Raise your hand if your least favorite method of “detection” in a mystery is the one where the protagonist accuses every single character in the story until they run out of suspects. *Raises hand* Sigh.

I’ve spilled a lot of proverbial ink in past reviews talking about how we need to demand better quality out of YA mysteries. One of the books I often use as an example of a “good” YA mystery is Chelsea Ichaso’s Little Creeping Things.

This I was expecting a lot better than what I got here out of her next book. The premise for this was a fine one, and the pacing (generally not the issue in YA mysteries) was fine as well. But the detective work (if you can even call it that) was horrendously shoddy, the solve convoluted, and also deeply unsatisfying if you don’t love the “it wasn’t really a murder/attempted murder” cop-out solve to poorly concluded mysteries.

It’s a shame, because the bones of this were fine and the characters were plenty good enough, but as a mystery, this is a disappointment.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for a gifted copy of this book in exchange for a honest review.


From the title and synopsis this one gave me Pretty Little Liars vibes. Overall I enjoyed this one but it didn't blow me away. I think that I have discovered that when it comes to YA I prefer romcoms and fantasy as thrillers just don't hit the mark for me, but that's my preference and not a fault of the book.

That said, I enjoyed the angsty teenage drama, the character relationships and was satisfied with the overall ending. This is your typical YA thriller and I would recommend it for those who love the genre. I will be reading more from this author in the future.

This was book was really great!! I enjoyed it a lot, loved the characters and the world building. The cover is also so lovely. It was full of angst, mystery intrigue, and it made my heart pump!

There was promise with this book and i did like it in places, however, it just felt a little flat and underwhelming in general. The mystery was interesting and held a lot of promise but i think it didn't stick the landing for me. The writing style was generally easy to follow and it kept me hooked for the most part.

Loved it! Definitely kept me hooked the ENTIRE time. The twists were uncalled for 😭😭

Really enjoyed the characters and the entire aesthetic honestly!!

Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest, personal review. This story took me a bit to get through and I was hoping for a bit more with the interesting premise and title of the book. Savannah is out to find out what really happened to her sister Piper, who is in a coma, from a hiking accident. Savannah does not believe it was really an accident and when she finds an invitation to join the survival club in her sisters locker, she takes them up on it to find out the truth. The lead character is hard to empathize with when she keeps making bad decisions but I think it just comes with being a teenager who is still growing and learning. All in all, it was still worth sticking around to the end of the story and would make a good read for someone of that age group.

Savannah Sullivan is picking up the pieces after her sister— Piper— fell into a coma. Nothing looks good for Piper; she’s been in a coma for a month with no signs of improvement. When Savannah finds a note in Piper’s locker inviting her to the peak the day of the accident, Savannah is convinced someone hurt her sister.

Savannah is determined to find out what happened to her sister and will do whatever it takes— even if that means joining Survival Club. While investigating what happened to her sister, she decides to join the club on a weekend camping trip. But she has to be careful— everyone on that mountain is a possible suspect and things begin to heat up as she gets threats from the killer.

The first 20% was slow, but thankfully the pacing was better the rest of the book. I was on my toes the whole time trying to piece together what happened to Piper. I definitely didn’t see the ending coming.

One thing I will say is that while I didn’t see the ending coming, it felt very anticlimactic. There was all this build up and then the twist just threw all that away. I was hoping for more, which is why I gave this 4 stars instead of 5.

Thank you to netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a super easy read, at just 200 pages I was able to fly through reading it.
I didn’t think it was groundbreaking but I did think it was a lot of fun, it was suspenseful in all the right places, the characters really gave me mixed emotions which I always find is a sign of good writing.
I could have never predicted the ending which I really liked.
I think it’s a great book for people starting to get into thrillers and horrors and I’m very glad I read it.

I adored this book, and felt like it was full of twists and turns that had me questioning and guessing what would come next. All in all, I liked the characters, the plot felt well thought out, the mystery was there, and I definitely find myself recommending this story.

This book was like a drug. It swept me up and did not let up until I was done with it and I have so many thoughts, but the main takeaway is, I loved it. It was gripping, fast-paced, interesting, everything I want from a mystery book. Highly recommend this one.

I really enjoyed this book. Had me gripped from start to finish and had an ending I did not expect.
Great job Chelsea!

As an early reader of this book, I was thrilled to get to read the final book. Ichaso is such a great writer and if you love twisty books, be sure to pick this one up!

A quick, basic, and ultimately underwhelming YA whodunit.

While I enjoyed the writing and thought the premise had promise, the execution left a lot to be desired. The main character, Savannah, was less unreliable and more unlikable, which made it hard to root for her to solve the mystery of her sister's fall. She was pretentious and judgmental, and although we were repeatedly told that she's popular, I saw no evidence of her popularity or why anyone would like her. The other characters were cardboard cutouts only present as plot devices so they could be the next red herring. There were no developed personalities nor, unfortunately, much of a sense of place.

Savannah's whole way of solving the mystery was to simply accuse anyone and everyone of attacking Piper, which is... stupid, to say the least. She had as much finesse in her detective work as a cinderblock, and none of the 'suspects' had much motive to commit actual murder. I didn't feel any tension or high stakes, especially when Savannah just blurted out her accusations to people who might actually be dangerous. Not very smart.

It seems like the point of the story was less the mystery and more of a coming-of-age for Savannah to experience growth, which she does in the end. Still, I thought the resolution was a letdown and things were wrapped up a little too neatly.

A thank you to Netgalley for sharing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Not much to say about this. Decided to read it in order to see if it would make a good gift for my thriller loving neice, but since she's beyond the ho-hum basics, I hate to say that it doesn't really qualify. Not terrible, but not a standout, and yes, I admit that I'm just too old for this one.

A simple case of who dunnit with a massive trail of bread crumbs and red herrings. I didn’t appreciate this genre until AGGGTM, and this book is a step in that direction. Sisters Piper and Savannah are polar opposites, but with Piper now in a coma with leads suggesting it was a suicide attempt, Savannah just can’t wrap around her head around it and believes differently. Out to find the real reason behind Piper’s condition, Savannah joins a club her sister participated in- the Survival Club in hopes of digging up some truths.

All the deception, lies and twists will have your stomach in a knot and you the writer will have you pointing fingers at so many characters you deem as the culprits only to have your hand sliced off at the final plot twist.

Fast paced, easy-read and the characters are written in such a way where you understand the human flaws, regrets and secrets. Unfortunately not everyone gets what they deserved- and there are some loose ends not tied.
Overall very enjoyable, absolutely recommended if you enjoyed series like AGGGTM.

2.5 Stars

Trigger warnings: mentions of suicide

Dead Girls Can't Tell Secrets follows Savannah Sullivan as she tries to piece together what led to her younger sister, Piper, falling off a cliff on a popular hiking route and ending up in a coma. Everyone assumes that Piper fell intentionally, but Savannah thinks there's more to the story, and thinks that someone (or multiple someones) in her school's Survival Club knows more than they're letting on. Savannah joins the Survival Club on one of their trips to get closer to the other members and, hopefully, find clues to unravel the mystery.

First things first: the "mystery" in this book is mediocre. I think part of the reason why I was so disappointed is that I wanted this book to have a more thought-out and clever plot than it actually did. Of all the possible explanations for Piper's fall that were introduced, the one that was true was by far the least interesting and most infuriating. To put it as vaguely as possible, I felt like the entire plot didn't suit the final reveal - the point of the story was to find information to solve the mystery, but most of the information we gathered was kind of irrelevant in the end. Honestly, I couldn't help but think I wasted my time reading this. There were also some parts where people acted so strangely purely to make them look suspicious, but no proper reasons were given for their behaviour, so it didn't make sense (nor did it really matter in the end).

Another of the shortcomings of this novel were the characters, none of whom were particularly likeable. In addition to being incredibly selfish, they also seemed intent on competing for dumbest person alive™. Just when I'd think that maybe they have some brain cells after all, the next decision they'd make would have me questioning why I ever bothered thinking that at all. The characters also kept secrets unnecessarily, and while the lack of communication was obviously meant to serve as a plot device, I did not appreciate it. I don't even want to comment on the romance, which wasn't really the main focus of the book but still annoying nonetheless.

The writing style was fine. I do think someone quite a bit younger than me would have thought it was better than fine, which makes sense since this is a YA book, but I still feel like it could have been a bit more sophisticated. That being said, this was extremely easy to read, and in this regard, I enjoyed my reading experience.

Overall, this book is pretty unremarkable, and I will probably forget that I even read it in a couple of weeks, but I definitely did not hate this.

This one right here... wow. I want my time back. I think that is all I have to say. I feel like it was such a waste of my time. I'm not saying that everyone will hate it but it was not my jam.

Thank you to the publisher for this review copy. The cover and title of this book really sucked me in. Unfortunately this was not for me.

I feel like we were dumbed into this book after the big kickoff. It felt like we were missing this vital part of the before. Add to that a main character who reads like a stereotypical pick me girl and really underdeveloped side characters.

Perhaps the worst was that the plot just wasn't there. This looks like it's going to be an amazing thriller and it just felt like we were plodding along.

I read to the 50% mark and then skipped to the end just to see what happened and the ending was so anticlimactic.

Such a shame.

DNF'ed at 10%. The premise of this was interesting, but I just couldn't get into this book at all. It had potential it just didn't live up to. Thank you, Netgalley, for the arc.

This book was very well written, and I would recommend it to anyone who is a fan of YA thrillers. For me I personally didn’t find any of the characters relatable (not a necessity but always a bonus for me when reading a book!)