Pretty Things is a very stylish thriller told from the perspective of a con artist Nina and, her latest victim, a socialite called Vanessa. Nina has fallen into this life in order to fund her mother’s expensive cancer treatment in LA and normally targets the super rich who very rarely even miss what she takes. When her mum’s cancer comes back and it seems like the police are starting to catch up with her, she takes her boyfriend Lachlan to try and con a wealthy insta-famous socialite who Nina knows from her youth. This is a compulsive easy read where the characters are so well described they jump from the page. The dual narrative adds some interesting perspective but because Vanessa was less interesting as a character to me, her parts of the story particularly at the beginning were less enjoyable for me. Overall a great story that I really look forward to seeing on screen! 4.5/5

Fab new read from Janelle Brown, Pretty Things is a clever take on the long con, with dual narrative & flashbacks taking us through first-love, family and fraud, pointing out our own flaws along the way. Cunning & current, I'm looking forward to Nicole Kidman bringing this to screen!

Thanks to NetGalley, Orion Publishing Group and Janelle Brown for this advance review copy of Pretty Things.

First up, I know they say you should never judge a book by its cover but wow - this one really is as beautiful as it's title suggests! After reading the synopsis, I felt that this book would be right up my street.

Pretty Things tells the story of Nina - a grifter, who was raised by her con artist single Mum, forever deceiving rich men out of money at the local casino. She vowed that she wouldn't end up like her Mother and studied for a fine arts degree in the hope of getting a 'real' job and legitimate future, but when her Mum gets Cancer and needs medical bills paid fast, Nina turns to what she's always known. She teams up with Lachlan, an old friend of her Mother's and they plan what could be their biggest and most dangerous con yet.

As a child, Nina had a history with Benny - the son of the Leiblings family who own a huge estate. His sister, Vanessa Leibling is now heiress to the estate after both parents tragically died. A successful instagram Influencer, she shares all her many luxuries on her grid for the entire world to see. When Vanessa's engagement breaks down and she finds herself alone and lonely, she decides to rent out the cottage on the estate. This presents what could be an incredibly lucrative con with Nina hoping to worm her way into Vanessa's life and luxuries whilst simultaneously getting revenge for her family away all those years before.

Pretty Things is quite a long book, and it's fair to say the pace builds up slowly but ramps up hugely in the second half. Told through two perspectives, both Nina's and Vanessa's, at times the same conversations are repeated. At first I found this a little odd, feeling like I was reading the same content twice, but the subtle differences to their version and recollection of events is actually really important and helps build up a detailed back story.

There are loads of twists and revelations in Pretty Things, with some real jaw dropping moments that I most certainly did not expect. At times some of the plot and decisions require you to suspend belief (it's clearly amazing what isolation and desperation can make you do!) but overall I really enjoyed seeing the con emerge and the lies, secrets and unexpected turn of events that followed.

I am looking forward to seeing the adaptation of Pretty Things on screen, and can only assume Nicole Kidman would play Nina's mother. Definitely one to look out for!

3.5

Nina Ross is a grifter like her mother Lily before her. Her latest mark is successful Instagram influencer Vanessa Liebling with whose family Nina has history. She sets off to Lake Tahoe with her partner Lachlan, her eyes on the prize and a sweet dose of revenge. The story is told by Nina and Vanessa.

One of my favourite programmes several years ago was The Hustle which was so colourfully entertaining with multiple twists. Whilst this has some good plot turns especially later in the book it doesn’t have the same va va voom. I like the first twenty per cent or so as Nina sets the scene meeting Benny Liebling at school and this is very enjoyable. Benny is a lovely character and their growing friendship is a sweet one born out of both being misfits. The wealth of the Lieblings, their dysfunctional Stonehaven home in Lake Tahoe is very clearly depicted as is how their situation changes dramatically setting Nina on a destructive course years later. Vanessa’s story initially repeats a lot of what we know and this slows the pace down. I’ve read other books about Instagram influencers and so I don’t find her story resonates much but maybe that’s the cynic in me! I don’t think the length of the book helps either, it’s very long, some sections could have been much shorter and the storytelling would have then been crisper and sharper.

Then we get to the second half and that’s when things start to get a whole bunch more interesting and immersive. There are some jaw dropping revelations (one I definitely didn’t see coming), the pace is much faster thankfully and the plot twists and double twists are good. The cons and counter cons are clever, we have manipulation, betrayal, revenge, blackmail and lets chuck in some contempt and arrogance into the mix.

Overall, aside from the story dips this is entertaining and makes for escapist reading.

With thanks to NetGalley and Orion Publishing Group for the arc in return for an honest review.

Loved this! It had me guessing and on the edge of my seat throughout the whole book. Super fun cat and mouse thriller!
Great quick read! My jaw dropped like 5 times with all the twist and turns. I also really enjoyed the different perspectives.
Super fun read!

wonderful read nina and her partner set out to deceive and rob vanessa a rich girl nina knows from a past life but things dont go as planned .highly recommend could not put it down .

** spoiler alert ** To begin with I thought this was a slow to start book,but it turns out it was just a clever book,that told you the same story from two points of view,and by adding an extra line in the second time,gives it a whole new take.
It's full of characters that arent particularly likeable,and definitely not trust worthy.
But fun to watch the web of lies be spun. Even from unexpected corners (and at one point,I expected everyone to be lying)
Fun read.

Overall not a bad read. Nina and Vanessa are two interesting characters who have a lot more in common then they would think at first.

However, a couple of things just seemed highly unbelievable and I did struggle with that in the end

What a great book thoroughly enjoyed throughout read it super quick didnt want to put it down....would definitely recommend this book to others!

This was not the book I was expecting when I read the synopsis. However, I enjoyed it. This is a twisty, page turning book about a con artist, her mother and the mark. I enjoyed the ending.