Have you ever heard of an author named Elizabeth Little? I hadn’t. Her first novel, Dear Daughter, received rave reviews and even won her an award. Today, I am here to tell you about her recently released second novel. I came upon Pretty as A Picture at a book convention. With no knowledge of its author, I picked it up at random. The quotes and blurbs on the cover caught my attention immediately: “A twisty story, a cinephile’s delight, a knockout of a heroine...”, “An egomaniacal movie director, an isolated island, and a decades-old murder...”. With only a general idea of what to expect, I cracked the cover and just dove in. The prologue introduced you to the protagonist without letting you know who she was. As any good prologue does, it gave you a taste of what was to come while staying a bit cryptic. In this case, it put you in the mind of the main character and showed you how she thought. The story is told from her perspective, which after reading the prologue you know is a good thing. Marissa Dahl doesn’t fit in to the Hollywood scene where she makes her living and that makes you trust her more. She is an integral cog in the Hollywood machine but doesn't buy in to all the hype and glamour of it all. She is awkward and honest and tells you how it is; things you usually want in a narrator. From the start, you are pulling for her to succeed. You want everything to turn out ok for her. She goes into a meeting for a job and as it goes on, you can tell things are fishy. It may not seem that way because, as regular folk, what do we know about Hollywood right? Maybe this is really how things are done. But trusting Marissa as a true guide, you can tell things are weird but she goes along with it because she needs the gig. As the story draws out, you learn more and more questionable details. But at the same time, the author keeps your interest piqued. She drops just enough breadcrumbs that you are dying to know what is going to happen without actually giving anything away. All the while, you are focused on what is going on with Marissa as she gets in to trouble and delves deeper into the great mystery. The job is a film telling the story of a local murder on an island, but it is one that has never been solved. That alone raises red flags and causes so many questions. The whole affair brings out the amateur detective in two young girls on set. The inserts throughout the book of later interviews with Grace and Suzy add to the pile of breadcrumbs without revealing the ending while also allowing brief glimpses into the truth of some characters. They also endear you to the girls in the real time action of the story. The behind the scenes look in to what Hollywood could be like is great too. How some of the characters are perceived by the public vs how they really are behind the scenes is something you know has to be legitimate in real life. I don’t want to say any more in case I give too much away. This book is truly a great read. It is insightful, suspenseful, endearing and funny as hell. I think that the author found a way to take a dark and twisty story and give it a lightness that allows the reader to rip right through it. In these troubled times of being locked in our homes, I very much recommend this story as a way to escape. I may even go back and read her first novel now, because if the writing is anything like this, it must be good!
Fun Facts: - The photo in the post was taken from the Instagram feed of @Vikingbooks
- Pretty as a Picture by Elizabeth Little was released on February 25th so is still a relatively new book.
-You can find this book anywhere books are sold but I strongly urge you to buy local and help a bookstore out in need.
-Don't forget to check out @LittleCityBooks in the Hoboken, NJ area - they are on Instagram, Facebook and online LittleCityBooks.com
- You can follow me on Instagram as well - @Bookworm1820
