Mary Kubica

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 criminalor 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.

Pretty Baby

5 because this is my first Kubica book and it was really good :)

Jessica Ford

Lauren Tabor

Sheena Murray 

Kubica had me hooked from page 1. I loved the multiple first person perspectives and the jumps in the timeline that kept you thinking you’d figured it out, just to turn you around again. The ending could have gone a bit more, it barely closed off willows story and would have been lovely to hear more about Heidi and her family at the end. 

Very good read, will be looking for more of Mary’s work.

Marissa Killian

I'm so disappointed. I loved the good girl and went into this with high hopes it started out great but the ending felt forced and came out of nowhere. I also felt like a lot of story lines such as what was going in with Zoe were never explained. I finished it feeling cheated

Amanda Autumn Berrey

three stars

this book had its ups and downs but over all i really liked it. i wasn’t shocked by any of the twists but they were delivered so well that i didn’t even mind them being predictable.

chloe mcpherson

Heidi sees a young girl with an infant in her arms, feeling charitable she brings the young girl named willow and her 4 month old baby to her house where her husband and daughter are horrified.
Heidi helps take care of the baby and helps Willow get back on her feet.

"What starts as an act of kindness quickly spirals into a story far more twisted than anyone could have anticipated"
That is what draw me into reading this story (Also the fact Mary's first book, 'The Good Girl' was a hit)
And once again i was not disappointed. Forget everything you might think is going to happen because you won't guess until you're reading it.
I loved all the characters, even the ones that seem bat shit crazy, Mary has a way of pulling me in to their stories and her books are so hard to put down.

Mary Kubica is definitely an author you need to read and keep an eye out for!

Chrissy

2.75 stars
I was very intrigued with a woman taking notice of a young teen with a baby who looks homeless. It grabbed me pretty quickly and I wanted to know Willow's story so bad. The audiobook has 3 different narrators to speak for each chapter, Heidi the woman who takes in the homeless teen, Willow the said homeless teen, and Chris Heidi's husband. 
I found Willow's character interesting and she was the main reason why I continued with the book, her story is heartbreaking and you think you know the story of her baby and then you find out that thats not the case. The book is basically not that hard to predict but the ending did take a turn I was not expecting. Unfortunately the ending is anticlimactic. You get a change in plot, i wouldn't label it a plot twist, but never is resolved. I wanted more with Heidi, Chris and Zoe, but you only get a resolution with Willow's character. 
Throughout the book you can tell that Heidi and Chris' marriage is not as well as they seem to think it is, that it is strained from the past and wasn't dealt with and now too much time has passed. Heidi's relationship with her daughter seems strained as well, Heidi telling herself that it is just preteen phase. Her daughter Zoe had some strange habits, she was extremely picky with food and constantly cold making the temperature of her bedroom like a sauna and it is a concern of Heidi's but she fails to do anything. The book repeatedly brings up those actions but we get zero conclusions as to what is going on with her, its obvious that she is hiding something. 
There is also a moment where Heidi's best friend tries to get visit Heidi when she wasn't home and tells Chris that she needs to talk to her only and won't tell him what it pertains too. We never find out what she wanted to talk about but she does make more attempts by phone and physical visit as well. 
Basically I wish this book took it a little deeper and added a few more chapters to the end so that we can understand more about the Wood family. This book really just missed the mark.

"Thrilling and illuminating."—LA Times "A hypnotic psychological thriller." —People A chance encounter sparks an unrelenting web of lies in this new gripping and complex psychological thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of The Good Girl and the upcoming page-turner Don't You Cry, 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. More Praise: "Hypnotic and anything but predictable." —Kirkus, starred review "A superb psychological thriller…stunning."—Publishers Weekly, starred review Read the New York Times bestselling novel that everyone is talking about, The Good Girl, by Mary Kubica! Look for Mary's latest complex and addictive tale of deceit and obsession, Don't You Cry. Order your copies today!

A Gripping Novel of Psychological Suspense

Анастасия Розова

DNF at 38%.
I don't know, guys. This book was too slow for me, I didn't care about any of the characters. 

And I definitely loved The Good Girl a lot more, than this one. Maybe one day I'll give it another go, but not now. It's putting me in a reading slump.

Mahasin S Ameen

I received this as an Advanced Reader's Copy at ALA Midwinter. I've not read Kubica's previous book but if this one is any indication sign me up. I sometimes felt the point of view changes could be jarring but I felt that the book was well written and gripping. It was heavy, but not as mind bending as some authors like Gillian Flynn. Overall, will read again.

Cat Imb

Mary Kubica is a genius. This book had me hooked. The multiple narratives and back and forths in time had me engulfed and completely invested in this story. The plot itself was extremely well thought out and surprised me on multiple occasions. Her character development is unbelievable; smooth and realistic. The book just seemed so "natural", no events seemed forced to make the story work, and that's when you know you've just read a masterpiece. 

Thank you Harlequin Publishings for sending me and ARC copy of this book in exchange for a review.

Jessica 

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    “But there was something telling about that photograph, I thought; our protective glass frame shattered and now here we were, punctured with microscopic holes that might one day tear. Those holes all had names: mortgage, adolescent child, lack of communication, retirement savings, cancer.”
  


As a note, a printed galley of this novel was sent to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not effect my opinions in any way.

Mary Kubica’s newest novel, Pretty Baby, was an unexpected surprise for me. I have never read anything by Kubica up until this point, however, I’d heard many great things about her previous release. Pretty Baby has a summary that borders on Lifetime cheesiness at the hand of a mystery-thriller and while it incorporates many elements that parallel movies from Lifetime, the end product is far more chilling and intelligent than you’d expect.

It is a pretty solid release that touches a lot of topics that may be triggering to readers. But for the most part, readers will find themselves easily hypnotized by her haunting story. Mary Kubica doesn’t shy away from the gritty, raw, texture of life and human emotion–there are many moments in which your skin will crawl in the most typical of ways because of the way she portrays it all. 

Continued @ BOOKEDJ.

Pretty Baby

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