I’ll start by saying that this was a really different and creative way to attack a thriller novel. Maybe if the stories were told in a different order or would have worked better for me. Starting it off with one of my least favorite tropes turned me off. I made it through to the end but it felt incomplete. This will work for someone for sure, but it wasn’t for me.

This will definitely be talked about as one of the more unique setups for a thriller this year. There are three separate horror stories to start this one. Each focusing on a woman and almost seems like a horror movie you know and love. This one drew me in from the start and I was definitely intrigued. Unfortunately I didn’t think the end lived up to the beginning. Or maybe my active imagination, that doesn’t have to write the ending, came up with some wild ideas.

I was a little confused when part one switched to another setting and character in part two, but having liked part one, I was still very invested. And when part three rolled around with again a new start, my mind was in overdrive.

All three women are strong characters that I wanted to know more about them and their situations. I am such a fan of horror that the movielike settings drew me in. And while each part reminded me of a movie, it didn’t feel stale or overdone.

And while I was a little disappointed with the end, the uniqueness and my love of the first three parts make this a save for me. Anytime I want to keep picking up the book as soon as I put it down is a good book.

It has been awhile since I have read a Christina Henry and I am wondering why I do not do it more often. No matter the type of thriller she is writing, be it retelling or action packed like this one, you know it is going to hit the right-type of nerve with you.

Christina Henry’s work is always a delight to read and this deliciously meta genre smoothie of a thriller is no exception. This is a fantastic book, always with a slightly knowing nod but also a clear love for all genres involved.

The three primary genres under Henry’s meta microscope here are cosy crime, horror, and dystopian. All are blood soaked, dark, and gripping. The cosy crime section was thrilling and played so well on its atmosphere of small town secrets and bitter rivalries hiding behind smiles. It was distilled perfectly. As a bit of a Henry fan, I knew she excelled in horror territory and the one here is no exception. It is a classic slasher narrative, with a few twists and turns that are well-executed and genuinely catch you off guard. Of course, there are twists throughout the entire book that left me reeling. There is a bit of a jigsaw you can start to piece together and the payoff is excellent. The dystopian section was also incredible, with more of a moral dilemma focus and a definite exploration of the cost of survival.

I absolutely adored our three central characters: Celia, Allie, and Maggie. They were all so smart and perceptive, showcasing strength in a multitude of ways. Watching them develop within their own narratives and their character arcs within short sections were fantastic. From the start, you felt so connected to them and wanted them to succeed through their various trials. Their voices were distinctive and their knowledge of their genres really shone through. That was one of the best ways Henry played with the expected story beats and tropes of each genre. It was like row after row of Easter eggs that at once sent up the ridiculousness of the genres, but also felt like love letters to the little details we adore in each. Henry’s world-building is beyond. In such a short space of time, you get an immediate sense of the world and atmosphere trying to be conveyed. There is history, relationships, dynamics and more that are keenly felt in deft, effective and evocative ways.

There is this through line about women being at the mercy of men’s power and taking back control of their own narratives, with a very knowing twist on this classic feminist slogan. I was pleasantly surprised at how empowering it was at times, though it is within an extreme pressure cooker and Henry continues to challenge this until the very end. You have to ask yourself what decisions you would make in each scenario and Henry definitively shies away from any easy answers. There is a little thread of the importance of solidarity over individual success, but it is tinged and subverted in great ways. Of course, this gets pretty tangled within essentially a book about books with five plotlines to keep on your radar. It always felt so clear and easy to follow though, as we essentially go through the three genres being adoringly pastiched with some fascinating social media excerpts to look at too. There is a lot to be discussed around the treatment of these genres, particularly how the online fandom spaces for each of them are influenced by misogyny and some horrible, nasty comments that appear. I was surprised at how empowering the book ultimately was and how it sits within that murkiness by the ending. It is an ambiguous and morally dubious book at times. Henry delights in confronting your expectations, sometimes fulfilling the tropes and sometimes undermining them.

Good Girls Don’t Die is an excellent, explosive and experimental thriller that blends genres, tropes and storylines and culminates in a fantastic final sequence that will not be forgotten any time soon.

Love the kick butt feminism. This was an action packed book! These woman were incredible, and brilliant. This is my favorite book by her (so far!!)

Christina Henry’s Good Girls Don’t Die introduces a clever and ambitious premise with three different women facing three different movie-like scenarios, but its execution unfortunately falls flat.

This book had so much potential for creating a meta-commentary on the horror and dystopian genres, but instead it leans heavily on movies references (i.e. The Stepford Wives and The Hunger Games) and tropes throughout without adding anything new or having anything intelligent to say about them.

Heck, at the very least it could have been entertaining and go the satire route like Cabin in the Woods.

Instead we get a rehashed, watered-down version of stories we’re already familiar with--complete with non-compelling characters’ whose fates I didn’t care an iota about, and it was overall an milquetoast and underwhelming read.

This one was definitely unlike anything I had ever read before. Its uniqueness sets Christina Henry apart! Three stories, three different women trying to figure out how the hell they got into their situation. My favorite story definitely the first one as the subsequent stories fell a little flat. The online chats were an interesting touch. Nonetheless, it was worth the read and quite the ride to the end. Looking forward to Christina Henry’s next book!

Good Girls Don’t Die is an “edge of your seat” thriller that follows three incredible women! Celia, Allie, and Maggie all have one thing in common. They aren’t sure why the things that are happening to them are happening at all.

This is such an epic locked room style thriller, with some final girl horror vibes, that will keep you guessing for hours! Be fully prepared to have no plans because once you start this book you won’t want to stop. The creativity and concept of the book was out of this world! I found myself cheering them on and booing the bad guys.

Definitely a Top 5 read for 2023, and a new all time favorite. If you haven’t read a Christina Henry book then I would highly recommend Good Girls Don’t Die.

This was a fun, wild and twisty ride! 3 different women, in 3 different totally different circumstances, all seem to be in some kind of personalized evil mash up of Truman Show meets Saw meets game show survival. The stories are original but purposely full of typical stereotypes to “prove” a point and the point is definitely proven. I love the strong female roles in this book and I especially love that mike drop ending. It was absolutely perfect and original. The story is told in the 3 perspectives of each woman and was a hard edged dark read with sharp wit and very easily a page turner for me. My youngest was sick this weekend and I literally read this in one day since we never left the couch. Highly recommend it. I will now be looking to read more from this amazing author!

I read alot of books. Alot. I'm not sure how I'd react should I suddenly be IN one of the books I'm reading. That is the original plot line of GOOD GIRL'S DON'T DIE. Three women, three stories, each living a plot they recognize but how they got there and how they get out......well, that's a great question and it will keep you turning the pages back and forth trying to figure out the next chapter before Christina Henry shocks us all by jumping to an ending that came out of nowhere!!!! I'm honestly going to have to reread this one to see if there were clues I missed. This book is perfect for those readers who are looking for new and original and fantastic all rolled up into one!

Ugh. I really wanted to like this but I was so damn confused after part 1. I love thrillers and psychological ones at that, but this fell flat for me. As I kept reading, it was a slow decrease of interest soon after. I was lost a good chunk of this. I wished the 3 girls got together sooner to raise hell. I think weaving them throughout the book in someway would've kept me more interested. It felt choppy after each part and I was left so unsure. I'll give it a 3 star. But definitely not one I would recommend. It was definitely unique though!

Hello again dear reader or listener, today I have my least favorite kind of review to write, but I shall do so nonetheless, for you, because I care. This book was not bad, I actually read through it pretty fast and was interested throughout. But it wasn’t great either, nor did it draw out the emotional response it ought to, for me to be extra effusive.

With a quick thank you to the Berkley Publishing Group team for approving my eArc request on NetGalley, let’s get to it then!

This is my first book by Henry and while maybe this specific one wasn’t entirely it for me, I did like her writing style enough to want to give her other works a go. Her prose flows and adjusts its pace to fit the exact type of situation she wants to carry across in the most efficient manner. For instance, the first pov renders the slow and growing sense of confusion and dread, while the second builds up to a more frenetic pace, until finally the last pov starts running and it doesn’t let up till the very end. In fact, in Good Girls Don’t Die, Henry stitches together three short stories that eventually come to a connected end and resolution. While this was an interesting premise and structure, I found the finale not so much disappointing as just a simple denouement that somehow missed the exciting climax I was hoping for by a few centimeters. With a few very satisfying kicks of proper female rage however.

The three pov protags share gutsy survival instincts and inner strength common to most women, with each of them showcasing both what makes us strong and at the same time the actual or perceived flaws that they each need to try and overcome in order to make it through. Most of the horror and anxiety doesn’t come from their given situations that they need to figure out but from the lack of control they each have in what is happening. So, in that at least Henry does an amazingly frustrating job, as well as making sure her characters never lose their agency.

Another thing I deeply enjoyed were the jabs at certain real people, such as a certain manchild currently in charge of the sinking ship that is X. Not to mention other eccentric and overly rich white boys. But we digress so suffice it to say, the sass was on point. Moreover this book was somewhat of a horror/thriller/true crime pop-culture Easter egg hunt overall, which is always good fun.

I actually thought this book had several brilliant yet dark moments and its scare factor wasn’t to be found in the gore or eeriness of the plot as much as it was in the implications and toxicity behind specific mentalities. In fact, this is very much a book about the venom that exists in misogynism, and the deranged lengths these kinds of men will go to against women. This book was not scary but for the bitter realization that nothing that happened within was too far beyond the realm of probability. And if I am being honest with myself that is probably one of the reasons I did not enjoy it that much. I was spending far too much time while reading it nodding my head along and thinking this shit is what certain types could and would do to get back at a woman they’ve felt slighted by, or what an incel jackass thinks women are like, and the bitterly sad list goes on.
If this was Henry’s goal to begin with then she passed with flying colors.

In a way this is also very central to how the whole thing wraps up but I can’t really properly explain without major spoilers and, even though you don’t even need to completely get through the second pov to figure out what is going on really, figuring out the final details that connect it all together are the only thing that keeps you wanting to get to the end. At least it was that way for me. Said details were not a surprise, more like the extra bit of flavor to tie it all together better. And even then, some small plot holes remained imo. So yeah, I didn’t hate this book, nor did I dislike it. I was merely hoping for a bigger final oompf after all the buildup, while also not expecting that level of themes that were a bit too close to current social discourse for comfort. Which hey, it is also a valid goal if the author was trying to render it this way, even if it wasn’t to my liking at this time.

Until next time,
Eleni A.E.

This was such a fun read for me. Easily devoured, entertaining, campy, filled with ass kicking and slashing.

It’s a book made up of three stories. Three different women wake up in their own “worst” scenarios, and they must survive. One’s a murder mystery, another is a slasher at wood cabin, and then a dystopian survival game. Kind of weird that their worst scenarios have come to life and they have no idea how or why.

I loved the reveals in this story, and how it all ended. It was humorous, but at the same time a nod to real life problems. This year is for dark humor and horror, love it.

This book gave me the best kind of book hangover. Twisty, turny. Dark. And combining some of my favorite things: books, movies, feminist theory & a really interesting plot set up.

I loved going into this one blind. It was a 24 hour read for me. And my mind is still spinning. I can’t wait to “shove this one down my friends’ throats” so we can have deep, philosophical discussions about many themes covered in such an impactful way.

3 women. 3 messed up situations. I loved the ending but was also left with a lot of anger that I feel was intentional on author’s part. Grab this one if you like stories with dream like qualities, strong female characters & lots of messed up situations. If our tastes are anything alike, you won’t be able to stop thinking about this one.

A huge thank you to @berkleypub @netgalley & @authorchristinahenry for my ARC in exchange for an honest review!

What would you do if you woke up inside of your favorite murder mystery, slasher film, or dystopian fantasy novel/movie? That is what happens to three women: Cecilia, Allie, and Maggie. They have to fight to survive the story they say they love, but why? And what is happening?

Without giving away the ending, I think some slight formatting changes to the novel would have made it even better. That said, I flew through this and found myself wanting to know what was going on.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing and Netgalley for the electronic advanced copy.

Three different women, three different stories, one crazy ending! Good Girls Don’t Die tells the stories of Celia, a women who wakes up in a life she doesn’t remember; Allie, who is stuck in her own horror movie; and Maggie, a woman thrown into a dystopian competition to save her daughter. One part Truman Show, one part Halloween, and one part The Hunger Games, this book was such an original concept!

This novel was so fast paced and hard to put down. Each woman’s story is told in a different part, with part four having them come together to figure out what is happening to them. I loved how each of the women had a love of stories, and how their favorite genre put them into the situation they were in. The plot was unlike anything I’ve read before, and I was engrossed in each of these women’s lives.

I listened to the audiobook which is narrated by Lisa Flanagan. While she was a great narrator, I would have loved a different narrator for each of the women. It was easy to differentiate their stories, but it would have knocked it out of the park with a full cast.

If you’re looking for a unique take on a thriller that also combines cozy mysteries, horror, and dystopian, then I highly recommend this one for you.

Thank you Berkley Publishing and PRH Audio for advanced copies in exchange for my honest review.

Short synopsis: Three women, caught in three different horror stories threatening their lives.

My thoughts: Wow was this a wild ride! I loved how unique the storylines and premise was, I want to keep this somewhat vague because I think it will really add to the story to go in somewhat blind.

I really liked how each read as a short story, each woman’s story kept me completely engaged and wanting to find out what was happening and why. And then when they come together- plot twist!

Read if you love:
- Amnesia trope
- Final girls
- Hunger games
- Genre mashup
- Short stories that blend together
- Being on the edge of your seat!

This is definitely not your typical horror/thriller/suspense. First, we start off in a cozy mystery going terribly wrong. Next, we've got The Cabin in the Woods. To round out the WTF is going on is The Maze Runner meets Hunger Games.

I finished this book a week ago, and I can't get over how that ending feels so realistic. Yes, I could see someone like Elon Musk doing something like this. Did he not burn Twitter to the ground and push out his misogynistic hate towards everything in existence? It's like these women were the target of that hate.

I totally could see someone doing this in real life. I just hope wealthy men do not read this book, so they don't get any ideas.

The women win in this story. But you need to read the Saw-like games they have to play.

This is a tense, smart story. It's also an infuriating story, featuring three women who are in three seemingly very different story lines, all with the uneasy feeling that something isn't right. As someone who reads or has read books in all the genres the story talks about, it's quite a gut punch to see genre conventions being used against people- specifically, against women- and how they fight back.

Christina Henry takes three classic thriller tropes and creates an original, binge-worthy story. Each trope feels like a short story, with the final act bringing the pieces together. The classic tropes featuring our female MCs include Celia: amnesia trope, Allie: final girl trope, and Maggie: dystopian/battle royale trope. Each entertaining tale keeps you on edge with fast-paced action and lots of WTFs for plot-driven thriller lovers.

I listen to the audiobook and read the paperback. Lisa Flanagan shines at performing the MULTIPLE characters in the book, giving a district voice to EVERYONE in the story, not just our MCs. Christina Henry pens feminist empowerment at its finest, and Flanagan delivers on the strength and resiliency of all three women. Terrific performance!