β Scribed by J. T. Ellison
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
In this tame debut, the body of a young girl discovered by the side of a Nashville highway puts homicide detective Taylor Jackson and her lowdown boyfriend, FBI Agent John Baldwin, on the trail of the Southern Strangler, a playful, brutal killer who likes to carry his victims across state lines before murdering them and removing their hands. Before long, however, Taylor's reassigned to the suspicious death of a prominent TV personality, leaving John struggling to keep ahead of the Strangler's mounting body count. Meanwhile, Taylor is still recovering from a near-fatal neck injury earned in her last case and worrying over her own demonsβnot the least of which is John's threat to marry her. The real victim is Ellison's plot, strangled by slow pacing, egregious subplots (a serial rapist, a crooked officer, a pregnancy scare) and a clichΓ©d cast of characters: the shady Southern belle, the veteran detective pushed over the edge, the evil genius who stays a step ahead of everyoneβeven the appealing Taylor strikes a numbingly familiar tough-yet-vulnerable pose. Though a climactic showdown injects some much-needed excitement, readers may have a hard time getting there. (Nov.)
Copyright Β© Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
"A taut, striking debut. Mystery fiction has a new name to watch." -- John Connolly, author of The Book of Lost Things
"A terrific lead character, terrific suspense, terrific twists ... a completely convincing debut." -- Lee Child, author of Bad Luck
"An impressive debut that is rich not just in suspense but in the details. Fast-paced and creepily believable, Ellison's novel proves that there is still room in the genre for new authors and new cops. There's no novice showing in All The Pretty Girls. It's all gritty, grisly and a great read." -- M. J. Rose, author of The Reincarnationist
"Ellison hits the ground running with an electrifying debut. All the Pretty Girls is a masterful thriller, shockingly authentic and unputdownable. Fans of Sandford, Cornwell, and Reichs will relish every page." -- J. A. Konrath, author of Dirty Martini
"Everything a great crime thriller should be." -- Allison Brennan, author of Fear No Evil
"J.T. Ellison's All the Pretty Girls is mystery magic, a first-rate, creepy, hold-your-breath story of suspense." -- Robert Fate, author of Baby Shark
"A taut, striking debut. Mystery fiction has a new name to watch." -- John Connolly, author of The Book of Lost Things
"A terrific lead character, terrific suspense, terrific twists ... a completely convincing debut." -- Lee Child, author of Bad Luck
"Everything a great crime thriller should be." -- Allison Brennan, author of Fear No Evil
"J.T. Ellison's All the Pretty Girls is mystery magic, a first-rate, creepy, hold-your-breath story of suspense." -- Robert Fate, author of Baby Shark
π SIMILAR VOLUMES
No, please don't Three simple little words No, please don't The words echoed through his brain as he sawed, their rhythm spurring his own The Southern Strangler is slaughtering his way through the Southeast, leaving a gruesome memento at each crime scene i?? the prior victimi??s severed hand. Ambiti
When a local girl falls prey to a sadistic serial killer, Nashville homicide lieutenant Taylor Jackson and her lover, FBI profiler Dr. John Baldwin, find themselves in a joint investigation pursuing a vicious murderer. The Southern Strangler is slaughtering his way through the Southeast, leaving a g
SUMMARY: When a local girl falls prey to a sadistic serial killer, Nashville Homicide Lieutenant Taylor Jackson and her lover, FBI profiler Dr. John Baldwin, find themselves in a joint investigation pursuing a vicious murderer. The Southern Strangler is slaughtering his way through the Southeast,
EDITORIAL REVIEW: One By One...Two decades ago, at a private women's college in upstate New York, a student was brutally attacked in her dorm room. Her assailant was never found...They Disappear...Sue Barlow arrives at Wilbourne College twenty years later. When a classmate disappears, Sue think