✰✰ 1/2
It was a quick mystery to read in my spare time. In terms of characters, I liked Eugenia better than Bettina, so I wish we got her POV too.
For the book itself, I did like the bits that critiqued the true crime community, as well as the short chapters. However, I expected more of a horror/thriller vibe, and characters that were more developed.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

We are all a mystery. The quiet town of wolf ridge was tainted by the smiley face killer once. He took everything from local Bett, her mother and her father in one swipe. Her father is still imprisoned for the murders he committed when the town is once again haunted by the smiley face killer. Bett and local Wednesday Addams Eugenia begin their hunt for justice. I loved the mystery of the book and it had me guessing until the very end. Pick up this book today and begin your hunt for the killer

★★★.75

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝑾𝒐𝒍𝒇 𝑹𝒊𝒅𝒈𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒔 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒚 𝑭𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝑲𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒓. 𝑩𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒂 𝑯𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒔 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸!

I haven’t read a mystery in so long so this was definitely a fun little read!

This story follows two teenage girls as they try to solve the murders going on in their small town. Bettina was just a child when her father murdered her mother. It’s all people ever talk about. But when another body shows up a decade after her father was put in prison with the exact same m.o. doubts begin to swirl in Bettina’s head. Is this a copycat murder or was the wrong person put in prison?

I had fun reading this! I found myself being very immersed into the story all the way throughout. I really enjoyed Eugenia’s character. She’s always been outcast because her family are the town morticians. She was very kind to Bettina even though Bettina was always so mean.

I’ve read my fair share of unlikeable fmc’s & Bettina is definitely one of them. It’s understandable that she’s a prickly character due everything she’s been through in life. I can’t imagine how difficult it was growing up in essentially a fish bowl for everyone to look into & comment on her most traumatic experience. But she was so extremely rude to everyone around her. Everyone was always at the end of her sharp tongue. Also the way she discovered every dead body?!?! Talk about horrible luck lol

The ending also felt rushed in a way to me. I feel like everything hit the fan in the last few pages. There was a slight twist that I honestly didn’t expect which I liked!

thanks to netgalley and holiday house for the arc!

simply giving it 5 stars because of my enjoyment of this book, i read it in 2 days and i was hooked from the very first page
it was addicting and i couldn’t keep my eyes away from it i just needed to read it !
i didn’t expect the twist at all and i normally can tell who the killer is on thrillers so that’s really good! even though the explanation felt a little vague it did the bother me much!
i loved the characters in this book especially Eugenia ( she’s so me) she was really refreshing to read and i lover her humor and personality, Bett was a little hard to love at the start but i ended up loving her too i really liked her character development. Xavier’s character did bother mer i guess i just don’t like men, i just didn’t like him at all and i thought he was only there so Bett’s grandpa could give her shit about ‘boys’ i also did not like her grandpa but her grandma was so sweet and reminded me so much of my own.

“But a woman has been murdered. Melissa's face crowds my dreams, the taunting words the killer left on her face carved deep. Sometimes, she's my mother, and she looks up at me and asks me to help her. But no matter how hard I try, I can't stop the blood that floods the forest floor, carrying me away in a surging wave.”

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I picked up this book mainly because I was drawn to its cover. And being a cozy mystery fan, the storyline seemed right up my alley. With it being a short read, I figured it would zip along at a good pace, which it pretty much did.

But honestly, despite the promising premise, the story just didn't grab me like I hoped. There were a few things that left me feeling meh, starting with the characters. Bettina, the daughter of the infamous Smiley Face Killer, who's locked up for offing her mom and another woman, should be someone you feel for. Besides being a puke machine, her character feels kinda flat, and being a jerk for the sake of it. And it's not just her – most of the characters, including her own grandparents, feel underdeveloped. Even Eugenia, who could've been a badass character, ends up just being labeled as the weirdo. Instead of diving deep into their personalities, we're stuck with descriptions of their hair and hairstyles. With all the trauma the MC went through as a kid, there was so much potential for depth and development there.

Then there's the plot. I couldn't help but notice some similarities to another book I read recently, "A Good Girl's Guide to Murder." But here they felt a bit too obvious. Some things happen out of the blue without much explanation, like Bettina suddenly becoming friends with Eugenia after bullying her before and believing she ranks lower than her in the social hierarchy. It just doesn't add up. Plot twists were either missing or poorly done, and I saw the killer reveal coming from a mile away, which kinda spoiled the fun. It's like the story tries too hard to throw you off the scent, but it's too obvious. The theories thrown around feel half-baked, and the characters make wild guesses without much to back them up.

Overall, it's an okay read, but it falls flat. I think there's potential here, but it needs a major revamp. The characters need more depth, and the plot could use some fine-tuning for consistency and subtlety. Sure, some parts are well-written, showing the author's talent, but it's not consistent throughout.

⚠️ Content Warnings
Murder - Vomit - Drinking

✨ 2/5 stars

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me a free copy in exchange for an honest and fair review!!

I enjoyed the plot and thought behind this book but did find it to be slow and choppy at certain times and that did man it make it slightly drag to read. The mystery was good and intriguing an actually held up throughout the story and it took me longer than I thought to figure it out!

Overall I give this 3 stars !

ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

This is so intense. I feel like im in a rollercoaster of emotions, they had me ups and downs with chills and goosebumps and shock and curiosity. The storyline, the plot, the concept, the characters, everything is almost perfect except for the ending, i feel unsatisfied, like something is missing, like maybe it should've been more than this, but okay.

thanks to netgalley and holiday house for the arc !!

i was genuinely intrigued by this book and i appreciated how fast-paced this murder mystery story was. given that Bettina's backstory involved his father being in prison for murdering her mother, the murdering of women happened again years after. bettina and eugenia's duo was exciting that i felt like i was in it with them during their investigation.

though there were parts that seemed lacking especially in the development of the characters, i still very much enjoyed this book MORE IMPORTANTLY THE REVEAL as i was at the edge of my seat by the middle mark of the book (though i am not complaining because of the thrill!!)

highly recommended and i hope yall would look forward to its pub day on June 11, 2024!

4 stars

There's a lot to say about this book. Overall I really enjoyed the book and I should probably read this genre more often.
First of all, the writing style is very easy to read. It didn't take me a long time to read the chapters (or the overall book). The book is definetely meant for a YA audience, the focus of some of the descriptions is right out of the mind of a 16 year old. If this is something you don't enjoy, then I would advise you to not read this book as you read in the first person narrative of a teenage girl.

On to the characters; our FMC Bettina, Bett for short, is a bit all over the place. We learn very little about what makes Bett tick. At some point, we learn Bett wants to become an actress, but I couldn't tell you why; there's no further explanation for her "passion" besides the fact that she just doesn't want to be a lawyer like her granddad wants her to be.
The relationships she builds with the other characters in the book are all quite shallow in my opinion. The only relationship that seems to grow during our plot is the one with Eugenia.
I wouldn't say I particularly like Bett, some of her choices and actions were not something I can get behind. Bett's actions sometimes border on bullying, which is something that was tough to read as I found myself lacking sympathy for her at a later point in the book.

The idea and the plot were very interesting. I like how the killer stays secret for a big part of the book and how I couldn't immediately tell who would be the killer. The actual reveal was quite a surprise to me, as I had my money on another character for the killer.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and the plot. I would have given the book 5 stars if there would have been more personality in the characters and some decent character growth.
I would recommend this book if you're into YA thriller mysteries and want an easy, entertaining read.

i'd give 3.5 stars :)

really fast paced story telling, which i like in mysteries and thrillers, so it was a page turner.
unfortunately, i did not like the main character, bett, at all and it was a little cliché how everything just seemed to fall into her lap.

over all i would recommend this book to younger readers, who are into mystery.

I thoroughly enjoyed this. A small-town, fast-paced murder mystery. Bettina’s father is in prison for having murdered her mother. Only, years later, women are being murdered again with Bett’s father’s MO all over their corpses. Of course, this launches Bett and Eugenia, the undertaker’s daughter, into an investigation. This one kept me interested and looking forward to what happened. I loved the reveal and the ending.

While this was heavy on the plot, I feel like it didn’t do much for character development and their relationships towards each other, especially in regards to the reveal.

Thank you to Netgalley and Holiday House for the ARC! :>

They call him The Smiley Face Killer, while Bettina calls him Dad.

for over a decade, Bettina has been living in the shadow of her mother's murder at the hands of her father, who has been imprisoned ever since. in their small town of Wolf Ridge, there are no secrets, so when a body turns up in the same manner as her mother, it raises suspicions and brings back painful memories. determined to uncover the truth behind the events haunting her, she works with Eugenia, the daughter of the town's mortician, to shed light on these unanswered questions.

Bettina was unlikable at times. i get that she was going through a lot, but she had to understand that not everything was about her. Despite the initial mistreatment, Eugenia showed unwavering support and kindness towards Bettina, even during her most difficult moments.

overall, i had a really fun time reading this book. it was thrilling and full of expense, which kept me engaged until the very end. although I had theories about what was happening and who the mastermind behind it was, the unexpected plot twists really did one on me. while the ending could have been better, it still left me feeling excited about what could happen next. a potential sequel?? who knows! i would definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves a good mystery novel ♡

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Please remember that this opinion is my own!

I have complicated feelings on this; although, it is not a complicated book.

Bett is the daughter of the infamous "Smiley Face Killer," who killed her mother (and possibly one other girl, but that's still unsolved). He's been in jail for over a decade, in part due to Bett's own testimony, but when another girl is found dead in the same gruesome fashion as her mother, no one is safe, especially not Bett. With her new friend, Eugenia, the undertaker's daughter, Bett is now on the case. But can she prove it's a copycat killer before she becomes the next victim?

This is pretty run-of-the-mill YA thriller/mystery. Bett is very unlucky in the way her life is going, but lucky in that every clue falls into her lap without her trying. Bett is definitely not a perfect protagonist, she acts like a teenager, is rash, makes bad decisions, etc. but Eugenia is great. Arguably the better character. The reveal was pretty good, if far-fetched, but also seemed to undercut the message of violence against women, namely at the hands of men.

My main issue actually has to do with the Smiley Face Killer and Bett. For those who aren't aware of true crime, there is a real case called the "Happy Face Killer"--Keith Hunter Jesperson. His daughter, Melissa G. Moore has spoken out about her experiences with her father and is very open about it. Now, the actual way the killer in the book murders people is different from Jesperson, but the eerie similarities made me a bit uncomfortable because you have smiley vs. happy face, two daughters of killers, etc. It felt somewhat icky and sure, it could be coincidence or unintentional, but the similarities are there. There was no author's note in my copy to address whether or not Melissa gave consent (idk if she would need to in this situation, but it would've been good practice) or to acknowledge the real case. I cannot in good conscience give this a high rating because of this, especially when true crime in the book is seen as exploitative--while drawing inspiration from a real life case and a real person's experience.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review!:)

<i>thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher for sending me a free copy in exchange for an honest review!</i>

i was very excited about this book going into it — cool title, pretty cover, interesting premise, maybe there will be crime-solving sapphics and discussions on the ethics of creation and consumption of true crime content. however, i was left feeling severely disappointed.

the plot is still somewhat interesting and compelling and the pacing and the writing are <i>fine</i>, but nothing about this book felt gripping enough to make me want to keep reading out of enjoyment. every character felt underdeveloped, even bettina (and we spend the entirety of the book in her head, since this is told in first person), and her relationships with the other characters felt meaningless.

the writing felt a bit juvenile and choppy at times, even for a YA book, and there are passages that wouldn't look out of place in something written ten years ago (i.e. lengthy descriptions of outfits and appearance instead of proper characterization, a lot of telling instead of showing, slut shaming for literally no reason, bullying for the sake of adding to the 'woe is me' side of bett's character even though, realistically, such a thing for such a reason [being the daughter of a murderer] probably wouldn't happen in real life, etc).

the explanation for everything that happened? flat as an iron board. there are many things that should've been explained and weren't, and the killer reveal felt like a last-minute decision. a pet peeve of mine is crime fiction focusing on some random teenagers solving these mysteries thanks to the sheer incompetence of the police and, while it can be done well, this entire book felt incredibly unrealistic in that regard. bett was just... handed things on a silver platter. it's like using every cheat code while playing a videogame and expecting to be pat on the back for all your hard work.

though this was a plot-driven book, i still expect developed characters, at least the main character. however, bett was just <i>there</i>. she's bland. she has no defining characteristics besides being the daughter of a murderer. that's her personality — her trauma and her past. there's no space for present or future bett to be discussed and, though i'm aware this could have been intentional, it doesn't feel that way. she wants to be an actress, but why? what are her motivations? her interests? who is this girl <i>outside</i> of her trauma, and why am i supposed to care about her when i'm being given no reason to?

there was no reason for her and eugenia to become friends besides convenience; though i know several friendships might start off this way (see: college people you're only friends with at first because you see them every day), they're usually strengthened by the passing of time and common interests, but that also involves people getting to know each other. bett and eugenia knew next to nothing about each other despite knowing each other for years, which is actually lampshaded during the book, but it's ultimately brushed off. eugenia was even less developed than bett, and the rest of the cast of characters aren't better off, either.

overall, this was just meh. it tries very hard to be a spiritual successor to <i>a good girl's guide to murder</i>, but fails. it tries to do a lot of things at once, but lacks the compelling characters and the intricate connections between them, the urgency of the plot, and the originality of the premise. i'm not opposed to reading more stuff from this author in the future, but this just didn't do it for me.

I finished the book over a few days, I really enjoyed the story.

It wasn't the most gripping book where I couldn't put it down but it was still enough where it kept me coming back to it, I did find some conversations harder to follow as it seemed like the came out of no where but it wasn't often enough that it was an issue.
I'll be picking up the book when it comes out in print to re-read though!

Thank you, Megan, for writing a great story!

Dead girls talking is a thrilling Young Adult novel that follows Bettina as she grapples with the challenges of being a murderers daughter. Living in a small town of Wolf Ridge everyone knows everyone. So when Betinna stumbles across a dead body, with eerily similar knife marks to her fathers killing, she becomes the focus of the town again.
What follows is an absolutely captivating story about the truth, friendship and just how far someone will go to keep secrets buried.
This book was absolutely brilliant. It had me hooked from the very beginning and I did not want to put it down. I really enjoyed Bettina and Eugenia’s friendship and how it interwove the story. I cannot wait to read more by this author and I’m so thankful to netgalley and Holiday House/Peachtree/pixel+ink for the reading copy

this was an okay read. nothing remarkable, but it was decent and i didn't want to fling my phone across the room, so i count that as a win. dead girls talking follows bett and eugenia as they investigate the murder of a woman in their town. i found it decently paced, but it irked me a little that bettina and eugenia were able to acquire information so easily. it was sleuthing, but it felt more like they were just asking and getting answers very easily- a little unrealistic, especially given their ages, and it sort of made the whole process feel a little too calm/easy. however, i appreciated that it didn't really sort of 'slog' towards the middle. a lot of ya thrillers have a problem where they start of brilliantly strong and engaging, but falter at around the 40% to 70% mark because of either plotting or pacing issues. this was not an issue for me with dead girls talking. i remained engaged through the whole experience.

onto the characters. i didn't quite??? like bettina? i know it's within a teenager's usual personality to be spiteful and maybe a little mean- after all, it is an age where you're trying to figure things out about your identity and place in the world and having to do that with a murderer for a father and a mother murdered by said father doesn't help- but while i could understand why she acted the way she did, it doesn't mean i necessarily enjoyed it. i liked eugenia much more. she's not exactly quiet, but she doesn't have much friends. even at first introduction, bettina describes her as 'unusual'. she doesn't wear makeup when all holland women do. no mascara, no manicure, nothing. she drives a hearse. that ticks off all the 'weird girl' archetype boxes. still, i think peterson did a great job of characterising her as a more likeable character than bettina- possibly on purpose to sort of even out bettina's more abrasive character.

a sharp, engaging thriller with some commentary on violence against women- in particular femicide- and the impacts it has on people involved and society. prose is digestible but still has its fun moments, so perfect for YA. a fun read! thank you for the opportunity for the ARC.

One for the angry girls - I really enjoyed the female friendship and the imperfect main character. I feel like the twist made sense but I didn't totally get the payoff I was looking for. Overall a solid YA mystery/thriller/light horror!

<i>Dead Girls Talking</i> was an unbelievable tale of two mismatched teenagers/barely adults playing detectives and somehow solving a string of murders by pure chance.
But really, it felt more like a testament to how failing and lazy the justice system is. I mean, these sheriffs and cops really did not want to solve these crimes.

This thriller/crime mystery did not work for me on different levels.
The main character, Bettina, was unlikeable. Very egocentric, mean, arrogant. I’m sorry your mother was killed, but there is no need to be a bitch about it.
I sort of wish Eugenia was the narrator, because she was badass. I probably would’ve enjoyed this ten times more if it had Eugenia’s POV.

The plot was pretty basic and still managed to feel completely unrealistic. Bettina not only manages to all the dead women somehow, but also the evidence (that police ignore, of course) and, in the end, the killer. Not much happening for most of the book until the very end where all hell breaks loose. This didn’t really transmit any real emotion for me, except maybe annoyance towards Bettina.

In the end, there was no real spook factor, no thrill, and no fun.

I have read a lot of thrillers and YA murder mysteries over the years. A lot of these mysteries are wonderful, but I can easily lose my interest when the start and middle of the story doesn't have much going on and the pacing is slow. This was one of those pacing issues, but I am glad I pushed through the slow parts to get to the last half, as the pacing picked up and the story flowed better from there. Its a good book, and I could definitely see myself picking up another one of Megan's books in the future to see her writing improve.

Now, the story... We follow Bettina Holland, who lost her mom when she was very young, being the one who found her murdered in bed. The trauma of this had followed her into her teen life and since the convicted killer of this murder is said to be her dad, she ended up growing up with her mother's grandparents. When, ten years later, there is another murder exactly like her mother's, Bettina starts to wonder if this is a copycat killer or if the real killer has returned.

If you enjoy quick YA murder mysteries that are easy to read, then this might be a good fit for you...

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for the early review copy of this book. The review is my own.