Pretty As A Picture by Elizabeth Little

Photo Credit: Penguin

Traveling With T purchased this for her own listening while walking time.

Pretty As A Picture

Summary: An egomaniacal movie director, an isolated island, and a decades-old murder–the addictive new novel from the bestselling author of Dear Daughter

Marissa Dahl, a shy but successful film editor, travels to a small island off the coast of Delaware to work with the legendary–and legendarily demanding–director Tony Rees on a feature film with a familiar logline.

Some girl dies.

It’s not much to go on, but the specifics don’t concern Marissa. Whatever the script is, her job is the same. She’ll spend her days in the editing room, doing what she does best: turning pictures into stories.

But she soon discovers that on this set, nothing is as it’s supposed to be–or as it seems. There are rumors of accidents and indiscretions, of burgeoning scandals and perilous schemes. Half the crew has been fired. The other half wants to quit. Even the actors have figured out something is wrong. And no one seems to know what happened to the editor she was hired to replace.

Then she meets the intrepid and incorrigible teenage girls who are determined to solve the real-life murder that is the movie’s central subject, and before long, Marissa is drawn into the investigation herself.

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

A wickedly funny exploration of our cultural addiction to tales of murder and mayhem and a thrilling, behind-the-scenes whodunit, Pretty as a Picture is a captivating page-turner from one of the most distinctive voices in crime fiction.

Traveling With T’s Thoughts:

I recall reading Dear Daughter a few years ago and really thinking I liked it (the cover and there was some line about the main character having good hair- she was pretty obsessed with her hair). So, when I saw this- I thought why the hell not get it- it’s narrated byJulia Whelan and it sounds good.

Ya’ll…Julia Whelan saved this book for me. I think if I had been reading it- I would have DNF it.

What I Liked:

The cover is not bad. It fits in with the book.

Julia Whelan. I’m a huge fan and she delivers in this book.

The podcast angle. I love a good podcast and would totally listen to this one if it was real.

Bottom line: For me, this book was just ok. I was wanting to LOVE it- but it had it’s thriller-ish moments (that were good) and then it had moments that it was like a social commentary on people who do not fit society’s mold of what is pretty and fun. Plus, while I suspect what some of Marisa’s awkward ways was about- I would have liked a confirmation.

*Traveling With T purchased this book for her listening while walking time. All thoughts and opinions are mine alone.*