I definitely loved how this was a ghost story! It was spooky and mysterious. It would make for a great Netflix limited series - wow. It was a little immature but it was still fun to read.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This book was incredibly creepy! Told in first person it explores a '90's childhood and the life of a child therapist.

There's some really neat twists that I didn't see coming.
I highly recommend this book.

Fondly reminds me of many of the YA thrillers I read as child/teen -- but a grown up version. Loved the pace, the storyline, and the characters.

A great quick read for folks who enjoy books about urban legends with unreliable narrators. Heather is a child psychologist who is forced to relive her early adolescence and the death of her best friend Becca, who was obsessed with The Red Lady, a witch-ghost who can be summoned to wreak havoc on your enemies. . .if you're willing to pay her price. Heather believes she is the only one who knows how and why Becca died that night, but then she begins receiving insidious objects belonging to Becca from an unknown stalker. Was someone else present the night Becca died, or did the Red Lady keep her promise--and bring Becca back to life?

This was a fanciful, enjoyable story. The characters were realistic and relatable. It brought back memories of my childhood and the girls telling ghost stories. It was well written and I escaped for a day on the beach with it.
Many thanks to Crooked Lane Books and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book has such a fun and eerie, classic "teen girls explore the macabre" plot, and running alongside it, a deeper and heavier sadness to the story that leans into childhood trauma. My favorite parts of this were the Red Lady, and the "Then" chapters focusing on Heather and her friends Becca, Gia, and Rachel. I love a good creepy ghost tale (the description of the Red Lady, particularly her long weaving hair, were so creepy!), and I love a good childhood friend horror group!

In present chapters, Heather has a lot happening from every angle and it comes at you fast. I was so anxious reading the decisions she was making, and how poor they often were! But I feel that the author did a very good job of writing a woman who was so deeply fearful of her past and what she endured there. I will be looking out for any books this author writes in the future!

Thank you for a copy of this book!

2/5 - This book is boring and I can’t review it properly.

It’s not what I call a thriller. What it is, is a lot of words. Boring words. Boring words from many different boring POV’s. I expected more. I wanted more.

NetGalley provided an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Ok this book was amazing. Personally I’m not usually into the supernatural type of books but after I read broken girls last year I knew I had to give this one a shot. It was so worth it. I was hooked from the start and could not put it down. So much mystery and suspense. Definitely recommend even to those not normally into this type of book. Thanks NetGalley.

A thrilling breakout novel from an author I've enjoyed before. Walters writes touching tension that brings heart to the horror genre. I high;y recommend her previous works, and I think this is her best yet. Can't wait for the next one.

The description of The Dead Girls Club pulled me right in. The '90s and teen girls obsessed with the morbid (who didn't try Bloody Mary in the mirror or whip out that Ouija board at sleepovers!). The secret late night sneak outs, family issues and era reminded me a bit of one of my all-tine favourite movies Now and Then. It also brought out the nostalgia for my old love of teen horror movies like I Know What You Did Last Summer.

I enjoyed the "past" story line and wish the book had spent all of its time there. There is so much richness to explore and opportunities to further develop the friendships between the girls and their spooky obsessions. The Red Lady was an interesting concept and the hysteria it caused between the girls reminded me of the real life Slenderman crime and how susceptible young girls can be to stories and the power of a group mentality.

Unfortunately, I just could not connect with present day Heather and that brought down the book for me. She was irritating, paranoid without reason and the relationship with her husband was really hard to read.

Ultimately, this was just an ok read for me that started with lots of potential. I will definitely keep my eye out for future books by Damien Angelica Walters.

Thank you to #netgalley and Crooked Lane for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I've been so excited for fall to come around so I could dive into this supernatural thriller. The Dead Girls Club was a solid 3 star read for me, but while I did enjoy it, it did not meet my high expectations.

The book is divided into past and present chapters, which would have worked well had the grown up Heather been tolerable as a narrator. I was much more interested in the past storyline with young Heather, her friends, and the creepy story of the Red Lady. The dynamic of the girls, and especially Becca's character reminded me of the real life Slenderman murder (which is actually referenced by Heather in a future chapter).

I found the present chapters to be filled mostly with Heather making stupid decisions and wandering about her home, town, and office, with way too much description of her everyday actions. Despite my annoyance with her character (and the ridiculous amount of times her "damp armpits" are mentioned) I had to keep reading to find out what exactly happened that summer between Heather and Becca and who was stalking Heather now. But unfortunately, the ending was not satisfying, but felt cliched and formulaic (Seriously, what is with all the thrillers lately ending with a house fire?)

Overall, I would recommend this book based on the story of The Red Lady and the creep factor it brings to the book. I just wish the author had focused more on the supernatural elements than the psychological, which would have made The Dead Girls Club stand out from the crowd.

The Dead Girls Club by Damien Angelica Walters brought back so many memories of being in middle school and believing in urban legends and seeking out the horror movies, books, and scary stories.

This book switches between the now and then of Heather, our main character. The then focus’ on her past with the dead girls club. 4 middle school girls into the urban legends and scary stories, and the now child psychologist haunted by her past.

This book is a decently paced mystery/thriller but the highlights of the book were mentioned in the description so nothing but a small twist is kept secret from the beginning. I think this would have benefited from not revealing so much. One of things that I did truly enjoy was the ominous stories of the red lady. The tone in the book really brought me back to the heart pounding days of knowing bloody murder wouldn’t get me but still being scared.

I look forward to reading more by Damien Angelica Walters.

Thank you to Crooked Lane Books via Netgalley for an advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review.

I haven't read anything previously by this author but I was impressed. This book will keep you up all night reading until the end and is the perfect thing to read before Halloween and share around the campfire. Highly recommend this one! Also, beautiful cover-art!
Thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

This thriller is a recommended first purchase for collections where the genre is popular. Has crossover appeal for certain HS collections as well.

I had a really hard time deciding what I wanted to rate this book. On one had I found it to drag on, but on the other hand the concept was interesting. Ultimately I gave it 2.75 hoots but rounded it up to 3 hoots, which means it was just okay. I feel like the author was trying really hard to make the reader feel uneasy and shocked in parts, but she just could not pull it together. Please keep in mind that the creepiness of a book is fully subjective, but for me this was kind of a miss.

Full disclosure, I did receive a free copy of this book from Netgalley, but as you already know that doesn’t mean I pull my punches. I thought the concept was incredibly interesting. Right off the bat the main character, Heather, admits that she was the one that killed her childhood friend. You then find out that there was more to it than it appeared….the Red Lady made it all happen. Who is the Red Lady you ask? Why she is the woman who haunts this group of girls after they perform a ritual to call her.

I did enjoy the portions of the story that had the Red Lady. Was she real? Were the girls really being haunted? What was really going on? Of course Becca, the girl that was murdered, was the one who told her friends about the Red Lady in the first place. She was the one that appeared to be the leader of the Dead Girls Club, their group where they discussed murderers etc. These girls were definitely the kind of people I would have loved to know when I was younger.

Anyway, back to the Red Lady….Becca summoned her because her mother was being abusive and she wanted to get help to escape. The Red Lady was talking to her and the other girls and things really started to escalate until that fateful night when Heather murdered Becca.

I honestly tried to like this book but it was really hard. There were portions that just dragged, were uninteresting, or just plain pointless. I mean seriously, one of the ways the Red Lady manifested her power was by forcing their period to start. I kid you not! They all seriously felt cramps and then bam, period. It was ridiculous. The pacing of this book also missed the mark for me, at times it was challenging to keep reading.
Overall, this was not the type of thriller that I enjoy but it might be better suited to someone who prefers to read books full of teen angst. For me it just didn’t work. The “then” portions of the book were almost painful to read and the “Now” portions just left you with Heather fumbling to figure out who is trying to mess with her. The ending itself and the final reveal was not very satisfying for me. If I had to recommend it to an audience, I would say it is better suited for a younger YA reader than an older teen.

I am very grateful that Netgalley allowed me to have a copy of this book, I just wished I had a more positive review to give. It is just that I have to be honest, I just wish I liked this book better.

A supernatural thriller in the vein of A Head Full of Ghosts about two young girls, a scary story that becomes far too real, and the tragic--and terrifying--consequences that follow one of them into adulthood.

The story starts in 1991, where 4 young girls formed a club called the "Dead Girls Club." Exchanging stories about serial killers and mythical monsters like The Red Lady.

One of the girls was killed because of the Red Lady.

30 Years later, the story follows one of the girls, Heather. She starts receiving "gifts" that make her remember The Red Lady, when she really doesn't want to.

Someone want's to make Heather pay for something...

I thought this book was pretty good, it goes between then and now and was written alright. The character's were likable, and I got caught up in the book so much that I read it in one day, not wanting to put it down at all!

The twist at the end was kind of predictable though, I already knew it before I got to it. But other than that, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this.

Special thanks to Netgally and the publishers of this book. I recieved an ACR E-Book copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked this book.

After reading the synopsis I was concerned it might be a little too intense (I tend to have insomnia after horror novels) but once I started this book I just couldn't stop. While there are "spooky" portions it's definitely not as bad as I had envisioned, so if you're like me don't be afraid to dive right into this one.

I am a fan of telling a story from both the present and the past and it worked really well for this story. Heather had a best friend named Becca when she was a girl. Something happened to Becca and Heather believes it was her fault. She has been able push aside her feelings of guilt and become a child's psychologist with a handsome husband. Suddenly she receives some mail that make her relive the past and it starts to consume her causing issues in both her career and personal relationships.

The Dead Girls Club was a quick and enjoyable read. It's suspenseful and creepy and if you like these types of books this one needs to be on your list.

I imagine that I’m going to be thinking about this story for awhile. It didn’t give me that WOW factor that some thrillers do, but it was definitely still and engaging and interesting read. The story weaves together an urban legend with a real life murder. Those two plot points are outstanding. There were some awesome creepy moments throughout the book every time we learned a little more about “the Red Lady.” I know I didn’t want to read those parts in the dark!
This story will keep you guessing till the end and will keep you turning the pages. How we I was a bit disappointed with the twist. It didn’t wow me like I wanted it to. I actually thought it was going to go in another direction with our main character, Heather, and I almost wish it did. I think it would have gave you more if that punch to the guy with a thriller you sometimes get.
Overall I do recommend this if you like thrillers that are not too overly creepy or gorey. This is a page turner with easy writing that will keep you entertained.
My short review will be up on My Instagram- ReadingwithPugs. This full review will also be up on Goodreads. Closer to publication my review will be up on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

This was such a good read. I loved the supernatural suspense, the friendships and mystery. I couldn't put this book down and wanted to know why and what happened. Thanks netgalley for the e-arc

What a doozy! I literally hung on every line of The Dead Girls Club and couldn’t put it down. From the very beginning, the mystery of the dead girls caught my eye, and the story of the Red Lady was so spooky. The story revolves around four girls- the main character Heather and her best friend Becca being the main characters.

The story is cut between Heather’s childhood and her present life as a child psychologist. It talks about a childhood ghost story and how many years later, the ghost is back. The author did a great job of describing the way middle school-aged girls think and act and it brought me right back to my own childhood. The ghost story of the Red Lady is such a perfect example of a childhood story gone terribly wrong.

This book is definitely a psychological thriller and had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. It had a slow, suspenseful build-up, and I loved the way the ending explained everything. I hate when books have plot holes, and this book tied everything up nicely. I thought that The Dead Girls Club was a quick and interesting read, and recommend it to anyone who likes a good thriller.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for my ARC!