2.5 stars I would have given this 3 stars if I hadn't figured out who the bad guy was before the big reveal. Although not a spooky book in terms of the supernatural, it gave me the creeps with its family of violent mentally ill. It turns out that this is the second book in a series but it worked fine as a stand-alone. I doubt I will read more in the series because it is too dark for me in my current reading mode but if you like dark psychologically twisted characters, this series might be for you.

The story is about the "ugly young thing" Allie, whose mother had been an abusive psychotic homicidal prostitute and brother committed suicide in front of her after murdering some young girls. At 15, afraid of social services, she runs away. But life starts to get a bit better after she is "caught" and is assigned to foster care with Miss Bitty. I won't go into the thriller plot but wanted to comment on one of the strengths of this novel -- the well-done characterization of body dysmorphic disorder. Allie is actually a beautiful young thing but having grown up with her mother constantly telling her how ugly she was, she can't see it. This aspect of the novel was fascinating & Jaynes did a great job of showing rather than telling. ( )

This book is the second one in the Strangers Serieso. To really understand it you should read book one, Never Smile at Strangers first.
I flew through both books. The story is intense. Usually when a story is so intense I will read a book in between; something completely different and more innocent. I tried that. I ended up putting that book down and beginning this one right away. Now I am wondering what to do until May when Don't Say A Word comes out.
In my review of Never Smile at Strangers I said the book had many left turns. Ugly Young Thing doesn't have as many but one of them took me over a cliff! (A left turn for me is something I did not expect). I purchased my books after seeing the cover of NSaS advertised on my Kindle. I had never heard of Jennifer Jaynes until then. I have found her to be an amazing author. After reading NSaS I read her bio and was surprised to see that was her first book. To be honest I wasn't expecting Ugly Young Things to be as good as Never Smile at Strangers. I am so happy to say it was just as well written. I spent the day reading until I finished the book, changing plans to do so. I don't like to go over the plot, even in my own words. I'm always afraid I'll give out too much. I prefer you read the summary. The books touch on subjects that can make some people uncomfortable. There is violence and some cursing. Mental illnesses are a part of it. I think the author does a great job with the reality of mental illness in the book. Though we like to think we would know if someone was a killer, we could tell because they are such an awful person, the reality is most serial killers are quite charming and able to appear normal. I thought Ms Jaynes did an amazing job portraying serial killers. I want to go into more but would rather you read the books. If you want to talk about the books let me know. I found them fascinating and would love discussing them. ( )

Full review to come! ( )

This is the second book in the Trespass Series and the way it ended, I hope we will hear more from Allie.

Allie returns home to Trespass Louisiana and is placed in the foster home of Miss Bitty. She is a health and wellness expert who works with clients to lose weight and become healthy. Allie is an orphan with her father walking out on the family when she was young, her mother killed by her brother and her brother committing suicide, she is worried about her own mental health. She is convinced she is ugly due to her mother's comments all her life, but she is really a beautiful young lady. Miss Bitty hires a teacher to home school Allie and get her ready for her GED. Allie begins to blossom under Miss Bitty's care. During the same time there is a murderer on the loose in Trespass and Miss Bitty is convinced that Allie is in danger. This is a great psychological thriller and a wonderful follow up to Never Smile at Strangers.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. ( )

This book follows Allie, the sister of the killer from the first book in the series. After months on her own, she returns home and is placed in foster care with Miss Bitty. As time passes, Allie begins to grow her self-esteem. But there is a killer out there and he seems to be targeting people with some relationship to Allie.

I liked this book. I was glad to see Allie growing and beginning to value herself. However, it did not have the same atmosphere that the first book did. It was not nearly as creepy. ( )