“A suspenseful, thrilling read that will keep you on pins and needles until the last page.” –Liezel and Angie’s Book Blog 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 … 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.
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I COULD NOT PUT THIS BOOK DOWN! I’m actually writing this review after getting only 3 hours of sleep because I stayed up WAY too late last night finishing Pretty Dead Girls. Seriously. Plan on reading this book cover to cover in one sitting. Monica Murphy has a special talent when it comes to creating characters and a world that will pull you in. Everything from the cute little beach town to the bitchy teenage girls and the mysterious and sexy Cass was expertly crafted and realistic. For those of you who enjoyed the TV show Pretty Little Liars, you will be engrossed in this book.
I voluntarily received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
If mean girls got murderous…
Let me start by saying if “Pretty Dead Girls” by Monica Murphy is any indication of the quality of books that readers will get in 2018, then we are a lucky group. This book had my heart racing and I couldn’t put it down. I tried several times and I kept coming right back because the story stayed with me that intensely.
This story is set in the wealthy, northern California coastal town of Cape Bonita. It’s wealth, beauty, and over-achievement in every corner. This includes the students at Cape Bonita Prep School. The school even has a special group for ten ambitious female students, called the Larks. Unfortunately, the Larks seem to be targeted for a different reason these days.
This story is told primarily from Penelope Malone’s viewpoint. However, we do see glimpses of our killer. Our villain is cold and brutal. The girls of the Larks are ferocious in their pedigrees but this killer could care less. One aspect I really enjoyed about the villain here is how hard it was to figure out who it was. You aren’t entirely sure if this is a male or a female, you never know what time frame in history the characters are talking about. It never becomes confusing, you only become more curious about the killer and their victim and how on earth they got to the position they are currently in.
Penelope is the president of the Larks and has sometimes been called “the queen”. I enjoyed her character a lot and I have to applaud the author for not only having the suspense and action in this story, but the characters were still exceptionally developed. When we initially see Penelope, she’s so rigid and over-extended. She’s got big plans and there is nothing getting in her way. When she sees her friends being rude, she takes it in stride. Seeing her character evolve throughout this story was enjoyable. There was one scene in particular where Penelope snaps back at someone and I admit I quietly cheered her on as I read along.
Penelope isn’t trying to solve the mystery alone, as she ends up teaming up with Cass, a guy from her class. He’s mysterious but it’s not necessarily in a bad boy, scary way. He’s just unknown and somewhat misunderstood. Everyone in town has secrets and Cass happens to know about a lot of them. It was interesting to watch he and Penelope’s relationship grow, as they are not only getting to know each other, but also trying to figure out who the killer is.
If you enjoy Scream Queens, Pretty Little Liars, Riverdale, The Vampire Diaries (there is no paranormal but there is a similar vibe), I think you would love this book. I read this in a day because it was that captivating and I needed to know what happened. A fantastic book; I would definitely read this one again!
Reviewing for A Published Romance
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Fabulous. This is a dig in and begin guessing young adult story. When of the most popular girls in school turns up dead, everyone’s foundation in Cape Bonita is shaken. As a Lark, the premier club, it appears these members are being targeted. Penelope is the president and is not sure what to think when her world is shifted. Cass Vincenti is the quiet boy that tends to blend in but he reaches out to Penelope when these events begin to unfold. Penelope is surprised to feel a connection to Cass. They become detectives together, trying to unravel this crazy mystery. I thoroughly enjoyed this mysterious thriller and was truly surprised by the culprit. I love how Monica Murphy connects me to the characters and immerses me in their world so that I don’t want to put the book down. I voluntarily read an ARC of this book and this is my honest review.
Very Pretty Little Lies
Pretty Dead Girls is a thrilling, young adult mystery.
Penelope suddenly finds herself in the midst of a murder mystery. As members of the Larks start dropping like flies, everyone has their guesses of whose killing all of these pretty girls.
Pretty Dead Girls was honestly great. The whole time I wasn’t sure who the killer was. At first, I thought it was one person, and then I thought, no that would be easy. Murphy had me on edge and guessing the whole time. It’s a great YA Thriller that I feel anyone could jump into. It was thrilling and kept you guessing until the end.
And just like Penelope, I was also drawn to Cass. He was a bit of a mystery, but so very likable. I too loved how you got a glimpse of the killer, but it doesn’t give much away. Just enough to keep you on edge.
Overall, Five Boundless Stars
I’m going to be honest about two things up front. First, it’s been a very long time since I’ve read anything by Monica Murphy. Second, I’m pretty picky about young adult. Especially if they are still in high school. So I’m extremely happy to say that I devoured Pretty Dead Girls and it only solidified my decision to kick myself for having such a time lapse in reading Murphy’s work.
Pretty Dead Girls is Mean Girls in a horror movie. I know the inspiration for this story came from Scream Queens but I hadn’t seen that show before I read this book. But you better believe I started watching it on Hulu right after I read the acknowledgement!
Pretty Dead Girls is told in two POVs. One is the main girl and is the majority of the book. The other is a few chapters sprinkled in from the killer, which I thought really kept the plot interesting. It helped to keep your mind reeling and trying to guess who it is. Girl after girl is being picked off and there is certainly a theme to it.
There is a small romance part in this book but from the moment we get introduced to the Cass, I wanted to know more about him. In true fashion, I suspected him just like I did everyone else. Murphy did a great job leading us to believe one thing, only to shatter it and make us search again.
I could’t put this book this book down. It intrigued me from start to finish and it had me playing Guess Who the entire time. If you are looking for a young adult suspenseful thriller with some seriously mean girls and a plot to keep you guessing, then you can’t miss this book.
*3.5 – 4 Stars*
The quiet little town of Cape Bonita is suddenly having high school students turn up dead. Murdered, at that.
I found this was quite the interesting story to get into, and once I really sat down and got into it, I was curious to find out who the killer was. I worked it out close to the end, but for the most part I was way off course.
Penelope and Cass are the main characters, and a really unlikely match, with Cass being the “weird” guy with an unusual past, and Penelope being the leader of one of the popular school organisations and essentially on the of the beautiful popular girls at school.
Being set in high school, there is a huge amount of typical high school drama. Mean Girls style. But set behind it all is the suspicion, the lies and the fear of who will be next. And why is someone murdering these girls?
At the end, its a reason you don’t even really see coming. Throughout the book I kept chopping and changing my theories and trying to work out what would fit, and was a concept put there to throw me off.
I can’t say that I really liked any of the characters too much, but I didn’t really hate them either. I was more intrigued by the mystery in this one, rather than getting too deeply connected to the personalities of the characters being portrayed.
Its been a while since I’ve read a mystery/thriller/suspense story, but this was a good one to choose. It did keep me guessing and second guessing until the very end.
OMG! Talk about being pulled into a book! Monica Murphy, her characters, Penelope and Cass, and the tourist town where everyone seems to have a secret had me under their spell until I finished the last page.
It reminded me somewhat of Pretty Little Liars and more recently, Riverdale. But, make no mistake Monica Murphy made it all her own!!!!! Penelope is pretty, popular, and extremely intelligent. She is also President of an elite group of girls who do community service around town. You would think they would be nice girls wanting to do good in their community, and you would be so wrong!!!! A majority of them are mean girls who have secrets, and now they seem to be the target of a murderer. These pretty girls are turning up dead, and Penelope could be the next target.
Penelope was a complicated character. She wasn’t always nice, but she was never as mean as some of the other girls. What I came to really respect her for was that her blinders were taken off. She began to see the flaws in the girls and most importantly herself. Cass, the quiet boy, in physics class helped her with that. She heard the rumors about him, but she felt pulled toward him. At first, she wasn’t sure what others would think. Then, she realized things and people aren’t always what they seem. There is a romance between the two of them, but that isn’t the dominant aspect of the story, the mystery is. Boy, what a mystery Murphy weaved. There were so many twists and turns. I loved the fact that several chapters were from the killer’s POV. Those chapters were some of the best ones, seeing a glimpse into a psychopath’s mind who thinks he or she may be doing the world a favor by getting rid of mean girls.
Pretty Dead Girls was also a deeper look into teenagers’ lives and society in general. It made me realize, yet again, you never know what is going on behind closed doors. Sometimes we seem to think privilege and money solves problems, but Murphy shows us that isn’t the case at all!
***Read and Reviewed for Devilishly Delicious Book Reviews***