Thanks to Netgalley,  the publisher and the author for providing the Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review; all opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This book is called “Lovely Girls,” which I think is a joke by its author, Margot Hunt, because the story revolves around a group of girls and women who are anything but lovely. In fact,  you will be hard put to find more nastier people than those you see in this book.

Kate Turner and her daughter, Alex, move to the small beachside town of Shoreham, Fla., after Kate’s husband passes away in an accident, which deeply affected Alex. Kate hopes that this change will help her daughter come out of her shell. What she doesn’t expect is they will face more tribulations in their new home.

Alex comes across a trio of girls on her first day in the town and gets on their bad side, unfortunately. Kate is welcomed warmly by the moms of the same girls and doesn’t heed when others warn her against these women. However, as time goes on, things unravel more and more with both Kate and Alex, ultimately culminating in a murder. Do these extraordinary circumstances finally break these already damaged women or do they come out of it unscathed? What are the underlying passions and dark impulses which lead to the murder? Read the book to find out more.

This is a wonderful book that is completely gripping and darkly compelling. There was an ominous atmosphere throughout the book which made it really uneasy for me to read at times. However, I couldn’t stop reading it as well. I feel Hunt intended for this book to be a window into the soul of people who tend to do terrible things without conscience and I must say she has been very successful with her objective. I can’t wait to read more of her works.

I would like to warn my readers, however: This book contains unsettling content and isn’t for everyone.

This book gets a well deserved 5 out of 5 stars.