If you’re looking for a gripping story to read this summer with twists and turns, personal secrets, and a fast-paced plot, I’ve got the perfect recommendation. Mark your calendars for July 10, because that’s when Her Pretty Face by Robyn Harding comes out!

What would you do if you found out your best friend had a dark past: stand by the person you know, or fear the person they used to be? This question is at the heart of Her Pretty Face, and causes one of the main characters to question everything she knows.

The story centres around two women. Frances is a stay-at-home-mom who is struggling to fit in with the other parents at her son’s private school. An incident with her son makes matters worse, until she meets Kate. Kate doesn’t care about what any of the other parents think of her, and stands up for Frances. The two become fast friends, but each are hiding secrets of their own. While they are both trying to keep their pasts private, a series of events brings old information to light, and it’s darker than you could have ever imagined.

Like many contemporary thrillers, Her Pretty Face is told from multiple first-person perspectives, and bounces back and forth between different timelines (in this case, “then” and “now”). Unlike others I’ve read, this one was very easy to follow. There are also a few newspaper articles thrown in the narrative as well, which mixed things up a bit, and added more depth to the story.

I will admit, I found the whole “who is the criminal” mystery a little obvious, but that did not at all disinterest me from the story. In fact, after guessing who it was, I wanted to read even more to find out what exactly happened to get that particular character to where they were in the present. It’s definitely an emotional story, and a bit graphic, too.

In fact, the crime in this novel reminded me quite a bit of an infamous Canadian case, although I won’t say which one right now, because I don’t want to give away any spoilers.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was entertaining, emotional, fast-paced, and kept me on my toes until the end. I’m even more excited now to read Robyn Harding’s first novel, The Party, which has been sitting on my bookshelf for a couple of weeks.

As I mentioned, Her Pretty Face comes out on July 10, and it’s one that you should add to your summer reading list immediately.

Thank you to the publisher for an electronic ARC of this book via NetGalley.