PRETTY AS A PICTURE

SYNOPSIS

Some girl dies. Film editor Marissa has read better loglines for films, but still jumps at the chance to travel to a small island to work with the legendary - and legendarily demanding - director Tony Rees.

Soon she discovers that on this set, nothing is as it seems. There are rumours of accidents, indiscretions and burgeoning scandals. In the midst of this chaos, Marissa is herself drawn into an amateur investigation of the real-life murder that is the movie's central subject.

The only problem is, the killer may still be on the loose. And he might not be done.

Title: Pretty as a picture

Author: Elizabeth Little

Publisher: Pushkin Vertigo

Publication date: July 1, 2021

REVIEW

RATING: ⭐⭐⭐💫

Pretty as a picture is a slow burn suspense story with plenty of movie references that I’m sure will appeal to those in search of a light mystery set in the movies industry.

Marissa Dahl is a socially awkward film editor who suddenly finds herself working on a movie about the real unsolved case of a murdered girl. A remote island location, a tyrannical director, several crew members fired and a new murder for her to solve with the help of a couple of teenage Nancy Drew wannabes, are some of the ingredients of this story that, although enjoyable, fell a bit short for me in some aspects.

I liked Marissa and her quirkiness and appreciated her take on the film industry. Her interactions with Grace and Suzy, the teen detectives and hostesses of the true crime podcast interspersed throughout the story, were always fun to read but it also made of this more of a juvenile read at times. The general tone was more of a cozy mystery than a thriller.

The podcast snippets were a fun way for the reader to try and guess what had really happened on the island.

Although not as twisty as some other mysteries, I was still surprised by some turns but feel like some aspects could have been better resolved as there were some plot holes left at the end.

Mix of cozy mystery with a thriller atmosphere, some fun dialogue and original characters that made of this an enjoyable yet not memorable read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Pushkin Vertigo for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

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