2025 Book Review #7:her pretty face

 

I've seen this author's books on the shelves at the town library but had never read one of hers until this past week. This was a fast-paced, "true crime" type book but fiction.  

STORY SUMMARY

Frances Metcalfe is married to Jason. They live in a suburb of Seattle.  They have one son, Marcus, who is identified as having ADHD and oppositional defiant disorder. With therapy, he is doing well in the private school, Forrester Academy where he is a 6th grader.  But he's a full time job for Frances.  She is a stay at home who is hyper vigilant when it  comes to her son. But being a mom with a son at Forrester is difficult when you are overweight, insecure, needy and with a secret from your past. But Frances longs to fit in to this world of uber moms and wealth. 

But...a disturbing incident at the school, involving Marcus, occurs. And all of a sudden, Frances is an outcast. She feels more alone than ever. 

And then she meets Kate Randolph.  

Kate is like the exact opposite of Frances. She is trim, gorgeous, wealthy, powerful, and confident.  She's married to a lawyer named Robert. They have a 14 yr old daughter Daisy who attends public school and a 12 yr old son Charles who begins to befriend Marcus.  Kate and Frances become close friends.  

What Kate doesn't know is that Frances has a dark secret: when Frances was 16, she got involved with girls at school who were into 'huffing" spray paint. She convinced her youngest sister Tricia to try it and Tricia ended up dead as a result. Frances is now estranged from her parents, grandparents and older sister MaryAnn. In fact, Jason doesn't even know Frances' secret. The death was ruled accidental due to a heart condition but Frances has always felt guilty and ashamed of her role in her 14 yr old sister's death.

But...there's another secret...a much more sinister one involving one of the women. Which woman is really Amber Kunik, the notorious teen killer of a young girl named Courtney Carey?? 

And what does Daisy discover?? 

Read the book to find out!

MY THOUGHTS

This is one of the fastest-paced books I've read all winter. It's well developed. It begins with a crime from the 1990s and then opens with Frances and Kate and the development of their friendship/families. 

The character development is very strong. 

I fell in love with Daisy and really felt for Frances. 

There are many good themes in this book: friendship, the marital relationship/trust, betrayal, emotional neglect, the mother-son relationship, the mother-daughter relationship, forgiveness, acceptance, bullying, love. 

The author does a good job describing a sociopath.  It left chills running through me at times. 

The only negative thing is the use of certain crass words. I found that it's unnecessary although I understand why authors do this. I just don't like it.  I didn't find any editing errors in this contemporary book which is unusual. 

There are some scenes that might be triggering for some people: kidnapping, torture, physical abuse/rape, murder.   It's brief but still a description. 

In my opinion, this book is appropriate for ages 17 and older. 

On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest, I rate this a 9.