All the Pretty Girls

By J. T. Ellison

When a local girl falls prey to a sadistic serial killer, Nashville homicide lieutenant Taylor Jackson and her lover, FBI profiler Dr. John Baldwin, find themselves in a joint investigation pursuing a vicious murderer. The Southern Strangler is slaughtering his way through the Southeast, leaving a gruesome memento at each crime scene--the prior victim's severed hand.

Ambitious TV reporter Whitney Connolly is certain the Southern Strangler is her ticket out of Nashville; she's got a scoop that could break the case. She has no idea how close to this story she really is--or what it will cost her.

As the killer spirals out of control, everyone involved must face a horrible truth--that the purest evil is born of private lies.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Harlequin MIRA
• Release date: Oct 15, 2012
• ISBN: 9781460304747

J. T. Ellison

J.T. Ellison is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than 25 novels, and the EMMY(R) award winning co-host of the literary show A WORD ON WORDS. With millions of books in print, her work has won critical acclaim, prestigious awards, and has been published in 28 countries. She lives in Nashville with her husband and twin kittens.

Reviews for All the Pretty Girls

[lauren2013_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

All the Pretty Girls by J. T. Ellison
Book #1 in Taylor Jackson
4 Stars

Synopsis:
A serial killer dubbed The Southern Strangler is on a killing spree across the Southeast. At each new crime scene, he leaves a gruesome memento from his previous kill – the victim’s hand. Nashville homicide detective, Taylor Jackson, and FBI profiler, John Baldwin are hot on the heels of this sadistic killer while at the same time, Jackson is searching for a rapist who only attacks in the rain.

Review:
Very suspenseful with some great twists and turns and even though the plot involves death and murder, it is not to gory. One of the aspects of the narrative that I found particularly intriguing was the fact that the story was told from multiple perspectives, including those of characters who were ultimately killed off.
While the main characters are realistic and believable, I would have liked to know more about their backgrounds and relationships. As this is the first installment in the series, these details may still be forthcoming and I will definitely continue reading.
Ultimately, the identity of the killer is not surprising and it is not too difficult to figure it out. Nevertheless, his motivation for killing is one that I have not encountered before.

[astuo · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I was surprised to read that All The Pretty Girls is J.T. Ellison's debut novel, as the characters and the setting have a very lived-in feel, as if the author had been telling the stories of detective Taylor Jackson and her cohorts for some time now. The story, involving a serial killer and family secrets, is compelling and ties together at the end nicely. Although the characters are of a type we've seen before--Jackson is a tough female detective with a sensitive side, for example--neither the story nor the characters ever feel derivative. Definitely a page-turner, and I'll seek out her other books in the future.

[eren0317 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

1st in the Taylor Jackson series, and it was REALLY good! I won a free copy of her most recent release "So Close the Hand of Death" thanks to LibraryThing Early Reviewers. I haven't gotten it in the mail yet, so I'm hoping to get through the series before I get it. Excellent first novel!

[marcejewels · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

From my blogThis was a fairly good debut for JT Ellison back in 2007. As this is my favourite genre it just didn't make the mark for me. Lots going on but the characters didn't grab me and the first half was just a story, the writing wasn't bad, it just didn't grab me.I love the idea of female Detective, Lieutenants etc because I love kick ass officers :-) Taylor was great but the story just took to long to get there. Also, the romance relationship was a secret to all other agents but it was boring, just a normal relationship so you really didn't care.What was great, there was a lot going on, 2 killers, a serial rapist and a serial killer, tons of investigation, racing against time, lots of murders and for me 2 great shockers. All of this just all came together to late in the story.So all in all a good debut but not enough for me to read more by JT Ellison or more with Lieutenant Taylor.

[dhaupt_8 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

All the Pretty Girls is the first of the Taylor Jackson series and is an outstanding example of a thriller disguised as romantic suspense.Taylor Jackson Lieutenant for the Nashville Police Department has her hands full as it is and the last thing she needs is a serial killer loose and in her backyard. Along with her “main squeeze” FBI profiler John Baldwin they will have to get into the head of this heartless villain and solve the mysteries of the bodies he’s leaving behind.Ms. Ellison has given us a brand new model for a strong woman protagonist in Taylor, a woman who’s not afraid to be female in the presence of a mostly male cast and an all male homicide department. Her plot may not be original in it’s contents but she spins her tale with the best of the thriller authors and keeps her audience guessing as we sweat the outcome of the various characters until the bitter end and in between the blood and gore you get real life dramas that only intensify your liking of these people. Her dialogue is just what you’d expect from cops and robbers, that no-nonsense and to the point speak with plenty of expletives, yet it’s not over done like with some authors who find the need to cuss in every sentence. Her characters are outstanding all of them especially the stable of homicide detectives that work with Taylor and of course Baldwin. And let’s talk about her protagonists for a bit, Taylor is a head strong and independent woman who is not a bit afraid to show her female side and her occasional vulnerability and then turn around and show us her very professional cop side as well, and Baldwin is this tortured soul who seems to be a better man with Taylor in the picture and is just fine with admitting it. And better than anything I like the characters and I think her audience will too. The love story is between two flawed individuals who are better together than apart. The love scenes are few, but are tempered to please any reader.So do yourself a favor and if you’ve never read JT Ellison, make “All the Pretty Girls” your first foray, you will not be sorry you did. And, like I intend to do, immerse yourself into the series with the following books in the life and times of Taylor Jackson.

[joannemepham29_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I loved the suspense and multiple story lines, as well as human aspects such as love being involved. A great thriller that keeps you reading through the night, and wondering what will happen next!

[pagei_3 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

If you like Catherine Coulter's FBi stories or Alex Kava's books then you'll enjoy this one. There's a serial killer on the loose in Nashville and the south. Taylor Jackson is a homicide detective trying to catch the killer. She gets the help of an FBI profiler and the case has lots of twists and turns.

[samantha71020 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

From Goodreads:"When a local girl falls prey to a sadistic serial killer, Nashville Homicide Lieutenant Taylor Jackson and her lover, FBI profiler Dr. John Baldwin, find themselves in a joint investigation pursuing a vicious murderer. The Southern Strangler is slaughtering his way through the Southeast, leaving a gruesome memento at each crime scene-the prior victim's severed hand."My Thoughts:I was in the mood for a good thriller and had heard good things about this author which is why I gave this book a try. It is the first in a series and it was a good start in my opinion. The mystery surrounding the killer was fast-paced and bodies were turning up left and right as soon as the book started. But what made this book unique is that there were other ongoing investigations that Taylor (the main character) was dealing with that I found myself interested in as well. Taylor was a strong main character and I liked how the book switched viewpoints from her to her lover John Baldwin who was mainly investigating the serial killer. The book itself was good although I didn't find myself instantly pulled into it as I had hoped. The ending was strong and I didn't figure out who the serial killer was until close to the end which is always a good thing. All in all, a good read if you enjoy thrillers. I know that I'll be reading more of this author at some point.

[ctfrench · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Nashville Homicide Lieutenant Taylor Jackson is called to the scene of a homicide, where the body of a young woman, sans hands, has been discovered. When a hand is found near the crime scene, DNA proves it doesn’t belong to the murdered woman but to another woman, whose body was found in another state. This brings the FBI into play, via Taylor’s lover, profiler Dr. John Baldwin. The Southern Strangler, as the killer comes to be known, goes on a killing spree throughout the South, crossing state lines, leaving the bodies of young women behind, all missing their hands, but with another woman’s hand nearby. And his kills are escalating at a fast rate. Baldwin and Taylor team up to catch him although Taylor gets temporarily sidetracked pursuing a serial rapist named the Rainman while Baldwin travels in the killer’s footsteps. But soon the two are back together, hot on the heels of the killer.Taylor Jackson is not your archetypical Southern Belle. A woman from a wealthy family, she chose the life of a cop over that of a privileged soccer mom. She’s well-educated, intelligent and tough mentally and physically, but her one weakness is Baldwin. The two are a winning combo and their personas complement one another. Peripheral characters are nicely developed, as is the chemistry between Taylor and Baldwin. The plot moves at a fast pace, with gut-wrenching suspense and plenty of action. Ellison’s smart writing places this one apart from other mystery series and is sure to garner a plethora of fans eager for the next book.

[schatzi_5 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A fairly good novel, especially for a debut. The author had a tendency for comma splices, which are like nails on a chalkboard for me; better editing could have solved this problem. As for the story itself, it was good, although the author did hit the reader over the head with some things. I knew who the killer was by page 150, and if I hadn't figured it out already, I would have quite a few times as she hammered a little bit too fiercely on some hints.

[seldombites · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a thrilling book that I was unable to put down. The characters were believable, as was the storyline. It wasn't so much thrilling as suspenseful. All the way through I was able to feel with the police who were responsible for trying to catch this killer. The biggest problem for police in catching serial killers is that there is very little they can do until the killer slips up in some way, and this is the problem faced in All the Pretty Girls. The motive for the murders was certainly a novel one, though.

[readingrat_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

An average detective story overall, with a strong build up to a rather unsatisfying denouement.