Thank you, SOURCEBOOKS Fire for providing the copy of Now She’s Dead by Roselyn Clarke. I love YA thrillers, but this one fell short of my expectations. The writing never grabbed me, even though the story was great. There were so many timelines it was hard to keep track of them all. The present timeline was good and told the story the best. The ending was a surprise, so if that’s what you love, this book is perfect for you. I don't think it was a perfect fit for me. 3 stars

Roselyn Clarke's Now She's Dead is a thrilling and emotional ride that keeps you hooked from start to finish! A MUST READ! It will keep you up all night!

The story follows Mandy as she returns to Highmark, the lake resort where her best friend, Sara Ellis, died last summer. Everyone thinks Sara’s death was an accident, but Mandy knows the truth—and it's eating away at her.

What I loved about this book, is how Clarke reveals Mandy’s guilt right from the first beginning, pulling readers into a world of lies, betrayal, and shattered friendships. The story jumps back and forth between past and present, unraveling the mystery piece by piece. With surprising representation and plenty of twists, Now She's Dead will stick with you long after you’ve turned the final page! Thank you so much to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book!

This was a wonderfully done young adult novel, it had that element that I was looking for in this type of book, it had that element that I was hoping for from the description. The characters were everything that I was looking for and enjoyed following this suspenseful concept. Roselyn Clarke has a strong writing style and was glad I got to read this.

Teenagers! Am I right?! This YA thriller perfectly details the ins and outs of teenage friendships. The joy & laugher but, also the jealousy & underlying conflict. Even though Mandy admits to being responsible for killing her best friend, I still found myself rooting for her. I feel the story could have been edited a little tighter and shorter but, overall kept you interested in the outcome. 3.5 stars.

Very mixed emotions and thoughts. I was annoyed by all of the characters and the swapping timelines.

Thanks to Netgalley for this review copy!

This was so good. It’s been a long time since I’ve been THIS hooked to a YA thriller/mystery novel, and an even longer time since I’ve stayed up late reading it… I can’t even remember the last time I was reading at 5 in the morning!

So initially when starting this novel, we’re given the basic idea that Sara Ellis, the protagonist Mandy’s best friend, was killed a year ago. Mandy is painted as an extremely guilty character, and through multiple timelines, more and more is revealed. There are tons of other characters involved, like her sister Kelsey who’s upset, Natalie, a crime obsessed podcaster, Sara’s brother and more who may be behind “threats” towards Mandy that suggest someone knows what happened that night.

I would really recommend this for any teen looking for a summer themed fast paced mystery which keeps you guessing and changing your mind every few chapters so it never gets boring.

4.5 ⭐️

Plot
After the mysterious death of Sara Ellis last summer, Mandy is the only one who knows the truth about what really happened. Though the police ruled it an accident, Mandy has been haunted by guilt and fear. This summer, she’s reluctantly back at Highmark—the lake resort where she and Sara used to be best friends. But things are different now. Rumors are spreading, and someone is determined to expose Mandy’s secret. As chilling messages and resurfacing evidence threaten to unravel everything, Mandy must finally face the events of that night and the possibility that someone wants revenge.


Commentary
The best part of Now She’s Dead is Mandy herself. Through crossed-out text, fragmented thoughts, and anxious lists of flowers, Clarke gives readers raw, unfiltered access to Mandy’s guilt-ridden psyche. This stylistic approach makes her both an unreliable narrator and an achingly sympathetic one, her inner chaos mirroring the mystery’s unraveling. Flashbacks to her toxic friendship with Sara are equally gripping, revealing Sara’s manipulative control and Mandy’s desperate need to belong, dynamics that make Sara a complex, flawed victim. The book also digs into sibling dynamics and the ethics of true crime media, especially through Natalie, Mandy’s sister’s friend, whose invasive investigation into Sara’s death raises uncomfortable questions about privacy and exploitation. Overall, with vivid writing and emotional nuance, Clarke crafts more than a mystery, she delivers a haunting exploration of trauma, guilt, and the desperate need for closure.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for sending me an arc!

Wonderful summer YA read! Sara and Mandy are friends for two weeks each summer when their families go on vacation. Last year, there was an accident and Sara died. Mandy ignores her family for the next year and finally agrees to return for vacation. Her sister brings a friend who is actually digging into the murder. As Mandy starts opening up, it is clear there are a lot of secrets here. A lot of lies. A lot of tension last summer and this summer. Will the truth come out??

ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS one! From start to finish I was hooked, and that twist at the end I was not expecting in the slightest

This was a good and solid YA thriller, but very much intended for a younger audience. I still enjoyed it and it managed to keep me hooked all throughout. The ending felt like a little much though, a lot of information thrown in at once. Still enjoyable.

This book immediately had me hooked by the book cover and premise. I love a story about secrets and discovering what really happened; this book did not disappoint! The author did an incredible job of pacing the reveals and weaving an intricate plot. I was on the edge of my seat until the last page!

💀 NOW SHE'S DEAD by: Roselyn Clarke 💀
👀 A summer of secrets. A past that won’t stay buried.

🌊 One year ago, Sara Ellis was found dead by the lake.
💔 The police called it an accident.
💭 Only Mandy knows the truth.

Returning to Highmark Lake this summer should bring closure, but instead, it reopens old wounds. The whispers start immediately:

❌ Sara’s death wasn’t an accident.
❌ Someone is responsible.
❌ And someone wants revenge.

When cryptic messages and resurfaced evidence threaten to expose Mandy’s darkest secret, she’s left with two choices—run from the past… or face it head-on.

But the deeper she digs, the more she realizes: she might not be the only one keeping secrets.

🔪 What to Expect:
✨ A chilling summer mystery
✨ Obsessive, complicated friendships
✨ Guilt, grief, and the weight of secrets
✨ Twisty, psychological suspense
✨ For fans of We Were Liars & A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder*

The truth won’t stay buried forever. Are you ready to uncover it?

💬 Drop a 🌊 if you're in for this gripping summer thriller!

#NowShesDead #RoselynClarke #YAThriller #DarkSecrets #SummerSuspense #DeadlyFriendships #UnreliableNarrator #MurderMystery #PsychologicalThriller #BookTok #SourcebooksFire

fun thriller with some very annoying time switches, but in general i liked the mystery and i liked the buildup. 4 stars. tysm for the arc.

Wow, another great thriller! This one left me guessing the entire book, which is rare in most books. I loved the characters and the writing, would definitely recommend!

Good book, lots of twists and turns, easy to follow story and the flashbacks were a great addition.
Overall not a very original story however a story really well done and the ending was incredibly unexpected! Will definitely be reading more from the author.

This book had so much going on with all the secrets, lies, betrayal and deceit. I was hooked as I read along, chapter after chapter, trying to figure out what was going to happen next and piece together all of the little small pieces of the puzzle so that I could see what the bigger picture was and find out what truly happened on that fateful night that took Sara's life.

Full of mystery and suspense, thrills and chills, I recommend this one.

NOW SHE'S DEAD by Roselyn Clarke
Thank you Netgalley and SourcebooksFire for the earc (Jun3)

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Sara Ellis is dead, and Mandy knows what happened in this multi-timeline that follows Mandy in present day (reeling from what happened, grappling with keeping her secret, and facing a new threat) and Mandy over the years (meeting Sara up to her death).
Originally, the title drew me in. The first page honed in on that and kept me there. I devoured this, and it's safe to say that readers won't know what hit them as they weave through the storylines and try to make sense of it all.
I really appreciated how easy this was to read. The mixed in short chapters were a chefs kiss. They were the perfect amount of thrilling, chilling, and action packed---bringing something new with each chapter.
This book doesn't start out as your typical mystery. Someone's dead and someone knows what happened. But everything isn't as it seems as this book progresses. I was intrigued by the way the story was told, and it built up to something magnanimous. That's really the only way to describe the turn the book took. With all this shock, though, there were easy to guess pieces. I did cal one of the plot twists, but it was just two chapters before it happened. However. Let me repeat that: However, the final twist left me gobsmacked.
NOW SHE'S DEAD is a thrilling debut from Clarke. It is riddled with threats, mysteries, and drama. 10/10 would recommend.

I would really give this book at 3.5 but Goodreads won’t let me! I really liked the plot of this story and I thought the hurt that teenage girls can cause each other was spot on. Also the uniquely teenage girl desire to have friends so desperately that they are often willing to overlook poor behavior, theirs or their friends, to make it stable. My biggest problem with this book was the length. It definitely could have been at least 75 pages shorter and it would have made it tighter and much more fast paced.

Really good read. It was my first book by this author and i definitely plan on reading more !!! Four stars!!!

Sara and Mandy are vacation best friends, their families returning to the same lake resort every summer for the past few years. One summer, Sara dies, and Mandy becomes consumed with the belief that she is responsible for Sara’s death. One year later, Mandy returns to the resort with her family, and her younger sister brings along a friend who is obsessed with true crime and determined to uncover the truth behind Sara’s death.

The story alternates between this summer and the previous one, with Mandy as our very unreliable narrator. Mandy’s guilt is palpable, and she’s not revealing the full story. As the narrative unfolds, we learn that her relationship with Sara was complicated—sometimes deeply toxic—but we never get Sara’s side, so we only have Mandy’s words to go on.

The portrayal of their teenage friendship feels very real, capturing the messiness, intensity, and sometimes hurtful dynamics. Mandy’s voice is raw and full of self-doubt, as she questions her own memories of the events leading up to Sara’s death. This unreliability builds tension, as we’re never quite sure whether Mandy’s version of the story is the truth or shaped by her guilt.

However, the resolution felt a bit too much, offering a lot of information all at once. The reveal didn’t have the pacing I was hoping for, and it left me feeling like I didn’t have enough details leading up to the climax. There were also a few typical YA moments—teenagers making questionable decisions—that required a bit of suspension of disbelief, but that’s par for the course in this genre.