Pretty Guilty Women was a great, fun read and my first by Gina LaManna.

More women’s melodrama than the thriller I had anticipated, this was still an extremely enjoyable read. The plot was intriguing, the story well-written and I flew through this well-crafted tale.

Certainly a page turner, Pretty Guilty Women was cleverly told via detectives interrogations and back-story chapters. I appreciated the comedic aspect, as well and the shocking twists at the end.

If you are rather partial to books about women and their friendships, then pick up a copy of Pretty Guilty Women.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley at my own request. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

There's been a death at a wedding. This much we know. Then, through police interviews and backstory about the event leading up to the death, we fill in the background. We also find out that there are four women who admit to the crime. Not only that, but they acted alone. They can't all be telling the truth - that's impossible. But who did it and why? Hard to figure out when the deceased is also unknown - to the reader - initially...
There's an eclectic cast in this book - there are three college friends - Kate, Ginger and Emily - who have kinda lost touch as their lives have turned out quite differently from each other. There's also Lulu, an older woman who befriends the trio. How they all really fit in with each other, you'll have to read to find out. We follow them all over the course of a weekend. In a hotel where the DeBleu/Banks wedding of the year is being held! No expense spared. Planned to within an inch of its life!
But why would they all confess to a murder? To muddy the water perhaps - protect the innocent - although how could they be innocent if they did it? All very strange. But surprisingly addictive. We know it's a man who has died but who? I mean- how can you even start to work out why if you don't know who?
This book is jam packed with secrets, lies and more than its fair share of duplicitous behaviour. The characters are all either hiding something or trying to figure something out. This made for a high level of intrigue and finger pointing along the way. But, cutting through all the alcohol that is being consumed (it is a wedding after all), there's also a lot of bonding going on - reconnecting of old friendships and making new bonds. I've already mentioned that there are excerpts from interviews throughout the book which give a bit of a time line, followed by the scene playing out in flashback. This format makes me wonder about the book being written with a tv mini-series in mind.
Pacing is good throughout. This is assisted by the injection of just the right amount of information at exactly the right times to move the story along nicely. Also there is no superfluous waffle so the plot unravels nicely rather than dragging. Characters are good and the majority were easy to connect to in some way.
But, when all was said and done, when the victim was unveiled and the truth came out - well, it was all a little, how can I say it without actually spoiling anything, I'm just going to say it was all a bit bonkers. And then there's this epilogue that sorts it all out - mostly. But it didn't quite give me that satisfied feeling that I wanted.
All in all, a solid read that was entertaining and a good way to spend some time even if it didn't quite light my fire. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

This books feels very much like a liane Moriarty book. Very similar plot line with a twist at the end. I struggled to keep up with the characters at times. The odd funny bit ‘ condoms on the plane’.
The underlying moral is a Mother’s love but ultimately you’ll feel like you have already read the book.

Pretty Guilty Women was very reminiscent of Big Little Lies, so if you liked that one you will probably enjoy this book too. Like in Moriarty’s novel, there is a murder, but we don’t know who the victim is, and the story follows four women who have lots to hide, and who all confessed to the murder.

The plot was solid. The book alternated regular narrative with police interviews, and this structure made the book gripping and hard to put down. Although the solution of the murder wasn’t hard to predict, there was a final twist which I hadn't seen coming.

The four women were very well characterized, and II followed their perspectives with equal interest. Each of them had a distinct personality, with both faults and admirable traits, and their problems and secrets were equally fascinating. The relationships between them were also heartwarming and I loved how they learned from each other and supported each other.

Very enjoyable overall. I would definitely try this author again.

Gina LaManna writes a hugely fun and entertaining novel that deals with some serious issues in the style of a Liane Moriarty book. Three college friends whose friendships have mostly fallen by the wayside are making their way to the week long wedding celebrations in California at the luxurious Serenity Spa and Resort for the DeBleu/Banks wedding. Whitney, their friend, is getting married to the rich Arthur Banks, in opulent moneyed style. What becomes clear almost immediately is that a man has been killed and along with Lulu, befriended at the resort, a woman in her sixties, married five times to four men, the women all claim to have killed him on their own in interviews with Detective Ramone. The identity of the dead man is not revealed until close to the end. In this story of secrets and drama, laying out their past history and present predicaments, we learn why each of the women confess to such a heinous crime.

Ginger Adler has an exhausting family life, married to Frank, where money is in short supply, and with three children, the teenage Elsie, and the younger Poppy and Tom. She has had to do extra shifts as a hotel receptionist for the family to attend the wedding, she is at the end of her tether, her relationship with Elsie is unravelling, and she is tired of being the responsible parent to Frank's fun parent, although she does love him to bits. Emily Brown is in a bad way, she is weighed down by a traumatic post, has a drink problem, and having sex with a man she has only just encountered on the plane. Kate Cross is a wealthy successful lawyer, she has made partner in a New York firm, but an emotional wreck after her boyfriend, Maximillian Banks dumps her in public at the Resort's reception on arrival. Lulu is a worried woman, she is in love with her current husband, but his behaviour is leading her to believe he is involved with another woman and planning to leave her.

LaManna writes a exuberant story of women's friendships with the whole shebang of grudges, rivalries, challenges, and despair. It is also marked by hope and rallying together to support each other when needed, despite the fact their friendships had more or less disintegrated through the years since college. Each woman has a distinct character, and different issues that plagued their lives, whilst money can help, it fails to be the panacea to living a happy life. This is a fabulous read, well written and with great characters that you cannot help but invest in. Highly recommended, especially if you are a Liane Moriarty fan. Many thanks to Little, Brown for an ARC.

This is a wonderful fast paced, gripping and yet fun mystery novel. I have read a number of Gina LaManna’s books, but this is the first book in this genre, and I was very pleased and excited by the book.

This is a story of twists and turns, mysteries unravelled and more secrets uncovered. Four women meet and/or reconnect at a plush wedding at a spa resort, sharing personal concerns and demons, and bringing to light old grudges, new secrets and deeply held pain. It is an emotional roller coaster as the suspense grows and the truth is discovered.

The characters are in turns charming, struggling, successful and yet deeply flawed; a reflection of life, we are all struggling at times and none of us are perfect or have a perfect life, despite how things may look from the outside.

I highly recommend this book, and would love to see it played out on the TV screen, it was running in technicolour in my mind as I read this book.

Pretty Guilty Women is a sweet summertime read. Based on four college roomies reuniting for the wedding of one of the foursome. No longer besties after parting ways post college, a couple of the women nonetheless have kept in touch on off for the past 15 years. As they arrive for the high end society wedding in an upscale California Spa/retreat hotel, they bring along all their baggage and misunderstandings of their college years. Add to this mix a fellow wedding invitee who's own marriage may be falling apart and a mysterious family member of the wedding party along with a dead body and you have a bit of an Agatha Christie feel. If you like a light summer read (or cozy fall weekend) with a bit of mystery and women ultimately supporting women, this is the book for you.

This left me feeling just a little frustrated, which was a shame as it sounded like it would be a more entertaining thriller than it was.
A big wedding, with all manner of characters confined to a luxury resort, and a body is discovered. There are a number of people confessing to the murder and the police have to try to work out exactly what happened. Like Agatha Christie for the modern generation.
We jump between the old school friends and a number of ‘new’ characters who get in on the action.
Kate is a high-powered lawyer, desperate for a baby and dumped at the hotel on arrival by her rather obnoxious boyfriend. Emily has let herself go a little, wants to keep secret the fact that her daughter died and she escaped an abusive relationship. Ginger has been married to college boyfriend, Frank, for years and has three kids, but can’t forgive Emily for making a pass at her boyfriend one night. That particular story just made me think of Friends and Ross/Rachel ‘we were on a break ‘ and it seemed to have been at the heart of quite a lot of issues with this group.
Alongside this group - we never seem to see the bride-to-be though she gets mentioned a few times - we have seventy year old Lulu who is on her fifth husband and hoping she’ll make it to her fifth wedding anniversary, and Sydney, a young mum who seems to be hiding something.
Even though we know the general outline, it seemed to take forever to establish the characters and help us work out their links. Some of the scenarios to bring them together were hard to credit, and we didn’t get told who’d been murdered until over three quarters of the way in which meant the actual investigation wasn’t quite as important as I thought it was going to be.
This will, I imagine, be a big hit with fans of Lianne Moriarty but it wasn’t quite what I was expecting. Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with the opportunity to read this prior to publication.

Even if it's quite entertaining I think it's missing some actions and the characters are a bit flat.
Not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

This book is both entertaining and sassy
I really enjoyed this book even though the storyline was rather unbelievable
This book was sassy and fun to read. An ideal holiday read.

I really enjoyed this book, the suspence and twists kept me hooked throughout. I couldn't put it down. The police interviews were fantastic at teasing the story out. Each character had a full and comprehensive introduction, and all packed into a full thriller. Nothing was missing from this story and its a book l will highly recommend to everyone.

I really enjoyed this book. It was told in an engaging way by the author (of whom I have not read a novel before but will certainly do so again in the future on the basis of this novel!). Great characters, story and investigative essence. Thank you!

This was a light, easy read for summer. The blurb was really attractive, but I think it lacks in execution. It was not as gripping as I'd hope, lacking twists and turns and that feeling of making you wonder. Through the end, it got better building some suspense. The character development was OK, but I didn't necessarily care for any and there wasn't much attractiveness to them. They weren't edgy enough to root for them.
So, it was an OK read, fun for summer.

Thanks a lot NetGalley and the publisher for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

I found Pretty Guilty Women easy to read (May of been better as a spring release & marketed as a holiday read).
I also loved the setting and fancy a week long, glitzy wedding invite at the Serenity Spa & Resort myself.
However in all honesty I found the story to lack plausibility, have quite a few holes and be a little inconsistent. I found the characters not as likeable as I should and the narration was too much like Big Little Lies minus the humor.
I really wanted to like this book, I know many that will but for me it was just ok.

It's fine. It's an easy read, alright for a sun lounger. You're brain will be gently entertained but not taxed. If I had read this book in a literary vacuum I would probably be a bit more effusive, however if you have been slightly aware of Liane Moriarty you may, like me, catch a whiff of hero worship, I wouldn't want to go as far as calling it plagiarism.

Let us examine the evidence.

1. The title
'Pretty Guilty Women' quite close to 'Truly Madly Guilty' and 'Big Little Lies'.

2. The Plot
Anyone read or watched 'Big Little Lies'? Oh, you mean the build up to a murder when we don't know who did it or indeed who was murdered, but the group of women present hatch a story to tell the police? hmmm.

3. The blurb
'For fans of Liane Moriarty'
So it is not accident then, the publishers are fully aware of what they have published.

I find this all a bit odd as Gina LaManna is not a newcomer, she has written many other books (granted I haven't read any) so why has she released a book which already exists in a better form?

An easygoing summer read. A fascinating premise but not quite as twisty or thrilling as I had anticipated from the blurb, however it generated a certain amount of tension right to the end. The characters were well differentiated so it was never hard to understand whose perspective events were being seen from but unfortunately it was hard to empathise very much with any of the characters possibly due to the setting and lifestyles being excessively opulent without any humour/irony to deflate the bubble. Thankyou to Sphere and Netgalley for providing me with this free ARC which kept my attention on a sunny afternoon.

Pretty Guilty Women was an enjoyable read but from the synopsis I was expecting more of a thriller. Not really my cup of tea but was a good way to pass a lazy afternoon.

I received an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review

Entertaining but a serious knock-off of Big Little Lies without the dark humor. More women’s melodrama than thriller. Cathartic if you’re in a certain mood.