Hello, Fellow Book Worms and Book Dragons,
Ugly Young Thing is book two in Jennifer Jaynes' Strangers trilogy. It is published by Thomas and Mercer, an Amazon imprint. In this novel of suspense, we return to Grand Trespass, Louisiana, and the life of Allie Seacrest. After returning from being on the run for the better part of a year, Allie has nowhere to go or no one to ask for help. When she is found in her abandoned childhood home by police, she is remanded to the home of Miss Bitty. Bitty is a local legend, having helped numerous people out of many bad situations as a life coach and foster mother. She takes a liking to Allie immediately, seeing something in the sixteen-year-old that most do not.
Acclimating herself back into society is hard for Allie. She is recognized as the daughter and sister of local murderers, which leaves Allie feeling that her life will never be normal. However, Allie is not alone at Miss Bitty's home. Bitty is currently helping a man named Big Joe through some issues. Louis, Bitty's "right-hand man", helps out around Bitty's home, and tutors any foster children that may be in her care. Local handyman, Ted, works on fixing things and yard work. Allie's past with men automatically makes her not trust the trio. Men are nothing but trouble to her. As Allie begins to feel at home with Bitty, a local homicide sparks terrible memories in Allie of her brother and mother's horrific deeds. The body count rises and it is apparent that Allie is being stalked. Can Allie surface from the pain and terrible memories long enough to save her own life?
Ugly Young Thing was a strong continuation of Allie's story from book one. Her character development was excellent and I saw a lot of what eventually made her the fearless mother in book three. Bitty was endearing in this story and made me love the character even more as she helped Allie with her past trauma. This served her character arc well, showing how significantly Allie had begun to change. I enjoyed the first-person chapters with the killer, as I looked for clues as to his identity. Since I was given four male figures in Allie's life that may be the culprit, it was fun narrowing down the clues until I figured out who he was. The pacing of the story was handled well with a creepy atmosphere that was constantly shrouded in mystery and the deep darkness of the past. This novel was a lot stronger than book one, with better writing and structure than its predecessor. The build-up was similar to book one, but Ugly Young Thing did a better job to hold me as a reader. And the finale was exciting and tragic.
I read Ugly Young Thing in part with the excellent narration of actress, Natalie Ross. Her presentation was clear and her accents and voices made the characters come to life. Ross had a habit of even talking off-screen to add to the illusion of two narrators. I look forward to hearing more books read by Ross. Excellent work.
In the end, Ugly Young Thing was a four-star read that was meatier than book one. I suggest adding this series to your Summer Reading List. A little suspense at the beach can be what you need while you relax in the sun.
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