All the Pretty Faces

Graveyard Falls #2

by Rita Herron

Josie DuKane is on shaky ground. Having narrowly escaped the notorious Bride Killer, she penned a tell-all memoir that dug up a town’s dark past. Now the book is being made into a movie, and Josie must visit the very place that will trigger an avalanche of unwanted memories―Graveyard Falls. On the heels of her arrival, she receives a gruesome photograph of a dead woman with talon marks carved into her face. And worse, Josie just might be the next victim. Torn between guilt, justice, and revenge, Special Agent Dane Hamrick will do anything to find the man who brutally murdered his sister. When he realizes the recent tragedies in Graveyard Falls bear an uncanny resemblance to her death, he volunteers to spearhead the investigation. But doing so means teaming up with Josie. Nothing prepares him for the feelings the beautiful, tough woman evokes. As the body count rises and the suspect pool widens, Josie and Dane must put aside their growing attraction to run down the killer who devastated both their lives. A killer who seems determined to destroy all the pretty faces…

Genres: Romantic Suspense, Mystery, Thriller, Crime, Suspense, Audiobook, Romance

368 pages, Paperback

First published March 29, 2016

About the author

USA Today Bestselling and award-winning author Rita Herron fell in love with books at the ripe age of eight when she read her first Trixie Belden mystery. But she didn’t think real people grew up to be writers, so she became a teacher instead. Now she writes so she doesn’t have to get a real job.
With over ninety books to her credit, she’s penned romantic suspense, romantic comedy and YA novels, but she especially likes writing dark romantic suspense and crime fiction set in small southern towns.
For more on. Rita and her titles, visit her at www.ritaherron.com. You can also find her on www.Facebook/ritaherron.com and Twitter.com/ritaherron.

Reviews

[Alyse · Rating 2 out of 5]

All the Pretty Faces is the second book in Rita Herron's Graveyard Falls series. It is also the first book that I've read by this author. Personally, I felt that I was missing a big part of the backstory with not reading All the Beautiful Brides first. This book was just okay for me. I found the main characters to be somewhat... blah. I thought the storyline and premise of All the Pretty Faces was good though.

I thought the hero was standoffish (and didn't come off as the "tortured hero" as I think the author was trying to convey him to be. He was just ehh for me. Also while the heroine was more personable, I didn't think she stood out to me as a leading lady for me.

One thing that annoyed me was throughout the book the word HOSPITAL (I'm assuming) was spelled HOSPITALIC. Each and every time. I didn't know hospitalic was a word, so I googled it and Google asked me if I meant "hospice", so I have no clue what happened there between the author and editing.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

**I received an ARC through Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.**

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[Paula Phillips · Rating 4 out of 5]

For those who have read the first book All the Pretty Brides, will recall that Josie DuKane ended up as the last potential victim but managed to escape from Billy Linder. She was also at the time a budding writer who had come to write about The Thorn Killer murders that happened thirty years ago. In doing so, secrets were unraveled, and the actual killer was found out along with a new copycat killer. Now the book is being made into a movie set right in the heart of Graveyard Falls, and again people aren't happy that the movie will be sensationalizing their loss of loved ones. What will happen though when it looks like a new serial killer is in town killing those who are here to try out for the movie? For one of the deputies Dane Hamrick, the MO hits a little close to home as ten years ago his sister Betsy was murdered in the same fashion as the girls are today in Graveyard Falls. Is it the same killer or a copycat? Can Dane along with Josie's help solve not only the murders that are happening currently in Graveyard Falls and stop more actresses from dying but will he be able to put Betsy's cold case to rest and give his family some closure? I have to admit that this particular one was a lot slower than Book #1 and harder to get into as parts of the story seemed to drag, and I felt like the author had tried too hard with all the various suspects and multiple storylines that though they all threaded together, in parts seemed too much for the one story. Overall, however, All the Pretty Faces by Rita Herron was another good small town mystery and perfect for those fans of Kendra Elliot and Melinda Leigh.

[Petra · Rating 2 out of 5]

The premise of this book was actually really good and the plot was intriguing. Unfortunately, there were too many severe eye-rolling moments, the relationship between the hero and the heroine was dull, and the investigation didn't seem realistic at all.
To top it all off, the narrator made the male lead sound like an 80-year-old (I believe he's supposed to be in his 30s).
Good story line but could have been so much better.

[Dilushani Jayalath · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kindly received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest reveiw

The mystery took a more prominent place in this novel and I was glad for it. Yes, few romantic moments were inter-spaced too but for me the mystery managed to take over for me.

The story itself was intriguing and until I reached the 85% I really couldn't guess the real murderer but the moment Josie got the last message it kind of made sense. The author did a good job in keeping up the suspense. I would not call the book gory but it was not completely undetailed either. All in all it was a good book to pass time reading.

[Yellagirlgc · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher for my honest review.
Josie was abducted by the Bride Killer and lived to write a book about it. Now the movie is being made and not everyone is happy about it. Graveyard Falls has a new serial killer in town....
The suspense was good and Dane and Josie added the romance even if it wasn't acted on.

[Vikki Vaught · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Musings

Another great read! Great thriller, fantastic characters, and intriguing plot. I have really enjoyed this excellent series. Happy ☺reading 📚!

[Abi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual rating - 3.5

[Adrian Lawrence]

Repeat performance of book 1
The format of this book is far too similar to book #1. It's simply a re-run where only the names have been altered. The personalities of the main protagonists have been lifted straight out of the previous book. If you've read #1 you are going to know their characters; they're the same, just on new faces.
The sheriff is not the thinking type. His idea of an investigation is to accuse, bully and threaten to throw the key away to anyone who looks at his beautiful new FBI partner. She is little better than Daphne from Scooby-Doo: thinks she's smart, gets in trouble and needs constant rescuing. These two can't investigate the most serious parts of the case without thinking how they want to go and bone the rest of the investigation away. Pretty eye-rolling stuff and they're both equally irritating and hopeless.
The story is a case one-plot-fits-all. It felt like I was reading book #1 all over again. A bunch of plentiful and obvious suspects are introduced in order to create a whodunit, all of which you know to dismiss as filler. Unfortunately, the real culprit/s (no spoiler) is identifiable the moment they appear because of the same format to the previous book. It was glaringly transparent.
Annoying as I found the characters I still enjoyed this book. The general plot is engrossing and as a recommendation I'm now on book #3.

[Jackie Roche · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would like to thank NetGalley and Montlake Romance Publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest and open review.
I didn't realise that this was the follow-up to "All The Beautiful Brides", which I hadn't read. However, this did not hinder my enjoyment of the book.
What a thriller this was! A real roller-coaster ride, full of twists, turns and red herrings.
I liked Josie. She's a strong, fiesty character and I loved the bond that developed between her and FBI agent Dane.
The other characters in the book were a mix of likeable and unlikeable.
I thought I'd worked out who the killer was a few times but then Ms Herron threw a spanner in the works making my theory obsolete.
I look forward to reading more books by Rita Herron.

[Knockin' Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

OK, I’ll admit that I made a half-assed buying decision on this one. I didn’t even read the blurb. I downloaded it because I saw that it was written by a bestselling author, and...I liked the cover. There, I admitted that I’m totally shallow. It has a pretty cover, OK??? Don’t judge.

But once I got past the cover, I was less than blown away, which I found surprising. The writing was great. The story flowed beautifully. There was a totally WTF plot twist at the end that I loved. But the main characters? Yawn. Full review on the blog: http://www.knockinbooks.com/reviews/a...

[Dione Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a damn good book..Rita is quickly becoming 1 ofMy Favorite Authors. Her books always seem to have 2-3 storylines that ties into 1..I love this. The suspense of it..And the Killers in this book?? Wowww. Awesome

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

All the Pretty Girls by Rita Herron is a 2016 Montlake publication. I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This second book in the Graveyard Falls series begins with the brutal murder of a young woman, her face marred with talon marks. This murder has Dane on high alert because of the similarities between this death and his sister’s unsolved murder.

To complicate matters further, Josie DuKane, the sole survivor of the “Bride Killer” has written a book about the case, which is now being made into a movie. As a result, Graveyard Falls is being visited by a film crew and actors and actresses vying for parts in the film.

To put the cherry on the cake, Josie receives a picture of the murder victim on her phone, posed with a Mitzi doll. Feeling as though she could be partly responsible, or somehow connected to the case, Josie insists on helping Dane, despite his strong reservations.

Is this case connected to Dane’s sister? Is Josie a potential target?

This book is a super creepy serial killer suspense novel with a little romance between Dane and Josie running in the background. The story is a little edgy, and the plot is certainly unique, with several twists and turns along the way.

The romance is a little forced, with Dane being entirely too uptight most of the time, but he does come around and redeems himself nicely.

Josie’s character has a chance to flourish in this installment and I felt she did an admirable job with the case, and am happy to see her finally experience a little peace and happiness.

Overall, this is a solid romantic suspense novel, a quick read, but one that keeps you guessing and engaged throughout.

4 stars

[Kendra · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars, I rounded down because while I liked the storyline, the two main characters were completely one-dimensional. There's Dane, the over protective detective/cop who is constantly overcome with 'pent-up rage', is completely obsessed with finding his sister's killer, and refuses to fall in love because 'his job is his life.' (Ugh, cue the eye rolls here) He loves to play bad cop by gruffly accusing every single suspect of murder before asking any other questions. Then there's Josie, a crime writer/reporter who is intuitive, caring, a bit spunky, and completely defenseless. She constantly needs saving although she gets angry when Dane does so, claiming she 'had it under control.' (Seriously lady? You were backed into a corner and having a panic attack, would it kill you to say thank you?) It's so cliche it hurts and at times is extremely aggravating because there is absolutely no chemistry or character development.

That being said, the actual murder mystery story-line is quite good. I knew it wasn't any of the actual suspects; the actor, the doctor, or the photographer. I thought it was the reporter and was pretty irritated when he wasn't questioned at all. I was pleasantly surprised when the murderer was revealed and I didn't see it coming.

This is the second book in the series and while you don't need to read the first one, it definitely helps. The entire setting of the book is based around auditions for a movie based on a book that Josie wrote. Which is a memoir of her narrow escape from the Bride Killer (Book One of the Series). The author does a decent job of filling you in with the necessary details so you aren't co platelet lost.

[Kelly at · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review will be posted at www.books-n-kisses.com .

NUMBER OF HEARTS: 4
Oh man!!! All the Pretty Faces is an excellent follow up to Ms. Herron’s All the Beautiful Brides. We met Dane & Josie in book one.
****This might be a spoiler, so if you have not read book 1 and don’t want to know stop here****

Josie was the lone survivor of the Bride Killer. To cope with this she wrote a story to tell about the events that happened. Now she is back in Graveyard Falls getting ready for her book to be turned into a movie. But there are many in town that don’t want Josie there or want the stories to be retold. But how far is someone willing to go to make her leave? Is someone willing to start killing just to stop a movie?

I really enjoyed this book. I loved how the past gets all tangled up in the present and how we left guessing who is who and why they did what they did.

I am very much looking forward to the next book in this series.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley & Montlake Romance in exchange for an honest review. This review is my own opinion and not a paid review.

[Book Him Danno · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book i have read by Rita Herron and will not be the last. I couldn't out the book down with its amazing twist, turns and roller coaster of a ride that will keep the readers on their toes until the last words on the page. I honestly thought I knew who the killer was but in the end Rita Herron shocked me. What a great thriller.

I didn't read All the Beautiful Brides but I plan to go back and read that book.

AC from Netgalley

[Read All About It · Rating 5 out of 5]

Creepy,Action packed, Great mystery keeps you guessing until the end.

[Christy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sloppy, Weak, and Offensive

Multiple and Detailed Spoilers Alert:
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Very sloppy law enforcement procedures throughout by this "lone wolf" FBI agent, Dane, who is psychologically stunted, borderline abusive, obsessive, and yet considered to be "great at his job". Implausible unless he's also being watched closely by his superiors for a looming mental health break, and they're making sure he isn't also getting involved in investigating his murdered sister's case, which is really all he seems to care about or think about. Dane seems to have much more potential for irrational violence than anyone else in the story. He lashes out verbally with little provocation, and people just forgive him because it's so sad about his dead sister. Uh-huh...right...extremely toxic masculinity swirled with pathological guilt and a juvenile personality. No thank you.

And, what's with these male LEO characters having one condom in their pockets while on duty? I mean, handy for the inevitable sex scene with the main female character, but whoops... one condom doesn't last all night and into the morning after 4-6 rounds. Same thing happened in book 1 with Cal and Mona. And no one uses any other form of birth control, so no, it is not a surprise that everyone ends up pregnant immediately and getting married almost as fast.

Also, how many people in TN are going to ignore tornado warnings when there is an active storm system right outside and instead go have sex? Maybe that's just me being unromantic.

As for the offensive part, it's obvious that the author did not bother to do any real research into transgender people in any meaningful way. The entire premise for why the killer snapped predicates a botched surgery where the Dr was doing both gender reassignment and facial alterations, and both separate segments of the surgery went horribly wrong, resulting in serious facial scarring and... mysterious genital problems that aren't detailed. Worse, in the times when we're sharing the killer's POV male pronouns are used, not the pronouns the killer would actually use as a transgender woman for herself in her own head.

Additionally, in spite of botched surgeries and using an alias, she is passing as a well known and respected female casting agent for a film crew on location. Not using her previously known industry female name. It's like casting agents don't need credentials or a resume or anything at all and they can just show up and start auditioning people without anyone wondering who they are or why they're using a different name.

And that doesn't even get into the problematic psychology of how, why, etc., this person turned into a full blown serial killer, not just trying to frame the Dr., but actually enjoying the entire murder process itself. It's grotesque how cavalier and ham handed the author is with this character, but the results are that she is a very unbelievable antagonist with no basis in reality.

[NotTheTea · Rating 1 out of 5]

I absolutely can't like the book if I hate the main character. Even if it doesn't effect the plot. How can I enjoy a book if I chastise every the character appear? I'm talking about Dane. First of all he's unethical. He keeps saying I'm doing my job but honestly he just wants to find his sister's killer nothing else. And he'll do anything for that. Unprofessionalism at it's best. He doesn't care about other victims. Roam around person to person and accuse them without anything solid on them. He was just desperate to pin it on someone. That's just harassment. I don't know how Josie fell in love with him. He keeps hurting her and pushing her around. Inwardly he was LUSTING after her but she doesn't know it. Outwardly he only showed sign of protection which honestly any cop/agent would have done. It's there job. Before her abduction the way he talked to her..... He exactly did what all the resident of graveyard fall did. He literally accuse her that she's just after the story and it's her fault billy linder abducted her. Well dude that's not a hero behavior. I don't care he was angry. I think I'm not one of those people who doesn't take it seriously what people say during a fight. I believe that's exactly when they say everything they believed inwardly.
All the while Josie had to push her hurt aside, nevermind his abruptness, he doesn't want me like this, he's using me I know it(still had sex), he hurt me again but it's ok it's about the case. She kept going like that. Really why the hell she liked him?
And we see how he got offended when the actresses were judging small town people and southerness. But he's doing they same with sheriff Kimball. He kept bossing him around and Everytime he did something Dane was surprised and had a comment like "not bad for a small town cop" 🤷‍♀️ hypocrite much.
And as I said previously Rita herron try so hard to confuse the readers she overshadowes her own facts.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had originally rated this book 3 stars, but as I thought about it, I knew it deserved two stars. That said, it's better than the first one in the series. The suspense portion is good (and three star worthy) in spite of some egregious law enforcement procedure errors--notably, a law enforcement person cannot B&E, obtain evidence behind said locked door and it be admissible in court; and no, he can't use it to get a warrant either. The author did a terrific job of reminding the reader of the events of the previous book without slowing the pace or getting bogged down. I would have liked another sentence or two about Mona & Cal; it's been a while, and I didn't remember their story. Alas, romance is not this author's strong suit. In fact, that so-called romance is the reason the rating fell to 2 stars.

Neither character is well-conceived, and when trying to be conflicted, they simply end up flip-flopping or exhibiting vastly different character traits. They are no complex, just unrealized. The sex scenes were fine, but they alone do not make a romance (in fact, one have have a great romance without them); it's the growth of the characters and the relationship that make a romance. Again, this author's romance angle is cliched, stodgy, and unrealistic. Dialogue screeches into an awkward crash of inanity and meaningless drivel. That includes the repetitious and unimaginative inner dialogue. I do not believe these people love each other. The author would do better to stick with straight suspense/crime fiction--if she learns more about procedure, evidence handling, etc.

[JigsawGirl · Rating 2 out of 5]

The expertise and experience seemed to be sorely lacking regarding the investigation. It seemed to me that after Josie's last encounter with danger, she would not have been so anxious to put herself in a vulnerable situation.

Why did Josie suddenly become Dane's partner in the investigation when it should have been the sheriff of Graveyard Falls? He ended up taking a backseat and becoming more of a subordinate to Dane.

The killer was obvious, but, giving credit where credit is due, the killer's reasons for wrecking havoc was not.

Dane was one emotionally inept FBI agent. I was honestly shocked that he didn't seem calm, professional, or exhibit self-control. He seemed incapable of maintaining his emotional control.

I was completely indifferent to Dane and Josie's romance. I felt no connection to either of them. There was nothing in their behavior to convince me of the insta-love element, or even make it seem plausible.

[Sandra R · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this romantic/suspense book. It's well written and there are lots of red herrings, possible murderers and twists. The romance was very lack-lustre though, so please don't read this book expecting any simmering tension or slow burn sizzle that overtakes the back story, because the chemistry between the H/h isn't there at all. A bit of 'steam' near the end. Also the character development is fairly poor because the murder story takes precedence. I alternated between listening to the audio and reading the e-book, thanks to Kindle Unlimited. I will also say the number of possible unsubs got me dizzy a few times trying to keep the various stories straight in my head.

I read the previous book and this one does stand alone, so no need to read from the beginning of the series. I will be reading more from this author however, as her writing kept me interested. 3.5 stars.

[Literati Literature Lovers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Mystery

3.5 Stars
This was a solid suspense mystery. For me the romance fell flat. I was disturbed by the harshness the hero FBI agent Dane, has towards survivor/true crime writer Josie. At times I kinda felt she should have told him where to go. I would have respected her more. This is why in my opinion the book doesn’t get a full four stars. I understand her being traumatized, why wouldn’t an FBI agent.
The serial killer hunt/mystery part of the book rocked and I throughly enjoyed that part.
I had started the audiobook having borrowed it via kindle unlimited, but one chapter in I had to stop the book. The narrator instead of reading the book was in announcer mode. YIKES

[Neelabh Pratap Singh · Rating 5 out of 5]

The thing I like about romantic suspense (and which is why I choose them over thrillers) is that they aren't just pretentious police procedural. The stakes are high for both protagonists and the killer and they are involved emotionally in the case rather than just solving yet another case. Similar was the case with FBI Agent Dane, who's Investigating a case of a girl stabbed to death and her face desecrated with talon marks, reminiscent of his own dead sister. Josie, who was a victim of the Bride Killer in the first book has written a book about it and the book is turning being adapted in a movie. The girls being killed now are the aspiring actresses. Like the first one, there are multiple suspects and motives and a lot of intertwined backstories. Will grab the next one soon.

[Ski Croghan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I never saw that end coming!!!!!

When the clue of "feminine hand" came up I never even considered the one it turned out to be. I thought of every other female character except the one it turned out to be. Stupid me!! I usually can figure these clues out but not that one. Rita is such a fantastic storyteller that she is near the top of my all time favorite authors. She reminds me of Nora Roberts, actually of her alter ego, J.D. Robb. I hope she gives us many more years of exceptional books to read. You keep writing them, I'll keep reading them. Just wish they were all on Kindle Unlimited. Being disabled on a small pension I can't afford to buy books very often. Highly recommended.

[Kristin · Rating 1 out of 5]

The premise of this book was actually really good and showed a lot of promised but sadly the execution was severely lacking.

There were many major “I saw my brain” eye-rolling moments, the hero and the heroine’s relationship was BORING, and the investigation was not based on reality - once a suspect confessed to murdering FBI agent’s brother, he should have and would have IRL been yanked from the case - also the hero is the dumbest FBI agent ever.

And serious editing fail, throughout the story the word hospitalic is used in place of hospital - extremely annoying.

I normally finish books in a day but it took me four days to finish this disaster.

[Ron DeLisio · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing

The 2 star rating was selected because:
-author’s previous books were significantly better
-the hero exhibited the personality traits of the villains, he was verbally abusive to the heroine
-concerning when the surgically altered person was the stereotypical “bad guy”, should not happen even if current society is in agreement with what is or is not considered “normal”
Will attempt one more of this author’s newer books to decide if I will continue to read her books

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was just like the first for me. It just took me forever to finish it. I usually read a book in 2 or 3 days so with this one taking 5 it just didn't beg me to keep reading I guess. I can't say why though because the storyline was decent. Another quick wrap up of the romance side which I think takes away from the book a bit.
Overall I liked it though. Just remember, a 3 star on Goodreads means "Liked It" which is what I did. It wasn't amazing and I can't bump up even to a really liked, but I did like it. I always feel bad leaving three stars for a decent book because I wouldn't buy a product with 3 star reviews when dealing with other things. The only real negative rating on Goodreads is a 1 star review.

[Brandi Goodman · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Both those serial killers had taken pieces of the victims’ jewelry as trophies. This killer was more sadistic. He took a piece of bone."

This is definitely a twisted murder mystery. It's exactly my kind of story, with multiple suspects and at least 2 mysteries involved, so you're always second guessing who you think the culprit is and why. Plus there's always at least one surprise by the end that you never would have guessed. Rita is an amazing writer, and this story tied in well with the first while still being its own.

[Lane Robins]

This one was not a success for me. I thought there were issues with stereotypes used harmfully for the villain. And the law enforcement characters made some inexplicable choices. You know the killer is leaving dolls as a taunt at the heroine’s home so you ... don’t put any surveillance there? At all?

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heartbreaking

Like the first book this one had a lot of twists and turns, but this one was sadly more tragic than the first book. Dane was blinded by his sister murder to see the whole crime being committed. Josie is very tough for everything she had to go through with book/movie and being hated by the townspeople. In the end they got their happy ever after.