The Dead Girls Club by Damien Angelica Walters is a mystery/thriller about a group of girls who formed the Dead Girls Club when they were young. It was the innocent sharing of stories about the Red Lady, until Becca becomes obsessed and starts to believe the Red Lady is real. Heather doesn’t believe it’s true and tries to forget after Becca’s death.

Years later, Heather receives a package in the mail that contains a necklace, the matching set to hers, which she hasn’t seen since the night she killed Becca. Who else knows what really happened that night and why wait 30 years to start tormenting a Heather?

This story was great. I particularly enjoy reading books that switch back and forth between the character's past and present. It always builds the suspense and makes the unfolding of the mystery that much more gratifying when it's slowly revealed. I’ve never read this novelist’s work before, but definitely recommend this read! I rate this novel 4 out of 5 stars.

Thank you NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for providing a copy of this novel in exchange for a fair review. https://moesbookblog.wordpress.com/

Reviewed: June 15, 2019. Novel Publish Date: December 10, 2019.

I really had a hard time getting through this book. I trudged through the story and felt very bored throughout most of it, and while there were some parts that I did enjoy it was overshadowed by the rest of the book.

A little slow at first, this story picks up quickly and the suspense doesn't stop. The back and forth between then and now adds to the tension and keeps the reader on edge. Just when I thought I had it figured out the story threw a sharp twist and left me stunned. This is a psychological thriller you don't want to miss.

This book started off catching my interest but I kind of lost interest about halfway through due to just the lack of action. I didn't feel like what I had read as the description really fit what the book was about but the ending of the book was just bonkers. I truly felt like I had a rush of adrenaline and it was not just one plot twist, it was multiple. It was so fun to read at the end and I flew through it.

I would say that I don't think the name accurately describes the book in any way and I feel like I expected more of the club aspect or it coming back to the club, which in a way it did, but I expected something completely different.

With a title like that how could you not want to read it.?! This was such a good suspense novel that I want you all to read it right away. Highly recommend, the characters were fantastic and the writing was excellent.

Twisty, turner goodness.

Four young girls set against the backdrop of the age of videotapes and the wonderful lure of an era when teens were obsessed with Stephen King and urban myths (ala Bloody Mary). Years later Heather grapples with her memories and friendship with Becca all of the years ago, even though on the surface she has it all.

The book was a little long for me. I think it could have gotten to the gotcha a bit sooner. But it kept me guessing and my heart beat until the end. Both caught up with a combination of horror and sadness. Great summer beach read!

It took me a little while to really get into this book but a quarter of the way in I found myself hooked. I felt the first part was a little slow and hard to relate to the main character but once it dived in her past I become more intrigued with the story and all the secrets. I enjoyed the middle and end of the book and really enjoyed the way it wrap up the whole story.

The land of thrillers, this one stands out. I requested this novel after I saw the author of Head Full of Ghosts had a quote on the cover. I enjoyed that book...though I do have some thoughts about it...so I decided to try this one. In the Dead Girls Club, we follow the story of two best friends. The main character receives a mysterious package as an adult, and that sends her back in time to remember the death of her best friend.

Her friend friend she killed.

The story goes back and forth between their history and the events that lead up to Becca's death, and the hunt our main character's adult self has for whomever is stalking her.

Is it supernatural? Is it real? It isn't clear until the very end of the novel. So often such stories are pretty predictable, but I wasn't sure until the very end.

If you liked Head Full of Ghosts, because it is similar....but a better story.

Heather Cole is a successful child psychologist with a loving husband and a dark secret. When she was younger, Heather was part of a group called The Dead Girls Club. Together she, her best friend Becca, and their friends Rachel and Gia got together to tell horror stories and discuss serial killers. When Becca becomes obsessed with the story of a woman called The Red Lady, Heather and her friendship begins to dissolve. Unfortunately Becca's obsession with The Red Lady lead to her death. Now decades later, Becca's half of her "Best Friend" necklace arrives in Heather's mailbox and someone is looking for revenge.  

If you're a fan of supernatural thriller stories like those of Paul Tremblay, you'll be delighted with The Dead Girls Club. The book keeps the reader guessing the entire time of whether the force haunting Heather is supernatural in nature or a real killer coming for her. I felt for her as Heather tries to use her background as a psychologist to keep things in perspective and keep looking for what the real cause of everything might be, but only making herself look guiltier and guiltier.

The Dead Girls Club is the type of book that you start thinking you'll just read a few chapters, and then find yourself hiding under the covers trying to hide either a flashlight or your phone light so you can get to the very end. 

The Dead Girls Club by Damien Angelica Walters comes to book stores December 10, 2019.

“The Dead Girls Club” by Damien Angelica Walters
Genre: #thriller #horror #fiction
Pub Date: 10 Dec 2019
Rating: ☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️/5
a·gog /əˈɡäɡ/
adjective
very eager or curious to hear or see something.
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Ok, so I sat here contemplating my review but I decided that life is too short for 5/5 ratings to be unattainable. Did this book keep me entertained? Was it suspenseful? Was it the right amount of horror to reality ratio? Yes, Yes and Yes! Did I figure out the twist before I read it? No. So there you have it- a ☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️/5. I’m a sucker for a good or even twisted love story in a thriller and this book kept me entertained WITHOUT that.
Thanks @netgalley and @crookedlanebooks

The suspense/creepy factor was well done, never quite so strong as to be unbelievable, never quite so faint as to fade into the background. Overall though, this just doesn't feel like a book I'll be thinking about for any length of time.

Wow! Awesome book. This book really kept my attention and guessing for more. I thought some of the flashbacks were a little long: it gave good information on the background and relationships between the girls, but the Red Lady stories were a little disturbing for me. (I was never one that got into that stuff as a kid). Throughout this book, I kept thinking this is predictable, this is predictable, it's the friend; it's the husband, but WOW what a great ending twist in more than one way! This will be an author I keep reading.

Loved it. Could not stop reading. Full of suspense and creepy. I knew when I saw the similarities to Head Full of Ghosts that I was gonna love it. I hope to read lots more of this type of horror. So unique.

Thank you NetGalley for letting me read an advanced copy of this book. I absolutely loved it and what a thrill ride it was!
It was so hard to put down and it is definitely a must read book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for this ARC!

I feel like most books written about this kind of thing and in this genre have been falling flat for me lately, but I loved The Dead Girls Club! It kept my interest throughout the entire story, and I couldn't put it down once I started it and got more into it. This is a fantastic thriller for fans of the genre, and for people looking for a read that they won't be able to put down. I felt that the ending was a little rushed, but the reveals at the end were absolutely devastating and not what I was expecting at all. It was very hard to tell whether this was a supernatural thriller or just a normal one, and I really enjoyed that it kept me guessing. I'm really looking forward to reading more of Damien Angelica Walters' work now.

I had to take a few days after reading this book to let it settle. Very well written. Fast paced. Great suspense. Not all questions are answered - but I felt very satisfied with the story. The characters are well developed - I was very attached to the main character. Moves between present and past when event occurred - smooth transitions, kept me wanting to know more.

The past comes back to haunt Heather Cole in a major way. Almost thirty years after she killed her best friend Becca, Heather begins receiving mementos. Who is sending them? Was someone else in the house with her and Becca that night?

I enjoyed the majority of this novel, particularly the chapters with Heather and Becca. The present narration with Heather was not as enjoyable and overall, I didn't really like Heather. She seemed to have an extreme reaction for almost everything, even before Becca's death. The story itself is really good though and I had a hard time putting it down.

Wow, What a wild ride. This book had the most creative plot, amazing characters andd suspense to the max. The past and present story telling worked well with the plot. The ending surprised the hell out of me. I could not put this one down. such an epic story. So well written!

This story of Heather and her friends Becca, Rachel, and Gale kept me guessing. It went from her past to her present every other chapter so I was able to follow along with what happened pretty good but I didn’t know who the bad guy was until the very end. I love that about a suspenseful story. I like not being to guess what happened and who did it.

Damien Angelica Walters is one of my favorite literary horror writers. In her latest book, The Dead Girls Club, Walters veers a bit more toward a standard horror thriller without losing the brilliant turns of a phrase and human insight that makes her writing such a pleasure to read.

In her most mainstream work to date, Walters puts her unique spin on a few common horror tropes. Most notably, the “someone knows about an awful thing I did in the past” and “children play around with an urban legend” tropes. Thankfully, Walters is able to infuse both of these tropes with enough new energy that they still feel fresh and relevant.

Walters always mentions scars in her work, often as a physical representation of emotional turmoil. In this book, there’s not much of an emphasis placed on physical scars, but there are plenty of psychological scars to take their place.

The pacing of this book reminded me of Bird Box by Josh Malerman, and the comparisons to A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay are apt as well. Paper Tigers is still my favorite of Walters’ books, but The Dead Girls Club is also a 5-star, must-read for fans of the horror and thriller genres. It has plenty of tense, unnerving moments and a resolution that left me completely satisfied.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for providing an ARC. This review contains my honest, unbiased opinion.