No spoilers for my February wrap-up but I haven’t been having a good reading month. I’ve fallen behind in my reading challenge and the quality of what I’ve been reading hasn’t been too great. For this reason, I am super excited to have a fresh start in March and get cracking with some ARCs. I have two thrillers to read and I can’t wait.
*I was sent copies of the books included in this post in exchange for honest reviews*
Dead Girls Walking by Sami Ellis
The title is 100% what drew me to this book. It instantly made me think of the Heathers musical, which it obviously has no tie to, but this made me happy.
The premise sounds incredible. Our main character is the daughter of a serial killer and that’s an excellent hook if you ask me.
Synopsis: Temple Baker knows that evil runs in her blood. Her father is the North Point Killer, an infamous serial killer known for how he marked each of his victims with a brand. He was convicted for murdering 20 people and was the talk of countless true crime blogs for years. Some say he was possessed by a demon. Some say that they never found all his victims. Some say that even though he’s now behind bars, people are still dying in the woods. Despite everything though, Temple never believed that her dad killed her mom. But when he confesses to that crime while on death row, she has no choice but to return to his old hunting grounds to try see if she can find a body and prove it.
Turns out, the farm that was once her father’s hunting grounds and her home has been turned into an overnight camp for queer, horror-obsessed girls. So Temple poses as a camp counselor to go digging in the woods. While she’s not used to hanging out with girls her own age and feels ambivalent at best about these true crime enthusiasts, she tries her best to fit in and keep her true identity hidden.
But when a girl turns up dead in the woods, she fears that one of her father’s “fans” might be mimicking his crimes. As Temple tries to uncover the truth and keep the campers safe, she comes to realize that there may be something stranger and more sinister at work—and that her father may not have been the only monster in these woods.
Where Sleeping Girls Lie by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
This will be my first read of the month and I’m super excited (as I mentioned in the intro) to get stuck into some ARCs, especially the thrillers. I’ve never read anything by this author, but I have heard great things about their books.
Synopsis: It’s like I keep stumbling into a dark room, searching for the switch to make things bright again. To make me remember. But the switch isn’t there. Was it there before?
Sade Hussein is starting her third year of high school, this time at the prestigious Alfred Nobel Academy boarding school. After being home-schooled all her life and feeling like a magnet for misfortune, she’s not sure what will happen. What she doesn’t expect though is for her roommate Elizabeth to disappear after Sade’s first night. Or for people to think she had something to do with it.
With rumours swirling around her, Sade catches the attention of the most popular girls in school – collectively known as the ‘Unholy Trinity’ – and they bring her into their fold. Between learning more about them – especially Persephone, who Sade finds herself drawn to – playing catch-up in class, and trying to figure out what happened to Elizabeth, Sade has a lot on her plate. It doesn’t help that she’s already dealing with grief from the many tragedies in her family.
And then a student is found dead.
The more Sade investigates, the more she realizes there’s more to Alfred Nobel Academy and its students than she realized. Secrets lurk around every corner and beneath every surface…secrets that rival even her own.
Check out Young Creative Press on all socials
You can also check out my StoryGraph here
Like this post? Why not read this one too: The Best Of: Graphic Novel Covers #7
[…] Like this post? Why not read this one too: To Be Read: March 2024 […]