I'm a little sad I didn't like this more than I did. I loved Sara Walters's first book and thought it was such an interesting take on intimate partner violence in teens. This book, unfortunately, did not have the same depth that her first one did.

I did still enjoy this book, and there is still good commentary on sexual violence committed against women, but it gets lost in the narrative.

I did like the relationship between the MCs (always love unhinged teenage girls), but overall just hoped for a little more.

This book was VERY slow and somewhat annoying, well the main character was(Can't stand Tilly). Annoying in a creepy way. This book could be so much more and have many books to it. I wish there was more back story and I would love to hear more of Madison's back story. But the story keeps you on the edge of your seat with the creepiness and thriller mystery. I enjoyed it

Thank you, @netgalley and @sourcebooksfire , for providing an eARC of They're Watching You.

I have been reading some wildly intense books lately and LOVING every minute of it BUT the fear of being inspired to create some real life drama with all that I read I thought it would be smart to take a break and read a book classified as Young Adult.

Joke was on me.

Missing Dead Girls, is not exactly what I was thinking it would be but turned out to be a mind bending fan-flipping-tastic book that blew my head right off my shoulders!

I loveddddddddd this book.

I was first introduced to Sara Walters when I won a giveaway on bookstagram for The Violent Season. I devoured that book and still think about it often (if you haven't read it yet, you must!)

I should have known right there that there was no way I would be putting this down.

Missing Dead Girls, is a fast paced, psychological thriller with a strong focus on friendship and emotion. This is definitely a coming of age of story but in no way is it child's play. I believe this book will be enjoyable for a wide demographic of readers.

After reading both The Violent Season and now, Missing Dead Girls, I definitely consider myself a fan girl of Walters. She has easily become an auto buy author and I am so excited to see what she will come out with next.

Big thank you to Sara Walters, Sourcebooks Fire, and Netgalley for trusting me to read and review Missing Dead Girls, in exchange for an honest review.

Teaser :

It wasn't Tillie's choice to leave Philadelphia. But after everything that happened junior year, her mom insisted the quiet suburb of Willow Creek was the perfect place to get a fresh start, to put the trauma and rumors behind them.

Madison Frank is the perfect distraction. Beautiful, fun, and from the wealthy side of town, Madison is the kind of girl who has a pull stronger than gravity. She commands attention, even inspires obsession. And by the end of summer, Tillie's forgotten everything—everyone—she left in Philadelphia. Almost.

Then Madison goes missing. A photo of her bloody body is texted to the whole student body…from an account with Tillie's name on it. Tillie's caught in a tangled web of secrets that will destroy her if they surface…and will destroy everyone she loves if they don't.

Thank NetGalley and SourceBooks for the ARC.

I was really excited for this book. The synopsis is amazing and I've been trying to branch out into other genres more however it was a huge flop. I was about 50 pages in when I guessed the whole plot and turned out right. It was extremely predictable and cliche. The writing was on point but it couldn't carry the slow pace. In the end it was a story about two traumatized girls in a toxic relationship.

I loved Walters' debut novel, The Violent Season, so Missing Dead Girls was a must-read.

One important note: the synopsis is entirely misleading. Madison going missing isn't remotely the point of the book - it's just a plot point in the deeper story of Tilly and Madison's manic, obsessive relationship and Tilly's tendency towards fixation on one person, no matter the consequences.

Despite not loving this book, I'm still looking forward to reading whatever Walters writes next because she does a fantastic job capturing the terrifying intensity of teenage girls.

2.5 rounded up

A fun and quick read full of suspense with an ending you will not see coming! I read this in 24 hours and truly loved it.

VERY TWISTY! I could not stop reading this one! There were a few things on the character development side I wished to see but this is still a great read! I would definitely suggest to anyone who likes YA thrillers!

Loved and appreciated the content warnings at the beginning! Also love a good sapphic thriller ALWAYS!

Thanks to SOURCEBOOKS and NetGalley for the eARC!

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. All opinions are my own.

Missing Dead Girls is a fun thriller that mixes high school royalty with a little murder. It's a fun quick read that keeps you interested until the end.

This was an ok read for me, it just didn't hit the mark for me. I know I will have some students who will enjoy this book, but for me it wasn't exactly what I was in the mood to read.

Sara Walters knows how to write tortured queer girl angst. This book is full of it.

Tillie has moved to a new town and is trying to start over after tragedy struck in her old town… she has some secrets she is holding close. She told herself that she wouldn’t allow herself to get completely wrapped up in another girl… but here she is with queen bee type Madison.

But, Madison has her own secrets. One common secret they share, people die around the two of them…

This book deals a lot with trauma and how it’s is dealt with. This one was a riveting read.

I didn’t love this story.

It was a bit to slow for me and just didn’t keep my interest. I did finish the book but was tempted to DNF a couple times throughout the story.

I first off want to say this is the case of a book my students may enjoy, because it is very YA. I want to say this before I get into my personal review:
Students will love this twisting, turning journey during Tillie’s summer break. Tillie has a secret for why she left Philly, and Madison is going tot be the one to drag it out of her. This book explores the toxic relationship between two high school girls with dark secrets. Tillie is an unreliable narrator and the author deftly weaves the timeline of Tillie’s past with her present. She expertly drops little nuggets of the story and allows the reader to try to figure out what will happen next.

Now personally, this book was poorly written. The relationship is odd because the girls get wrapped up within each other so fast. I also don’t know how I feel about a book where our main character constantly references the fact that she’s okay with being ruined by Madison. I didn’t find the situations/ major events that occurred interesting. The random side plot about fixing up the playhouse and the little drowned girl is weird and unnecessary. It reads as though the author is leaving the door open for a sequel, and while I’d be compelled to pick it up to see if some of my questions have answers, I am equally compelled to ignore it and leave my questions unanswered.

Mystery/ Thriller is not my primary genre, but I really liked Missing Dead Girls. It's creepy and romantic, with a satisfying outcome for the antagonist.
The end left me wanting more.

This story wasn’t for me, while I liked the characters, thought they were very compelling and I was glad about the sapphic representation. I didn’t like the fact that this book is basically literary fiction and the mystery and thriller parts only happen towards the end. I really enjoy thrillers, but the fact that only the very last part of the book had some action, was just not it for me. The book also felt very repetitive, Tillie constantly thinks about the same things all the time, and it got a bit frustrating to read about.

3.5 stars
A bewitching girl, a girl haunted by a tragedy and how they fell from grace.

This book is fast and has a simple idea, revenge. But while the revenge seems sweet, the two girls enacting it are very dark & questionable, and you can't fully enjoy the vengeance after discovering who they are. It leaves you questioning morals. I've enjoyed books like this, and they have left me thinking and wondering, and this book does that. I would recommend it for a darker-tone read.

I haven't read from Sara before, but I really enjoyed the pacing of this book. The plot was pretty straightforward, no real twists and turns that I didn't see coming, but I still enjoyed the read. For a YA thriller, I liked seeing queer sex and cursing, alongside drug and alcohol use. It's realistic! I could have done without the workplace incident to drive the plot forward, seemed unnecessary, but to each their own. I also think that there's something to be said for a happy queer experience instead of shame, outting, and blackmail, but I understand that's not all experiences of books. However, I don't think we need to perpetuate those storylines. Still, not a bad read!

I tried to get into this book I really did. It seemed short and choppy to me. I felt like there were pieces missing.

This was less of a thriller and more of a drama. Nothing particular thrilling or mysterious happened and I definitely think the death midway through was unnecessary.

Missing Dead Girls is a story about revenge, love, and trauma. It's about how to deal with the aftermath of a bad choice. The anticipation of what you know is going to happen keeps you on the edge waiting to fall. Trying not to get too attached to the character you know from the first chapter, is going to meet a violent end.

If you skip the first chapter, this book starts like a messed up summer romance. Both Tillie and Maddison have baggage and past traumas. They become the kind of couple that are both perfect for one another while also being a bomb just waiting to destroy the other. I was left in constant anticipation, waiting for Tillie's past to be revealed and for Maddison to die. Neither character is particularly likeable, but still characters you want to get to know.

With writing that is at times poetic, with lines that pack a punch, Missing Dead Girls is a story you wont want to stop reading. The kind of story that grows on you bit by bit. That tells you its secrets only for you to question their validity. And that punches you in the gut when the time is right.

Easy read however, quite slow paced and a tad underwhelming at times. I think there could’ve been more added to the story. I do love the lesbian rep between the MC and love interest.