A real page turner and full of twists and turns as the story paced from the present to the past. The surprise ending was good. I didn’t particularly like Heather and how she treated her friends, especially when she stalked others.

With a title like this, it should have been a good book! It wasn’t. What could have been an intriguing, creepy story was just somewhat tedious. Told in a Then and Now format, I think it was the Now sections character, the adult Heather, I cared for the least. The Then chapters, with the young adolescent girls dramas, were more interesting. Anyway, got through it and have to say not great but sort of okay.

“The last time I saw the pendant, it was on Becca’s neck. She was my best friend. And I killed her.”—Heather, Now, from the Dead Girls Club.

There were four members of the Dead Girls Club. Dead Becca didn’t send the pendant. Heather didn’t send it to herself. That left Gia and Rachel for Heather, now a child psychologist, to investigate. Or was someone else there in the house the night that Becca died—with the necklace around her neck?

The four girls are fascinated by Becca’s tales of the Red Lady. The Red Lady was a witch who was buried alive long ago. She somehow escaped her grave and terrorized the townspeople who buried her. But later, even today, when you wanted someone dead, she would help you—but at a high price.

The tale of the necklace and Heather’s guilt over Becca’s death are told in sections labeled Now. The alternating sections about the Red Lady are labeled Then. What really happened after Becca was killed is the nexus between the two.

I really enjoyed the Then sections. The Red Lady stories, while similar to the Bloody Mary tale, were captivating. I found myself skimming the Now parts to return as quickly as possible to the Then tale.

That might be why I found Heather’s story to be so annoying. She has kept the story of Becca’s death to herself for thirty years. Why is she so frantic now? Even if you quote Hamlet about the damned spot, you are still damned irritating.

However, the twisty ending of Dead Girls Club makes sifting through Heather’s whining worth it. I really thought I had it all figured out. But no—I was completely wrong! This book is a great rollercoaster ride of a thriller with a creepy horror story side plot. 4 stars!

Thanks to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book tells the story of Dr Heather Cole, a child psychiatrist with a dark secret: she killed her best friend when she was 12. Told from the alternating perspectives of adult Heather and 12 year old Heather, the story of what happened to Becca unfolds.

This has a really gripped plot. Twists are intricately woven, and the penultimate scene explodes (quite literally) as all of the timelines converge. Adult Heather is easy to sympathize with, though I drew many similarities between her and Nicole, the main character from Woman on the Edge by Samantha M Bailey, which I've just read. It was interesting being able to explore a psychiatrist's own descent into madness.
What knocks this down a star for me is the perspective of child Heather. Those parts didn't always make sense, and seemed really contrived. I think it would have been better if the childhood parts were being told by Adult Heather; it would have made a really cool unreliable narrator, and it would have been easier to draw a line between child Heather and adult Heather. But the way it was written, I can't reconcile child Heather and adult Heather as the same person.

Perfect for the avid thriller reader, those who like a twisting plotline, and the psychological thriller lover.

One literary device that I've always been a fan of, but also been wary of is the unreliable narrator. Who doesn't love a main character that you don't know if you can fully trust? I felt this way throughout The Dead Girls Club. I wasn't sure if Heather was trustworthy, or even someone that I'd want as a friend. She is textbook unreliable. The story hooked me from the beginning and I looked forward to my reading time every day knowing I'd be picking this one up.

There's even some haunting going on that helped the creepiness. And with a title like Dead Girls Club, I really wanted to know what was happening.

4/5 Stars

The Dead Girls Club was released by Crooked Lane Books on December 10, 2019. It was written by Damien Angelica Walters. I was given a free copy through NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

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Synopsis from Goodreads (It was too good to summarize myself)

Red Lady, Red Lady, show us your face...


In 1991, Heather Cole and her friends were members of the Dead Girls Club. Obsessed with the macabre, the girls exchanged stories about serial killers and imaginary monsters, like the Red Lady, the spirit of a vengeful witch killed centuries before. Heather knew the stories were just that, until her best friend Becca began insisting the Red Lady was real--and she could prove it.

That belief got Becca killed.

It's been nearly thirty years, but Heather has never told anyone what really happened that night--that Becca was right and the Red Lady was real. She's done her best to put that fateful summer, Becca, and the Red Lady, behind her. Until a familiar necklace arrives in the mail, a necklace Heather hasn't seen since the night Becca died.

The night Heather killed her.

Now, someone else knows what she did...and they're determined to make Heather pay.
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Y'ALL. I CAN'T EVEN WITH THIS BOOK. I finished it in less than 24 hours. It was so incredibly good. This took me back to being a kid and the days of Bloody Mary and sneaking horror movies to watch way too young. It was CREEPY. It was FANTASTIC. It made me so uneasy at times. Walters sets up her descriptions so well. If you have an active imagination like I do, you may find that you creep yourself out by going too far in your imagination. The ending shattered me. I started to suspect something bad was coming, but it's just so incredibly gut-wrenching.

This book could not have been more geared towards my interests. I loved the idea of this book so much I actually bought the hardcover copy before I ever read the digital one. Now I just need Damien Angelica Walters to put out a hundred more books, just as creepy as this one. This left me with such a book hangover and I don't regret one minute of it. I wish I could forget everything about this book so I could read it again for the first time.

No brainer on this one. ALL THE STARS.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟/5 Stars

What a real treat this book was for me. I liked everything about it. Murder, mystery, tension and great ending. This book also made me sad because unfortunately stories like that happened in real life too. Author did good job describing young girls daily basis dramas and problems. It was my first book written by Damien Angelica Walters and I hope I will read more.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

The description of this book hooked me right away - a past and present story is just something that always appeals to me. Heather, in the present, is a child psychologist who has a hidden part of her past suddenly delivered to her office. Alternatively, in 1991, Heather and her best friend, Becca, have paired up with another set of best friends, Gia and Rachel, to form the titular "Dead Girls Club". Like many younger children, these girls have a penchant for the macabre - trading stories of serial killers, murders and spooky ghosts. But the summer of 1991 centers around one spooky story in particular - the urban legend of the Red Lady. A witch, brutally mutilated, she still exists to extract dark promises in exchange for deep sacrifices. Obsession with the Red Lady leads to murder... and now, years later, someone seems to be taunting Heather with their knowledge of the secrets of that fateful summer.

Both storylines are engaging and it's easy to be sucked into the story. I really appreciate the small details of the characters, too - like Heather's picking at her cuticles until they bleed. Plus, there's a sort of Stephen King-like vibe to the story, prompted by Heather's childhood love for the author. The slant of this being almost entirely about women (who even talk about periods!!) making this a fresh angle for the horror/spooky genre. And this is certainly a chilling read. Walters does a great job building genuine tension - and capturing the kind of group scares that can really dominate a sleepover. The sections set in the '90s particularly shine. But, the present day storyline is equally interesting - with shadowy secrets peeping around the corners.

The book totally hooked me. It just really resonated with me and my own childhood memories (well, maybe not the murderish bits...). Walters really captures the dynamics of female friendships well. And wowza - that climatic ending was totally unexpected!! I feel like it's been a while since an ending's twist has actually taken me by surprise, while simultaneously filling in the gaps so perfectly. I really loved this book!! It's downright thrilling and truly excellent. I can't wait to check out the author's debut novel - as well as keep my eye out for anything that she writes in the future! This could have easily been a one-sitting read - it's gripping, eerie, has a great atmosphere and is just an amazing read. I feel like my heart is still racing from it! Definitely a top 2019 read for me!!

“Red Lady, Red Lady, show us your face.”

The Dead Girls Club had a very interesting concept flipping between a group of girls in childhood who had a fascination with murders and one of the girls in present day.

I found the characters a little dry and unfortunately un-likeable which hindered my ability to connect with them.

I enjoyed the flashbacks a lot more than the current. I also thought the ending of the book was much better than the beginning and middle and LOVED the twists at the end!

The Dead Girls Club is a psychological and supernatural thriller that I absolutely couldn't read before going to bed. It was too creepy and terrifying (and I love creepy and terrifying stories!!!).

The psychological part was hard on me: it was like watching a car accident in slow motion: you don't want to watch but can't stop watching.

I have to admit I couldn't in a million years predict the ending of the book, and I loved that!

Many thanks to Crooked Lane Books for the complimentary e-copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

The Dead Girls Club, for membership you have to be obsessed with serial killers, death, and killer folklore. Growing up my sister, cousin and I would have signed up to be members in a heartbeat! We would have joined Heather and Becca without a second thought. Too bad the club didn't work out for Becca, who ends up dead. Decades later and Heather must come to terms with what happened to Becca, and someone is going to see to that. It touches again on the theme of who is more crazy, the psychologist or her patients (it seems to be a favorite in 2019). Another favorite is the back and forth time frame. It's not a bad story, but it is predictable in parts, and could have had more twists and secrets.

*Many thanks to the publisher for providing my review copy via NetGalley.

In 1991, Heather Cole and her circle of friends formed the Dead Girls Club. They were a group of friends interested in the macabre, from ghost stories to serial killers. One day group member, Becca, shares the story of the Red Lady, a vengeful witch who was killed centuries ago. Stories are just stories until they start to feel real. Becca is insistent the Red Lady is real and will stop at nothing to prove it to her friends. Becca ends up dead.

Thirty years have passed and Heather has built a life hiding the past from those around her. She doesn’t want to relive what happened the night Becca died, but someone has made it their mission to bring the truth out. When Heather receives a mysterious package containing the other half to a friendship necklace she gave Becca, a chain of events will start to unravel. Heather feels like she’s losing her mind. Who is this mystery person following her and sending her packages from the past?

THE DEAD GIRLS CLUB is an exciting supernatural thriller that alternates between a present day storyline and the events of the past that led to the death of Becca. Immediately the reader is aware that something happened back in 1991, but what was that event and who was at fault? Heather seems to be the likely person to blame since she has worked her whole life to bury her past, however, nothing is what it seems. I loved trying to solve the mystery of present day, as well as the truth behind the past. Dual storylines always add something a little extra to books for me and this book was a prime example of how they worked to build tension through the journey to truth.

The main character of Heather is our narrator, but she’s quite unreliable and the reader can’t be sure if they truly trust her accounts for either timeline. In the present we watch as Heather goes to great lengths to use deception to investigate people from her past. If she’s willing to do so much now, who is to say she’s not hiding something incriminating from her past? Clearly she knows something about Becca’s death that she does not want the world to know. I appreciate that Walters doesn’t make Heather unreliable to the point where she’s unlikeable. She’s more of a character who has lost her reliability because she is slowly unraveling.

I found the pace of THE DEAD GIRLS CLUB to be perfectly plotted. There were moments of tension that propelled me to keep reading to either return to sections in the same timeline where I was desperate for answers. This book isn’t a slowburn, but it’s also not a breakneck paced thriller. I think the tempo of the story is overall at an even rate with bursts of frenzied tension. One of the benefits of this pacing is that the reader truly gets to savor the coming of age story we receive from the sections from the past. I loved learning about Heather, Becca, and their friends when they were younger. I think this connection truly made the present day situation more impactful while I was reading.

This is one of those books I would recommend to anyone! THE DEAD GIRLS CLUB spans a few genres that will check the box for multiple readers. If you’re looking for something mysterious and a bit spooky, check this one out!

Disclosure: A huge thank you to Crooked Lane Books for sending me a free copy of this book!

Heather is a child psychologist and one day receives a letter in the mail which contains a fine chain and a pendant with half of a heart which brings on gruesome and heartbreaking memories crashing down upon her. Heather had thought she had buried her tortured childhood memories of the death of her best friend Becca and the part she played in it, especially the Red Lady who the girl's believed in when they were twelve years old. Strange occurrences begin happening and Heather is becoming paranoid with wondering who could be behind the secrets that have been hidden for over twenty years. Why Now?

I found the storyline intriguing and enjoyed going back in the past when the girl's were young and how the Dead Girl's Club evolved. The story does a good job of showing how vulnerable and naive children can be at twelve years of age and oh, how secretive and gullible and so open to the peer pressure they can be. I really enjoyed the legend of the Red Lady, which had me guessing whether she was imaginary or real up until the end of the book. This story takes on many twists and turns and also messages of right and wrong throughout the book. By the end of the book I was stymied by the true events that has taken place in Heather's life as well as Becca''s. Do not miss reading this novel if you enjoy horror blended in with a psychological thriller!

I want to thank the publisher "Crooked Lane Books" and Netgalley for the opportunity of reading this very CREEPY and fascinating book!

I highly recommend to all horror and dark mystery lovers and have given a rating of 4 Horrifying 🌟🌟🌟🌟. Stars!!

'That's how they trick you, monsters. They put normal faces on so you think they're real, but they're not. And when you get too close to run away, they show you their real ones.'

Are there monsters under the bed? Peeking in the window? Or could it be your best friend, hiding her real face?

For me, this is first and foremost about young girls once again getting carried away with an idea, buying into to it, believing it with all their being. Think the Salem witch trials kind of madness. Call it mass hysteria or brain-washing or whatever you like...but it so often leads to tragedy. As it does in this story.

The story is told in a first person narrative by Dr Heather Cole, a child psychologist, who receives a package in the mail that sends her life into a tailspin. It contains a reminder of her past, a necklace that belonged to a murdered friend. Who sent it and why?

The rest of the story is told in two timelines--the present and the past, where Heather and her three friends, Becca, Rachel and Gia, belong to The Dead Girls Club. Becca is the storyteller and entrances them with her tales of the Red Lady. Are these just tales or is the lady real? Can they summon her to do their bidding?

This story examines many things; among them, guilt, secrets, lies, and their consequences. As with many thrillers, the conclusion seemed a bit rushed after a long, horrific build up. The story does wrap up nicely, and one can hope that Heather will be a better child psychologist in the future because of her experiences.

I received an arc of this new thriller from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks!

Written in the Then and Now format, the then tells the story of the death of one of the girls and her missing necklace. The Now portion consists of one of the adult kids Heather receiving a necklace in the mail. Heather is on the hunt to find out who knows her secret and who is tormenting her with that knowledge. Some supernatural references, more mystery than a thriller.

The Dead Girls Club is a supernatural thriller told from two time frames: now and then. The past portions of the story feature a young girls secret murder club. These two sets of best friends meet regularly in the basement of an old, abandoned home to scare themselves silly by discussing all things horror. They have a fascination at an early age with the macabre.; anything horror related from serial killers, or gruesome historical crimes and supernatural games, to true crime stories. It is Becca, a girl with a troubled and abusive past, who tells the girls the story about the Red Lady, and soon the girls are fixated on this supernatural being. Is she urban legend, a real individual, or an imaginary entity created from Becca’s disturbed mind?

The present day portions of the story center around one of the friends, Heather, a child psychiatrist who focuses her work on traumatized, troubled children. But Heather harbors a secret of her own that she has kept buried all these years until half of a best friends necklace arrives at her office. The other matching half was Becca’s, who was murdered, many years ago, supposedly by Heather herself. Is this the truth, or is it the work of the ghost-like Red Lady?

This story has a horrifying premise, and definitely carries creepy vibes and disturbing subject matter, particularly in regards to Becca’s past and Heather’s psychological decline. But I would say it’s truly more gothic mystery than true horror. The characters are all rather unlikeable, the dialogue at times is lengthy and distinctly childish and the writing was a bit choppy for my liking. The ending also is a bit lackluster. That said, The Dead Girls Club is definitely a story that is creepy, atmospheric and a tension-packed, and for those who are a fan of this author’s writing, I’m sure this is one they will enjoy.

Heather and Becca are best friends. They belong to a group called The Dead Girls Club with two of their other friends. The girls love to share stores of serial killers, ghosts, and monsters. But when Becca tells the story of the Red Lady, everything changes. It ends up with Becca dying at the hands of her best friend, Heather. 30 years later, someone begins sending Heather evidence that they know what she did. Heather's obsession with finding out who knows her secret begins to destroy her life.

This book was a page turner because of the need to solve the mystery and find out what happens next. It had a high paranoia level, too. I found myself questioning what was real and what was just in the girls' heads.

The book is broken up between "now" and "then" so we get parts of what happened when they were kids as it relates to the present day. I liked the characters thought they weren't very deep. I thought Heather was very weak as a child and let Becca's stronger personality take control and in the end, it led to both of their downfalls. The ending was very shocking - I never guessed correctly who was behind sending the evidence to Heather. I think the author meant to make the reader think it was a certain person all along, which made the reveal even more surprising. Overall, I enjoyed the book. It has all the great elements of a mystery/thriller that I love so much.

This book was fantastic. I knew from the synopsis that the main character had killed her friend. Did I still like the main character? Yes. That is the definition of good writing. It was a well thought out, well presented story that alternated between present day and back when they were 12 years old. This book did a great job of portraying how group think mentality can change the behavior of all members. It had very cult like psychology vibes going on and I loved it. I could not figure the mystery out at all. I was never bored with the book and it was a super fast paced read. I think Walters did a phenomenal job of showing the fragility and vulnerability of 12 year old girls. I thought the cult like story and rituals really showed the reader just how much influence Becca had over her friends. This was a top notch psychological thriller and I can't wait to see what else we get from this author!! 4 stars for me!!

3.5 stars

The Dead Girls Club by Damien Angelica Walters is part horror, part supernatural thriller, and part mystery.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Crooked Lane Books, and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

My Synopsis: (No major reveals, but if concerned, skip to My Opinions)
Four barely-teen girls fascinated with serial killers, with horror, with the macabre. Heather, Becca, Rachel, and Gia. The Dead Girls Club. They discussed mass murderers like Ted Bundy, and John Wayne Gacy. They discussed monsters, both real and imagined.....like the Red Lady, although Becca insisted she was real. Heather became convinced that Becca was right.

Almost 30 years later, Heather receives a dirt-encrusted heart necklace in the mail. She knows it is Becca's, because they had matching ones, but she can't imagine who sent it. Becca is dead. Heather knows this because she killed her, and she buried her. Yes, Becca's mother went to jail for her daughter's death, but Heather was responsible.

Now it seems someone knows her secret, and it is making Heather a little crazy as she tries to determine the identity of her stalker.

My Opinions:
I think this one could be marketed more toward the YA crowd. Over half the book was about young teens and their typical day-to-day struggles, angst, disagreements, bullying.... The other half was about one of those teens that grew up with apparently the same problems. Now, I'm not saying I didn't enjoy the book, because I did.

I guess I'm just not totally sold on Heather becoming a child psychologist after murdering her best friend as a child. It doesn't seem she ever out-grew her paranoia or rather bizarre behaviours when she became a rather desperate adult.

The story is told from Heather's point of view, in two timelines, Then and Now. In this way we are told what happened so many years ago, and are given an inkling as to why Heather is being stalked now. We are not, however, quite prepared for the conclusion, which was an interesting twist.

The premise of the story was quite good, and so was the writing. It was quite creepy.

This is my first read by Damien Angelica Walters and I always love reading things from new authors I’ve never read anything by. I am just going to get right into this review and skip wrapping up or summarizing anything. When I first read the blurb for this book, I honestly couldn’t click the request button fast enough. I thought this book was going to give me more than it did, and I am sad about it. I thought that the beginning was going strong but somewhere about 30% of the way through I felt like I was just trudging through the “NOW” chapters. I just felt like the story was moving by super slowly. However, the “THEN” chapters were much faster paced and exciting, I really enjoyed reading those! I also wasn’t a fan of any of the characters, they all really annoyed me in some way. Heather, our main character, wasn’t very likable and I just couldn’t connect with her. Overall, I enjoyed this book just not as much as I was hoping for. Like I said before, I did love the “THEN” chapters and the friendship dynamics, and the mystery of the Red Lady!

⭐⭐⭐

I received an eARC in exchange for an honest review.