Karin Slaughter’s Pretty Girls, according to many of the women in my book club, is not so pretty. Rather, it’s graphic and gruesome. The good news is this. If you’re a CSI or Criminal Minds fan, you’ll love it.
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I tend to classify novels in two ways: literary worth and entertainment. Pretty Girls is not a book I would consider artistically written or of high literary quality. Certainly not of William Faulkner or even Pat Conroy caliber. Having said this, it is also NOT poorly written. It’s just that the words don’t roll off your tongue poetically or you find yourself highlighting sentences just because of their rhythmic beauty.
In addition, Pretty Girls is definitely entertaining. A page turner. In fact, once I started reading it, I couldn’t put it down. The story quickly captivated me and held my attention until the very last page.
Would I read another novel by Karin Slaughter? A resounding yes, but it would be one I’d toss in my beach bag for vacation. I liken it to a John Grisham novel, that quickly ushers me into a different world and easily keeps my attention. For this reason, I give it 3 and 3/4 stars.
