Title: PRETTY DEAD THINGS
Author: KELSEY COX
ISBN: 9781399739436
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Pages: 323
Source: Jonathan Ball Publishers
2000: Isabelle Whitmore vanishes at Sherman Ranch in Anhalt, Texas, without a trace.
2025: The annual Lone Star Princess Pageant looms, bringing long-standing grudges to the surface. Ingrid fled Anhalt in the wake of her sister Isabelle’s disappearance and has now returned, just in time for a construction crew to start digging up Sherman Ranch; the pageant brings up past traumas that Melanie can’t forget; Cat, newly sober, starts to feel threatened in ways that bring back old demons; and Sarah Lynn, who comes from a long line of pageant winners, knows that losing is not an option.
When old resentments and new confrontations reach their boiling point, temperatures drop to deadly degrees as a record-setting storm brings down the state’s power grid. With everyone trapped under one roof, scores will be settled, and more than one person will end up dead.
Some secrets are better left buried.
Official Summary
04 September 2026
A big thank you to Jonathan Ball Publishers for this review copy.
This is not a book I would have picked up for myself. The whole beauty pageant concept didn’t really appeal to me, but what an awesome surprise this turned out to be!
The author opens the book by detailing a murder scene, but she doesn’t reveal who the victim is. Naturally, my curiosity got the better of me, and I simply had to keep reading to find out what had happened.
What follows is a fascinating look at a small community obsessed with its annual beauty pageant. Long-time friends and rivals will do whatever it takes to secure a win for their daughters, and beneath all the smiles and pretty dresses lies a world of fierce competition, old grudges and plenty of secrets.
There are strong themes of friendship, family bonds and the lengths people will go to when their competitive nature takes over.
Ingrid returns home to help care for her mother, who has been diagnosed with cancer. But coming home also forces her to confront the painful memories of her twin sister, who disappeared years ago and was never found.
I loved these characters. The story brings together three generations of women, each with their own secrets, struggles and complicated relationships. There is something wonderfully messy and believable about the characters, and I found myself becoming increasingly invested in their stories.
The author does a fantastic job of misdirecting your attention throughout the book. Just when you think you have everything figured out, a conclusion is presented that you happily swallow—hook, line and sinker—only for the tables to be turned and a completely different truth to be revealed.
I actually found myself wondering if I had missed some obvious clues along the way because I absolutely did not see that coming!
This turned out to be a brilliantly entertaining read and a wonderful reminder that sometimes the books we wouldn’t normally pick up can end up being the biggest surprises.
I definitely look forward to reading more from Kelsey Cox. I have already added her previous book, Part of Liars, to my ever-growing TBR.
A thoroughly entertaining mystery with plenty of secrets, twists and surprises. Definitely worth picking up!
Also By Kelsey Cox
PARTY OF LIARS
Today is Sophie Matthews’s sixteenth birthday party, an exclusive black-tie bash in the heart of the Texas Hill Country, where secrets are as deep-rooted as the sprawling live oaks. Sophie’s dad has spared no expense, and his renovated cliffside mansion—once thought haunted—is now hosting the event of the season. Then, just before the candles on the three-tiered red velvet cake are blown out, a body falls from the balcony onto the starlit dance floor below.
It’s a killer guest list . . .
DANI: Sophie’s new stepmother who’s been plagued by self-doubt ever since the birth of her own baby girl
ÓRLAITH: the superstitious Irish nanny who senses a looming danger in this cavernous house
MIKAYLA: the birthday girl’s best friend who is not nearly as meek as the popular kids assume
KIM: the cunning ex-wife who has a grudge she can’t let go of . . .
Everyone is invited in. Not everyone will get out alive.
About the Author
Author bio from the author’s site
Kelsey Cox received her MFA in fiction from Purdue University and works from home in the Texas Hill Country. You can often find her writing at Mammen Family Public Library, chasing around her two young daughters, or watching British mysteries with her mom and aunts. On nights when bedtime goes as planned, she enjoys curling up on the sofa, glass of wine in hand, and a book with complicated characters and a killer twist in her lap.
I just love when a book surprises me, and this one certainly did that. Thank you for visiting the blog and reading my review. Your support means the world to me. Until next time… Happy Reading!
