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Her Pretty Face

Author: Robyn Harding

Publisher: Gallery/Scout Press

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Expected Release Date: July 10, 2018

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a free electronic ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Frances Metcalfe is struggling to stay afloat. Overweight, insecure, and lonely, she is desperate to fit into the elite Forrester Academy’s world, for the sake of her troubled son. Kate Randolph is everything Frances is not: beautiful, wealthy, powerful, and confident. And to Frances’ surprise, Kate chooses her to befriend. But a dark secret threatens this new friendship…because one of these women is not who she seems. She’s a murderer.

The promise of a dark and twisty examination of complicated female friendships is my book siren song. Unfortunately, this book just didn’t work for me. I pretty much knew by the third chapter which one was the murderer. (I have a BA in Criminology and Psych, so maybe that’s why?) The author clearly did her research on sociopaths and their behavior patterns, but it often felt like Harding was simply ticking traits off a checklist. Skilled liar, check. Lack of emotional bonds, check. Manipulative behavior, check. Plus, the author’s choice of POVs characters was a giveaway, too.

And while I liked the narrative structure and the use of flashback chapters, it bothered me that the murder victim is really only ever used as a means to show the gruesome nature of the crime. I understand the logic behind it, the author wanted to show how unaffected the murderer was by the horrific violence committed, but the victim and her family are never really treated as separate characters, existing merely to drive home a point and move the plot forward. Unfortunately, gratuitous violence against women in media/entertainment is a real issue for me, and it soured my enjoyment of the story.

Also, can we please do away with the “chubby woman hates her body and believes her husband must be faking his attraction” trope? Seriously, this is so played out. There were plenty of other ways the author could have created martial tensions and fears with Frances. The stress having a child with ADHD can place on a marriage. The stress of trying to afford the expensive school for him. Her other demons she was struggling with. Why did almost every one of her scenes have to mention her weight and how much she hated her body? It added nothing to the story, especially since there were clearly more important things to worry about.