It's rare for me to score a novel 5 stars. You're more likely to get a handshake from Michael Meyers. Every so often, however, I come across a novel that not only exceeds expectations, it lays me out with a vicious, unexpected suckerpunch. The Teen Killers Club is one of those. In fact, if you only bother with one YA book in 2020, let it be this one.

Lily Sparks' debut is a poignant, entertaining ride, that examines morality, the definition of justice, and humanity. It does a wonderful job tearing apart common assumptions about the criminal/justice system, and humanizing even those accused of the most heinous of crimes. Lily Sparks does not make excuses for the actions of the criminals in her novel; she doesn't shy away from the brutality of their actions, or sugar coat the fact that, in the public eye, they are murderers. Despite this, or perhaps even because of it, you find yourself falling hopelessly in love with each and every one of the would-be assassins.

Teen Killers Club has become one of my favorite reads of 2020. I would like to thank Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books. I was provided an eARC in exchange for an honest review.


Writing quality/readability - 4/5 I'm not typically a fan of novels written from the first person point of view. It has to be damn good writing to hold my attention. The Teen Killers Club fits that criteria. The description is vivid, and does a wonderful job bringing the environment and characters to life. (The hippie cult commune is very reminiscent of a scene from Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, and, far from being derivative, is one of the best and most well written scenes in the entire novel.) At times, the writing feels like a nod to a Tarantino film, with its sleek action sequences and gritty violence in key flashbacks and towards the climax of the novel. As a Tarantino fangirl, I am absolutely here for it. From a stylistic and technical standpoint, the writing is concise and clear, with solid pacing, and an easy to follow flow. Bottom line: it's a fun read!

Plot - 5/5 I'm probably biased, when it comes to this section. The synopsis/premise was what drew me to the novel in the first place. It's an interesting concept: convicted felons/death row inmates are conscripted into a shadow government organization, to be trained as sleeper agents/assassins for covert operations. It's a high octane premise, and it delivers. The whodunit twist at the heart of Signal's plot was intriguing, as well; it kept you guessing. Far from being a tired rehashing of a common trope, the eventual reveal of Rose's murderer is an unexpected twist, that raises more questions, and leaves you hungry for the answer. This is also one of the few times where I wasn't bothered by the predictable outcome of a love triangle as well; it was well written enough to be forgivable, and even satisfying. In some ways, I would have loved for this debut to have not been YA, solely because I would have been interested in exploring the darker themes in Teen Killers Club unfettered by a 14+ age bracket. But as that's my only (minor) gripe, rest assured, Lily Sparks has done something right.

Characterization - 5/5 Novels are fickle. It's rare to connect with, or love, every character. I found myself doing just that. The characters are fully realized and fleshed out. They make no secret of their flaws, and it humanzies them perfectly. While neither the author nor the characters let you forget that these kids are all convicted of murder, or the potential for it, Lily Sparks strikes the perfect balance between driving home the reminder, while being careful not to let it define who they are.

And straight up, you'll fall so hard for these characters that you'll need> that reminder, periodically.


World building - 3/5 This is the only section where I felt the novel misstepped. While Teen Killers Club takes place during present day, there were enough unique touches to warrant this section. Unfortunately, most of these features are barely touched on. While I applaud Ms.Sparks' creation of criminal classification (The teens in question ranked Class A,) there are still a lot of unresolved plot points.

For example, how are rankings determined? What questions, or algorithms, determine a specific classification during testing? Who are the Protectionists? Who is behind the program, and what's their endgame?

None of these are addressed with any real detail. While I'm optimistic that these questions will be answered in a follow up/companion novel, the lack of answers diminished the world building.

Overall, it was a fast paced, fun, and delightfully thrilling read.

What happens in society when “deviant” behaviors are identified and classified? You get a group of teenage killers. Instead of being shunned for their behavior these teens are trained as killers and sent to eliminate their targets. Lots of action, suspense, mystery and a little love.

Teen Killers Club had me at "a young girl joins a super-secret society of teenage assassins" and kept me engaged with a riveting plot, believable characters and twists that left my gasping under my breath what?!.

In Teen Killers Club we follow Signal, a girl who has allegedly murdered her best friend but has zero recollection of doing that. After her conviction Signal finds herself taking her only option out of prison by joining a camp for misfit murderers of the highest class under a Suicide Squad type plot. While at camp she meets the most ragtag group of teens, each character developed so well that I feel like I know them.

The mystery elements of this book hold up very well - we have the unsolved murder of Signal's best friend Rose, as well as the curious case of the murderer trying to murder the murderers... yes you read that correctly. Teen Killers Club will lead you in one direction and then give you a little bait and switch with it's plot twists, I couldn't put it down once I really got into it.

For fans of the macabre and morally inept characters, I highly recommend.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher.

It has great plot and characters. You think you know what is going to happen, but then guess what! You don't!!! I loved it.
#TeenKillersClub
#NetGalley

This was a fun, well paced entertaining ride. Would definitely recommend it for fans of the assassin school trope who want something less fantasy, and more reality based.

Also... hoping for a sequel! That end!

My one piece of feedback is that the cover doesn’t seem well suited to the story, but given that I read an ARC that could easily change.

Thanks Netgalley & Crooked Lane books for this advanced e-ARC!

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

This book is fantastic. You think you know how it's going to turn out but nope! It throws a bunch of surprising and earned twists in your way! It's brilliantly written and plotted!

The first half of this was so good and i really enjoyed the premsie and the mystery aspect of this. However as this continued i had some major issues with this book.

1. The main character. So often she felt like a mary sue and had other people personalities imprinted on her. She wasn't weak, more that she was useless and inept and would completely rely on everyone else to solve the crime rather than use her own initivie. She let things happen to her and was inactive and let herself get in some stupid situations and she had the inability of being honest and telling the truth to others when it was needed.
2. The love triangle/square. It was just dumb and unneeded. It wasn't needed at all and really ruined the book for me. If this had been taken out, i would have had less issues with it overall.
3. The ending. This made the book take a nose dive for me. It was stupid and came out of nowhere. The killer and the other twists came out of nowhere and the author did not leave clues or hints earlier on as is normal in these books meaning the twists were inept and came across as stupid.

This book had so much promise and it only got three stars for the first half and i liked the writing style overall.

This is Lily Sparks’ debut novel, and man oh man was it good. The main character, Signal, is imprisoned after being found guilty of her best friend’s murder. After being in jail for about a year, Signal is sent to a summer camp of sorts for other teen murders where they will learn how to become assassins. This rag-tag group of teens call themselves the Teen Killers Club. The catch for Signal however, is that she isn’t actually a killer. She was framed for a murder she didn’t commit.

This book was a page-turner and at the end of each chapter, something would happen that would keep me wanting to read more. There is mystery, suspense, and a sprinkling of romance in this book. This book also has a lot of big messages about self-acceptance and trust. I loved this book, and highly recommend it to anyone who likes mystery or thrillers. Also, I really hope there is a sequel to this book, as there were a number of things left unfinished. I give this book a 4 out of 5 stars.

Way to go Ms. Sparks on an awesome debut!

I absolute;y loved this book! cIt was fast-paced and constantly making me want to read the next page to see what happens next.. Literally read it in two sittings, it reminds me of Riley Sager's work. It has a little bit of everything, murder, intrigue, instant love, teen angst, shadow government branches, terrorists, and even cults!

I received an ARC through NetGalley from Crooked Lane Books. In a near future, people can be tested for their potential to be killers and sociopaths. At the top of the pack are Class A’s, the most brutal, heartless killers. Signal Deere tested Class A after being found guilty of killing her best friend. Now she is part of a secret installation that trains and deploys teen killers. Signal says she is not guilty of her accused murder. She doesn’t quite fit in at camp, but she is making friends with the other interesting inmates turned assassins. Can she hang? Can she find the real killer, so she can get justice?

Overall, I expected more from this, but found found Signal like-able and I wanted to see the mystery of her best friends murder unveiled. The love triangle is not my thing and I would have liked more character development with Nobody, Dennis and Jada - the secondary characters. Maybe in a sequel? Teens will find this easily readable and attention grabbing.

Honestly, without saying too much to spoil it; this book kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. What a wild ride, I loved it.

I was hooked before I even read it the title the cover that’s all that took me to decide I need to read this book a boy am I glad I did it was twisty turny book that made me question what was going to happen next and I can’t wait to recommend this to anyone and everyone once it comes out.

This book far exceeded my expectations. I really enjoyed the entire concept. The character development was great and enough action to keep the reader engaged. Would love to read a sequel!

Signal Deere is seventeen years old but her life is far from normal. She’s convicted of killing her best friend Rose. On top of that, she’s been deemed a “Class A” which in this world is the most dangerous and manipulative type of person. While in prison, she is offered a way out and signs up for a secret program. She is taken where she soon finds out she will be trained to be a proficient killer. But, Signal is innocent and thus has to fake being guilty so as not to appear weak around a bunch of teen killers.

Lily Sparks delivers a unique young adult novel that I have a feeling I’ll be re-reading. It has a strong American Horror Story: 80s vibe, but it is completely different at the same time. Additionally, this had many of the typical YA tropes but I felt as though they were done in unique ways as well which is important to me. I almost read the entire thing in one sitting and I definitely felt like I wanted to know more after it ended and I’m expecting a sequel. I’m looking at your Lily Sparks.

4.5 Stars

Bloody hell, this book was awesome!!

This girl named Signal, yes that’s her name, gets put in prison for murdering her best friend ...but she doesn’t remember. She’s like.. uh what..no

They have these killers called Class A, which means your the worst of the worst. You can also take this test to see if you classify. If you do, you go to prison for your thoughts. The hell? I know right?!

Anyhoo, Class A’s can’t appeal so Signal is offered a secret thing she can join or rot in jail. She decides to take the deal. Turns out her and one of her mates from her prison (Nobody, yes, she goes by Nobody) end up at a camp together. What!!?? Yay??!!


NO, this ain’t that camp. WELCOME TO CAMP NARAMAUKE!! We’re going to train you to be assassins. Say what?! Poor ole Signal gets thrown in with some killer teens and she’s an innocent.

I actually fell in love with the group after they all got sorted out. Signal, Nobody, Jada, Javier, Erik, Dennis, Troy and Kurt. Dave and Kate run the place and are twats.

The kids are tagged so they can’t just run off. They start training on some things, but then some whackado shows up in a dog mask trying to kill them. Needless to say, chaos ensues!

Also, during the book one of the kids tries to help Signal find out who really killed her best friend. And let’s just say there are a few different end games, some crazy twists and what the..moments.

I throughly enjoyed this book and the end was so good with both a sad and happy ending! I will be adding this book to my clan 😉

Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾

*I would like to thank Netgalley and Crooked Lane Publishing for a digital copy of this book.

This was such a fun read with really likeable characters. Some parts were a little far fetched, but it is a novel about a teen killer club, so I’m not too mad about it.

At seventeen Signal Deere is set to be spending her life in prison after brutally murdering her best friend.

Her only way out is to sign on to a secret program that trains young murderers to becoming assassins.

Signal isn’t like the others, she is kind and scared of most everything. It takes one of the other teens to discover the truth she isn’t admiring to - Signal has never murdered anyone.


This book is brilliant. I read it in one sitting and can’t wait for the next (hopefully) instalment. I need to know what happens next!

So, I started reading this book around 11pm. It is now 4:13am and I just finished. I. Could. Not. Put. This. Book. Down. I was so taken with Signal and Nobody from the very start. The characters make this book so fun and engaging. The love interests/triangle kept me wondering who she would inevitably choose. I normally don’t enjoy a love triangle but thankfully this one was well written and believable. The writing is fantastic and I’ll definitely be looking forward to future works from this author. And the plot, although a bit overdone(teen assassins), was so fun. The story was exciting and I enjoyed the mystery so much. I honestly did not see the reveal coming. I can normally figure out the twists and turns but, this one blindsided me.

There were a couple of things that bothered me; the lack of actual combat/fight training... You’re training them to be assassins but you don’t teach them to fight? Not with weapons or physically? The whole “gay relationship” that was a non-relationship and then was completely looked over when it was convenient didn’t really sit right with me.

At the end of the day, I really enjoyed this book and it’s set up so perfectly for the sequel that I can not wait to read. I give Teen Killers Club 4.5 stars.

All of my thanks to Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for allowing me to read the arc in exchange for an honest review.

**I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review++

I was pretty surprised with how much I enjoyed this book. I finished it in a night, not wanting to put it down.

Teen Killers Club centers around 17 year old Signal Deere, a goth girl from the trailer park. When her best friend is murdered she ends up being found guilty of the crime and ends up in prison. When she is offered the chance to join a program to possibly get out of jail early she signs up and heads off to a summer sleep-away style camp with a bunch of other teenage killers. The one difference between Signal and the rest of the campers is that she is innocent.
This book is so wild, it gave me a bit of Suicide Squad vibes in the beginning when I first read about the program of young killers being put together.. but that quickly passed, Setting a bunch of murderous kids in an innocent setting like a summer camp was such an interesting juxtaposition, and was one of those things that really grabbed my attention. The main character Signal was so out of her element, but took everything so surprisingly well trying to maintain her focus on how to find her best friends real killer. I loved all the little moments where you REALLY notice how different she is from the rest of the teen killers. I loved getting to know the characters and would love to read a sequel. I feel like there are so many questions left to be answered.

Given that it's about teen murderers, I'm a little bit worried about how much I enjoyed this book! I'm not sure I have the words to say how much I adored this mashup of adventure and mystery!

Vaguely reminiscent of Suicide Squad (but without the superpowers, obviously) Teen Killers Club is smart, face paced story. The characters are fantastic - I fell head over heels for the whole club. The book doesn't shy away from gore, and the twists kept me guessing right up until that explosive end... There had better be a sequel!

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This review has been posted to Goodreads and will be submitted to Amazon after release.