Because none of these three books was technically focused on what these reviews are focused on, but still, I promise these reviews are about these books. Somehow.
Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter – Gory & intense, but it probably should be, given the subject matter, which is kidnapping, rape, torture, missing women and children. It was a rough read, that’s for sure, but I also thought it was pretty good. Thought the author did a great job of talking about the way tragedies impact families, how the pain ripples through the different generations. Also thought there was some really interesting investigation around siblings (particularly sisters) and how we wind up in little pigeonholes that we can’t seem to climb our way out of. Or, how, we think we’ve climbed so far away from those little holes, and something happens and how easy it is to slide right back into them, and what it takes to claw our way back out. (Is this what the majority of the story is about? No. But that’s what I found the most interesting about the whole thing, the way the sisters interacted, reacted, and impacted each other, knowingly/unknowingly, meaning to/accidentally.) I figured out the ‘twist’ pretty early on, but watching the ‘how’ of it unravel was still compelling & the interpersonal aspects of the story were so well written that I was engaged until the end. 3.5 Stars
Wrong Alibi by Christina Dodd – Another suspense, another ‘all these years later, men are still ruining the world, and my world specifically’ tale. Listen, I’m an old-school, historical romance Dodd fangirl from way back, so I like her style of storytelling: I think she’s great at making places like middle of Alaska at a remote wilderness camp somehow seem like I might possibly survive for more than three seconds there, even though I know, mentally, that it’s completely untrue. I found it all too easy to imagine myself in the main character, Evie’s position: When she was younger, she was naive and trusted the wrong person – who hasn’t done that? Of course, Evie’s example is a bit extreme, in that she wound up framed for a murder, convicted, then escaped during her transportation to prison. But still, somehow, Dodd makes Evie relatable & believable and God, do you root for her. When her mind turns to vengeance & justice, who could blame her? And who can she trust to help her? I definitely got “Book 1” vibes from the whole thing, so you might not be surprised to find out, not everyone she felt was trustworthy actually was. 4 Stars
Tourist Season by Brynne Weaver is another gory & intense book that I was probably supposed to be more freaked out by than I was, that I instead spent so much time during & after reading thinking about the relationships in it that I just can’t think that people are reading the same books I am when they say the quality of writing is diminishing. Because, on the surface, is this a capital D Dark Romance, written by Brynne Weaver, of “Serial Killer Rom-Com” fame, that literally takes place in a town called Cape Carnage? Yes, yes it is. Does it live up to all those expectations? It certainly does. There are dead people everywhere. There might be people getting killed in spectacularly gross manners on literally any page you turn, who can say? But is that what I was focused on during the majority of this story? No, it was not. Because again: The relationships. And in this case, I was specifically caught ruminating on the relationship between the main female character and her mentor, who is suffering from the early stages of dementia. (Which, thankfully, the author does a full & thorough trigger warning about before the story begins, because DAMN does this press the buttons.) Because what happens when your friend & the person who understands you best, who you just also happen to have some secret serial killing behavior in common with, starts to forget who, when, where they are? Or who you are? Or whether or not they were supposed to kill their mailman? Like. 
There’s this pain, if you love someone w/dementia, that’s so hard to explain to anyone who hasn’t lived through it, and somehow? Weaver manages to express it exactly. Harper’s helplessness as she watches this man that saved her life & helped rebuild her from nothing, not even recognize where they are, or start repeating a conversation they just finished… that aching feeling still echoes in my own heart, all these years later. So that’s what I was focused on. Mostly.
Because there’s also murders and revenge plots and stupid documentary makers and cops and a hot Southern hero who says shit like:
She’s obviously a terrible person and completely unhinged. and i, one hundred percent, do not find her in any way adorable. absolutely not.
and
It means I promised I would hunt you until the end of time. And what I get at the end of that hunt might change, but one thing remains the same. You’re mine, Harper. I’ll never let anyone take you from me. Not some asshole like McMillan. Not Sam Porter. Not even the sea.”
So I don’t know how I wasn’t supposed to love it? 5 Stars