Do you want to read an engaging and twisty tale? Willing to postpone bedtime until you finish it? This is the book for you.

What starts as a story of robbery becomes a story of deceit. Lachlan and Nina begin pulling cons but soon move into a giant grift, using Vanessa, disoriented heiress as their mark.
Loyalties change, alliances shift and soon lies begin to ooze through the book Everyone conning each other, even some who are not suspected.

If I continue enthusing, I am afraid I will give away too much of the plot. This is an engaging, well written novel. I loved Brown’s first novel, but was a bit disappointed in the next two, but this book has totally exhibited her fine writing skills.

Thanks Netgalley, for allowing me to read and enjoy this novel.

Terrific psychological thriller that kept me guessing right up to the end. Who's conning who?! Loved it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC. What a good read! This one was twistier than I thought it would be based on the description, but that makes perfect sense since this is a book about people conning each other. I felt conned, in the best possible way, by the events that unfolded in the last quarter of this book. What kind of mother behaves that way toward their only child? I definitely didn't see that coming from her character. The only part that I didn't 100% love was the ending. It seemed pretty far-fetched to have the Lieblings and Nina all living together in harmony at Stonehaven. Despite the too-neat ending, I would definitely recommend this book to others once it is published.

I really liked the concept of this book, but for me, the execution was a little shaky. The book alternates between Vanessa, an heiress, and Nina, a grifter who has essentially made a career of stealing from the obscenely wealthy. A lot of the conversation was repeated by both narrators, and instead of highlighting the different views of the narratives, it just came across as redundant. On the positive end of the spectrum, I really liked how the author tied up the ending.. .it ALMOST made me feel something for an entire cast of highly unlikable people.

“Pretty Things” by Janelle Brown is a psychological thriller set in Lake Tahoe.
The book alternates between two narrators: Nina, a grifter who is always searching for the next con, and Vanessa, an naive heiress who moonlights as an Instagram influencer.

Initially, the plot seemed somewhat silly, but the writing was really good and I quickly found myself immersed in the story and unable to put it down. I really enjoyed the characters and the battle of wits between Nina and Vanessa.

I really enjoyed this book. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Pretty Things by Janelle Brown is a twisting, turning psychological thriller. Nina is determined to exact revenge on Vanessa, who she blames for the way her life has turned out. Lochlan, while not exactly Nina’s boyfriend, is in in the con with her. But Vanessa isn’t quite as clueless as they think she is. Add in Nina’s mother, who has always told Nina that they can only really trust each other and the threads of this story weave in an out, creating a can’t-put-it-down book. Kudos to Janelle Brown!

This book is an interesting combination of a modern day spin on both Oliver Twist and My Fair Lady. Nina’s plans for a high paying job crash and burn and she takes to stealing with her grifter boyfriend. After all, Nina’s mother was the ultimate con artist, but when she becomes ill, Nina will do whatever it takes to save her mom. This is when Nina and her boyfriend meet Vanessa, a poor little rich girl and the story really takes off. This is a diamond sharp, twisted tale of revenge and the lust for money

A great female 2-hander that feels like GRIFTERS meets INGRID GOES WEST. It’s wicked and sharp in a way that reminded me of Riley Sager's THE LAST TIME I LIED with two flawed complex female characters one-upping each other with deceit. I though it was sharp and complicated and deliciously fun. A great story of family and inheritance.