Book Review: "Pretty Dead Things" by Kelsey Cox

In the small town of Anhalt, Texas, the Lone Star Princess Pageant is a big deal. The competition is cutthroat—and that’s just among some of the mothers! No one believes their daughter is more deserving than Kennedy Claire, a former winner herself, who will stop at nothing to make sure the crown winds up on her daughter’s head.

Twenty-five years ago, on the night of the pageant, Isabelle Whitmore disappeared. Everyone believed she was murdered by her boyfriend Ben and that her body was buried somewhere on the sprawling Sherman Ranch. Now, Izzy’s twin sister Ingrid has returned to town, just as construction crews are digging up the ranch to build houses.

The pageant reawakens old hurts and resentments. Melanie can’t shake the trauma she experienced after being pranked by her friends; Cat, who has finally gotten sober, is convinced she’s being followed; and Ingrid begins to realize the truths she believed about her sister’s disappearance may not be accurate.

When a major winter storm—nearly unheard of in Texas—strikes Anhalt, all the pageant contestants and their families are stuck together under one roof. But after one death shakes everyone up, the question of who is responsible worries everyone. And that’s not all they’ll need to deal with.

This was a really good thriller. I really didn’t know what was going to happen and who would be the culprit, and Kelsey Cox definitely kept me guessing. There was a lot going on but it never felt overwhelming. I want to go back and read her debut thriller now!