Alienated from her family for over 20 years since her sister Julia's disappearance, Claire is devastated when her husband is murdered during a mugging. She's been totally dependent on Paul, a controlling perfectionist who's amassed a fortune, but Claire doesn't know how to handle anything without his strict guidance.

In desperation, Claire reaches out to her estranged sister Lydia, a recovering addict trying to put her fractured life together after the decimation of their family. Surprisingly, Lydia doesn't hesitate rushing to help Claire. Even after all these years apart, they are still sisters dealing with a shared loss.

With the police and FBI insistent on investigating Paul's life, Claire is shocked with what she discovers on one of his computers. The more information they keep from the police, and the deeper she and Lydia probe into what Claire has found, the more dangerous the situation becomes for both of them. It will take all of their tenacity and courage to trust each other as they deal with even more shocking revelations about the past -- and Paul's involvement.

PRETTY GIRLS is a gritty and frightening psychological thriller written by Karin Slaughter, a true master of the genre. The suspense is terrifying, the pacing concise, the characters intensely developed, and the chilling plot stunningly conceived and executed. I was absorbed from the first page until the shocking, explosive ending. Karin Slaughter has outdone herself in this impressive stand-alone thriller.