Pretty Dead Things - by Lilian West (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

A bride-to-be's discovery of long-lost wedding rings at an estate sale reveals the key to a decades-old cold case in a small-town mystery perfect for fans of Louise Penny.

2024. Recently-engaged city girl Cora is new to the small town of Hickory Falls. Still adjusting to the change in pace, she's delighted when she stumbles upon a quaint estate sale. Drawn in by the knickknacks, she buys a jar of colorful baubles and is surprised to find two rings at the bottom of the jar. When she innocently sets out to find the original owner of the rings, she instead stumbles upon a decades-old mystery.

1953. Clarity Grey should've known better than to get involved with a married man, but their connection went too deep to ignore. When he divorces his wife for her, they marry, and she gets the family life she's always dreamed of, with a new stepdaughter and a child of her own. But just as suddenly, her new life slips out of her hands when she simply vanishes, never to be seen or heard of again.

Clarity is labeled as flakey and a homewrecker, so nobody in town takes her disappearance seriously--until Cora, seventy years later.

Told in dual timelines, this engrossing novel exposes one family's secrets and the twisted lies that are hidden in small towns.

Review Quotes

Praise for Pretty Dead Things

AMAZON EDITORS PICK FOR DECEMBER BEST MYSTERY, THRILLER & SUSPENSE!

"[For] readers who enjoy cold cases with dual timelines."
--Library Journal

"The cozy-mystery vibe of the story and the setting will be alluring to readers . . . One can hope this is not the last we will hear from small-town sleuth Cora."
--Booklist

"Atmospheric . . . An exciting mystery novel in which a family's secrets are exposed and a small town's hidden truth comes to light."
--Foreword Reviews

"A solid duel-timeline novel, with some well-timed twists."
--Red Carpet Crash

"Pretty Dead Things is an atmospheric, instantly absorbing page-turner. Lilian West delivers a richly detailed, expertly plotted novel that will instantly transport you back and forth in time. Pretty Dead Things has it all - an intriguing mystery, a forbidden love affair, secrets worth dying for, and a jaw-dropping ending."
--Heather Gudenkauf, New York Times bestselling author of The Overnight Guest and Everyone Is Watching

"Pretty Dead Things is a total treat for mystery lovers. Set in a perfectly-rendered small town with some very juicy secrets, it's both a satisfying page turner and a poignant exploration of the cost of forbidden love. Lilian West has crafted a gripping, propulsive story that spans decades and will keep readers guessing right up until the satisfying end!"
--L. Alison Heller, author of The Neighbor's Secret

About the Author

Lilian West has worn many hats―attorney, magazine editor, freelance writer, and author―and has found a way to combine her legal and writing backgrounds into a communications career while pondering her next novel. Her articles about film directors, celebrity bodyguards, artists, and national musical performers have been featured in multiple magazines, as well as her work focusing on community programs and area entrepreneurs. Lilian currently resides with her husband and their two sons in a Kansas City suburb.