Pretty Dead Queens by Alexa Donne has a slow start but kicks into action about half way in.

Pretty Dead Queens features our MC Cecelia as she is moving in with her estranged grandmother who happens to be a pretty popular thriller/mystery writer. The story sets off with a fellow high school student being found murdered in the same way as a former homecoming queen. Cecelia sleuths around to find the murderer with the help of some friends.

I have discovered that maybe I am not much of a YA thriller reader. I found the writing of this novel perfectly fine. Alexa does a good job of describing the town and has a good teenager voice. For me I found the first 50% or so of the novel relatively boring with too many characters to keep straight and not enough actually happening. The ending itself did not come as much of a shock for me and I had already figured out the twist (although that could be because I have been watching far too many episodes of Bones as I work lately).

I don't have much to compare this against but I believe if you enjoy YA thrillers this would be a good fit.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing and eArc for this novel.

Cecelia Ellis has lost her mom to cancer and now finds herself living with her estranged grandmother who happens to be Maura Weston, famous and bestselling mystery author.

Cecelia has only read one of her grandmother's books, "the one on the boat," but it doesn't take long for her to learn that Maura's first mystery is a retelling of an actual murder that happened in town. Homecoming Queen Caroline was found floating in the school pool shortly after winning her crown. The book was a bestseller, a movie was shot about the story in town, Maura's fans make pilgrimages to see all the sights, and there is an annual MauraCon where her devoted fans come to congregate.

Even though Cecelia is accosted by fans who want to know all about her famous grandmother, her main goal is making a place for herself at the local school, finishing high school, and getting out of town. Cecelia quickly makes friends who are all life-long residents. Even though she doesn't know all the in jokes or the relationships, she's enjoying her new friends.

But when Natalie, who is a shoo-in for this year's Homecoming Queen, is also found dead and floating in the school's swimming pool, Cecelia feels drawn to investigate. At first, the investigation is a way for her to fill up her mind to cover up her grief for the loss of her mother. But soon, it is the puzzle of it and all the things she learns that keep her going. There are so many parallels with the murder 52 years earlier that Cecelia begins to suspect that the man convicted of the crime might really be innocent.

Naturally, there is a love interest or two. Ben is her grandmother's writing intern. He's a guy who was once in the in-crowd but a problem with Natalie caused his ouster. He has also recently lost his mother when part of their house fell into the ocean. Since Natalie's father is the mayor and Ben's grandfather is suing him, the breakup is understandable. And there is Gabriel who is handsome, hard-working, and the younger brother of one of her new friends but who has some secrets of his own.

I really enjoyed all of the ways Cecelia investigates and loved learning about all the various characters and their secrets. The story was a great mystery with just enough danger to keep up the suspense.

Fans of YA mysteries with engaging characters will enjoy getting to know Cecelia and all of the people around her.

This was a good thriller for YA! The plot was original and I loved Cecelia! Be patient because this one is a slow burn but you won't regret sticking in there because the last half is amazing!!!

This one took me a bit of a while to get into, but once I did it was fantastic! I absolutely loved the small town secrets/drama vibe of this book and knowing that you couldn’t really trust anyone as so many people were keeping secrets!

I loved the dual mystery element of it, as we’re trying to figure out the truth of what happened in the past as well as following the current day mystery. There was so much going on and I loved it. And the ultimate reveal did not disappoint, there were a number of twists throughout and even if you figure out part of what’s going on, there are so many mysteries to uncover that something will 100% surprise you!

The issue that I often have with YA mystery/thrillers is that it’s often really obvious to predict who is responsible, but with this I was guessing until the last minute. There was a large cast of characters and it honestly could have been anyone, which is something I really loved, as so many characters could have had a strong motive for doing what they did.

This definitely had a slower start that I would have liked, although I think it was needed in order to properly introduce us to all of the characters, so you’ll need to bare with it at the start, but once it picks up it was so hard to put down and I read the majority of the book in one afternoon!

It was one of the best YA thrillers that I’ve read in a long time, so I would definitely recommend it if that’s something that interests you!

"Death has always followed me. Time for me to do the chasing."
I received an arc from netgalley and honestly?this was a cool book.
Characters are well rounded, real and entirely batshit crazy.
no because?I suspected that little shit since the beginning too (do I get brownie points?) Anyway , this was a story about people who found out each other's deepest darkest secrets while investigating a murder, so I totally recommend it <3

#netgalleyarc This book gave me late ‘90s/early ‘00s vibes. It could have been a movie from that time period starring Jennifer Love Hewitt and Ryan Phillippe and it would have been required viewing at every sleepover in town. The characters are your classic “who did it?” cast, especially the teenagers but it was a very enjoyable read. It dragged on a bit and sometimes the flow and pace of the story felt choppy but overall I enjoyed it.

Nothing like a YA thriller to start fall off right! This one definitely kept my interest, but I didn’t really LOVE it until the big final twist at the end which had me very surprised. I found it a little hard to keep track of all the townspeople, especially Cecelia’s friends and who their parents were. They were maybe just one or two too many of them. But I really liked seeing all the old grudges that the parents and grandparents had with each other and how it affected the kids. Cecelia came off a little bland at first, but as the book went on, more of her personality came through and I really enjoyed her as the MC. It was definitely more of a slow burn mystery and it had a lot of red herrings, which all made sense and kept me guessing for most of the book. I eventually did guess one of the big twists, but it was a really good one so I wasn’t upset that the story went that way. Like I mentioned above, the final twist at the end, I did not see coming and thought it was so cool. The ending has closure for the mystery, but it was still open enough that I could see a series on Cecelia and I would be pretty happy about that.
TW: mentions of animal death, murder, violence

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children’s for an advanced digital reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

What in the heck was that?!? I loved this book after I wanted to hate it! Some parts in the beginning were slow but that ending I didn’t see coming. Maura Ellis is a famous author in a small town when her granddaughter Cecilia comes to live with her. The small town has a history of murder and when Cecilia finds herself in the middle of another murder mystery is when the fun begins. This is overall a great whodunit and mystery! You won’t regret reading

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's for the opportunity to read and review this book.

After the death of her mother, seventeen-year-old Cecelia Ellis goes to live with her estranged grandmother (and acclaimed author) in the picturesque California town of Seaview. While everything seems quaint at first glance, Seaview's history is marred by the grisly murder of a homecoming Queen in the school's pool. History repeats itself when Cecelia discovers the body of her new friend in eerily similar circumstances to the one that put Seaview on the map many years ago. Still stricken by grief from the recent loss of her mother, Cecelia throws all of her energy into discovering the truth behind her friend's murder, uncovering a web of lies and secrets buried in Seaview's past and present.

Pretty Dead Queens echoes a lot of similar themes to Donne's previous novel, The Ivies. While I love a good YA thriller with a high school backdrop, I'd love to se her explore more mature (or at least some new) themes in future novels. That being said, I still found the book very enjoyable.

If messy small-town gossip and murder mysteries are in your wheelhouse, you'll definitely enjoy this book. The novel is full of twists, turns, and teen drama. You'll find yourself sifting through the town secrets, and seeing if you can figure out the answer before the protagonist.

Crossposted to Goodreads at: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4958119323

PRETTY DEAD QUEENS reads a lot like a CW drama (but the good ones!!) It's the type of mystery that hooks you from early on, though I do think the opening with the descriptions of the rabbit were a bit unnecessary. It is a slower build to the actual mystery elements and actual plotty developments but I enjoyed the time spent introducing the characters they were a lot mkre well developed than he rlast book where they felt like cardboard cut outs of archetypes

Once again, Alexa Donne has delivered an edge of your seat mystery that kept me guessing until the final pages.

After the death of her mother, Cecelia Ellis moves in with her grandmother Maura Weston, the prolific mystery writer. Still reeling from her mother's death, she is now stuck in this small town with a history of murder. Just when she feels like she is settling in, a homecoming queen nominee is murdered which both echoes a past crime and her grandmother's book. To escape her own grief, Cecelia attempts to solve this murder and get to the bottom of the crime that happened all those years ago.

This was such a twisty and interesting mystery to read. Donne does a great job of creating tension, as well as dropping a lot of clues and red herrings. The characters were all fully fleshed out and fun to follow and the ending really surprised me. Mysteries and thrillers have been very popular and I look forward to recommending this to my teens.

I loved reading this book! It begins with an introduction of characters which I found really entertaining knowing that everyone was going to be a suspect... then the murder happens and the plot takes off. This is a fast paced romp following a newcomer to a small town with secrets. The tropes are on point and played out to their fullest entertainment. Overall an entertaining YA mystery and triller.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for early access to a copy of the e-book.

Pretty Dead Queens is a murder mystery set in a small town grappling with past - or perhaps reveling in its past. Fifty years ago, homecoming queen Caroline was found strangled and face down in the school swimming pool. A young janitor at the school was swiftly convicted as the killer, and the town's popularity got a boost from its notoriety and a book written about the tragedy. Murder tours, fan conventions, and more set the scene fifty years later, when Ceceila moves to town, forced to live with her grandmother (author of said book) after her own mother dies.

History repeats itself when another homecoming queen wannabe is murdered just like Caroline. Ceceila is focused on finding out what happened; so begins the twists and turns that end up with most characters being a suspect at one point or another. The big reveals are mildly predictable/formulaic but still engaging - teens who enjoy the suspense/thriller genres will definitely enjoy this one!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC of this title.

This book is amazing for people who like the Pretty Little Liars/Gossip Girl/Riverdale genre of book. It has everything from the death of a beauty queen, to the twists in whodunnit, the potential copycat murder and two teens trying to solve an investigation behind the police's back. I could see this becoming a TV/streaming movie, or something with a similar story line.

I will say I thought I had the end figured out and was ready to see how it unfurled, but I was wrong. I will also say I was not ready for the twists at the end that lead to truly finding out the killer. In trying not to give anything away, I would tell anyone to get ready for an ending that will knock your socks off.

I really liked this book and will absolutely be recommending this to my friends.

Sigh… This one started slow and picked up around the 30% mark. I needed to know what happened and I guessed who, what, and why from a mile away. A decent young adult thriller, but definitely not my favorite.

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

When I saw that the author of The Ivies had a new book out, I knew I had to read it right away! Pretty Dead Queens by Alexa Donne is YA thriller about a sleepy coastal town. The story revolves around Cecilia, who has gone to live with her grandmother, a famous mystery author a la Agatha Christie. When the homecoming queen is murdered, it's up to Cecilia to find out who the murderer is!

Here is a creepy excerpt from Chapter 1:

"Some people attract death.
When I was nine, my pet rabbit, Easter, flopped out of my arms while Mom was cleaning her cage, and my bunny's back snapped in two. The fall didn't kill Easter, but we had to take her to the vet to put her down. I didn't cry.
When I was six, Granddad went to the angels. That's how my grandmother put it. Mom had a more literal take. "He's dead!" she screamed at her mother. Wailed. It was the first time I ever saw my mom cry."

Overall, Pretty Dead Queens is a YA thriller that will appeal to fans of Nancy Drew or Veronica Mars. One highlight of this book is how the main character tries to solve the mystery herself. I love when protagonists channel their inner Nancy Drews and don't leave everything up to chance. Another highlight of this book is the reveal of the murderer, which I did not see coming! If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you're a fan of YA thrillers in general, I highly recommend that you check out this book when it comes out in October!

slow start and hard to get into, interesting idea but executed only at an okay level. might fit other readers, it is an interesting book still.

Though a bit predictable, I thoroughly enjoyed this story. Following the MC trying to solve a copycat murder.

Thank you so much for an advanced copy of this book.

Star Rating: ⭐️⭐️
Genre: YA Thriller
Pub Date: October 4, 2022

I wanted to like this book so much, but the writing was soooo juvenile. I expected "young" writing in a YA book, but this was more on the really juvenile end of YA (maybe, honestly, some of the writing was more in line with middle grade honestly).

I could not stand the protagonist in this, and once I made that leap, there was no going back for me. I'm so tired of the love interest being the villain in this types of stories, and there was entirely too much going on in the plot to really flesh anything out entirely. The book really dragged, too, which made it hard to stick with.

If you're looking for a good YA thriller, maybe pass on this one.

This was such a fun read!

I'll start first with the mystery - Natalie, the future homecoming queen, is found dead in the school pool on the night of the homecoming game. This mimics a crime that was committed when Cecelia's grandmother was in high school. In fact, Cecelia's grandmother (Maura Weston) is a famous author who writes murder mystery stories. She's a local celebrity and everyone is obsessed with her books. A good portion of the first half of the book was more about the murder many years ago, as opposed to Natalie's murder. When Natalie's body was found, the story picked up, but otherwise, it was a slow start. I do have to say, I knew who killed Natalie right away, but the author did a good job at making me doubt myself. There were a lot of red herrings, but there was one thing that the killer did before Natalie died that I just couldn't ignore.

That brings me to the romance. The whole Cecelia / Ben / Gabriel situation took away from the story, although I can see why it was needed. Ben was a strong character, whereas I think Gabriel fell short. Ben was interning with Cecelia's grandmother, while Gabriel was on the football team and working many jobs around town. Gabriel seemed to just be the second choice love interest who was there for no reason. His part in the story really didn't make sense until the end.

And now, the ending. The ending I really liked. There was a lot going on at once and it was predictable, but I think it was done well. I wasn't happy with the ending because there was one character I really liked who turned out to not be likable. But, sometimes a tragic ending is better than a happy ending.

This is going to be a great read for the fall season and if you like YA thrillers, I recommend it! After the first half, it was fast-paced and intriguing. This was a 4-star read for me and I had fun with it. Thank you to NetGalley and Crown Books for Young Readers for this ARC!