To me this book is a bit more difficult to review and I had to sit and think about it for a few days. The Dead Girls Club has a “Then” and a “Now.” I really enjoyed the book and the characters when I was reading about the “then” time when they were all children. It was so good! However when we were in the “now” time, I thought the main character was falling apart and making poor decisions. Overall I did enjoy this book and there are some twists that are totally unexpected.

Did not see that ending coming. I really enjoyed how the story went back and forth. Glad to see I wasn’t the only young girl obsessed with true crime.

What drew me to this story was the idea that what happens in childhood can haunt adulthood. I was drawn into the mystery, the guessing, the characters and the unanswered questions.

This story is about a tragic past, dealing with it in the present yet it is also a bit supernatural in feeling. I was never quite sure about the Red Lady and that only added to my experience. The rich details and slight turns in the story had me constantly on guard.

The author did an amazing job if painting the characters as real and flawed. I loved that I was never quite sure as to whom to trust or to believe. The mystery kept me turning the pages and the fuzzy way this story comes together is perfect for the plot. The ending was a bit of a surprise and well done. I received an ARC via NetGalley and I am leaving an honest review.

#NetGalley #TheDeadGirlsClub

While the premise of this book was promising to me (childhood fascination with creepy things normalized, an urban legend potentially proving to be real), I found the writing and plotting to be lacking. Heather is an extremely frustrating narrator. As an adult, she ignores her work, frequently makes herself bleed by picking at her cuticles, does so much driving (can we not just skip over this boring interlude?), and downright stalks people while judging others at all times. I understand that she was suffering under the burden of keeping her dark secret of her best friend's death, but it was a lot of nonsense. The childhood sections were much better but only highlighted the weakness of the present plot for me.

The start plods along, but somewhere mid-book the author hits the gas and the reader is left with a very uneasy feeling that our narrator is wrong very wrong about what happened to her childhood best friend.

This was equal parts creepy coming of age tale and hairpin turn thriller.

I did not expect the twists that were revealed at all, the sneaking suspicion that all is not what it seems was definitely confirmed but not the way I had pieced together.

A fantastic read for folks who like their female characters flawed and somewhat unlikeable (I stan a complex lady!) , and seamless jumping back and forward in time.

Thoroughly enjoyed The Dead Girls Club!

I really enjoyed The Dead Girls Club by Damien Angelica Walters. The Dead Girls Club follows Heather, a child psychologist who unexpectedly receives mementos belonging to her childhood friend Becca. The only problem? Becca is dead and Heather killed her. She thinks. The novel alternates between the events leading up to Becca's disappearance/murder and the present day, as Heather tries to uncover who is stalking her and taunting her with knowledge of her role in Becca's death. The novel is a seamless blend of psychological horror with supernatural elements as Becca's death is tied inexplicably with a gruesome story called The Red Lady which Becca was telling before her disappearance. For the majority of the novel Heather is grappling with her own guilt and trying to locate the source of the artifacts to prevent her arrest. As Heather's fragmented memory of that night returns to her, she begins to wonder exactly how much was her fault and how much of the story of The Red Lady is true. The novel ends with a satisfying, but heartbreaking twist. The only part of this novel that I did not enjoy was that Heather's search for the illusive figure in her life dragged a little. The Dead Girls Club is in a similar vein to The Lying Game by Ruth Ware, and fans of that novel will enjoy this one as well. The Dead Girls Club is a story of murder, ghosts, and just how far you would go for the ones you love.

When I read the blurb, I immediately felt like this book was right up my alley. I tend to really enjoy books like this. I liked the multiple POV's and the story moved at a nice pace. It kept me entertained and as a whole I liked it. As the main character got older, I really started to dislike her...but obviously not enough to stop reading. I wish the other girls had more of a part in the story but still I enjoyed the book.

disclaimer: i received a copy of this book via crooked lane books in return for an honest review.

sometimes you read a book and never quite get a handle on what's *really* going on. chapter after chapter, you stop in wonder at your inability to grasp the reality of the situation but then you realize that it's not you at all. it's just that you're caught up in a journey with a completely unreliable narrator who may actually be a little insane.

welcome to "the dead girls club" by damien angelica walters.

this is a solid story that uses a 'then/now' format so that you see how what's happening in the present is not only influenced but actually shaped by what happened in the past. the main character (i hesitate to call her the protagonist) is completely unreliable and deteriorates throughout the story. eventually, you start wondering if anything really is or ever did happen the way she says it did. at the same time, you can't help but feel invested in her story and continually hope it's going to be okay.

this was a big story with catastrophic results both then and now so i was extraordinarily disappointed with the ending. in what felt like the middle of the book's third act it just ended. i went back to the table of contents to go through the chapter and page numbers because i though my copy was missing a section. it felt truncated and false and i was left hoping for more.

three out of five stars

This book was fun. Right up front you are given information that makes you question how you should look at our main character and I always do enjoy a questionable main character.
The book is told through alternating time lines both from the point of view of our main character and the story of the death of her child hood best friend unfolds.
My heart broke reading the girls past and I was annoyed by the adult version of our main character. Though I think that was part of her woman on the edge thing.
All in all, not ground breaking but a solid fun thriller read

This book had me guessing the whole time about what was actually happening. There were times when I was just as creeped out as the main character, which can be a hard feat to accomplish. I will definitely be purchasing and recommending this one.

No. Nopety, nope! No way, Jose!
This was just a big old book load of suck! The cover was gorgeous. The book was and still is a butt load of suck!

The Dead Girls Club is the latest novel by Walters. It’s a story about two best friends who along with a couple other girls created a club in which they’d discuss spooky tales. The story continuously shifts between present and past. Something happened all those years ago which has greatly affected Heather’s life. That being the death of her best friend Becca.

While being a tad slow to start, it definitely picks up about halfway through. I initially found the past storyline more interesting but then later I needed to find out what was happening to the adult Heather.

Overall, I thought the story was good. Would have given a higher rating had I enjoyed the beginning more. I also wish we’d have a bit more character development on a few characters. I liked how it kept me guessing until the very end. Not many novels do that.

Thank you to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for providing me a copy of this book.

This book was really slow for me. I LOVE the cover but that's where it ended for me. There seemed to be so much going on that didn't drive the story and those parts lost me more than the others seemed to keep me interested. The last 20-30% was the best part of this book.

The main character Heather was a little over the top for me as an adult. I think the parts in the past were the best part of this book. The dynamic between the four girls was what kept me interested and made me want more. Then we would go back to the future and the story would slow down for me again.

Not a win for me but I think this author had a great idea with this one. I just wish the execution was a bit better for me.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to.

This was the first book I've read from this author and it was just okay. I thought the story was a little slow at some points and that caused me to not really get into the story as much as I could have if the pace was a little faster.

Imagine killing your best friend as a child and getting away with it.

The Dead Girls Club focuses on a group of 4 twelve year old girls obsessed with the macabre. Heather's best friend Becca was the ringleader of the club, always coming up with horror stories. Becca was obsessed with one story in particular, the Red Lady, and insisted she was real. Becca wound up dead because of the Red Lady.

Fast forward thirty years. Heather is now a successful child psychologist. Suddenly, some of the items Becca had on the night she died are being sent to her -- items no one else could have had. Things in Heather's home are also slightly amiss, which Heather tries to rationalize away. Is Heather imagining things? Could the Red Lady really be real?

For the most part, I enjoyed the book. Told from Heather's perspective , Walters did a nice job of toggling between 1991 and present day. At times, I was frustrated with Heather because there were so many things she could have done differently over the course of the entire book. Overall, a great read with some shocking twists and turns!

I have received a NetGalley arc copy in exchange for an honest opinion

To be honest I didn't expect to like this book as much as I did. The story had it all from girls secret club to witchy "Red Lady" ghost to real tragedy. It was a solid mystery book. A secret kept since childhood resurfaced later in life and keeps you wonder who else knows? I couldn't put it down.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Dead Girls Club are four young friends (Heather, Becca, Rachel and Gia) who meet to tell macabre stories about serial killers and ghosts, including the Red Lady who Becca insists real. The book follows Heather as an adult and also slowly unravels the story of what happened when they were kids. We start out knowing Becca is dead and Heather killed her, although Becca's abusive mother went to jail for the crime. Becca's body was never found. Almost thirty years later, Heather's life starts to fall apart as she begins to believe someone else was there the night Becca was killed.

The Dead Girl's Club literally kept me up at night and I finished it after midnight last night, when I should have been asleep hours ago. Then I stayed awake even longer analyzing the ending. It was intriguing and incredibly sad, especially because Becca believed that the only way out of her situation was to die. It's a toss up between who was the most disturbing character in the book, the Red Lady or Becca's mom Lauren. The end keeps you guessing as to what's real and what isn't. It's one of those books that I feel will stay with me for awhile and I'll be looking up Damien Angelica Walter's other books.

If I was a character in this book I would have been a card carrying member of the Dead Girls Club. My childhood was full of watching scary movies and reading scary books. The Dead Girls club is one of the best thrillers I have read this year. Centering on friendships between 4 young girls and their love for the spooky and supernatural. Thirty years later one of the girls, Heather, is confronted with what happened that summer. “You never knew who was secretly a monster.” This thriller will be one that you can’t put down!

I was interested in this book the entire way through, which prompted me to give it 4 stars. It’s a fun and easy “beach read” that will keep your interest. I’m still left with questions and I do think the ending was a bit rushed, but it’s not a thriller that gave up the ending early on, so there’s no “I knew s/he did it the whole time” ruined plot points. 🤷🏼‍♀️