This story is told from the perspective of Penelope and the killer. The gender reveal of the killer happened quite early in the novel to my dismay. I wished this detail remained anonymous due to it narrowing down my personal list of suspects.

These group of girls, specifically the seniors, are not what you would call role models….oh what am I even doing, these girls are savage. Well, except for Dani and Penelope. Gretchen, Courtney, and Lexi are another incarnation of the original Mean Girls themselves.

I flew through the book rather quickly. My main problems with this book was the dialogue, the extremely strange information dumping sessions, and, I hate to say it, but underwhelming reveal at the end. The motivations behind the killer’s actions reminded me of the classic horror movie Prom Night.

Penelope’s dialogue is strange and I had a hard time staying connected with her. I don’t know if it’s because I’m an adult or what, but there were times where I rolled my eyes and longed to tell her to get over herself. The information dumping sessions she would throw at you made no sense. It’s like “ok, what is the point of you talking about this? It has nothing to do with this current situation.” This didn’t happen on one occasion either, this was a continuous loop.

Mind you, this was the unreleased draft. These problems are probably fixed, but they constantly bothered me. Other than these issues, it’s worth the read.

I really enjoyed this story. It was mysterious and full of good ole high school drama. I’ve seen this book described as “Pretty Little Liars” meets “Mean Girls” and I think that is completely accurate. It reads very much like a TV show or a movie that would get me hooked in an instant. I was a little bummed that this book started out a little slow for me. I was instantly drawn in by the synopsis and couldn't wait to get my hand on it. Even though it started off a little slow, the pace picked up and quickly devoured the story.

I was kept on my toes for the entire story, constantly changing my guess of who really was the killer. There were many times where I would feel confident with one suspect only for that to be blown in the next chapter. While the gender of the killer was given away fairly early on, I was kept on my toes. More often than not, I can guess who the killer is when reading a mystery so I was happy when I couldn’t nail it down until close to the very end of the story.

What kept me from a 5 star rating was the fact that none of the characters were extremely likable. There was something about each of their attitudes that really annoyed me. While I know that was the point of this book, I wish there would of been one character that I truly loved.

This was a well rounded YA book with plenty of suspense, mystery, and even a touch of a romance. I recommend you give this one a try!

Omg! This book! It was like reading a script for the juiciest and most drama filled lifetime movie! It was exciting, edge of your seat suspense, drama, everything you need in order to suck you in.

When I started reading Pretty Dead Girls, by Monica Murphy, I had a flashback. No, not some drug-induced fantasy. You see, I’ve recently been reading horror novels from the 1980’s and 1990’s. One of those authors was Richie Tankersley Cusick.

Murphy’s highly suspenseful novel brought to mind Cusick’s YA horror-fests. Sheer fun, wonderfully relatable characters, and dark, brooding heroes. However, while Cusick’s YA horror and suspense works, it’s definitely firmly old-fashioned. While Pretty Dead Girls takes the best of those books and adds a little edge and some modern thrills.

It’s ‘can’t stop reading’ fun and I had a blast guessing at who our villain was. (‘Nailed it, but it wasn’t easy!) The book has tons of suspense and a few chills.

This was my first book by Murphy, but it definitely won’t be my last!

*ARC Provided via Net Galley

Love this book, it was fast paced and kept me on the edge of my seat. This book is a mix between Clueless, Mean Girls, and Scream Queens, with a dash of Pretty Little Liars. These characters are everyday types of teens, and that is what makes it do great. There is always a queen been, there is always the outcast, the jocks, the geeks, so this was an amazing mix with suspense and romance thrown in. Told in Penelope's POV.

Monica Murphy's Pretty Dead Girls reads just like a popular TV show you might see while flipping through channels on a night in. It features a set of girls, ones who are the most popular in the school, and someone who is killing them one by one. These are the girls who rule the school with their good deeds for the community, secrets about their fellow students, and high brow "queen bee" mentality. Yet when one of them dies, things start to break apart at the seams.
This book started off slow for me. It took me a bit to connect with Penelope and get into the grove of the book's setting and storyline. Perhaps I have been reading too many adult fiction books and needed to adjust my mind frame for YA. Once I did that, I was hooked. One thing is for certain in this book, high school is brutal and you see so much of the back stabbing and ugliness behind the perfect smile and well coiffed hair. Who do you trust and who is a true friend? The lines are constantly blurred by bullies and rumors that float within the covers of this book. The natural thing about stories such as these are that you start to guess right off the bat as to who is the murderer. So many red herrings lead you one way only to shock you with where they lead next. I enjoyed the constant guessing! I did appreciate that the violence was not too brutally in your face. It is horrible how the girls die but never too gory in the details while you read. The random chapters throughout the book in the murderer's POV makes it more creepy. I can tell you that books like this make me glad I went to high school in a more simple time. Murphy does a good job of weaving all the chaos together and presenting a mystery that makes you wonder who the murderer is.
Murder, high school drama, and a little bit of budding romance gives Pretty Dead Girls a well rounded and suspense filled story you will not want to miss.

Monica Murphy nailed it with her new thriller. She had dying to know who the killer/ killers were throughout the entire book. Of course, my every guess was wrong. I really enjoyed the suspense. I also love how in touch with teenagers and high school drama the author is. Her books are always so well written and this book was no different. If you or your teen love shows like pretty little lairs, then I highly recommend you pick this one up.

I think we all have met these girls: pretty, mean and condescending. And often they can't remember doing something wrong, they feel entitled and think rules don't apply to them. Being a Lark means being one of ten people considered special in school. Being a senior and a Lark means being queen of the school, ruling and spreading fear. This has been Penelope's life for the past year. But when the senior Larks getting murdered, he not only has to fear for her life, but the killer might be closer then she thinks. I literally flew through the book and it was an amazing read. I highly recommend everyone to give it a try. I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled: Teen!

Pretty Dead Girls
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I'm a huge fan of Monica Murphy and would happily read anything she writes. Pretty Dead Girls is a little different to her usual books, but I still loved every minute of it. This book is perfect for the Mean Girls and Pretty Little Liars fans. It has typical teen drama, but with the twist of murder. Some characters you will love, some you will hate and others take a little time to workout.

Penelope is our leading lady. She's popular, a cheerleader and president of the Larks. She's a walking legacy.

Danielle is Penelope's best friend. She's in love with a boy who doesn't appreciate her. Brogan everyone's bro and no ones Beau. Dani's obviously popular and our second Lark member.

Third up is Courtney. She wants to be queen bee and in the process has lost control of her life. She's the lose cannon.

Alexis a fellow cheerleader and Penelope's biggest rival. They are always competing for the top spot.

Gretchen is our murder victim. A troubled teen with a lot of secrets. Who did she meet that night? Why was she at that location?

The five of them make up the senior Lark team. A group of high school students who help out in the community. They volunteer and raise money for charity. They are also the school mean girls and beautiful as sin.

Then we have the junior Larks. The future generations Alyssa, Kayla, Maggie, Jessica and Grace. They are desperate to impress and fill their predecessors shoes.

Cass is our lonely boy. Strange, mysterious and brooding. Somehow he's linked to the Lark girls and now he's in Penelope's peripheral vision. Is he looking to make a new friend or is he looking for more?

Detectives Hughes and Spalding are on the case, but the cops are always one step behind.

The scene is set and the Lark team are in the killers playground. They better watch their step or they may be the next victim. Can Penelope solve the mystery before it's too late? Some will die, some will go crazy and some may even find something that wasn't there before.

I'm trying not to give too much away as you can probably tell. This book is wrapped in secrets and bad behaviour. I loved Penelope's character and she has so much personal growth within this book. I liked the town and all the snobbery. Courtney plays the perfect crazy bitch and the story falls into place perfectly.

5 stars out of 5. Totally hooked!

*ARC

I love all of Monica’s books so I couldn’t pass up reading an early copy!! This isn’t her typical book that she normally writes but it was just as good!
It’s basically Mean Girls with a murder mystery twist. I couldn’t put it down! I could wait to finally find out who the killer was and what their motives were behind the killings! I changed my mind several times but in the end I was right on who I thought the killer was even though I had no idea what their motive was other than jealousy.
I ended up liking the main character, Penelope, more and more as the story went on. After going through such an ordeal I felt it changed her for the good. She became less shallow and realized there was so much more than being the queen of high school. Now Courtney on the other hand is very easy to hate!! She’s totally crazy!! I liked Cass too even though I had reservations about him at first.
I also like getting a glimpse every few chapters into the mind of the killer. And Monica doesn’t leave out the romance! There’s a little touch of that too!! So I definitely recommend checking this one out!! I wasn’t disappointed! Great job Monica!!

I thoroughly enjoyed Pretty Dead Girls by Monica Murphy! The dedication builds suspenseful excitement and I love the quote that opens the story: “Is all that we see or seem but a dream within a dream?”-Edgar Allan Poe. I fell into the story immediately because the intensity begins in the first chapter with an angry attack, which leads to murder. I thought I may have figured out who the murderer is but as the story progresses, things change and so does my perspective. The points of view are interesting because it’s mostly Penelope with others' randomly thrown in. This makes the action and anxiety more erratic showing us how the community must feel knowing there’s a murderer in their midst. Also, through the killer’s point of view, we get a glimpse of incentive and motive. I read this book straight through with fervor and the story doesn’t disappoint! 5 stars for this young adult murder mystery!

I loved this story. All the petty mean girl drama, the actual mystery drama- I was here for all of it.

I love Penelope and Cass. I love the way Penelope is so self aware. She knows who she is and who she's surrounded by but also knows that she wants to be better than all the high school drama. She knows she has to play the game in order to make it to the next step and she does it well. I love her and Cass together- she's the popular girl and he's a bit of an outsider and they maybe shouldn't work but this mystery brings them together and brings out a different side of Penelope. She can be different around him and I'm glad she has someone to lean on when this is all over.

I didn't see the killer coming. I had guesses about abstract people that we maybe hadn't even "met" officially. Even when I was sort of close to guessing, I never could have guessed the depth of the killer's motivation. I love the Killer chapters and how they blend in with the Penelope chapters- it gives us the view of an outsider looking in and I loved that.

Overall, I highly recommend this book. It kept me fully engaged through every twist and turn and it'll definitely keep you guessing.

**3.5 Stars**

In a Mean Girls-like fashion, Pretty Dead Girls amplified teenage life and the pitfalls of high school with mystery and murder. Told from the perspective of a girl in the clique, Penelope, with her ever-decreasing squad, the reader cannot help but wonder exactly how reliable of a narrator she is. And while it falls on some overly used tropes of the genre, it was a fast-paced and interesting read until the end.

Most readers will find issue with Penelope and her lack of a concrete conscience, but take into consideration that she's supposed to be a flawed character both in age and label. I wasn't too fond of the romance included in the book, but there was value to furthering the story with it included. With that said, there was still a need to know how it ended, who the killer was, if they would be caught in time. A novel that still manages to grip you in that way regardless of a few literary flaws means it still has good backbones to lay the story on. If you love suspense sprinkled with some romance that's centered around flawed teenagers, Pretty Dead Girls is the novel for you.

Volleyball star, Gretchen Nelson, has been found murdered. Her friends at Cape Bonita Prep are worried about who could have done this. Penelope, Dani, and Courtney are part of the Larks, a school group of girls who study hard and help with community work. Penelope is the President of the group and Gretchen had been a member. In this northern California town, most of the students are from wealthy families.

Cass Vincenti is a guy who lives with his grandmother. His mother is in prison for killing his father. Cass acts cocky. When he catches Penelope’s eye at a school assembly, it scares her.

Penelope is called to the school office and questioned about Gretchen and the police are asking her questions as she leaves school too. Scared, she refers them to her father who is a lawyer.

At the vigil for Gretchen, people shed tears but all know it’s a lie because the girl was a mean bitch. (These are the thoughts of one of the Larks; but which one?) Courtney admits that she did not like Gretchen and isn’t sad that she’s gone. At the vigil, she gives a speech about the girl saying what a bitch she was and no one liked her. Everyone is shocked and she is whisked home.

When other murders occur, the police question Penelope again because she admitted she did not care for any of the murdered girls. Who killed these girls and why?

As I read this book, I had to keep reminding myself that it’s a Young Adult novel, otherwise I would have been turned off by the teenage point of view of the characters. I’m sure that a lot of YA readers, will find this a good book.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Pretty Dead Girls is in the Young Adult Romance genre. This is for sure a young adult book, but I don’t really get the romance part of it. Yeah, there’s a bit of two teens liking each other but I don’t see it as romance exactly. If it were up to me, I’d stick this in the Young Adult Thriller genre. It is more thrilling to me than it is romantic… just my two cents there.

What I enjoyed the most of this book is that it isn’t just called young adult but it is young adult. There are parents in this book, or guardians, the children, albeit teens aren’t just running amok, there are parents calling the shots. It’s something that bugs me immensely about young adult books. I enjoyed the storyline and I really think it could have been even better. The detective/cop area was a bit weak, I’m not sure real detectives would have played things out like this. There were also a few things that I think might have been tossed in just to tighten up the storyline but it didn’t read true, it read more like Oh yeah, I need them to know each other better, kind of thing.

So even though I had a few problems with the story, I enjoyed the story. It was kind of Mean Girls meets Psycho, lol. Monica Murphy maintained an easy flow and kept the book interesting. The characters were fine, not exactly relatable, but entertaining.

Penelope is main girl she is head of the Larks and the senior pretty popular girls of Larks are dying one by one. Who is the killer? Who can Penelope trust? It’s got lots of drama and suspense and twist and turns in it. I love that the author did the book in two points of view Penelope’s and the killer! Through out the book it reminded me of the movie Scream and Urban Legend combined! Oh and I loved Cass glad the author gave us some romance too! Definitely a must read 5/5 Stars ****Reviewed by Sweet & Spicy Reads a voluntarily Advanced Reader Copy of this book ****

“The Larks is a small group of ten girls who are the smartest, the most respected, the most athletic, the most popular in our school. We all try to make the top grades so we can get into the best colleges and make our school and our families proud. And the Larks isn’t just about community service—it’s the ultimate overachievers group. “

I struggled with the story in the beginning, it was difficult to connect with the characters and the story, but this didn't stop me from continue reading!Once I start getting things better it was a quick read which making you guessing all the time.I never guessed the murderer's identity. Monica Murphy leaves some clues but still I couldn't and this is good!

Overall it was an ok story.Different from her other books

I COULD NOT PUT THIS BOOK DOWN! I'm actually writing this review after getting only 3 hours of sleep because I stayed up WAY too late last night finishing Pretty Dead Girls. Seriously. Plan on reading this book cover to cover in one sitting. Monica Murphy has a special talent when it comes to creating characters and a world that will pull you in. Everything from the cute little beach town to the bitchy teenage girls and the mysterious and sexy Cass was expertly crafted and realistic. For those of you who enjoyed the TV show Pretty Little Liars, you will be engrossed in this book.

I voluntarily received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

In this deadly twist to the classic “mean girls” theme, author Monica Murphy’s latest YA thriller-- “Pretty Dead Girls"--takes us to the seaside town of Cape Bonita, where several popular high school girls fall prey to a vengeful killer.

Penelope Malone is the president of the “Larks,” an elite high school club comprised of seniors and juniors that basically rule the school. Pretty and popular, these girls are also mean, back-stabbing snobs that are being targeted by a psycho killer whose intent is to "pick them off," one by one.

Cass Vincenti is the odd guy in school that is attractive yet easily overlooked. With a past that’s subject to many rumors, his behavior is often viewed as peculiar and unpredictable. Inserting himself into the midst of the ensuing chaos, one must question whether Cass is actually a friend or foe..

An unlikely alliance is formed between Pen & Cass, as they formulate theories and work together to uncover the truth. And somewhere along the way, a romantic connection develops and grows. But with each senior Lark that winds up dead, Penelope’s life hangs in the balance. Hence, a future for this pair hangs in the balance, as well.

While reading stories within the YA genre are not my typical norm, thrillers most definitely are. Thus, as an established fan of Monica Murphy, I found the premise of “Pretty Dead Girls” to be intriguing and unique.

Although my early guess as to the killer’s identity proved to be spot on, as the storyline progressed, I began to waver in my conviction. And while I was ultimately proven right, the motive behind the murders was not as easily deduced. Unfortunately, both the motive and conclusion was not as impactful as I had hoped. Still, “Pretty Dead Girls” grabbed my attention right from the start and held me captive right up until the very end.

Thank you to Entangled Publishing & Negalley for an advanced copy of this book, which I voluntarily reviewed.

Received in exchange for a honest review.

this book was awesome. Awesome with a wow factor. I didn’t know who it was until the end. I began to have a idea but wasn’t sure. Monica Murphy does a excellent job keeping you guessing and wanting to know. There are tidbits but they were red herrings. It was great. You never knew what wa next. You had a general idea of the who but not exactly which one would be next.

This was like Pretty Little Liars gone Hunger games and a cross with the Lying game. You have a group of so called friends who truly didn’t trust each other or really like each other that much. One by one they are getting killed but why and who is doing it? Secrets are being revealed, twists are added and no one know who to trust. Even accusations are flying quietly and ripping apart groups and friendships. Why The Lying game? Well look at the lies and secrets these girls have and all the mistrust Penelope shows to Cass. That is like the Emma/Sutton and Ethan. Sutton doesn’t trust anyone and pays a price as Penelope does in some ways and almost loses her life because of it. At times she is Sutton and at times Emma.

We have the it crowd of girls The Larks who really rule the school. Suddenly they are being picked off one by one. As they are dying, the remaining members are seeing each one’s true colors and secrets are revealed.

Our two main characters are Penelope and Cass. Penelope heads up the Larks and even though she is friends with the other girls she has begun to see who they are before this happened. Penelope was at one time just like them-mean and cruel to those they felt were beneath her. She has changed and is becoming more aware of others and what those words do to those they are said to. Cass is the mysterious bad boy that really isn’t bad. He has a past that threads him to those being killed that he keeps quiet.

At first Penelope doesn’t give Cass the time of day but as things occur she lets him in. She also learns that things aren’t always as they seem. There is a fine line between like and hate and it is seen in this book. At times Penelope doesn’t trust Cass even though he has only shown her patience and kindness. He doesn’t pull any punches and like Penelope is reluctant to open up about their secrets. His are ones he is ashamed of but shouldn’t be. They show his resilience and determination to not be a statistic and rise above his problems.

Penelope took longer to like than Cass. I think because she is a cross between Allison, Hanna and Spencer from Pretty little liars to me. And in terms of pretty little liars her Sutton comes out at times for she is spoiled and can be snarky and is great at fooling others. Her facade is slowly does crumble with Cass though. She is trying to reform but she does get snarky at times, she is popular like Hanna but for the wrong reasons and she strives for perfection in grades etc with high family expectations like Spencer. So she had the snark, the secrets, the meanness but also the fear of not being perfect. She didn’t grab you as fast because her attitude is a put off in the beginning. To me Cass is like Caleb and a little bit of Toby from Pretty little liars. He is the quiet bad boy no one really knows but gets close to the popular girl and is off to solve the murders before they are murdered. He’s smart like Caleb with a past that follows him and he overcomes like Toby. He is also suspected like Toby was because of his quiet dark ways and his past.

Cass was great. He was the right amount of mystery, bad boy and goodness Smart and kind as well. He had secrets but was overcoming his past and trying to be a better person. he didn’t judge others like the popular students did and kept to himself. His feelings for Penelope grew as he got to know her.

the story was twisty and intriguing. You really learn little things in slow reveals that will drive you batty in a good way. It takes you in different directions and you see the two main characters change and learn as they get to know one another and be put in more danger. Penelope learns actions have consequences and that secrets are dangerous in some cases. She begins to see that people aren’t always as they seem and becomes more sensitive to others feelings. Cass learns to open up and trust someone. We get two point of views-Penelope’s and the killer’s. The killers is fascinating and the one where we get a few clues behind all that is happening. Seeing the thoughts of the killer in a YA book was great.

A truly great suspense for Ya that keeps you guessing and just wanting to know more.