Such Pretty Flowers: A Novel
RECOMMENDED BY GILLIAN FLYNN ON THE TODAY SHOW • “A lush, seductive Southern Gothic that’s deliciously queer . . . K. L. Cerra’s gift for gorgeous, gruesome atmosphere had me spellbound.”—Layne Fargo, author of They Never Learn
A woman investigating her brother’s apparent suicide finds herself falling for her prime suspect—his darkly mysterious girlfriend—in this “creepy, compelling, and utterly original” (Karen Dionne) thriller.
“Get it out of me.”
It was the last message Holly received from her brother, Dane, before he was found cleaved open in the lavish Savannah townhouse of his girlfriend, Maura. Police ruled his death a suicide sparked by psychosis, but Holly can’t shake the idea that something else must have happened—something involving another message he sent earlier that night about a “game” Maura wanted to play.
Determined to discover the truth, Holly begins to stalk Maura, a magnetic, black-eyed florist with a penchant for carnivorous plants. But what begins as an investigation quickly veers into a fixation that lures Holly into the depths of Maura’s world: Savannah high society, eerie black roses, and a whisper of something more sinister. Soon Holly is feeling a dark attraction to the one woman she shouldn’t trust. As Holly falls deeper for Maura and her secrets, she’s left with only one choice: find out what happened to Dane or meet the same fate.
A woman investigating her brother’s apparent suicide finds herself falling for her prime suspect—his darkly mysterious girlfriend—in this “creepy, compelling, and utterly original” (Karen Dionne) thriller.
“Get it out of me.”
It was the last message Holly received from her brother, Dane, before he was found cleaved open in the lavish Savannah townhouse of his girlfriend, Maura. Police ruled his death a suicide sparked by psychosis, but Holly can’t shake the idea that something else must have happened—something involving another message he sent earlier that night about a “game” Maura wanted to play.
Determined to discover the truth, Holly begins to stalk Maura, a magnetic, black-eyed florist with a penchant for carnivorous plants. But what begins as an investigation quickly veers into a fixation that lures Holly into the depths of Maura’s world: Savannah high society, eerie black roses, and a whisper of something more sinister. Soon Holly is feeling a dark attraction to the one woman she shouldn’t trust. As Holly falls deeper for Maura and her secrets, she’s left with only one choice: find out what happened to Dane or meet the same fate.
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Community Reviews
This one has all the promise of being a great southern horror book.
In Savannah, we have Holly who receives a cryptic message from her brother Zane saying, "Get it out of me" Then the next thing we know he has committed suicide: By ripping himself open with a cleaver in his fiancé's townhouse. Unnerved, Holly starts to investigate starting with Maura, Dane's fiancé and finds herself being closer and closer to her until she actually moves in with her.
Man, I really wanted to like this book..... The plot ends up being sinister but the characterization was just so poor. Holly ends up being just one dimensional with no personality and she has a job and best friend that you didn't care about. It was just badly written. Even the prose seemed really awkward and not situational at all.
I did like the plot but never could get past the problems mentioned above to really care too much about this book. I think there is a fanbase for it out there but just not me. I did read the whole book so as per my rating system I have it the minimum three stars.
I really appreciate Random House Publishing Group for giving me the opportunity to review this book and it has a publication date of February 7, 2023.
Advance reader copy given free for honest review.
In Savannah, we have Holly who receives a cryptic message from her brother Zane saying, "Get it out of me" Then the next thing we know he has committed suicide: By ripping himself open with a cleaver in his fiancé's townhouse. Unnerved, Holly starts to investigate starting with Maura, Dane's fiancé and finds herself being closer and closer to her until she actually moves in with her.
Man, I really wanted to like this book..... The plot ends up being sinister but the characterization was just so poor. Holly ends up being just one dimensional with no personality and she has a job and best friend that you didn't care about. It was just badly written. Even the prose seemed really awkward and not situational at all.
I did like the plot but never could get past the problems mentioned above to really care too much about this book. I think there is a fanbase for it out there but just not me. I did read the whole book so as per my rating system I have it the minimum three stars.
I really appreciate Random House Publishing Group for giving me the opportunity to review this book and it has a publication date of February 7, 2023.
Advance reader copy given free for honest review.
Oh, good lord.
An e-ARC was given to me through Net-Galley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for the opportunity!
I... I actually really liked this one. I started it a few days ago and it was something I was waiting to get back to reading. Such Pretty Flowers is a horror novel, mildly horrifying and I think I'm going to wake up with cold sweat for the next few days because Maura and her plants are... nightmare-inducing, if anything.
It was certainly well-written, but Holly's characterisation was slightly irritating because everything about her felt like a "oh, maybe I should give her a job. And a best friend." Maura was done really well, though. She seemed so fascinating, I was vaguely concerned that I'd find her the most interesting character in the story.
And of course, how could I not talk about the gothic-haunted-house aspect? Novels like Mexican Gothic (which I loved) and Rebecca (which I loved on the third read) do something similar and give the house such a strong character that I immediately connected Maura's place to the haunted houses in these other novels.
I'd recommend this book in general! It felt like something was missing, though, and that was probably Holly as a character-- and the main character. I really do struggle with first-person POV books.
True rating: 3.5
An e-ARC was given to me through Net-Galley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for the opportunity!
I... I actually really liked this one. I started it a few days ago and it was something I was waiting to get back to reading. Such Pretty Flowers is a horror novel, mildly horrifying and I think I'm going to wake up with cold sweat for the next few days because Maura and her plants are... nightmare-inducing, if anything.
It was certainly well-written, but Holly's characterisation was slightly irritating because everything about her felt like a "oh, maybe I should give her a job. And a best friend." Maura was done really well, though. She seemed so fascinating, I was vaguely concerned that I'd find her the most interesting character in the story.
And of course, how could I not talk about the gothic-haunted-house aspect? Novels like Mexican Gothic (which I loved) and Rebecca (which I loved on the third read) do something similar and give the house such a strong character that I immediately connected Maura's place to the haunted houses in these other novels.
I'd recommend this book in general! It felt like something was missing, though, and that was probably Holly as a character-- and the main character. I really do struggle with first-person POV books.
True rating: 3.5
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