Pretty Dead Girls by Monica Murphy Published by Entangled: Teen in January 2018
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
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Beautiful. Perfect. Dead.
In the peaceful seaside town of Cape Bonita, wicked secrets and lies are hidden just beneath the surface. But all it takes is one tragedy for them to be exposed.
The most popular girls in school are turning up dead, and Penelope Malone is terrified she's next. All the victims so far have been linked to Penelope—and to a boy from her physics class. The one she's never really noticed before, with the rumored dark past and a brooding stare that cuts right through her.
There's something he isn't telling her. But there's something she's not telling him, either.
Everyone has secrets, and theirs might get them killed.
Note: I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions shared are my own.
Let’s talk about Pretty Dead Girls by Monica Murphy. I picked it up for two reasons. 1) I’ve loved EVERYTHING I’ve read by Monica Murphy thus far, and 2) I love YA mystery/thrillers.
Pretty Dead Girls started off strong for me. I loved Penelope and Cass, the main character and her love interest. I loved the catty-ness between the friends/frenemies in the Larks group, the most popular girls in this small affluent community. It was fast-paced, and quite the page-turner. It was a bit predictable but a solid YA mystery.
While it was a solid mystery with great characters, one thing really nagged me about this story: the lack of parentals. The parents were physically present, but they weren’t really parenting. Perhaps, that’s to be expected with this sort of story. However, I just couldn’t shake it off. Considering there were kids dying, felt like they should have at least made sure their kids had rides home from school if they’re without their car… Anyway, the lack of parental presence annoyed me during the last half of the story.
Overall, I enjoyed reading Pretty Dead Girls. I just didn’t love it as much as I hoped it would, and I’m positive it was mostly a “not quite for me” sort of book. I truly hope Monica Murphy writes more in this genre. I love her work and can’t wait to see what else she comes up with.
