Pretty Baby by Mary Kubica

Pretty Baby by Mary Kubica
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 3 days

Pages - 384

Publisher - MIRA

Blurb from Goodreads

A chance encounter sparks an unrelenting web of lies in this stunning new psychological thriller from national bestselling author Mary Kubica

She sees the teenage girl on the train platform, standing in the pouring rain, clutching an infant in her arms. She boards a train and is whisked away. But she can't get the girl out of her head...

Heidi Wood has always been a charitable woman: she works for a nonprofit, takes in stray cats. Still, her husband and daughter are horrified when Heidi returns home one day with a young woman named Willow and her four-month-old baby in tow. Disheveled and apparently homeless, this girl could be a criminal—or worse. But despite her family's objections, Heidi invites Willow and the baby to take refuge in their home.

Heidi spends the next few days helping Willow get back on her feet, but as clues into Willow's past begin to surface, Heidi is forced to decide how far she's willing to go to help a stranger. What starts as an act of kindness quickly spirals into a story far more twisted than anyone could have anticipated.



My Review

Heidi is a helper, she can't help but reach out to people and try and assist them, both in her job and out with. She spots a young bedraggled girl at the train station with a baby and feels compelled to help her. Knowing nothing about her she offers her shelter in her home with her husband and own daughter. Willow could have any kind of past but with her baby Ruby and Heidi's own tragic past she can't resist bringing them into her life, but to what cost?

The chapters are split between Heidi, her husband Chris and Willow. Willow flits from present day to the past and we find out slowly why she was on the streets with her baby. Chris, we find out a lot about Heidi from him and Heidi, poor sweet Heidi, her story unfolds as we delve deeper into what transpires and how things start to unravel as Heidi tries to help Willow and is drawn to Ruby.

The story definitely pulls you in, you want to know where it is going to go and how the family cope with these two "kids" being dumped into their life. I did get a little frustrated at times, especially with some of Willows story trying to work out what was going on. The end also felt a bit sudden and unexpected which, has been well received by many readers and of course is a personal preference. This is the second book I have read by Kubica and I will certainly read anymore she writes, for me I think I would enjoy this one more the second time round. Enthralling, intriguing, sad, some tales of abuse that some readers may find disturbing and infidelity are just some of the issues covered in this tale. 3/5 for me this time, thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

View all my reviews

Review - The Good Girl by Mary Kubica

The Good Girl by Mary Kubica
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 3 days

Publisher - Mira UK

Pages - 384

Blurb from Goodreads

“I’ve been following her for the past few days. I know where she buys her groceries, where she has her dry cleaning done, where she works. I don’t know the colour of her eyes or what they look like when she’s scared. But I will.”
Mia Dennett can’t resist a one-night stand with the enigmatic stranger she meets in a bar. But going home with him will turn out to be the worst mistake of Mia’s life.
Mia comes from a prominent society family and her mother will stop at nothing to find her, but no one could have predicted the emotional entanglements that eventually cause this family’s world to shatter…


My Review

Mia is our main character, well the whole story is based around what happens to her. The story is told by three people, Eve, her mother, Gabe the police officer and Colin, the chap who kidnaps Mia. The story is broke down between these three and the before and after, before Mia is kidnapped and then during and the after which brings you to present day. It is a bit confusing at the start but you soon get into it. Mia's father is a high powered Judge, she comes from money and anyone could be responsible for the kidnapping. The book follows the lead up to the event, during the kidnapping and the aftermath and trying to pick up the pieces.

For a debut novel I think this was really well done, again it takes a wee bit to get into it as there are a few voices and the time period jumps, only by a few months but still. I found myself getting pulled into the book quickly although I wanted to stay with the lead up to the kidnap rather than reading the aftermath. The chapters are short so you jump back and forth a bit, however, once I got into the present I didn't want to jump back. You want to follow the story as it goes but your lead between the different people and timescales. I am not doing this book justice as it sounds like I didn't like, I just mean it took me a bit to get into the jumps, however once I did I couldn't wait to find out where it goes next.

There is a mix of family dysfunctions, relationships, Stockholm's, lies, betrayal and even love. I think it is quite a mix, the pace is good, the writing is well executed and I couldn't wait to get to the end to find out how it all played out. I was shocked by how the whole thing wrapped up but I really enjoyed it. I would definitely read this author again, 4/5 for me this time.

View all my reviews