Not too much to say here. I will echo what other reviewers have said. The parts of the book focusing on the protagonist's childhood were great. When it moved to her as an adult the book felt off in some way and I just didn't want to keep reading further. I finished this around midnight last night since I was up fuming about the debates that were on. I think there is some promise in Walters writing, it just needs to be tightened up a bit. I thought the way that some of the characters talked to each other was weird too in some places. One of the worst parts of getting a book via NetGalley and downloading it to your Kindle is that you can't upload your notes on the book. I am too lazy to post the writing that I went what at a few times. Some of the sentences made me hard pause and wonder what the heck the author was trying to say.

"Dead Girls Club" follows Heather Cole. She and her friends back in the early 90s formed a club that was obsessed with telling stories about serial killers, death, etc. They were pretty much the hosts from Stay Sexy, Don't Get Murdered before that became a thing. The girls in the group become obsessed with a woman they call the Red Lady. When Heather's best friend Becca starts talking about the Red Lady and how she's real Heather doesn't believe her. Then Becca ends up being killed. Fast forward decades later and Heather is now a child psychologist. Heather has never told anyone what happened to Becca, but now Heather thinks that the Red Lady is out there stalking her and leaving her creepy clues about what happened with Becca.

I really can't say much about the characters. Though this book isn't written in medias res it should have been. We just get kind of pushed into the book and I felt a little lost at first. I didn't know who was who or what anyone was doing. I had to re-read sections so many times to even make sense of who was speaking sometimes.

Heather being a child psychologist was kind of laughable cause she seems to have no empathy (at least I didn't think she did) for children or the ability to relate to him. She's married to a bland dude whose name I am totally blanking on. Two of Heather's younger friends, Gia and Rachel are also kind of bland in the present, but not in the childhood portions.

So the writing is so weird to me. Walters writes the sections dealing with Heather in her childhood so well. Then it moves to the adult portion and it was just not working for me at all. The "Then" and then "Now" format seems to be a thing in a lot of thrillers written in the past few years and I wish that it be utilized a little more judiciously. Sometimes writing in that style can make the novel great when you get a third act twist or something. But this just bogged down my reading enjoyment. Also fair warning since this came up the other day, this is written in first person present tense. It doesn't bother me as a reader, but I know it bothers others, so thought I bring that up.

The flow wasn't great jumping back and forth between the "dead girls club" and present day Heather. I felt myself getting so confused while reading this ARC cause there were not clear spacing between paragraphs so that just made things worse for me. I am sure when it's published that will all get cleaned up.

The ending had a lot of plot holes I thought but at that point I was just glad to be done. A good first effort. I wouldn't re-read this in the future though.

The Dead Girls Club is the latest book by Damien Angelica Walters. The Dead Girls Club is a psychological thriller and a horror story combined. Ms Walters tells us the story, by going back into time, by using "Now" and "Then". Some edge of your seat moments along with some absolutely unable to put down times. I was given an early copy to review.

This was a good mystery story. It goes back and forth between the past and the present and had a twist I did not see coming. Very good read.

I really enjoyed this. As I was reading, I was a little nervous that it would be cheesy but the scary moments actually got to me. It’s realism with a supernatural twist. The weird things that are going on; are they actually supernatural or is there something that is making it happen? That’s what kept my interest. There were a few plot holes, in my opinion, that I would have loved to have seen fleshed out. All in all, it was enjoyable!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
As you can tell from the 5 stars, I really liked this book! I think reading it in October gave it an extra spooky feel in sections. This book comes out in December, but I was lucky enough to be able to read an early copy to review it thanks to Net Galley and Crooked Lane Books.

Pros:
The characters were relatable (Heather for sure). The book switches back and forth between ‘then’ and ‘now’ from when Heather was 12 to present day. I feel like both time periods were relatable because reading the ‘then’ sections reminded me of being a 12-year-old and wanting to do whatever my friends were doing so I didn’t seem scared or boring.
If you like ghost stories, you’ll definitely like this books! There were sections of it I had to quit reading after dark because it made me so jumpy! 👻
Cons:
None

I can’t tell if I didn’t love this book, or if I wasn’t in the read headspace for it. Nothing made me want to pick it up and keep reading, but I enjoyed what I was reading. I think I might need to give this one another chance at a different time.

Dead Girls Club is a hybrid of paranormal and psychological suspense. I thought the pacing was well executed. I stayed up too late because I wanted to read “just one more chapter.” Unlikeable characters is one of the hallmarks of psychological thrillers, so I wasn’t surprised that I didn’t like the protagonist. The supernatural element made this book stand out from the “Gone Girl” copycats that has been saturating this genre. Honestly, I was disappointed with the ending but I give it 3 and a half stars for the pacing and concept.
***thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a psychological thriller with a hint of supernatural. Not normally my genre mix but I was happy to receive and review it because it really surprised me!

The story alternates between past and present. I used to not be on board with these but lately many books go this route and I have found that it’s really interesting if done well. This was done well.

Years ago Becca and Heather were into the mystery of the red lady. Mysterious events happened that left Becca dead. Flash forward to the future. The question is.... who else knows how Becca died and what did Heather have to do with it? The plot captivates you as do the red herrings that are thrown out.

This was a really suspenseful read and the imagery was amazing.

This book has a lot of really good moments and a lot of scary scenes. Walters really knows how to craft a creepy and unsettling urban legend, and she effortlessly creates an ambiguous antagonistic force. We aren't sure if Heather is actually being stalked by a person, or if she is being haunted by a witch, OR if her guilt is just slowly driving her insane. As more and more parts of the mystery unfold, more and more suspenseful moments jump out and grab you. The horror elements were solid and had me guessing and on edge throughout the end. Heather was a pretty standard protagonist for this kind of story, but I cared enough about her that I wanted to see what happened to her in the end. Unfortunately, THE DEAD GIRLS CLUB did something that I've come to loathe in thrillers: it has a sudden twist that comes out of nowhere, and it doesn't feel like it is earned. That really soured the book for me, which was too bad because up until that point it had my attention.

THE DEAD GIRLS CLUB is a creepy read, and I wish that it had managed to keep the momentum up without twists for shock value.

I had high hopes for The Dead Girls Club, especially with the comparison to A Head Full of Ghosts, one of the best horror stories I've ever read. Unfortunately, AHFG this is not. The pace was slow, in large part because we're locked in Heather's endlessly looping thoughts, theories, and fears, and so I often found myself skimming ahead trying to get to some action. Perhaps if she had been a more likable character, this would have been a more enjoyable read, but I can't say I ever warmed up to her or understood a lot of her actions/decisions.

I not sure whether to give the book 3 or 4 stars. This book brought me back to when I started to seriously read scary/pananormal stories. Type of book that is easy to solve but keeps you reading till the end to see if you are right.

Heather has a secret from her childhood. When signs that someone knows what happened start showing up Heather starts spiraling trying to figure out who from her past knows what she did.

I liked the plot, the idea of The Dead Girls Club and seeking into any empty house to tell stories a about the
Red Lady and scary things. I especially liked the Red Lady Tail, how creepy it was. I had a hard time liking any of the characters. I found Heather really unlikable for some reason, and her choices were driving me crazy! I did guess part of the ending twist.

When I read the description of The Dead Girls Club, I knew I was going to like it. What I didn't expect was how I didn't want to put it down! This book is so filled with suspense, I needed to know how it was all going to end and couldn't stop reading until I did.

Thank you to NetGalley for my copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

A little bit odd, in that I'm not quite sure what type of book it wants to be. Horror? Suspense? Thriller? It's "not quite" for a lot of things, but it is still enjoyable.

Today's Heather is convinced that the threat is a human, but the text seems to prefer the paranormal answer which leads me to one of the things I felt unsatisfied with <spoiler> when the answers are revealed, the threat is a human, and Heather's mom is the solution to more of the loose ends. But we the reader still have every reason to believe the Red Lady is real, to no plot purpose. There wasn't much ambiguity over Becca having a delusion that Heather ends up sharing (the intense connection you really only have at age twelve is a powerful thing and I would be into a story that explores that a little more, with Heather being swept up). There are things that happen that only can be explained by the Red Lady being real and yet the ritual didn't work at all. (I kept expecting some sign of Becca in a new life, perhaps reincarnated, even as an animal or something) </spoiler> The human aspect reads more thriller and the ghost aspect reads more horror, but both of them were too much to just pick one, and not enough of either to have that battle be one of the main themes.
<spoiler> Becca's true mother came a little out of left field, with just the vague mention of an aunt and Becca's story of being kidnapped by an angel, and I would have liked even a tiny bit more foreshadowing. </spoiler>

As the book is, the main antagonist seems to be Heather's propensity for self destruction. While there was some decent tension, most of the book is about this woman making horrible decisions for her career and relationships, and I really don't enjoy reading that sort of thing. I'll read it on the path to more of a mystery, but that's really the majority of the book, so if that's your thing, go for it, but it's not really mine.

I read this as an ARC through NetGalley, but my opinions and review are my own.

This book had me at its beautiful cover and promising premise, and lost me before the end of chapter one because of its pace and writing style.
“What do I do next? I have to do something. But what? What?” the main character, Heather, wonders. And it feels like it’s coming straight out of the author’s mind. There’s so much repetition and meaningless small talk filling the empty pages of this book it’s barely bearable—like, what should I wear, what should we do for dinner, what’s my next move? Oh shoot, I stepped in dog crap. Seriously??
Sometimes it felt like the author was writing some outline ideas—that should have stayed just that, ideas, because they were out of character: I mean, Heather has read tons of books (horror, true crime, and such) and likely watched as many movies with her husband and now she’s like, quote, “I’ll have to go back to the field. And I’ll have to take a shovel.” It makes no sense to me. Wouldn’t she know that’s how the bad guy gets caught, by returning to the crime scene? All the time? I can't make sense of it. Nor of the ending.

Given the number of great reviews, I’m sure the book will find its rightful audience, but I wasn’t in it. Thanks to NetGalley and the author for the opportunity.

This was a great book. I thoroughly enjoyed it. A scary story told among friends. I could totally remember being that age and doing things like this. But thank goodness they never escalated in this fashion! It was a thrilling story. Interesting characters. I will definitely continue to keep my eye on this author. I am pro feminist horror always! It started off simple/familiar enough but definitely doesn't hold back on gore.

I'll start by saying the plot was good. And I was never ever able to read this book at night. It went straight to some very primal and true childhood fears and it totally creeped me out like I've rarely been by a book. I think the author depiction of childhood beliefs, friendships, etc. was very well done and it's what made the situations so creepy. And also because it really took me back to childhood me who actually believed she saw Black Marie 🤦

Sadly, a major problem was the pace. We slowly progressed through the two parallel timelines and it became repetitive : too many arguments when they were kids and too many hints dropped over too long a period as adults Because of that the book lost part of my interest (hence the 3 stars).

Also, the characters were not enough fleshed out. I liked Becca and the Red Lady the most. But there were too many secondary characters and I got pretty confused. I don't understand why there needed to be multiple workplace it really added to my confusion.

I liked the ending even though it ended pretty quickly and I could have taken one more chapter. I love how there's a certain open interpretation to parts of the novel (really trying not to be spoilery 🙈).

Four young girls have a secret club telling ghost stories and all the scary stuff that kids do to entertain and creep themselves out. The problem is that for one of the girls the scary stuff was her demise and for another, a guilty secret. Worse yet, someone knows the truth and years later is coming after Heather. A taunt, controlled nail-biter that will have you hoping for a happy ending and trying to guess who is behind it all. A perfect book to keep you up at night checking your windows and door locks. I believe in the Red Lady. My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy.

4 out of 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book was so, so creepy!! It’s been awhile since I read a book that had me so creeped out! It’s one of those books you can’t stop thinking about, wondering what’s going on, and what’s going to happen.

The narrative is told in alternating then/now fashion. “Then” follows four 12-year old girls who are fascinated by death and serial killers. One fateful summer, they form a club (The Dead Girls Club) where they get together and talk about everything macabre. Becca (one of the girls) starts telling the story of The Red Lady, and the group quickly becomes obsessed. By the end of the summer, one of the girls is dead. 💀

“Now” follows Heather, one of the surviving members of The Dead Girls Club, now an adult. When strange things begin to happen, and unwanted reminders of that tragic summer start mysteriously appearing, Heather’s life begins a downward spiral as she tries to figure out if The Red Lady has returned, or if something even more sinister is going on.

Very mysterious and creepy! I had some theories as I was reading, but never guessed what was really going on. While this book wasn’t perfect (what book is?), it was really, really freaking good. I can't think of any glaring issues I had with it; no big plot holes, no unanswered questions, no sketchy writing or plot devices. Come to think of it, for a book of this genre, it actually WAS pretty damn near perfect. I liked the characters, the writing was fantastic, it had me feeling creeped out and jumpy, I didn't want to put it down, and I wasn't disappointed by it. I will, without a doubt, be on the lookout for more from this author.

What I was most worried about with this book was the ending - I tend to find that the endings to these kinds of books almost always fall flat, or feel disappointing. This one wasn't bad at all - while it left me a little melancholy, I guess, it wasn't disappointing! And the journey - you guys, the journey is worth the read! Even if you are disappointed by the ending, the creepiness of the rest of the book should make up for it! 🙀

*This review is posted to my GoodReads account, my Instagram account, and will be posted to my blog and retail sites closer to publication date.*

Good, fast read but a little immature for me. I did enjoy the main storyline as who didn't pull out a Ouija board at a girls sleepover. I remember many scary talks which kept me from sleeping. So I did enjoy this brought back those memories.

Didn't reallt care for the ending but I still recommend this book. Fairly good read.