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.

Thank you Netgalley and SOURCEBOOKS Fire for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Roselyn Clarke’s “Now She’s Dead” is an electrifying and deeply unsettling YA thriller that grips you from the first page and doesn’t let go. At its core, the book is more than a murder mystery—it’s a nuanced exploration of toxic friendships and the psychological toll of guilt and buried secrets.

The story follows Mandy, a deeply flawed and anxious protagonist, as she wrestles with her role in the death of her best friend, Sara. Although Sara’s death a year earlier was officially ruled an accident, Mandy’s guilt and unresolved trauma say otherwise. Her fears are compounded when her younger sister, Kelsey, invites Natalie, a true crime YouTuber, to join their family vacation at Highmark, the very lake resort where Sara died.

The mystery unfolds through dual timelines, alternating between Mandy’s present-day struggle and flashbacks that gradually reveal the toxic, manipulative nature of her friendship with Sara. The book’s tension builds steadily as threatening messages and invasive questions force Mandy to confront both her memories and her carefully constructed story about what really happened that summer.

The best part of this book is Mandy herself. Through crossed-out text and fragmented thoughts, Clarke offers readers an intimate look at Mandy’s guilt-ridden mind. This stylistic choice makes Mandy an unreliable but deeply sympathetic narrator, her inner turmoil adding layers of complexity to the unfolding mystery. Her coping mechanisms, like listing flowers to manage her spiraling anxiety, bring her character to life in relatable and unique ways. Her guilt makes you question what really happened with Sara’s death, if it was really an accident or not.

Clarke also excels at balancing plot and character development. The mystery is fast-paced and full of twists, with every character at Highmark—a tight-knit yet suspicious community—feeling like a potential suspect. The flashbacks to Mandy and Sara’s friendship are just as gripping, offering a painfully realistic portrayal of a toxic relationship where Sara is extremely controlling while Mandy just wants a friend. Mandy’s dependency on Sara and Sara’s cruel, manipulative behavior add emotional depth to the story, making Sara both a victim and a complicated, deeply flawed character.

The book also explores the complexities of sibling relationships, and the ethical questions surrounding true crime media, specifically with Natalie, Mandy’s sister’s friend. Natalie’s invasive investigation into Sara’s death highlights the exploitative nature of some true crime content, sparking important questions about privacy and respect for victims’ families, especially when Sara has only been dead for a year and her parents are holding a memorial while Natalie questions anyone who may have been involved.

Overall, “Now She’s Dead” is as much about unraveling a murder mystery as it is about understanding trauma and the weight of unresolved guilt. Mandy’s internal struggle is handled with sensitivity, and her slow journey toward self-awareness is as compelling as the twists and turns of the plot. Clarke’s writing style, with its clever use of self-editorializing and vivid depictions of anxiety, places you in Mandy’s chaotic, guilt-ridden mind. This is a must-read for anyone who loves a gripping whodunit that also delves deep into the human psyche.

i didnt really like this. i wasnt a fan of the writing and i thought mandy (and pretty much all the other characters) were annoying

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for providing this book, with my honest review below.

I love a good atmospheric thriller and while Now She’s Dead is focused on a somewhat younger crowd it didn’t disappoint. Alternating between present and past, we meet Mandy, a young college student who lives in fear of being noticed given the events of last summer. And why last summer? Mandy’s friend Sara perished one night while the two girls were vacationing with their parents and Mandy carries a lot of guilt about that. Set up as a bit of cat and mouse with the reader being introduced to the girls’ friendship just before Sara’s death, and Mandy’s increasing unease at present with her sister carrying suspicions about the death that seem to be spreading, this was an excellent ‘what happened and why’.

A shorter mystery but by no means short on building up a strong mystery with great emotions, budding teen or adult mystery and thriller fans will definitely enjoy this.

Now She’s Dead is a great addition to the YA thriller genre! It explores the pains of outgrowing friendships, the complexities of sibling bonds, and how our choices and secrets can weigh us down. I furiously flipped the pages to solve the mystery behind Sara’s death.

I loved the author’s writing style - with Mandy’s self-editorializing happening on page through the use of crossed out lines and thoughts, I truly felt like we were in her head. Mandy’s coping skills were also brilliantly on display as she listed flowers to manage her growing anxiety. You know she’s hiding something, but she’s buried the truth even from herself. Such great characterization!

The dual timelines gave great insight into Sara’s personality (from Mandy’s perspective) and shed just enough details on the events leading to her death to keep me engaged and guessing. I think this story will resonate with younger audiences (those going through those growing pains) and older audiences (reminiscing in hindsight) alike. Highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

While I enjoyed the summer resort setting of Now She's Dead, I think this book is better suited for a YA audience. The characters felt a bit one-dimensional, especially Sara, who was a bit of a mean girl cliche. The multiple timelines could be a doozy at times since they centered around the same locations and characters. But for many who are looking for a good thriller (and who like the nuance of different timelines), this will probably be a stronger fit.

💥 ┊ " i know sara ellis is dead because of me. ”


3.5 STARS

PLOT

<i>Now She's Dead</i> follows Mandy, who blames herself for the death of her best friend, Sara. Although her death was ruled an accident the previous year, she still can't let go of what happened. Her fears of someone finding out what really happened that night only grow when her younger sister, Kelsey, invites Natalie, a true crime YouTuber, along on their family vacation.

Although I struggled to like some of the characters, the mystery/thriller aspect was never a problem for me! From spray-painted threats to true crime videos being posted, there was always something going on and I appreciated the fast pace. I sort of guessed who the suspicious person they were looking for was at a little past the halfway point, but it was just as nerve-wracking waiting for them the figure out as it would have been trying to solve the mystery.

The only thing I didn't like was the ending. It felt rushed, and I wish we spent a little more time on the 'after' portion, once everything with the culprit was wrapped up. The ending some of the characters got just didn't feel fair, and it felt like some of the things that happened were brushed over way too easily.

CHARACTERS

Even though the book was hinting that Mandy had more to do with the death, I was (almost) always on her side! I assumed she had much less to do with it than was being put into question and that's what made the other characters so frustrating. While I understand her sister was worried and thought Mandy may have did something that night, both she and Natalie made so many stupid choices that could have led to themselves or others being hurt that it's hard to support them. I get that they're both like fifteen and fifteen-year-olds are prone to making stupid decisions, but oh my god.

The parents were similarly annoying and I really hoped there would be a moment where Mandy called them out for how they seemed to care more about their image than their own daughter.

I'm not really sure how I feel about Sara, the character the entire mystery is set around. I feel sorry for her, as she was obviously going through a tough time around the time of her death, but she was just so needlessly cruel.

PROS:

- bisexual protagonist
- engaging mystery
- beautiful setting (a lake resort)
- realistic depiction of grief

CONS:

- rushed ending (ymmv)
- frustrating side characters

Fantastic book for a younger audience. I didn’t personally like it much but I think maybe it just felt a little rushed to me. I did think it was a quick easy read that the younger people will love.