Pretty Guilty Women by Gina LaManna

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher Little, Brown Book Group UK in exchange for an honest review.

This book is trying really, really hard to be Big Little Lies. I almost wish it wasn't because this is actually a really great story and it feels a bit held back by the comparisons. Having said that, this is a really good book for people who enjoyed Big Little Lies and people who enjoy more contemporary-style thrillers in general.

Pretty Guilty Women is the story of four women who are attending a fancy resort for a wedding. Three of the women used to be friends in their college years, one of them is a wealthy older woman who befriends them at the resort. Each woman has a specific thing in her life she is struggling with. Emily has a dark past and is currently an alcoholic who hooks up with another wedding guest. Ginger is worried about her teenage daughter whilst Kate is terrified she will never have children. Lulu is on her fifth marriage but this time, it seems like her husband might leave her before she gets the chance. Just when all these women are at breaking point, a murder happens. And all four confess.

This is told very similarly to the aforementioned book, with each chapter starting and/or ending with a section taken from a police interview with one of the characters about the murder. I think this was the feature that bothered me the most. There is mystery about who is murdered but it also doesn't matter so much in terms of the majority of the story who that murdered person is. It's not like the narrative is woven with clues for you to decipher. I actually really liked the plot we got at the end of this book and I think it's a shame it wasn't more original and did more with that story throughout.

Being more positive, I would say most of the characters are engaging. Lulu was my favourite and I found all of the women's individual plotlines interesting. It was a little odd that the woman whose wedding it was had almost no presence or impact on the plot. It almost felt like she should have been the fourth woman as she was also friends with everyone else in college.

Overall, there isn't a lot going on in this book but I did really enjoy what there was. The writing is solid, the characters are interesting and I can see this being a brilliant holiday/beach read for a lot of people. I found it a bit lacking in general but I would love to see more by this author and I hope their next book plays to their strengths rather than mimicking another book.

Overall Rating:

.5