Entertaining psychological thriller that brilliantly dissects the cutthroat subculture of Southern Beauty pageants as well as the toxicity of lifelong small town friendships.
In the small town of Anhalt, Texas, the glittering facade of the annual Lone Star Princes Pageant masks a legacy of rot. The narrative weaves between two distinct timelines: the year 2000, when teenager Isabelle Whitmore vanished without a trace, and the year 2025. It’s been 25 years since her disappearance and the pageant is once again underway, bringing together a group of women who were also teenagers when Isabelle vanished. Ingrid, her twin sister, has returned to town just as a construction crew begins excavating the local ranch for a new housing development in a move that threatens to unearth the town’s secrets. Ingrid was dating Ben Sherman, the son of the ranch owner and he’s considered the most likely person to have killed her. But he’s never talked.
Told in alternating points of view between 4 main women: Cat, Sarah Lynn, Ingrid, and Melanie. Each woman has a unique perspective on the events leading up to the day of competition when a historic winter storm completely knocks out the power grid and most of the town is gathered in the event center. All of the past resentments, relentless ambitions, and shifting loyalties reach a point that will result in another tragedy.
I definitely enjoyed this more than I expected because it really gets down into the underbelly of generational trauma and small town venom. The locked room aspect wasn’t giving the vibes as it’s such a trope, but I did like the complex network of messy relationships among the women and former pageant contestants as well as their daughters. The mother-daughter relationships were a bit fraught and the teen thing is why I was a bit leery about this at first, but once I waded through being able to identify all the characters and got into the fast pace, I ended up surprised by a late twist and liked it a lot.
I was able to listen to the audio book while also following along in the e-book ARC, both provided by the publishers. The audio had a full cast recording that included narrators Andrew Eiden, Brittany Pressley, Mia Wurgaft, Saskia Maaleveld and Stevi Incremona. Most of them did a great job and I always enjoy a large cast so much more than a single voice. My least favorite was the voice of Melanie. I definitely appreciate the immersive experience that comes with listening while reading. Definitely recommend.
This is a standalone and is not part of any series.
Genre and tags: beauty pageants, missing girls, murder, small town, friendship, psychological thriller
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