So Much Pretty
Published on 2. August 2012
Book
Paperback/Softback
304 pages
978-0-09-955848-4 (ISBN)
Description
'A man can only take so much pretty walking back and forth in front of him.'
When nineteen-year-old Wendy White disappears, the small town of Haeden, New York, is shaken to its core. The police are unable to trace the missing waitress; everyone assumes that she has run away. But, six months later, Wendy's tortured body is found in the nearby woods. She has only been dead for a matter of days.
With no one willing to talk, the investigation slows to a halt. But local reporter Stacy Flynn and high school student Alice Piper have their own reasons for finding out what really happened.
The truth behind Wendy's disappearance has a devastating effect on the town: what was once a rural idyll is now the backdrop to murder, violence and revenge.
When nineteen-year-old Wendy White disappears, the small town of Haeden, New York, is shaken to its core. The police are unable to trace the missing waitress; everyone assumes that she has run away. But, six months later, Wendy's tortured body is found in the nearby woods. She has only been dead for a matter of days.
With no one willing to talk, the investigation slows to a halt. But local reporter Stacy Flynn and high school student Alice Piper have their own reasons for finding out what really happened.
The truth behind Wendy's disappearance has a devastating effect on the town: what was once a rural idyll is now the backdrop to murder, violence and revenge.
Reviews / Votes
A mixture of The Lovely Bones and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo * Booklist * A passionately angry ... and shocking book. Cara Hoffman not only discovers the heart of darkness in small town Haeden, but brilliantly dissects it. -- Rosamund Lupton, bestselling author of Sister Beautiful ... what begins as the suspenseful story of a rural American murder grows into a dark, disquieting and urgently fascinating examination of the violence and concealment practised by a whole society ... this is an impassioned, intelligent and important work of art. -- Chris Cleave Intelligent and gripping stuff * Financial Times * Dark, atmospheric tale of murder in a small-town world. * Stylist * A dark but powerful debut novel ... Hoffman maps the atmosphere of paranoia that descends on the formerly tranquil town as she moves deftly between its inhabitants. * The New Yorker * A skillful, psychologically acute tale of how violence affects a small town * Los Angeles Times * [A] fearless first novel * New York Times Book Review *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Cornerstone
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 129 mm
Thickness: 19 mm
Weight
218 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-09-955848-4 (9780099558484)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Person
Before becoming a novelist, Cara Hoffman worked as an investigative reporter covering New York State's rural and Rust Belt communities, where she reported on crime. This is her first novel.