Pretty Dead Things by Kelsey Cox on July 7, 2026
Genres: Fiction / Thrillers / Psychological, Fiction / Thrillers / Suspense
Pages: 336
Format: ARC
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2000: Isabelle Whitmore vanishes at Sherman Ranch in Anhalt, Texas, without a trace.
2025: The annual Lone Star Princess Pageant looms, bringing long-standing grudges to the surface. Ingrid fled Anhalt in the wake of her sister Isabelle’s disappearance and has now returned, just in time for a construction crew to start digging up Sherman Ranch; the pageant brings up past traumas that Melanie can’t forget; Cat, newly sober, starts to feel threatened in ways that bring back old demons; and Sarah Lynn, who comes from a long line of pageant winners, knows that losing is not an option.
When old resentments and new confrontations reach their boiling point, temperatures drop to deadly degrees as a record-setting storm brings down the state’s power grid. With everyone trapped under one roof, scores will be settled, and more than one person will end up dead.
Some secrets are better left buried.
This is my second book that I have read by this author and she is quickly becoming an auto buy for me! This was a stressful book to read, in a good way, as the author is skilled at maintaining tension as she strings along the reader on a journey to figure out past and present crimes and tragic, triggering events at the novel’s core. It is suspenseful the entire time because many sympathetic characters, including high school students, may be in peril (and some characters are, of course). This was such a fun, addictive read that kept me turning pages late into the night. The shifting perspectives added depth and intrigue, and I was fully invested in unraveling what really happened all those years ago.
I rated this book four stars. I did not guess the ending, and although I must admit I didn’t necessarily love the ending, it’s not because there was anything wrong with the ending. It was a very good ending! I just got too invested in my own hopes! It was unexpected, satisfying, and tied the story together in a way that made the journey worth it.
Thank you to the author, NetGalley, and St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest opinions and review. Pretty Dead Things is expected for release on July 7, 2026, in time for your summer reading.