will pull you into the story immediately. Little Pretty Things is the best kind of mystery, and it’s not one you want to miss.
NOTE: I was provided with an ARC of this book from the publisher and author in exchange for an honest review. Thank you so much, Lori and Seventh Street Books!!
July 13, 2018
I chose this book because I saw it listed several places as one of the best mystery/crime novels written by women. After reading it, I have to say I'm surprised it was given this distinction. The depiction of police procedure to solve a major crime was poorly researched and very difficult to overlook. The characters were one-dimensional and poorly developed, and there were so many plot holes, most of which the author tried to hastily fill in at the end, like an afterthought. There are MUCH better crime novels out there that were written by women- I'm disappointed I wasted my time reading this one.
April 22, 2015
I haven't escaped small towns with the success of Maddy Bell, the high school golden girl who seemed to move on to even bigger and better things in Lori Rader-Day's second novel, Little Pretty Things, but I have escaped. Maybe that's what roped me in to the book from the beginning--the sense of place, places you don't want to be but can't look away from either. I've always had a fascination for roadside motels, too, particularly the midcentury type that hold out the sunny, forward-thinking promise of that time, even as the weeds grow up from cracks in the asphalt.
Little Pretty Things is a little rougher around the edges compared to Rader-Day's debut, The Black Hour. Not in writing certainly, but setting and character: the rarified air of an exclusive lakeside college vs. a small town and its public high school and low-rent motel surrounded by cornfields, a feisty college professor protecting what she's achieved vs. a floundering motel maid still trying to find her feet ten years on from high school graduation. These differences and other elements lend the book a noir-ish edge that I really liked.
Some common themes carry over though: women and their place and power in society, haves and have nots, and an interesting twist on the influence of the media. The story tightly wraps around these and yet flows naturally.
The theme of desire seems to be what carries Little Pretty Things forward; everybody wants something, everybody is reaching for something, no one more so than the main character and narrator, Juliet Townsend. In the beginning, she's almost given up reaching for the big things and instead pockets little things, mostly discarded, from the motel where she works. When her old friend and rival Maddy shows up in style, one can't imagine that she wants for anything, that there is a desire she can't fulfill, but then why has she returned to Midway anyway? Maddy's murder spurs Juliet into reaching for bigger things again: clues and reasons for the death, yes, but also lost ambitions. Along the way we meet others reaching out: the other motel maid hopes for better things for her family and a real estate license for herself; a town cop and former classmate wants a big case that will get her work noticed; a bank teller and small town power broker trades in gossip and control. We meet people who grasp at darker desires, too.
There are a lot of tense moments and a lot of heart in Little Pretty Things. It's an odd feeling to grow to care for the same characters you also grow to suspect. This is a satisfying read full of twists and turns, on the page and in the gut--I recommend it.
Little Pretty Things is a little rougher around the edges compared to Rader-Day's debut, The Black Hour. Not in writing certainly, but setting and character: the rarified air of an exclusive lakeside college vs. a small town and its public high school and low-rent motel surrounded by cornfields, a feisty college professor protecting what she's achieved vs. a floundering motel maid still trying to find her feet ten years on from high school graduation. These differences and other elements lend the book a noir-ish edge that I really liked.
Some common themes carry over though: women and their place and power in society, haves and have nots, and an interesting twist on the influence of the media. The story tightly wraps around these and yet flows naturally.
The theme of desire seems to be what carries Little Pretty Things forward; everybody wants something, everybody is reaching for something, no one more so than the main character and narrator, Juliet Townsend. In the beginning, she's almost given up reaching for the big things and instead pockets little things, mostly discarded, from the motel where she works. When her old friend and rival Maddy shows up in style, one can't imagine that she wants for anything, that there is a desire she can't fulfill, but then why has she returned to Midway anyway? Maddy's murder spurs Juliet into reaching for bigger things again: clues and reasons for the death, yes, but also lost ambitions. Along the way we meet others reaching out: the other motel maid hopes for better things for her family and a real estate license for herself; a town cop and former classmate wants a big case that will get her work noticed; a bank teller and small town power broker trades in gossip and control. We meet people who grasp at darker desires, too.
There are a lot of tense moments and a lot of heart in Little Pretty Things. It's an odd feeling to grow to care for the same characters you also grow to suspect. This is a satisfying read full of twists and turns, on the page and in the gut--I recommend it.
June 25, 2018
For full review - The Limit of Books Does Not Exist
I’m torn on my rating for Pretty Little Things. I was hoping for something more, a more intense mystery, more dirty secrets and I didn’t get that. However it was still an enjoyable read.
When I read mysteries, I attempt to be a detective and I’m all over the place. Is this person? Wait no, this person? Hold on, who was that person? I get the odd cozy mystery killer right, but normally I’m wrong.
So within the first 1/3 of Pretty Little Things, I wasn’t my typical self because I had the killer and motive figured out. I didn’t second guess, I felt solid about my pick. And I was right! Which is a bit disappointing that I could guess the killer so easily. I don’t think those who can normally guess the killer, will enjoy this novel.
I wish there was more to the premise. I would of liked to see more of the high school scenes and the friendship between Juliet and Maddy. That way you felt more of a connection to the characters, where as I didn’t feel anything for Maddy since she was only around for a chapter or two.
I’m torn on my rating for Pretty Little Things. I was hoping for something more, a more intense mystery, more dirty secrets and I didn’t get that. However it was still an enjoyable read.
When I read mysteries, I attempt to be a detective and I’m all over the place. Is this person? Wait no, this person? Hold on, who was that person? I get the odd cozy mystery killer right, but normally I’m wrong.
So within the first 1/3 of Pretty Little Things, I wasn’t my typical self because I had the killer and motive figured out. I didn’t second guess, I felt solid about my pick. And I was right! Which is a bit disappointing that I could guess the killer so easily. I don’t think those who can normally guess the killer, will enjoy this novel.
I wish there was more to the premise. I would of liked to see more of the high school scenes and the friendship between Juliet and Maddy. That way you felt more of a connection to the characters, where as I didn’t feel anything for Maddy since she was only around for a chapter or two.
June 5, 2016
Small-town Indiana, not much happening; Juliet Townsend is stuck in a dead-end job cleaning rooms in a one-star motel, taking care of an ailing mother and wondering where her life went off the rails. Then one night who walks into the motel but Madeleine Bell, Juliet's one-time best friend and arch-rival on the high school track team, who escaped to Chicago and apparently prospered, nicely turned-out with a big diamond on her finger. The reunion is awkward; we sense that there's more to their estrangement than meets the eye. A murder throws the town into turmoil and sets Juliet off on a hunt into her own and Maddy's past, trying to make sense of the killing and the multiple dysfunctions afflicting the school and the town.
I didn't find the mystery especially mystifying, but the book is nicely written, evocative of small-town isolation, loneliness and despair, as well as the redeeming possibilities of friendship. What the book is really about is the vulnerability of young women, the little pretty things of the title, in a society that relentlessly sexualizes them.
I didn't find the mystery especially mystifying, but the book is nicely written, evocative of small-town isolation, loneliness and despair, as well as the redeeming possibilities of friendship. What the book is really about is the vulnerability of young women, the little pretty things of the title, in a society that relentlessly sexualizes them.
February 17, 2015
I couldn't wait to read the second book by Lori Rader-Day, being such a HUGE fan of her first book, The Black Hour.
Little Pretty Things has everything a reader could want... murder, crime, love, forgiveness and that feeling, that everyone has, of just wanting a little bit more out of life than they've been offered. I want more of these characters, I hope they all come back again in another book. :)
Little Pretty Things has everything a reader could want... murder, crime, love, forgiveness and that feeling, that everyone has, of just wanting a little bit more out of life than they've been offered. I want more of these characters, I hope they all come back again in another book. :)
April 23, 2015
This was a solid who-done-it. Engaging and believable characters with a strong and plausible plot. Well-developed story line with information revealed at just the right time to keep the reader interested. Would be a very good book for a book club. Definitely recommend.
ARC from publisher.
ARC from publisher.
May 31, 2017
Another suspenseful tale from Lori Rader-Day. The Black Hour was set in the world of academia, but Little Pretty Things takes us back to high school through the memories of the narrator, Juliet, as she tries to process the murder of her former best friend.
March 27, 2015
LITTLE PRETTY THINGS is a gripping story of life in a small town. The pace of the plot builds intensity and intrigue as readers turn each page. Readers experience murder, betrayal, illegal activities, and manipulations of young women. Lori Rader-Day introduces LITTLE PRETTY THINGS ‘main character, Juliet Townsend along with the demons she has been dealing with since graduating from high school ten years earlier. The author places readers inside Townsend’s head so they know what she thinking and see her life in a small town through her eyes. The author provides her readers with Townsend’s backstory and continues to provide additional information on her history as the story progresses.
Readers are given each support characters backstory and their role in Rader-Day’s story. The author skillfully provides her readers clues to the identity of the antagonists creating an intense interest to find the last clue as to who murdered Townsend’s classmate. The author keeps everyone guessing as to what is going to happen next in this breathtaking thriller.
Lori Rader-Day shows Townsend in a holding pattern for ten years, dealing low self-esteem and it takes the murder of her classmate to force her to decide it is time to take charge of her life. Townsend takes advantage of her love of running to discover and uncover secrets of her painful past. She has been beaten down by events of her past and it doesn’t surprise her when the police pursue her as a suspect in the murder of her classmate and one time close friend. Then she discovers the painful details of events leading to the murder and decides she is going to prove the police wrong and find the real killer. Readers find the social issues Rader-Day exposes in Townsend’s investigation are important . Townsends unveils deadly actions and events leading up to an ending to rival all endings. LITTLE PRETTY THINGS masterfully delivers a serious message within a gripping story. Rader-Day’s book is a must read and earn a five star ranking.
Readers are given each support characters backstory and their role in Rader-Day’s story. The author skillfully provides her readers clues to the identity of the antagonists creating an intense interest to find the last clue as to who murdered Townsend’s classmate. The author keeps everyone guessing as to what is going to happen next in this breathtaking thriller.
Lori Rader-Day shows Townsend in a holding pattern for ten years, dealing low self-esteem and it takes the murder of her classmate to force her to decide it is time to take charge of her life. Townsend takes advantage of her love of running to discover and uncover secrets of her painful past. She has been beaten down by events of her past and it doesn’t surprise her when the police pursue her as a suspect in the murder of her classmate and one time close friend. Then she discovers the painful details of events leading to the murder and decides she is going to prove the police wrong and find the real killer. Readers find the social issues Rader-Day exposes in Townsend’s investigation are important . Townsends unveils deadly actions and events leading up to an ending to rival all endings. LITTLE PRETTY THINGS masterfully delivers a serious message within a gripping story. Rader-Day’s book is a must read and earn a five star ranking.
July 20, 2015
Rader-Day's first novel, THE BLACK HOUR, was wonderful. So is this book, but in quite a different way. LITTLE PRETTY THINGS starts out feeling a lot like one of Laura Lippman's standalone crime novels, such as WHAT THE DEAD KNOW-- two women in a marginal, unstable situation, with hints of a disturbing past. One of the things I love about LITTLE PRETTY THINGS is that the present is very dynamic. Rather than giving you the feeling you are just waiting around to find out who did what in the past, you have various characters with complex motivation in the present, not to mention the actual murder. Maybe that is why people are comparing Rader-Day to authors like Gillian Flynn and Megan Abbott, who write sort of hybrid mystery-thrillers, which have the depth of a secret story in the past, but the excitement of a present one. But also as with those authors, Rader-Day's writing is steeped with true-crime details and atmosphere.
Where this book really differs from THE BLACK HOUR, to me, is that it has a dimension of epicness. There's a mythic quality to the pairing of the two running girls-- fairytale warrior princesses from the past. Early in the book, it's like the spell shatters.
Among her other strengths, Rader-Day knows how to rock a title. I love what she does with the phrase "little pretty things-- " not entirely what you think.
Where this book really differs from THE BLACK HOUR, to me, is that it has a dimension of epicness. There's a mythic quality to the pairing of the two running girls-- fairytale warrior princesses from the past. Early in the book, it's like the spell shatters.
Among her other strengths, Rader-Day knows how to rock a title. I love what she does with the phrase "little pretty things-- " not entirely what you think.
April 6, 2015
I wasn't sure Lori Rader-Day could match the achievement of her remarkable debut, THE BLACK HOUR, but I'm happy to say that LITTLE PRETTY THINGS is an extraordinary success. It's hard to compare two different books, but I confess that I enjoyed LITTLE PRETTY THINGS even more than I did THE BLACK HOUR. And that's saying a lot, because I loved THE BLACK HOUR.
Old scars, broken friendships, and past and present failures. And possible redemption. Juliet struggles with all of these and more. This book is brilliant in its plotting, characterization, and emotional portraits. This you must read. Five stars.
Old scars, broken friendships, and past and present failures. And possible redemption. Juliet struggles with all of these and more. This book is brilliant in its plotting, characterization, and emotional portraits. This you must read. Five stars.
April 3, 2015
As much as I love Lori's first book, The Black Hour, I love this one even more. No sophomore slump here! The story pulled me right in, and after that the pages seemed to turn themselves. The best books - not just mysteries - keep you hooked all the way to the last sentence. Little Pretty Things is one of those books! The characters, the setting, and the plot twists all added up to one of the best reading experiences I've had in a long time. I can't wait to read what she writes next!
August 10, 2015
The beautiful cover art captures the mood of the seedy hotel and the author captures the desperation of the people in a small town who feel like they got "stuck" in the one place that they never felt they would end up in. The reader is always a step ahead of Juliet, the narrator, but that is part of the fun of getting to the end. Finally, a book where the clues add up and the resolution makes sense.
September 21, 2015
Too predictable...boring. Good premise, but story not well developed. Giving it two stars instead of one because i actually finished it.
August 6, 2015
mystery is the genre I get most into, but it is simultaneously the most disappointing. I often reach the end of a mystery feeling dissatisfied. This was ... OK, I guess. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
September 7, 2017
Not spectacular but a good one time read. It won't disappoint.
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