First thriller of the new year and it didn’t disappoint! This book starts off by Ren, the FMC, returns to her hometown to teach in the school where both her and her sister attended. After 10 years she thought she’d be able to handle being back in town where her sister was immortalized after her untimely death. She was wrong, the death of her sister still haunts her at every turn. She meets the physics teacher, Bryson, and everyone is charmed by the handsome teacher. But there is something about him that makes her wary. Then she begins to see a pattern of things from her past!

I really liked this book and thought it had a lot of the good thriller elements.
-Short chapters
-Ren’s sister appears as a ghost acting as a moral compass
-Misdirecting the reader about who done it

I found this book to easily capture my attention and keep me hooked until the very end!

Overall, a really solid thriller and definitely plan to read more by Marlee Bush!

A lot of twist and turns, such a great read, i definitely recommend this to friends and family, could not put the book down! I will be reading more from this author

Thank you for the advanced copy of this book. I really enjoyed reading this and couldn’t put it down! Just when I thought I’d figured everything out, there was a twist. I’d love to read more from this author.

Oh my goodness! This was such a good book. Ren Taylor had a sister, Margo, who died in a boating accident. Ren was there when she died and she blamed herself. The truth of the matter was, Ren was in love with her teacher, Mr. Henry, and so was Margo. One night, Margo snuck out of the house to go and meet with Mr. Henry, and Ren followed her out. Mr. Henry was outside waiting and Margo convinced Ren to go with them. They went down to the lake and got into a boat. Ren thought Mr. Henry had the same feelings for her that she had for him, only to find out that he really had feelings for Margo. So they went out on the boat. Ren was trying to convince Margo that her relationship was wrong. They got into a fight and Margo 's foot slipped and she fell into the water. Ren tried to save her by jumping into the lake but she never found Margo's body. It eventually washed up to shore. Ren spent all of the years following blaming herself.

Many years later, she showed up at her old school, Benton High, to teach biology. Across from her classroom was the very attractive teacher, Bryson Lewis. When Ren sees Olivia Green running from Bryson's classroom in tears she follows her. She asked her what's wrong, and at first Olivia doesn't want to tell her. But she finally tells her that she was talking to Mr. Lewis about a boyfriend she's having a problem with. That's a different story from what Bryson had told Ren. He had told her that Olivia had problems at home. Ren immediately thinks there's something going on between the two of them. Eventually Olivia tells her of of her infatuation with Bryson. Ren is immediately taken back to her days with Mr. Henry. She wants to save Olivia.

Ren had learned that Bryson had transferred to that school mid-year because of rumors about his inappropriate behavior with students at his previous school. There were two girls, Alejandra and Tina, who turned up dead. And the rumors were about his behavior toward these two girls. When Alejandra's body was found, her shoes were missing. And her shoes eventually turned up in a back room at Benton High. This evidence tied Bryson to Alejandra's murder. And it was assumed that he killed Tina too since she was the other girl that he'd been accused of being inappropriate with. He was put on leave and was eventually arrested for the murders. In the meantime, Ren had gotten really close to Olivia. As stated earlier, her plan was to save Olivia from this teacher.

One night, Ren went to a bar alone where she met a man named Casey. They eventually ended up in his hotel room. While they were there, his wife called. They had been making out, But Ren got upset when she realized he was married. She was able to sneak his phone and text his wife his location. She was infuriated with him and left in a huff. He followed her out and tried to keep her from getting into her car but she was able to get in. She took off in a hurry and ended up running him over. He died. Because she was the last person who saw him, a detective came to her apartment to talk to her about his death. Of course Ren didn't admit to anything. She told the detective that when she found out he was married she left. After the situation with Mr. Henry, Ren had it in for married men who cheated on their wives. It turns out, she would go to bars and seduce married men and then find a way to get rid of them. And she often contacted the wives.

Olivia had told Ren that she and Alejandra had been close friends, so the day she went to visit Alejandra's parents, her mother told her that she could go into Alejandra's room and take anything she wanted. She knew of a hiding place Alejandra had and she went there and found her diary and took it. When she saw Ren, she had her reed several entries Alejandra had made about Bryson. Ren felt that Olivia should give the diary to Alejandra's mother so the truth could come out. And come out it did. And then something horrible happened. Bryson turned up dead. Tina's brother was arrested for the murder.

But all wasn't as it seemed. The way the author shaped this story was genius. I never saw it coming. This is exactly the kind of tale. I enjoy reading. The kind with twist endings. The characters were so very well crafted And the saga float easily. This was one of those books I couldn't put down. I would love to read more by this author. I gave it five stars.

This book is infuriating and so, so heavy. Also very down with the "we support womens rights, and their wrongs."

I may have that phrase wrong lol but either way.

I saw someone mention this as "A Good Girls Guide to Murder" but in the teachers POV and i could not agree MORE.

I do wish so far (65%) that there may have been a few extra flashbacks, just to make sense a little more what transpired to get the mc to this point. But that could JUST be a me thing.

66% wow WHAT. I honestly didnt even think this would be mentioned again.... but she got me lol

Wtf with that ending. I truly dodnt see it coming until i hit about 80%. So good! Really enjoyed this.

"What if the silence of these men, their absence from the world, is a lot more peaceful than the quiet they cause?"

Thank you Poisoned Pen Press for an advanced copy of this book. I've now had the opportunity to arc read for all of Marlee Bush's novels.

Another great read from Marlee!

A decade after the death of her sister, Ren returns to her hometown to teach at the local high school. There's just one problem — the seemingly too charismatic male physics teacher who reminds Ren of a teacher of her past, one connected to her sister's death. When girls from the teacher's former school start turning up dead, Ren feels a sense of duty to step in.

Pacing was great, I was zooming toward the end and inhaled the last half of the book in one sitting just needing to know what happened to Margo and how this was going to come to an end. I felt every emotion throughout and physically reacted multiple times, all culminating in a twist I didn't even consider and sending me on a wild ride.

Enjoyed greatly, highly recommend!

I struggled with this one. So sometimes I was really invested and other times I just wanted it to be over. The twist was pretty good. Probably needs a SA warning but I guess the plot kind of implied that. An interesting thriller that might make you feel crazy.

Thanks to NetGalley for the copy of this ARC. This will be out in May of 2025

Ren has a lot going on after her sister’s death. She returns to her old school as a biology teacher. She wants to save others. But can she, really? A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder with a teacher’s POV. The twist at the end is a shock. Page turner!

This very ok... it felt a little like it could have bordered on YA at some times (there is nothing wrong with this I just wasn't expecting it).

This was a book I couldn't put down. I loved the suspense and trying to figure out what really happened to Rens sister. Tying the past into the present disappearances really kept the story interesting on many levels. Definitely a great read.

This book was okay! I didn’t particularly love the writing but the story was decent. It kind of felt like a high schooler had written this , maybe because it was so heavily focused on high schoolers ? Not awful and not my favorite

A deeply suspenseful novel that manages to keep a breakneck pace from start to finish. I enjoyed this one deeply.

Compelling..
When Ren returns to her hometown, some years after her sister’s murder, she desperately hopes to make peace with the appalling past and her memories of home. Taking a job at her old high school, she finds that rather than forgetting the past she is reliving it. Dogged with memories, Ren is determined that the past will not repeat itself- not if she has anything to do with it. Pacy thriller with a feisty protagonist and a fast moving plot populated with a credible cast of characters and an effective dual timeline narrative. Compelling and engaging.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | 4 Stars

Whispers of Dead Girls was an engaging thriller with plenty of twists to keep me turning the pages. The story follows Ren, who returns to her hometown years after her sister’s murder, only to notice quite a few similarities between her sister’s case and other missing girls.

The twists were decent, and the suspense kept me hooked, but the ending felt a bit convoluted—too much happened all at once, making it a little hard to believe. That said, the book had a solid pace, and Ren was an intriguing, if somewhat twisted, protagonist.

Overall, it was an enjoyable read. I will keep Marlee Bush on my must-read list in the future!

Another amazing thriller! Read this in two days! Kept me guessing until the very end! Definitely recommend!

The story centers on Ren, who battles with the guilt associated with her sister's passing, her skepticism towards those around her, and her struggle to tell the difference between reality and illusion. She deals with issues such as neglect from her parents and the grief of losing a sibling. Additionally, the narrative sheds light on themes of power disparity, and the harmful consequences of gossip, especially in the context of modern technology in schools. Overall, this book was well written, and I really enjoyed the surprise at the conclusion.

I would give this book 4.5 if I could! I thought I had it figured out but I never did. This book kept me on the edge of my seat! Half a star deducted only because similar to other thrillers, the ending consisted of a lot of information thrown at the reader which got a little confusing (remembering who was who and who did what). But overall, this was a really great read!!!

Thank you to Netgalley, Poisoned Press amd Marlee Bush for this e-ARC.
At face value, this book seemed like a simple story of an adult using their advantage over those more vulnerable, but there were multiple layers to this story. The question of nature versus nurture and what justice means are woven through the book. I questioned many characters motives for their behaviour. A much more complex story than appears at face value.

Thank you to Marlee Bush, Poisoned Pen Press, & Netgalley for an arc of Whispers Of Dead Girls! I requested this arc because I read When She Was Me by this author last year and absolutely loved it! Unable to put down-my Sunday plans turned into reading this book until I finished! Edge of your seat thriller with a fantastic plot twist! This book publishes on 5/27/25! Add it to your TBR and in the meantime check out When She Was Me!

Another hit by Marlee Bush! Whispers of Dead Girls had me hooked from the start. This thriller follows Ren, whose sister was murdered when they were teenagers. After moving back to her hometown, Ren starts noticing eerie similarities between her sister’s case and other missing girls in the area.

Ren is definitely a bit twisted herself, but I found myself rooting for her the whole way through. The ending? I did not see it coming. At first, I was hoping for something different, but honestly—it really worked!

What I loved most was how much emotion this book packed in. It was fast-paced, hard to put down, and every chapter left me wanting more.

Big thanks to NetGalley for the chance to read and review this one. I can’t wait to see what Marlee Bush writes next!