Prettiest One

kristin

3.0

Mar 10, 2026

I have nothing bad to say about this book, though I did not love it. The plot is very well done—suspenseful and tightly woven. The characters are fleshed-out and you really do care about and relate to them. All of them. There is only one nagging issue I have, and that is with the behavior of Josh and Caitlin in the very first scenes. Your wife comes home in the middle of the night, after being gone for seven months. She has no memory of those seven months. You were accused of harming her by the police, the press, and your friends. And yet, when she finally shows up, safe and sound... you don't call the police? You just hop in the (probably stolen) car your wife rolled up in and go to some town with her to try and solve the mystery yourself? Nope. No, I don't think so. The rest of the plot relied on that baffling bit of decision-making, so I understand why Hankins did it. But it just isn't reasonable. Neither is Caitlin's complete acceptance of her husband's recounting of the night she disappeared. She stormed out after a fight—a big one—and she never pressed him on what the fight was about? They had a happy marriage, one not given to explosive fighting. But she was so angry as to leave her house at night... but she doesn't ask why. Like I said, the book is highly entertaining and a good read, but its story is only made possible by this highly unrealistic and flat out weird behavior by the primary protagonists.