**2.5-stars rounded up**

Games for Dead Girls is the latest release from Jen Williams. This is the second novel I have read from Williams and unfortunately, I wasn't crazy about either one.

In this story, we are following multiple timelines. One is a past perspective when two girls, Charlie and Emily, become friends in the small Seaside town of Hithechurch, England. In an effort to try to rid Emily of her abusive father, the two girls perform a ritual to summon the spirit of a local legend, a girl killed by pirates, who Charlie dubs, Stitch Face Sue.

Even though they are unsuccessful, Emily becomes obsessed with the idea of Stitch Face Sue and of summoning her. When the two recruit another young girl into their friendship group, the end result is disastrous. The new girl is killed and Emily and Charlie get caught trying to hide her body, after which they're both sent to institutions for the remainder of their childhood.

Another perspective is Charlie in the present. Now an adult, Charlie has returned to Hithechurch under the guise of researching a book about the local folklore. That's not her only reason for being in town though. Emily has released a memoir regarding the incident that changed the course of their lives and she's laying all the blame at Charlie's feet. Charlie is determined to find the evidence she needs to prove that what Emily is saying is false.

Then there is a third, more mysterious perspective, of a man in Hithechurch decades before Charlie and Emily meet. Eventually, the three perspectives as one story starts to make sense. Unfortunately, for me, it lost some of the impact because it was such a slog getting to the conclusion.

In my opinion, I felt like the perspectives didn't flow well, one into the other. It felt jarring to me and also a bit confusing keeping track of what was going on amongst the different times. I feel like nothing was memorable enough to stand out, so it made it more difficult to follow.

I liked the idea behind this, the legends of a small seaside town influencing some local kids to do terrible things. I like that premise. I also think the reason behind Charlie coming back to town was kind of fun and made sense as far as motivation for her current actions.

This reminded me a lot, a lot, a lot of The Dead Girls Club. I personally enjoyed this one a little more, because at least I never rolled my eyes at anything the MC was doing. Unfortunately, neither one of them really delivered the dark atmosphere and engaging plot that I was hoping for.

At the end of the day, while I wasn't crazy about this one, I can see that there is a good story in here, somewhere. Hence the 2.5-stars rounded up. With this being said, this will probably be my last-go with this author. Just know, it's not her, it's me. I just don't seem to be the right fit for her style of writing, but I know there are many Readers out there who will be.

After all, as I always say, there's a Reader for every book and book for every Reader. If the synopsis sounds intriguing to you, absolutely give it a go. You could end up finding a new favorite book!

Thank you to the publisher, Crooked Lane Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I appreciate the opportunity to provide my feedback.

A slow read for me and one where the premise wasn't quite matched by the execution. I could see early on where the different timelines were going to connect but the book took too long to actually make it there. The ending was also a bit anticlimactic.

I thought my first read by Jen Williams would have been her Winnowing Flame trilogy, but I have conspired against myself and her newest horror/thriller book was my first read. I didn’t remember much at all about the synopsis and hadn’t read any early reviews, so I was a little surprised by the story that unfolded.
In the present day, Sarah Watkins is visiting a seaside town during the offseason with her niece to uncover local lore for a book she’s writing. In 1988, unfolds the story of Charlie and Emily - two girls who’ve made up some silly rituals trying to summon Stitch Face Sue, the ghost of a girl killed by pirates. Finally, in the 1960’s there’s an intelligent boy nicknamed Doc, because he’s surely going to be a doctor when he grows up, just like his father. It’s quite clear how Sarah Watkins and Charlie Watts fit together - they are one in the same. Sarah has returned to find something she buried in an attempt to stop a defamatory book written by Emily from being released to the public. The mystery here is how the girls went from playing together one summer vacation to their current state of enmity and attempted anonymity on Sarah’s part. The part that doesn’t quite make sense until much later in the book is how Doc’s POV fits into all of this.
I wouldn’t exactly say I enjoyed this book because it was actually kind of messed up and definitely went into some dark territory. What I did like was the use of an unreliable narrator and the multiple timelines that slowly piece together a dark puzzle of missing girls and the dark secrets of a seaside town. There was a moment at 61% (I’ve been keeping notes!) where I wanted to chuck the Kindle because I had a sudden and rather frustrating epiphany about what was going on. The remainder of the book was me furiously turning pages to see *how* exactly all the events would unfold.
The characters weren’t exactly likable, though I did feel a bit bad for Sarah as I didn’t think she deserved the punishment she received. None of the major characters were truly innocent either, which served to provide readers with a complicated, morally gray tale filled with disturbed children. This isn’t a new favorite, but I admire Jen William’s writing skill and will definitely be reading the Winnowing Flame trilogy soon as fantasy is generally more to my taste.

A mix of horror and thriller, a lot of potential and a blurb that sounded very exciting.
There's all the elements for a book that keeps you reading till late in the night with the all the lights on.
There's three POVs and different timeline and everything is quite interesting but you wonder when they will makes sense together as the plot seems to take ages for eveything.
I struggled till the different parts worked together and it was an exciting read.
There's some creepy moments, there's a sense of dread but I would have preferred a faster pace that kept my attention alive.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

"If you want to stop her, find what you buried together."

Thank you Jen Williams, Crooed Lane Books, Dreamscape Media, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

In the seaside town of Hithechurch, England, eleven-year-old Charlotte meets Emily, a clever and secretive girl her own age with a dark family history. In an attempt to get rid of Emily's abusive father, Charlie and Emily perform a ritual to try and summon the spirit of a Hithechurch girl of urban legend-named Stitch Face Sue by Charlie-who was killed by pirates and supposedly haunts the town in a quest for revenge. Emily becomes obsessed with Stitch Face Sue, and ropes in another girl-but the game goes tragically wrong when the new girl is killed. Charlie and Emily are caught trying to hide the body, and both are carted away to institutions. Past meets present when Charlie returns to Hithechurch as an adult to research a book on the folklore of the area, but is drawn into the cases of several girls who have mysteriously vanished. Emily has published a bestselling memoir on the fateful incident from their childhoods, one that lays the blame squarely at Charlie's feet. Outraged, Charlie scours the town for evidence to back up her side of the story-and in doing so exposes an older, even darker tale. In a town haunted by tragic disappearances and unrelenting urban legends, Charlie's determination for truth is laced with secrets buried deep in Hithechurch's past.

This book was very slow paced for the first half. It starts to pick up around 55% in. However, I didn’t really find myself getting into it until 70% into the book. I was able to read the ebook and listen to the audiobook. I really enjoyed listening to the narrator and their narration is really what kept me engaged. I was definitely surprised with the twists of this book after reading the description. If you are a Lisa Jewell fan, you will enjoy this book.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Games for Dead Girls has a good premise, but I felt like the various timelines and characters weren’t handled all that well by the author. It also felt like there were just too many different characters to keep a good handle on everything.

SPOILER
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One thing I am wondering about is how the two girls ended up doing the same time in prison. One of them actually committed the murder. The other one was an accomplice. It seems like the one who actually committed the murder who have done more time, yes? But not in this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC. This review contains my honest, unbiased opinion.

This wasn't my first book by author Jen Williams. Her book "A Dark And Secret Place" I read and reviewed on my blog a couple years ago.
The premise to her latest novel was perfect for a good read! Small town, creepy folklore, missing girls and dark secrets. The perfect setup for a good page turner. This book is told from 3 different perspectives and from 3 different timelines.

At first there is no possible way you would think they all fit together in present day. You keep reading and reading, trying to put the pieces together.

Charlie and her niece are on an off season holiday at a seaside town that Charlie once vacationed at with her family as a child. Charlie has an ulterior motive for visiting the town, clearly to investigate the missing teenage girls and how they somehow relate to her past, her niece is clueless to her agenda.

We do get to see into Charlie's past and her relationship with her childhood vacation friend as they investigate creepy folklore and start to do weird rituals to try and summon the spirit of Stitch Face Sue, a tale they become semi obsessed about.

The third storyline is about a doctor who cognitive abilities are compromised by an accident. He ends up with a beautiful woman who also has an accident, but hers effects her looks, which effects her self esteem.

A long way into the novel these stories interconnect. But I got bored long before that happened. So many times I wanted to quit this book. I actually started reading another book while still reading this one because I was so incredibly bored. There is so much potential here with this book and I am so disappointed the author wasted it on nonimportant side stories and ramblings. There were also so many storylines missed. There were characters I would have loved to know more about, but they were passed over as unimportant.

This was a gracious 3 star read for me. I really struggled to finish.

"Games For Dead Girls" is set to be released here in the U.S. on April 18. 2023 so you can pre-order it now!

Thanks to Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for allowing me an advanced digital copy to read and give my honest review.

Happy Reading!

𝐌𝐘 𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3/5)

READ IF YOU LIKE:
⏳ Multiple timelines + POV
🏘️ Atmospheric small town vibes
✂️ Flawed characters
🖊️ SHORT CHAPTERS
🕯️ Slow burn thrillers
✍🏼 JENNIFER HILLIER + ALEX NORTH
✏️ Unreliable narrators

☁️ THOUGHTS:
An author MC, spooky urban legends + dark secrets, paired with the atmospheric, small beach town setting, made for a creepy, gripping and intriguing thriller.

Three timelines switch between the 50s, 80s and ‘now’ and we are drip-fed red herrings and information from several unreliable narrators throughout the plot. This was most definitely a slow burn mystery, which I know a lot of people LOVE, but personally for me, i need a fast paced plot to keep my attention.

Having said that, I switched to the audio version about a third of the way in — I listen to audiobooks between 1.5-2x speed (this definitely depends on the narrator!) and this definitely upped my enjoyment and allowed me to connect with the claustrophobic cave setting and intriguing urban legends.

There were no MAJOR twists that took me by surprise, but overall I enjoyed how the multiple storylines weaved together and if you like an atmospheric, CHARACTER-DRIVEN mystery, you’d definitely like this! 🫶🏼

📍 Thank you to the publisher, author + NetGalley for an advanced review copy. All opinions are my own. Review also posted to @redheadbookgirl (IG), Goodreads and Storygraph.

𝑬𝒇𝒇𝒚 @ 𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒈𝒊𝒓𝒍 🥀

The cover initially intrigued me on this one. Plus, I was in the mood for a creepy, atmospheric story. Games for Dead Girls definitely hit the mark on that. However, I got a bit confused with all of the timelines. I enjoyed the setting in the story, and the author has a talented writing style. 3 stars. This book was good, but just didn't blow me away.

This was an incredible book. There were so many twists and turns, It kept me guessing until the very end.

The first half of it did move very slow, with all the story/character building. But the second half moved a lot faster and had so many reveals. I was on the edge of my seat needing to know what was happening.

At the beginning, I wasn't sure about the three different POV's. I was very confused at the first when we got a POV several chapters in for a random character we hadn’t met. But the writing of the different POV’s enhanced the story and made it such a more enjoyable reading experience.

The reveal about her niece Katie was the most shocking to me.

I was always fascinated by urban legends and folklore so this was perfect for me. It took me a bit to get into it with the various timelines because there is a lot going on in this book but once I realized how they converged I was interested. The childhood timeline felt so authentic. I could remember playing in the woods and making up games when I was younger. There was a big twist that looking back I should have saw coming but it completely blindsided me - I love having that experience while reading. This reminded me of What Lies in the Woods so if you liked that one definitely check this out.

This awesome story is told in three timeline’s one is in the 80s with Charlotte “Charlie“ and her family are vacationing at the beach side caravan park and when she meets a new resident name Emily she’s excited to have someone her own age besides her cousin to hang out with. At first Charlie is happy with her new friend but the longer they hang out the stranger Emily ask when Charlie makes up a ritual about a local folk story Emily wants to do it when something happens that makes Emily think it’s working but then they just have to figure out the correct way to do it the rituals get more intense but when Charlie gets proof that makes her think it’s working the less she wants in. And another timeline we meet Sarah her and her niece Kate are going to the beach side caravan park and Sarah tells 11-year-old Kate it’s to do research on a book about folklore but really it’s because she received the letter insisting her to dig up the proof to stop someone… But who as the story progresses we definitely find out. In the third timeline we meet Derek he is a smart astute boy who his Surgeant Daddy wants him to follow in his footsteps and it looks like Derek is on the path to do that until he has an accident. Histor is right after World War II but whether we’re in the 80s the 40s or modern day each chapter is riveting and it’s a book you will not want to put down I found this book so interesting it is a definite five star read and one of the best books I have read this year. I cannot honestly say I have ever read a book by Jen Williams before but I am definitely going to go look for more books from her. She has an easy compelling writing style and seems to know when to drop in the right clues at the right time this book was not only smartly told and well executed but totally interesting and as I said I believe this was the best book I’ve read this year. I received this book from NetGalley and crooked Lane books but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

The cover of this one hooked me...and this is one time that worked out well! This novel is twistier than a French braid. The setting: a creepy seaside English village, complete with a network of caves, unsolved disappearances of young girls, and a narrator we can't quite seem to trust. There's a touch of Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily" as well as some Hannibal Lecter in this one - it gets outlandish at points, but somehow makes it work? Definitely a slow burn that took some time for me to get into, but overall a perfect summer thriller.

Thanks to the publisher & NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Ummm, I’m not buying it.

I liked the idea, the book cover, the description, but the execution fell flat for me.

Also, the story was too crazy. I didn’t buy it.
It felt like lots of unfinished ideas thrown together and being like - “hmm, that’s good, let’s add that!” but the execution never took one of the elements to the finish line.

It was an ok book but I was expecting more.

Thank you for the ARC, NetGalley!

Charlotte and Emily meet as two young girls. They get wrapped up in their imaginations and end up performing some rituals where they are trying to call upon the spirit of a local urban legend, Stitch Face Sue. Things go horribly wrong, and their lives are impacted forever. Fast forward to them as adults, and their past is being dug up after more girls go missing from the same area. Emily returns to her old town, determined to prove she wasn’t as guilty as everyone thought.

This was definitely a slow burn so go in knowing that. Stitch Face Sue provided lots of creepy imagery. I mainly listened to this one on audio and I did find the flipping timelines confusing at times. There were lots of little revelations that kept me listening as the girls’ dark past kept unfolding. The grand reveal was just as twisted as I had hoped!

The pacing was too slow for me and I couldn't get into the different timelines. I love the plot and the idea but it is just a little slow for my liking.

"Even bad girls get to go to the beach."

Urban legends and folklore, mythology and rituals have always been fascinating for me to read as they blur the lines between reality and fantasy with tension and anticipation rising in discovering the truth. Wrapped up in secrets and lies, the synopsis of this book suggested it would be thrilling to read as it explored why young girls have been disappearing from the seaside but it turned out to be anything but.

With three timeliness told from two perspectives, the pacing was extremely slow and uneven with a constantly shifting storyline and too much going on. Yet, surprisingly, at the same time, nothing really happened either. I was bored and began to lose interest, forgetting things between chapters even though the plot didn't seem to move forward. There was no tension, no edge of your seat anticipation, no sense of urgency or fear as I would expect a thriller with suggestions of horror to be.

I didn't like any of the characters, especially the protagonist, Charlie. Her actions completely lacked common sense and I couldn't understand her motivations or thoughts. For instance:

"So far it had felt like I was managing to keep Hithechurch at a safe distance, like I wasn’t really here, not in any sense that mattered. I skirted around the edges of my history, not looking directly at any of it; Katie was helping to keep me distracted."

Why bring your preteen niece, Katie, when young girls have gone missing and potential danger lies ahead? Better yet, if you want to avoid facing your past, don't go digging around in it. Be honest with yourself about what you may or may not have done and move on with your life. Stay out of the woods and certainly don't leave Katie alone. Charlie frustrated me to no end and I couldn't invest myself in her story, deciding to stop at 15%.

Perhaps this book would be better suited to readers who don't mind an extremely slow burn but I prefer something that's thought provoking and makes me want more. For a well executed story focused on myths and legends, I would instead recommend Josh Malerman's Daphne or Kate Alice Marshall's What Lies in the Woods as these capture the tone this book most likely intended to portray. But I am simply one reader with one opinion so maybe give it a try anyway and be patient throughout the story for a better experience.

** Special thanks to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. Quotes subject to change at time of publication. Available April 18, 2023. **

This book was a very interesting take on a serial killer novel. Sarah aka Charlie returns to her old vacation spot hoping to find items to stop a tell all book. The book is supposed to be about what tragic thing happened in Sarah’s past. Only more things begin to occur while Sarah is there. She meets people along the way that help memories return. As she is looking for the missing items, she stumbles upon information about several missing person cases that go back to the 60’s. What she discovers, blows the reader away. I found myself cheering for this misguided woman. There were many questions this book brought up. One, how police do not take missing persons reports very seriously. Two, how the past can come back to haunt you and three, some people do deserve a second chance. Excellent, excellent read.

Probably wasn't the smartest thing for Charlie to bring her niece Katie back to Hithechurche but she had some questions lingering from her youth- when she and her friend Emily took actions that led to the death of another girl. They had tried to summon a local evil spirit of sorts to kill Emilys abusive father but something went wrong. Now, Emily has published a book, other girls are missing and Charlie is poking the dragon. This has several time lines, lots of atmosphere and a twist or two. Thanks to Netgalley for the Arc. A good read.

"For Charlie and her niece Katie, it’s supposed to be a quiet holiday in the peaceful, out-of-the-way seaside town of Hithechurch, England. Charlie is researching a book on the folklore of the area, and the gloomy sea and dangerous caves seem to offer up plenty of material, while Katie is just there to run wild and get some fresh air.
But Charlie’s research reveals a deeper, darker secret, one that uncovers her own carefully hidden past. Young women are going missing again: a teenage girl snatched from the beach in broad daylight, and before that, other girls through the decades have vanished from the area, their families left with no answers and no bodies to bury."

My Thoughts:
Games for Dead Girls is told in dual timelines connecting Charlie's past and present. The pacing of the book is slow as we gather the pieces of Charlie's past and begin to understand how they have shaped her future.
Throughout the book there is another perspective sprinkled into the story; and for the majority of the time it just feels out of place. The dual perspectives do come together in the end but take it's sweet time getting there.
I liked Charlie's character, she felt like a real person trying to overcome her past. This story focuses more on character arc than a well paced, action packed plot. The premise was really good, but with no big twists and the slow pacing I felt a little bored at times.
Overall I did enjoy the way that the story came together in the end, and feel like those who prefer a character driven story will enjoy this one.

Thank you to @netgalley, @dreamscape_media, and @crookedlanebooks for the gifted copy of this book.