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Pretty Little Things
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Amazon.co.uk Review
For some time now, there’s been a name to add to that list of women writers unhampered by the traditional discretion that has been such a straitjacket for their sex – a growing number of female authors are ready to confront the more gruesome aspects of human behaviour. Their number includes Karin Slaughter, Patricia Cornwell and Karen Rose -- and notable in that company is the American Jilliane Hoffman. Hoffman's Retribution firmly established the writer as one of the most uncompromising practitioners in the serial killer field, and Last Witness consolidated the sterling work done in that book. And here’s Pretty Little Things, Hoffman’s latest (on the jacket of which her publisher invokes the names of the women above – with justification).
After a date on Halloween, Lainey Emerson disappears, along with a new boyfriend. This individual, known only by the nickname of El Captain, is the obvious suspect. Bobby Dees, the tenacious special agent of Florida’s crack Crimes Against Children squad, is the one person who may be able to find her -- and he is both helped and hindered by the fact that he knows only too well how it feels to lose a child. But all of his resources are called upon by a nemesis who always seems to be one step ahead – and time is running out for the missing girl.
As in Retribution, this high-octane narrative is dispatched with maximum efficiency by the unsentimental Jilliane Hoffman. The author has a strong background in Florida law enforcement, which she cannily parleys into the verisimilitude of the storytelling here. If you prefer not to be disturbed by your crime fiction, steer clear. The rest of us will be very reluctant to put down Pretty Little Things before we’ve finished it. --Barry Forshaw --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
Praise for Jillianne Hoffman:
‘Guaranteed to follow in the best-selling footsteps of Cornwell, Reiches and Slaughter’ Guardian
‘Gripping, well-crafted suspense…a belter of a book’ Sunday Express
‘Hoffman writes like an angel. Outstanding’ Independent on Sunday
‘Hugely readable’ Daily Mirror
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
27 of 28 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
After a relatively slow start, this story soon begins to rattle along until you reach a point - about halfway through - when it's almost impossible to put down.
This is another serial killer saga but with a difference. Special Agent Bobby Dees, who has taken on the burden of tracking down this hunter of young girls, also has a missing teenage daughter, believed to be a runaway but, in reality, probably one of the killer's victims.
Jilliane Hoffman, once in her stride, never lets up on the tension front. Dees's marriage is falling apart because there is no closure in his daughter's case and his career is under scrutiny for pretty much the same reason. As more bodies are found, discovered with the help of some weird paintings in which the killer, now nick-named Picasso, has included some clues as to their whereabouts and sent to Dees via a small-time news reporter covering the case, Dees finally has to admit that his daughter is likely to feature sooner or later in one of the paintings.
The author gives us the story from both the perspective of the unknown killer and, obviously, from the pursuer's investigative standpoint, enabling her to build on the tension within the Police Department as their efforts seem to be in vain.
It is not until the last few chapters, when everything seems to be finally resolved that we learn who the killer is and where other victims can be found. That Dees is placed in a terrible predicament, since he's been removed from the case and yet believes it's not really over, enables the author to keep us guessing until the end as to what did happen to his daughter.
If one takes out of the equation one, to my mind, serious flaw in just who's who in the criminal part of the story, this is a great read. However, this flaw is significant but to suggest why would act as a huge spoiler which would be unfair on an otherwise excellent, nail-biting story.
This is another serial killer saga but with a difference. Special Agent Bobby Dees, who has taken on the burden of tracking down this hunter of young girls, also has a missing teenage daughter, believed to be a runaway but, in reality, probably one of the killer's victims.
Jilliane Hoffman, once in her stride, never lets up on the tension front. Dees's marriage is falling apart because there is no closure in his daughter's case and his career is under scrutiny for pretty much the same reason. As more bodies are found, discovered with the help of some weird paintings in which the killer, now nick-named Picasso, has included some clues as to their whereabouts and sent to Dees via a small-time news reporter covering the case, Dees finally has to admit that his daughter is likely to feature sooner or later in one of the paintings.
The author gives us the story from both the perspective of the unknown killer and, obviously, from the pursuer's investigative standpoint, enabling her to build on the tension within the Police Department as their efforts seem to be in vain.
It is not until the last few chapters, when everything seems to be finally resolved that we learn who the killer is and where other victims can be found. That Dees is placed in a terrible predicament, since he's been removed from the case and yet believes it's not really over, enables the author to keep us guessing until the end as to what did happen to his daughter.
If one takes out of the equation one, to my mind, serious flaw in just who's who in the criminal part of the story, this is a great read. However, this flaw is significant but to suggest why would act as a huge spoiler which would be unfair on an otherwise excellent, nail-biting story.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
This is a quick and easy to read and well paced serial killer thriller with a Miami, Florida setting. The theme is of young teenage girls who seem to have run away from home but as we learn fairly early on they are being kidnapped and killed by an internet predator. The main investigation is led by Special Agent Supervisor Bobby Dees who heads a 'crimes against children' police squad whose own teenage daughter has been missing for almost a year.
The narrative features the perspectives of several characters so as a reader you have an overall picture of what is happening and from early on the main suspects start to line up. The plot is suspenseful with graphic descriptions of the murder victims, written in short, succinct sentences using everyday language and equally short chapters which help keep up the fast moving pace.
I found the novel easy to read, liked the fast pace but felt let down when the perpetrator was finally revealed as I found it slightly not credible and didn't feel that we learned about the killer's motivation. However, overall I thought it was a good read and the character of Bobby Dees was interesting along with how the special police squad operated.
The narrative features the perspectives of several characters so as a reader you have an overall picture of what is happening and from early on the main suspects start to line up. The plot is suspenseful with graphic descriptions of the murder victims, written in short, succinct sentences using everyday language and equally short chapters which help keep up the fast moving pace.
I found the novel easy to read, liked the fast pace but felt let down when the perpetrator was finally revealed as I found it slightly not credible and didn't feel that we learned about the killer's motivation. However, overall I thought it was a good read and the character of Bobby Dees was interesting along with how the special police squad operated.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
I have to admit I have never heard of Jilliane Hoffman. I chose this book because it comes under my favourite genre ie 'crime'. At first this seemed a well written run of the mill crime thriller. Similar to early Patterson (in the days when he was good). And then POW. Once you have been POWED you are hooked and won't put it down. I don't often get emotionally involved in a book, but I did this one. This is a very well written book. It takes a little while to take hold because it just seems like yet another book about teenage abductions...and it probably is, but it is so powerfully written that it takes hold of you (eventually) and you cannot put it down. Absolutely loved it and I have already ordered another of Jilliane's other books.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Pretty Little Things
A good read ... after a slow start.
Would recommend and will certainly read more books myself by this author. Read more
Would recommend and will certainly read more books myself by this author. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Liverbird5
Highlighting the dangers of the internet.
ainey Emerson is a typical 13 year old girl who enjoys spending time on her computer chatting to friends and using social networking sites. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Jennifer
This one tries too hard... (spoilers)
This thriller is too much in every department and as a result loses out.
Spoilers below...
It's my first book by Hoffman, and I doubt I'll pick up another. Read more
Spoilers below...
It's my first book by Hoffman, and I doubt I'll pick up another. Read more
Published 7 months ago by S.T. Ealth
Topical thriller
This crime thriller and involves a teenage girl, Lainey Emerson, who goes missing after arranging a date over the internet and meeting someone without telling her family where she... Read more
Published 10 months ago by L. H. Healy
Brilliant
I loved Retribution, I loved the Last Witness, this was no different. Hoffman has once again pulled it off, she has developed another novel where you care about all of the... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Miss C. L. Cole
Honestly could have been better
I suppose if this was the first Jilliane Hoffman book I'd read, and I was new to the whole graphic crime genre, then I would be thinking this book was amazing. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Rollo Allen
Captivating and clever :)
It's not often I read a crime book and can't put it down. Creepy and atmospheric with some clever twists that keep you guessing. I loved this book!
Published 15 months ago by 11bkd
absolutely brilliant
this is an unputdownable,book with a real twist and a satisying conclusion.I was really surprised when the killer was revealed. so alll in all well worth buying.
Published 16 months ago by angela o donovan
just unputdownable
Oh I so enjoyed this book, opens brilliantly keeps you hooked all the way through and until the lat few pages you are convinced its another person who is the killer, then WHAM oh i... Read more
Published 17 months ago by ginariva
Average Crime Drama
Quite an enjoyable read and fairly fast paced but rather lacked substance. The majority of the book is about Special Agent Bobby Dees, his relationship with his wife and missing... Read more
Published 18 months ago by Princess Mononoke
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