Pretty Baby

A Novel

By: Mary Kubica

Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell, Tom Taylorson, Jorjeana Marie

Length: 12 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

“Thrilling and illuminating."—LA Times

"A hypnotic psychological thriller.” —People

A chance encounter sparks an unrelenting web of lies in this gripping and complex psychological thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of The Good Girl.

Heidi Wood has always been a charitable woman: she works for a nonprofit and 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 begins as an act of kindness quickly spirals into a story far more twisted than anyone could have anticipated.

©2015 Mary Kubica (P)2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Deserves Awards!

Great psychological thriller. Actually believable with few holes. I could not put it down. Well written. Perfectly narrated. I will recommend to everyone!

Saved in the last 2 hours...

This is a good (maybe even very good) story concept, but I had to get past the first 10 hours to think so. I found most of the characters to be unlikable, and much of the dialogue to be dark and repetitive, but in the last couple hours when the story comes together, it seems to redeem itself.
As for the narration, I desperately want to like Cassandra Campbell (she narrates SO many books), but I find her drawn out words and snakelike Ssss to be very grating. And, Jorjeana Marie sounded so much like she had a cold with a stuffy nose, that it was distracting as well.
But, overall, I'm glad I stayed with it... the storyline made it worth it.

Anticlimactic

Would you try another book from Mary Kubica and/or the narrators?

I doubt I would read another book by Mary, but I did love the narrators. Mary used too many similes and the text went on and on. It took quite a while to get the story going. The climax came toward the end and then there was no real follow up with the characters.

What do you think your next listen will be?

I'm not sure what I will listen to next. It will be fiction.

What does the narrators bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The narrators make the book come alive! I especially loved the narrator that read the Claire part, she was so innocent sounding.

Did Pretty Baby inspire you to do anything?

It inspired me to write this review.

Any additional comments?

I was not happy with spending time time listening to the book for it to have ended so suddenly. I just felt that with all the buildup that the readers/listeners somehow deserved a follow through on the main characters. I did love the little reminder that Matthew was still keeping up with Claire at the very ending. That was clever.

Disturbing

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I found this book to be predictable and a little too disturbing for my taste. Good narration and nice writing style but still not a fan.

Pretty good!

I liked this book it was very nicely written, I was interested to see where the story would take me...

Dark Side

If you are looking for a listen (read) about the darker side of life, then this is the book for you. It is very well written and performed, there are twists and turns, and then a little bit of madness thrown in. There was one thread left hanging that bothered me. I'll let you find it. It is a sad story, so be prepared to go to the dark side.

Excellent

I really enjoyed this book, this is the second audio book for me. I love a book that begin to have a list of questions and before it ends all your questions are answered.

Worth a credit. Good listen!

This book got my attention from the very beginning and took a completely different direction than I had anticipated! Good story line and believable characters. I enjoyed it and the narrator was spot on.

Emotional!

I loved it but it left me with a LOT of questions . Good book but I wasn't prepared for the tears

Nice and Twisted

Absolutely enjoyed Pretty Baby! Couldn’t tell what direction the writer was going to take the story, but loved hearing each character portrayed from their point of view.

Can’t wait to listen to another book by this author!