HER PRETTY FACE

SYNOPSIS

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 Kunik. And she’s a murderer.

Title: Her pretty face

Author: Robyn Harding

Publisher: Gallery/Scout Press

Publication date: July 10, 2018

REVIEW

RATING: ⭐⭐⭐💫

Having read and loved Robyn Harding’s latest books, The Swap and The Perfect Family, I knew I had to go through her backlist as soon as possible, and Her Pretty Face was my first stop. Once again I got so engrossed in the story that I listened to it in a couple of afternoons. The author really has a knack for making the stories flow, making it hard for the reader to stop reading (even when you have more pressing matters to attend to!).

Frances doesn’t fit with the moms of the elite Forrester Academy her son attends until she meets Kate, a beautiful, confident and wealthy mom that shows an interest in her. Both of them will bond until a secret one of them is hiding threatens to break their friendship.

And what a secret it was! One of them is a murderer (not a spoiler, it’s right there on the synopsis), so I guess that could be quite the deal breaker. I hadn’t read the synopsis first so it was a surprise for me.

With three POVs, Frances, Daisy (Kate’s daughter) and a young boy from a past timeline, it kept me guessing what kind of secrets these suburban mums could be hiding.

As details from the past started being revealed I found the story more disturbing, as a new face about one of the main characters was unveiled and it was quite dark.

While I liked it, I think it lacked some stronger mystery element or big reveal at the end, although I still was surprised when the identity of one of the characters was revealed. I found really interesting the way the murderer reacted when her past was made public and think it was a good representation of how a true sociopath would react (despicable and unsettling as it was).

The audiobook was really well narrated and all three narrators really captured the essence of the characters.

A well-written and pretty good domestic suspense that will make you second guess yourself. Now, onto my next Robyn Harding!