There’s just something about a teenager in a small town stepping in to solve a crime. I have found I’m very attracted to books like that after others like A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, so Pretty Dead Queens by Alexa Donne was right up my alley and I was excited.

Cecelia was a very interesting lead character with a backstory that made her emotionally intriguing and to kind of spawn her story on. I loved the introduction to this brand new group of friends, including many townspeople. It built a suspense that comes with a lot of suspects all at once and being unable to decipher who is guilty. Each time I thought I had an idea, something little happened or a clue came to light and I would second guess myself. I am happy that I was correct in my guess, but Donne definitely kept me guessing.

I really enjoyed the relationships that developed between Maura and Cecelia and Suzanna and Cecelia. They were the parental figures in her life and the dynamics were interesting compared to a regular parent/child relationship. Donne definitely made characters that were deep, but also a few that really left a lot of questions, like the friend group. I feel like so many dirty secrets were partially revealed and never really explored or seemed like a bit of a distraction instead. I wish those things had been explored more.

Otherwise this book was fantastic. It’s a great book for anyone who loves mystery/thrillers and should be added to your To Reads list before end of 2022. You won’t be disappointed.

This one is sadly a DNF for me. I couldn’t get into the writing style and all the references really just threw me. I’m sure this book has a good mystery going for it but I just couldn’t get into it

Pretty Dead Queens, the sophomore thriller from Alexa Donne, is a small town mystery full of intrigue with a disappointing ending.

The murder…

Still emotionally devastated after her mother’s death, Cecilia has to move from sunny Southern California to a tiny seaside town in Northern California to live with her estranged grandmother. In her hometown, her grandmother is a famous author. Her first claim to fame was a murder mystery novel based on a true story: a homecoming queen who was murdered and drowned in the school pool.

Cecilia tries to adjust to her strange new life, but living in a town that’s famous for murder doesn’t make it easy. Her grandmother has bookstores, a dedicated tour, and even a fan convention. Still, she manages to make a small group of friends. As soon as she’s started to settle in, though, she finds another murdered girl on the night before homecoming. Another homecoming queen facedown in the high school swimming pool.

Immediately, she throws herself into the investigation. Despite the police and her grandmother trying to keep her away, she needs answers. She can’t stay away. She feels pursued by death: first her mother, then her old friend. She finds herself questioning everyone in her new town. Everyone here has secrets—she just needs to find out who may be deadly before it’s too late.

An unlikable heroine

While I enjoyed this novel, what held me back from loving it was unfortunately the main character. I did not connect with her at all. For the beginning, her judgemental attitude rubbed me the wrong way. She stereotypes everyone she meets, yet somehow effortlessly makes friends with the cool clique on Day 1. I also never felt like I connected with her on a deeper level. Even though she was struggling with her mother’s death, I felt nothing. I didn’t feel the connection between her and her mother or the greater grieving process.

Small town secrets done well… almost

On the positive side, the small town setting felt authentic. I’m a Northern California native, and I’ve been to towns exactly like this. It made a perfect spot for a murder mystery—families that know all of each others’ intimate business, paired with craggy cliffs that threaten to crumble beneath your feet at any moment. Donne fleshes out the minor members of the town in a way that makes them all interesting—and all suspects. So many different characters had compelling motives for murdering Natalie, which made each scene tingling with tension.

…which made the twist ending that much more disappointing. The killer turned out to be none of the suspects who we’d been building up for 300 pages, but somebody else altogether. While there might be something to say for the shock value, I still thought that it fell flat.

If you devour murder mysteries, you will love this book. Fans of Donne’s last thriller, The Ivies, may be disappointed, but it still may be worth the read.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children’s Crown Books for Young Readers for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.

This was a disappointing read for me. There are plenty of other better YA thrillers out there that I would recommend over this one. The book was really boring for me. After reading 50 percent, I really wanted to DNF it. The biggest problem here was the underdeveloped characters. As if there were a bunch of dummies in the book instead of real people. The whole story idea was promising, but it all came out flat for me.

The world of YA thrillers hasn’t been filled with the most ripe pickings this year, sadly. There have been some bright highlights here and there, but there have definitely been more disappointments than stars like this fun and fresh YA suspense-thriller-mystery, “Pretty Dead Queens”.

First of all, I enjoyed this book a lot because, ironically, at times it felt just dramatic and a touch over-the-top enough that it reminded me of all my favorite prime-time teen soaps like “Riverdale”, with a tiny bit of “The Vampire Diaries” (without the vamps, of course) and “Veronica Mars” mixed in. Anytime something just a little bit trashy or juicy was introduced I rubbed my hands together in glee because I just couldn’t resist. I mean, realism in our books is all well and good, but who doesn’t like a tiny bit of titillating escapism in their stories every once and awhile?

I enjoyed the underlying theme of compartmentalization and dissociation that swam throughout this book. Almost every character is hiding a huge part of themselves and just acting a part, taking their issues and stuffing them inside a metaphorical box so they don’t have to think about them, and/or distracting themselves with other issues–even bigger and potentially dangerous issues in order to keep their minds occupied. And some of that comes part and parcel with growing up in and living in a small town where everyone knows everyone else and is up in their business (believe me, I’ve been there): sometimes you keep some secrets just so something belongs solely to you and not to the entire town and everyone in it. But in this case some people are taking it to some dangerous extremes.

The plot is twisted and entertaining as heck, with some fantastically interesting characters and intriguing developments on both fronts. Watching our protagonist (Cecelia) latch onto solving one mystery, which then turns into being determined to trying to solve two in an effort to distract herself from her own mother’s death and the harsh realities of coming to live with her estranged grandmother in a new town and dealing with a new school makes her dogged efforts even more endearing as a way of working through her grief and anxiety.

Was the ending a surprise? Not to me, but it didn’t ruin the ending for me in any way. It was entertaining to see how Donne was going to go about it and how it would all come to a head and finally resolve itself. It’s one heck of a ride and a great book.

Thanks to NetGalley, Random House Children’s Books, and Crown Books for Young Readers for granting me access to this title in exchange for a fair and honest review.

File Under: YA Fiction/YA Suspense/YA Thriller/YA Mystery/Amateur Sleuths

This books was GRIPPING! I’m a big fan of young girl detective stories, and loved the personality of Cecelia. She made a really good main character, and acted in ways I would have acted if I were in the same situations she was in.
Even though I had strong suspicions on the person that ended up being the actual killer, the author made me doubt myself over and over again and suspect a little bit of every person. Plus, the twist at the end was something I loved!
I’m usually not a big fan of love triangles, but in this book I didn’t find it annoying at all. I think the author made a great job creating the characters, since they all seemed real to me and I developed some kind of affection for many of them. .
This was my first time reading the author, and it will definitely not be the last! I’m looking forward to reading more of her books soon.


Thank you so much Random House and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book!
4,5/5 ⭐

Pretty Dead Queens is follows a character named Cecelia who has just moved to a new town to live with her estranged grandmother following the death of her mom. The town has dark history surrounding a prom queen that was murdered decades ago, an event that Cecelia’s grandmother fictionalized and used to become a New York times best-selling author. When a copy-cat killer strikes during homecoming week, Cecelia takes it upon herself to try and solve the case, and during her investigation, she uncovers that the “solved” case from years ago may not have been so clear-cut after all.

I really enjoyed this mystery/thriller novel! If you’re familiar with YA thrillers and mysteries, they typically involve a teen or group of teens who try to solve a case independent of the local police. Sometimes this is because they feel they are in imminent danger, and other times—like in Cecelia’s case—it’s because they think the police are missing, or ignoring, crucial details.

Unlike other YA mysteries I’ve read, Cecelia openly admits that she is probably out of her depth in what she’s attempting to do. As an adult who often spends my time internally yelling at these types of teenagers to stop being so dangerously foolish, I appreciated these moments of self-awareness. In fact, I thought Cecelia was a well-rounded character who was able to conduct a fairly thorough investigation all while dealing with the crippling grief that has followed from her mother’s death. The only thing that bothered me about her was that she seemed, like, extremely horny? That’s probably not the right word but basically anytime Cecelia encounters a new person, she starts talking about how hot they are. There’s even a love triangle in this book because she can’t seem to figure out who she wants to be with and lord knows how much I hate those.

As expected, Pretty Dead Queens has many twists and turns as you progress through the storyline. While I felt some of these were very predictable, there were a few that really blew me away. I would recommend this to fans of Diana Urban, Karen M. McManus, and Holly Jackson.

This was a good thriller. I did find a few things out of whack. Like...Why did we have Celia sleep with Ben after knowing him for a week. I know that happens in the world today but I felt like it was unnecessary given the fast pace of the storyline. It felt a little gratuitous. And the constant references to liking Gabe but feeling the need to be loyal to Ben. Like girl. You've been here a week, maybe two. You're not chained to any boy.

Also, if Maura had been killing people to find out what happens when a certain method is used.....why couldn't the police connect at least the smallest dot? A person turns up dead in a certain way and then a book comes out with that circumstance used. Did they really just think Maura was so unoriginal that she could only write books when true murders had taken place?

And Joe. I don't understand why he didn't try harder to exonerate himself. What else did Maura have on him that keeps him in jail, happy with just a large commissary payment. That would not be enough for me to want to take life in prison for you.

Also not a fan of Morgan and Natalie's father as a storyline. This also seemed gratuitous, especially when it was revealed that none of that had to do with the crime. Do we need to promote these creepy predatorial relationships and do we need to promote girl on girl revenge by not going after the guy Natalie likes but by going after her dad?

Towards the end I figured out where they were going but this is a quick easy read.

I received this book from netgalley. I loved it so much! I was able to figure out some parts but y'all the ending... WTF!?! So good! I enjoyed this book from the very first page until the very last! If you love a good thriller/murder mystery, this is the book for you!

A YA Thriller. A great suspenseful mystery
I read this in one day and could not put it down. So many suspects. So many motives. Just when I think I got it all figured out, even more reasons to want her dead surface making me doubt myself repeatedly loved the red herrings and plot twists. The victim seemed like your typical mean girl. I pegged either her or her bestie as the victim. But the layers of the victim's character that we discover just pushes the suspect pool larger the more we learn the more I hate her. And then the ending Oh My God The Ending. Loved this book.

A solid YA thriller from Alexa Donne just in time for Halloween! Following her mother's death, Celia moves to the small California town of Seaview to live with her grandmother, the famous murder mystery writer Maura Weston. Maura's career began years ago following the real-life murder of homecoming queen Caroline Quinn. Now many years later, Celia finds herself investigating the copycat murder of homecoming queen Natalie Bergen...and she suspects the cases intertwine in more ways than one.

This was a good YA thriller for spooky season. I think it was long-winded but Donne's writing is mostly tight. Most of the pop culture references were more millennial than Gen Z, which didn't entirely make sense. Donne does a good job of building the suspense throughout, but I will say one of the major reveals was predictable. It's also pretty racy for a YA thriller and had some elements that left me uneasy rather than just spooked in a normal thriller context. Donne understands her genre, but this wasn't my favorite entry in the YA thriller space.

Thank you to Penguin Teen for providing me with an e-ARC of Pretty Dead Queens & PRH Audio for providing me with a complimentary audiobook!

I think my hopes were a bit too high with this one. It was a perfectly fine thriller, it did what it set out to do, but it's not something that really sticks out. As of writing this, I could only tell you the twist at the end (which, imo, best part) & none of the juicy parts that get us there.

In the end, I didn't dislike this but I also didn't care much about it.

This book kept me on the edge of my set wondering what was going to happen next. It was full of suspense, twist and turn and some had some surprising events along the way as well. A great read and I recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the arc for review.

Pretty Dead Queens is a quick, "don't think too hard about it" YA thriller. I can't speak on to whether or not anything is predictable or it's easy to guess the twists, because I'm also a "don't think too hard about it" reader when it comes to YA, which made this book pretty fun. I'm easily able to suspend disbelief about a teen investigating a murder, sneaking around, breaking into places and making connections the police don't, because while that wouldn't happen in real life, it's exactly what this book is about.

The pace is good and the investigation doesn't drag. A varied number of potential culprits are offered as suspects, and a variety of believable motives. If you're just rolling with it as it comes, it's an easy and enjoyable enough read.

I did have some problems with the characterization, particularly the main character, Cecelia, and her grandmother. The author doesn't seem to really stick with a solid form of who Cecelia is. At one point, she talks about how cute she likes to dress when compared with what her grandmother wants her to wear, but at another point, she talks about feeling like a frumpy, greasy mess compared to her new rich friend. However, Cecelia is ALSO now living with her wealthy grandmother, and has no reason to feel lesser or self-conscious on either of these fronts. Additionally, there's a point where Cecelia gets in a fight with a male character who oversteps to protect her, some real righteous rage, only for a couple of chapters later to completely flip and swoon over, "oh, he was just trying to protect me!"

The villain monologue/back and forth in the climax of the book was super cheesy, and some of the reveals, including the final ones, felt a little cheap - Cecelia & co are following clues and hunches throughout the book, allowing for the reader to potentially piece things together along with them, only for most major points to hinge on small details that are randomly revealed late in the game without explanation, or to come completely out of nowhere. I understand there's a balance with a mystery/thriller to include enough to be intriguing but not so much as to give the game away, but still, it's not very fun to have the ending built on stuff the reader was not at all privy to.

Despite the fact that I've written more negative than positive, I overall feel pretty good about this one. It's fast, it's a bit twisty, it's pretty solid in terms of YA mysteries/thrillers. A couple things stand out as heavy handed or forced, but it's a fast and easy read that's fairly good fun, too.

Pretty Dead Queens by Alexa Donne

My rating: 3.5/5
⭐️⭐️⭐️

When Cecilia’s mom dies from cancer, she moves to her grandmother’s home, who is a successful author and small town royalty. While her grandmother Maura’s success was based on her best selling murder mystery books, Maura’s books were more non fiction than fiction. When a homecoming queen is murdered and Maura finds her, she uses this as inspiration for her first novel. When a copycat murder takes place when Cecilia moves to town, she wants to take on the case and try to figure out who did it, and she was also not so convinced that the killer from Maura’s high school days was the actual killer either.

I am struggling with what to rate this one! I think that overall it was a pretty good read, but felt like it’s been done before. I got A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder vibes while reading this one and sadly it fell short comparatively. This is a young adult novel with so many characters that it was hard for me to keep track. Obviously with a whodunit, you have to have lots of characters to keep everyone guessing but I felt myself getting a little bored with trying to remember all of the characters as well as learning all their back stories. I did enjoy some elements, especially towards the end where the action and suspense kicked up. That being said, it was a pretty obvious ending to me so I think that’s why I’m struggling with the rating.

Thank you Netgalley and Random House publishing for this ARC! You can read this one now because it was published this month!

** spoiler alert ** Okay so it’s been a hot minute since I actually read the book and it is STILL ON MY FUCKING MIND!!! This was probably my favorite book by Alexa Donne. I have the biggest and highest hopes for this to be turned into a movie or limited series because I would watch the hell out of it! Netflix??? Pick up the phone!!!

Below are some of my thoughts as I read this book (contains spoilers) and after thoughts. I love doing this for thrillers especially because it shows my thought process.



SPOILERS BELOW


I think Morgan did it (or is in on it) because yeah why DID she die her hair and look exactly like Natalie?? I think she planned trying to be the “victim”.

Lmao I don’t think the janitor did the OG murder either. (Gasp!!! What if it was Maura??)
*LMFAO OMG YALL IM A GENIUS I was like 30% way through the book when I wrote this part

“We should reschedule homecoming 🥺. It’s what Natalie would have wanted!” BRO I SURE SHE DOESNT GIVE A FLYING FUCK.

Yes amber!!! Stick up for my girl’

Yeah Luke said he would kill her but I HIGHLY doubt he did. He does not give me killer vibes. And can it FOR ONCE not be the ex/boyfriend
*in hindsight it was still the ex boyfriend 😔

I do not trust Suzanne. She gives me some icky feelings. More so that she is doing something to harm Maura’s reputation then being a murderer.
*Maura sent her to give Reama an ARC of her next book?? Why so sketchy then
** so I was actually kinda right in this one but imma take it back SUZANNE IS A LITERAL FUCKING SAINT

Bro please let Maura help with all the murder solving!!!

Idk I’m thinking it’s Morgan and Luke idkkkkkk

Only Luke, Brontë, and Morgan had master keys to the school? That’s SUS

MORGAN IS SLEEPING WITH HER BEST FRIEDS FATHER 🤮🤮 the mayor is a PEDO I-

GABe AND LIKE WERE TOTALLY HOOKING UO AND IF THEY WERNT ILL EAT MY FUCKING SHOE
*okay so it wasn’t Gabe he was with… but I was right that Luke is a little fruity

Ayo?? WHO sending the mayor messages?? The real question bro….
*really had to have this one spelled out to me 😔

Bro why in every crime novel can the main character just visit random ass people in jail. IT DOESN’T WORK LIKE THAT!!!!
*oh thank god someone asked if they were on a list. Still a little far fetched that they could just go talk to this guy but 🤷🏻‍♀️
**”the prisoner has to put you on a list” OH MY GODDDD SOMEONE FINALLY KNOWS WHAT THEY ARE DOING!!

Why is Maura visiting Joe the Creep???

BRO I KNEW HE AINT DO IT!! I bet he was fucking covering for his sister (and Maura!!)
*id like to apologize to miss Grace bc I was susing her a lot when I really didn’t need too. Joe was literally just keeping her safe 😔

Is Ben apart of this somehow? Him and Gabe?? Because I keep getting some Billy and Stu from scream vibes RN
*also extending my apologies to Gabe but imma just be real. The evidence was convincing. Can’t believe I fell for the story myself.

BRO BEN WAS IN THE BATJROOM HE COULD HAVE SENT THE FUCKING TEXTS YO
*my sus of Ben came WAY TO LATE IN THE GAME 😭

“AND WHERE ARE WE FOING NOW??” BROOOOOOOO

“This is almost over”????? Whatchu mean my boi????

BRO SHE REALLY JUST SLEPT WITH HIM LIKE THAT.?? Bro??

BRO BRO BRO?? Had me fucking on LOCK !! I believed this motherfucker so much??? Bro? BRO???

I KNEW KT I KNEW IT I KNEW THE BUTCH DID IT!!! But to go after her own granddaughter m!??? BROO

Is this why Maura and her daughter where estranged??? Did mommy dearest figure it out too?

OH MY GOD??? SHE KILLED GRANDDAD TOO??? How many people DID she kill??

REAMA?!?!?!?!?

I think I'm a little obsessed with all these YA thrillers! They seem to have really made a resurgence this year. Or maybe I'm wrong and an idiot who hadn't noticed all of these before the good girls guide to murder series. This category is turning into my comfort category of books that I read in one sitting and can really do no wrong. Pretty Dead Queens is no exception to this rule. I'm excited to be writing this review for you guys!

Pretty Dead Queens is a YA thriller that came out on the 4th of October! It's been published by Random House and is 333 pages long. This is not Alexa Donne's first book, and most of you will know her as the author of The Ivies, which was out in May 2021.

Cecilia moves to live with her grandmother after her mom passes away. As a copycat killer strikes again, she has to find out who killed the homecoming queen this time and if the original killer caught was really the right one.

It took me under 2 hours to read Pretty Dead Queens. It's a fun read with a dead girl set in a small town. At least the small town is in California. I loved loved loved the references that the author made to another book that was set in a small town, which I can guarantee all of you have read, watched the movie of, or at least heard off. If you haven't, then I believe you live under a shockingly dense rock or are a child who has no business being on the internet.

It was exciting to see how poisonous people can be on the inside and how much people are willing to overlook when they're dead. Motives can also be strange; sometimes, you just need to watch how people look when they die.

To be fair, while I think the above was pretty spoilery, the twists in the book are so good. I suspected one of them, but really the last one, which was a tad over dramatic, was something I just couldn't see coming at all!

Oh my god that ENDING!!!

Okay, so I was enjoying Pretty Dead Queens. A very solid, interesting YA murder mystery with lots of small town secrets and a heroine grieving the death of her mother and adjusting to living with her grandmother who is a famous author of murder mysteries. Interesting characters, past and present murders of homecoming queens to solve, generally a good time and already something I would have rated pretty high.

But then the TWISTS at the end had me yelling at the book! And I mostly didn't expect them, but they were so good, and made sense! Sometimes you get a twist that comes out of left field which is annoying. This wasn't like that. The clues were seeded through it, but not in a way that made it super obvious. At least to me. I'm sure there's a seasoned mystery reader out there who saw things coming, but I was taken by surprise. Absolutely loved the way this wrapped up and found it so satisfying.

I also think this book makes really good use of technology, which isn't always done well! It feels naturally integrated, from cell phones to video surveillance and more. I always enjoy Alexa Donne's books, but this really feels like a step up in terms of complexity and weaving together narratives in a way that works. Loved it! Caveat that I am friends with Alexa, so I'm sure I'm more inclined to be positive, but I was genuinely a fan of this book. I received a copy for review via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

Although the premise was strong and the mystery intriguing, I got antsy and stopped liking the main character and then couldn’t finish this one. Too many improbable scenarios and I might be too old to keep up.

I'm a fan of Alexa Donne's writing, and Pretty Dead Queens did not disappoint. In this book we follow Cecelia, who just can't seem to escape the shroud of death. But while she can't do anything about her mom's death from cancer, she can solve a small-town murder mystery, with all the gusto that only a teenage wannabe detective can have. She's no Sherlock Holmes. She's not exceptionally brighter or cleverer than anyone around her. But that makes her one of the more relatable murder-solving teens out there. Cecelia feels her age and makes some of the dumb decisions that people make at her age, but it makes her very real. I also loved the way the mystery elements blended with an aspect of grief that also kept me engaged in the story. I will say, I wasn't completely surprised by the murderer reveal (then again, I probably read and watch too many mysteries/thrillers to be fully surprised as often). But I do think it was still a good and very dramatic reveal, and a good story overall.