All the Pretty Girls

All the Pretty Girls by J.T. Ellison

Age: Adult
Category: Mystery & Crime
Rating: 4 stars

Helen Thinks: All the Pretty Girls is the first book in the Taylor Jackson series written by J.T. Ellison. It follows Jackson as she investigates two cases; The Souther Strangler and the Rainman. The Southern Strangler is a serial killer that abducts brunettes in one state and disposes of their body along with a hand from a previous victim in another state making the case federal. The Rainman is a serial rapist that only attacks when it rains and has made the previous lead investigator to his case his latest victim hence Jackson's involvement in the case. You would think what with the two individual cases that it would be easy for Ellison to make minute errors that cause the cases to intermingle and become hard to follow. This, however, is not the case. Ellison makes the cases airtight so that there is no confusion or intermingling. You know which case is taking up Jackson's time at the part you are reading and can follow on from what has happened previously without the fear of information overload.

I am a huge fan of crime novels but an even bigger fan when the protagonist is a female detective with a tough as nails persona and does Ellison deliver this with Taylor Jackson. She's the lieutenant of the homicide division, she has a close rapport and is respected by the detective's that work under her command, she has close friendships that she maintains and has a hot FBI boyfriend to boot! Despite all these positive characteristic traits, Ellison still manages to make Jackson a believable three dimensional character through the flaws and vulnerabilities shared throughout the novel. I personally cannot wait to see how Jackson progresses as a character throughout the series.

With two addictive cases that deliver twists at every turn, All the Pretty Girls can definitely be defined as an addictive page turner that leaves you speechless when the conclusion is shared with you – a conclusion I did not work out myself which I normally find myself doing!