Pretty Baby
Author: Mary Kubica
Genre: Mystery Thriller
Publisher: MIRA
Published: July 28, 2015
Pages: 380 
My Rating: ★★

A chance encounter sparks an unrelenting web of lies in this stunning new psychological thriller from national bestselling author Mary Kubica. She sees the teenage girl on the train platform, standing in the pouring rain, clutching an infant in her arms. She boards a train and is whisked away. But she can't get the girl out of her head... Heidi Wood has always been a charitable woman: she works for a nonprofit, 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 starts as an act of kindness quickly spirals into a story far more twisted than anyone could have anticipated.
A girl takes in a young girl and her baby that have a dark secret.
I loved The Good Girl by Mary Kubica. So, I was excited to read another book by her. However, Pretty Baby was not nearly as good. In fact, I almost gave it one star. The novel focuses around the main character, Heidi and her family. Heidi decides to take in a homeless young girl, Willow, and her baby. Willow has many hidden secrets that unfold as the novel goes on. 

The characters were pretty bland to me. I didn't really feel connected to any of them or the story they had to tell. The only character I really enjoyed was the neighbor next door and he was barely in the book. The book had a slow start. I enjoyed the beginning more than any other part of the book. 

Nothing really surprised me in this thriller. I wanted to like this so much but it fell flat. Despite not caring for the book, Mary Kubica still has a beautiful writing style. The book is told in alternating perspectives. We get to see all the character's innermost thoughts this way. 

This book dragged on forever. I am not even exaggerating. Many times I almost gave up reading it because it was so slow-moving. The main character Heidi was beyond annoying. She is overly jealous of her husband. I actually felt bad for the husband and the fact that he had to be married to her. 

With most thrillers, you get a surprising plot twist but this novel didn't have that. I waited until the end to see if the story would redeem itself but the twist never came. The story was nothing but predictable. I can't believe Heidi put her entire family in danger bringing a homeless person inside her home. The only reason why I did not give this book one star is because I did enjoy Kubica's writing style. Hopefully, her other books will cancel out this book and are much better because I did love The Good Girl. 
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Mary Kubica is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of many novels. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, in History and American Literature. Mary lives outside of Chicago with her husband and two children.