Review: Her Pretty Face by Robyn Harding

Summary from Goodreads:

The author of the bestselling novel The Party—lauded as “tense and riveting” by New York Times bestselling author Megan Miranda—returns with a chilling new domestic drama about two women whose deep friendship is threatened by dark, long-buried secrets.

Frances Metcalfe is struggling to stay afloat.

A stay-at-home mom whose troubled son is her full-time job, she thought that the day he got accepted into the elite Forrester Academy would be the day she started living her life. Overweight, insecure, and lonely, she is desperate to fit into Forrester’s world. But after a disturbing incident at the school leads the other children and their families to ostracize the Metcalfes, she feels more alone than ever before.

Until she meets Kate Randolph.

Kate is everything Frances is not: beautiful, wealthy, powerful, and confident. And for some reason, she’s not interested in being friends with any of the other Forrester moms—only Frances. As the two bond over their disdain of the Forrester snobs and the fierce love they have for their sons, a startling secret threatens to tear them apart…because one of these women is not who she seems. Her real name is Amber Kunick. And she’s a murderer.


In her masterful follow-up to The Party, Robyn Harding spins a web of lies, deceit, and betrayal, asking the question: Can people ever change? And even if they can, is it possible to forgive the past?

My Review:



What I Liked:

Writing Style. I read The Party early this year and liked Harding's writing style. I'm compelled to keep reading because I really enjoy the way she writes. 

Characters. Harding is able to craft unique and interesting characters. I enjoyed all of the multiple POVS and how she can craft such different and flawed characters. It made listening to the audiobook enjoyable because I never knew what was going to happen with each character. However, I would have liked a POV from Kate, it would have been interesting to see into her mind. 

Setting/Suspense. I'm a fan of domestic thrillers that focus on the family and this is a perfect example of it. The family and also the school setting added to the mystery. I found the whole novel, up until the end, to be very suspenseful. I believe Hardings writing style helped build up the great suspense even if I was disappointed by the ending. 

Audiobook. I would recommend checking out the audiobook. It is great for thrillers with multiple POVS, thanks to the great job of the narrators I was able to really connect with the characters. 

What I Disliked:

Format. I'm not a huge of fan of multiple POVS if it distracts from the plot. Also, the constant change from the past to present was a little confusing. 

Ending. The suspense and the build up were good but the ending fell flat for me. I would have liked more of a conclusion or a shocking twist. I also felt that the storyline with DJ did not have a good conclusion, I wanted more the character. 

I recommend checking out this great and well-written thriller.

My Rating:

4 Stars Out of 5 Stars