Pretty Little Things

by Lori Radar-Day

            Two young women, star athletes in high school, best friends who share everything, or do they?  Radar-Day’s latest book focuses on two young women, Juliet Townsend and Madeleine Bell. They were best friends and track stars in high school, always finishing first and second in every race. Madeleine was the star with Juliet always just one step behind in life as in their races. So why did Madeleine (Maddy) take off right after graduation without a word to anyone, even Juliet?

            Ten years later, Juliet is still living in the same small Indiana town, working as a house keeper in a run-down motel. It is an existence with little future and no surprises, until the night Maddy walks into the motel. Well dressed and sporting a large diamond ring, Maddy is clearly living better than Juliet. Theirs is a brief, tense reunion that evening. The next morning, Maddy is found hanging from the balcony of an upper room at the motel. The police’s chief suspect: Juliet. As Juliet works to clear herself of Maddy’s murder, she finds a layer of secrecy and evil that someone will do anything to protect.

            Radar-Day does a good job of capturing small town life where everyone knows everyone. Less successful is her portrayal of some of the characters. It is difficult to believe that the same petty rivalries would exist between adult women ten years after high school. At times, some of the characters act as if they were still teenagers. While this does detract somewhat from the story, it does not sink it. Pretty Little Things is still a good read. However, this is not really a suspense novel since the reader (at least this one) will easily figure out the many clues of who killed Maddy and what led to her death.

            All in all, a good entertaining read. Borrow this from your library.

                        Disclaimer: I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.