Loved this! What a great YA mystery thriller. Cecelia goes to live with her grandmother in small-town coastal California after her mother dies. Her grandmother is a famous writer whose first bestseller was a fictionalized account of a real-life murder of a prom queen in the town 50 years ago. Cecelia makes friends with the cool clique and then discovers the body of one of her new friends, the prom queen. Cecelia goes all Nancy Drew and investigates the crime. Lots of people have things to hide, lots of twists, lots of fun! Really enjoyed this.

I've recently gotten back into thrillers and I loved this one! The plot twists were so good, I was definitely on my toes throughout the entire book.

Pretty Dead Queens by Alexa Donne is my 135th book of 2022 and 45th book of the summer. This YA mystery thriller will be released on October 4, 2022. A huge thank you to #NetGalley, @randomhousekids and Crown Books for Young Readers for allowing me the opportunity to read a digital ARC. All opinions are my own.

Cecelia Ellis has to move to the small town of Seaview, CA, to live with her estranged grandmother after her mother dies. Her grandmother is a celebrated author who lives in a Victorian mansion and pens murder mysteries. Her most famous book is her first which was based on the real-life murder of a Seaview Homecoming Queen. When Cecelia attends her senior year homecoming game and finds the homecoming Queen dead, in the same way as the one from her grandma’s book, she determined to get to the bottom of the copycat murder.

WOW! I LOVED this book! ❤️ It is full of suspense and tension. It’s supposed to be a love letter to Murder She Wrote (though it takes a much darker turn) and it is absolutely amazing. I loved the structure of the mystery and how clues, red herrings, and plot twists were introduced. I figured out who did the most recent murder before it was actually revealed, but I didn’t guess the ending. This is perfect for fans of A Good Girls Guide to Murder or the Truly Devious series. The book does have cursing, underage drinking and drug use, allusions to sex, and violence. This is definitely a high school and up book. I may let my 8th graders read it with parent permission.

High school girl moves to new small town and attempts to solve local murder.. I honestly cannot decide if this is a trope I love or hate because it is often just so unbelievable even I’m not fictionally buying it. I was a Nancy Drew fan as a kid and love a good whodunnit so I always give them a chance anyways. I do like that the main character’s grandmother is a famous author and that it’s a copycat murder but other than that, it feels very familiar to other books in the same vein. And while Cecelia is definitely a busy body, she definitely stumbled on helpful information a bit too easily. Overall, still an entertaining read with a MC that reads her age (take with that what you will) but the author uses slang that I know teenagers aren’t out here saying still. I guessed the killer pretty early but there was another good twist here that I liked. If you enjoy YA thrillers and books by Karen McManus and Holly Jackson then this is right up your alley!

3.5 ⭐️

Brief Synopsis: After her mom dies, Cecelia Ellis relocates to the small coastal town of Seaview, California to live with her grandmother. Her grandmother happens to be Maura Weston, acclaimed mystery novelist whose first book was based on an actual murder that took place in Seaview. Killer Queens, Maura’s first novel, is based off the murder of a homecoming Queen that took place 50 years ago. And now in present day, the new homecoming Queen has been murdered. The exact same way as the murder from 50 years ago. With a copycat killer on the loose, Cecelia takes it upon Herself to find answers, though she may not like what she finds.

I think this book is a really great YA thriller. I did guess several things in this book, but there was an added twist at the end that I honestly did not see coming. The twist made the book much more enjoyable for me. I feel like sometimes people don’t like thrillers where they guess everything but I don’t necessarily mind. I think a good thriller has elements that the reader should guess and that catch the reader off guard and this had some of both for me.

Overall I really liked Cecelia’s character. She was smart, witty, and didn’t fit into your typical “new girl in town” stereotype to me. I do feel like she jumped quickly and adamantly to different conclusions about who the killer was, but I feel like that is probably just typical of a 17-year-old amateur detective so it did not bother me.

This book gave me some Two Can Keep a Secret vibes, which is another YA thriller that I enjoyed. So if you liked that book then I would definitely consider reading this one. Overall I think this is a good thriller and a definite recommendation for a good Halloween/spooky season read.

I’m speechless.

After reading well past 3 in the morning Pretty Dead Queens by Alexa Donne has become my new favorite ya thriller. Pretty Dead Queens is thrilling, mysterious, and suspenseful and will have you on edge from the first page until the very end as you journey alongside Cecelia in trying to solve a copycat murder.

With a relatable mc, a plot full of twists, and the copycat murder of a homecoming queen, this book is destined to be your next obsession.

I highly recommend checking out Pretty Dead Queens and I am extremely jealous of everyone who gets to read it for the first time. The thing that really sets this book above any other ya thriller, is the inclusion of each character’s relationship with grief.

I received a copy of this book from Random House Children's and Netgalley.

I thought this was a pretty engaging murder mystery even though I do have some issues with it.

Cecelia dealing with her mother's tragic death is a great character to follow but there's a weird thing where characters randomly dump info at her for no reason?

This obviously makes solving a murder a bit easier. The issue is that Cecelia's only canny to a point and when the book needs her to be thoughtless for reasons of plot, she comes off a inconsistent.

I love a good YA thriller! This reminded me of Pretty Little Liars meets Good Girl’s Guide to Murder meets Nancy Drew.

The beginning was a slower start and build up but, then it really sped up and had some great twists and turns.

If you love a good high school based who dun’ it… this one is for you!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishing team for my free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I love YA mystery books and this one was really good!
This book makes you get lost in the story and you want to sit there all day and read this book!
Definitely worth checking out

I swear, this author does not know how to write like a teenager. It'd be less obvious if she wrote this in third person. "Womb to tomb"? Really? At least qualify it with "my mom used to say" or something, because I cannot fathom someone born after 1940 uttering that.

HGTV, Barney, "girl Friday," Axe body spray...this is a YA book. Who are these references for?

She doesn't describe things like a teenager, naming specific architecture styles. Why is she able to identify things built in the 60s? She doesn't say she's into architecture, it's strange she'd recognize styles from different eras.

Cecelia is remarkably obtuse for plot reasons.

Instalove, both romantic and platonic.

Her reason for beginning the plot (right on time at 30%) is pretty shallow.

People walk up to her and give her information, like NPCs.

I mean, it's a fine YA book. The writing is serviceable, the pacing's good, there's a lot of small town drama. I'd give it three stars except I predicted the ending, the entire ending, by chapter 3.

this was a very fun read. alexa donne excels at writing compelling murder mysteries that truly keep you on the edge of your seat. i definitely didn't see the twists in this one coming.

I'm a big fan of YA mysteries and this one did not disappoint! I devoured Pretty Dead Queens as fast as I could and didn't want to put it down! I highly recommend this one!

I enjoyed this nice little mystery. I did not see the ending that way so that was a nice surprise. Author kind of set up for a sequel

I read this one over a weekend. It didn’t go as quickly as I thought it would but the storyline kept me interested. I would say a good convo topic

Cecelia Evans is forced to move to Seaview for her senior year of high school after the death of her mother, where she moves in her estranged grandmother, who happens to be a world famous mystery author and one of two reasons Seaview is well-known. The other? The tragic murder of the high school's homecoming queen 50 years ago just hours after she was crowned. Cecelia's grandmother wrote her first novel about it, which was later turned into a movie. But while to some that may all seem like ancient history, it appears history is doomed to repeat itself when the frontrunner for homecoming queen is found dead in the exact same position as the queen from 50 years ago. Is it a coincidence or is the killer back for some kind of revenge? Cecelia and her friends try to figure it out before one of them turns up dead next.

This is classified as a YA novel, but it packs all the punch of an adult mystery/thriller, in my opinion. It's got a solid mystery (two really, the past murder and the present one) and plenty of suspects to keep the plot moving. I mean, there is some teen drama, but hey, it keep things light and fun, and it's nothing I haven't seen in any number of other cozies. So anyway. Don't give up on this one because of the YA label.

The mysteries were really good, trying to figure out what was going on and whether the two were connected. I did not figure out either before the solutions were revealed, there were a lot of directions for them to go in and the author does a good job of building of the suspense and building up different leads and scenarios. And the ending - wow! It was really good once it was revealed. I loved it!

I really enjoyed this book, and would love to read more from this author. I'll be picking up her other book and looking out for more from her in the future!

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Pretty Dead Queens was such a fun book to dive into. I, for one, didn't see who was behind the murders until it was way too late. I was easily distracted by everything else happening that I definitely missed some important clues. Still, it was so good, and I could easily see myself rereading this once again.

In this, you will meet Cecelia. She's seventeen years old and now lives with her grandmother. She's famous around here due to her amazing thriller books. It also doesn't hurt that one of her books revolves around a famous murder that happened within the very same town that they live in. After making some friends, it comes to a shock when she finds one of them murdered. It also doesn't help that she's the homecoming queen either.

With this recent murder looking almost identical to the first one, all anyone could think about is who did it. The list of suspects is long because honestly, everyone in this town has secrets or dirt on someone. It also doesn't help the homecoming queen had so much blackmail on her friends either.

Cecelia and her friends playing detective definitely had its fun moments. Yet, they put themselves in really sticky and dangerous positions. Again, until the big reveal came, I honestly had no idea who was behind it all. So, my jaw fell down to the ground with each secret that came out. Seriously, it was so good and I'm in awe. Still trying to put the puzzle pieces together so I can know what I missed and how I did.

In the end, I can't wait for Alexa to write another book.

This was... unexpected.
It was going to be a 4 but the ending just slapped me across the face and said, you better think again.

Huge thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Random House Children's Books for allowing me to review this book early. All thoughts in this review are my own.

As a reader that is well out of the target age demographic for Young Adult books, I still prefer Young Adult over Adult almost always when it comes to thrillers. I'm a total sucker for tropes similar to And Then There Were None and dances where the beauty queen or the popular guy is found unalive. So when I read the synopsis for Pretty Dead Queens it was a no brainer for me. (This isn't an Agatha Christie type trope. I'm just speaking to different buzz type things that instantly pique my interest.)

This book does have a dead queen.. maybe even more. Cecelia is where our story starts. And let me just say, the first full paragraph of this book had me sitting up and thinking this is going to be great. Dark and yet the gallows side of my humor had me cackling. Cecelia feels like death seems to follow her. Most recently, her mother was taken too soon by cancer. So our leading lady is shipped off to her mother's hometown of Seaview to live with a grandmother that Cecelia's mom had cut from their lives a while ago. It's senior year and Cecelia doesn't know what to expect.. from the town, the people, school, her grandmother. Because while Cecelia feels tracked by death, her grandmother openly embraces it, in the form of the murder mysteries that have made her famous.. even a little infamous. Since her grandmother's first bestseller was actually based on the Homecoming Queen that was murdered years ago right after being crowned. Maura (Grandmother) was even the one to discover her friend Caroline, dead in the school's swimming pool. Strangled. The bad guy is in jail and there's even been a major motion picture, filmed in their little seaside town. So imagine if another queen turns up dead in the pool and our girl Cecelia just happens to be the one to find her. Shock. Gasp. The horror.

I was super into this story in the beginning. But there's a ton of characters here since we're dealing with more than one generation. That's when I got a little bogged down. My only critique of this story is that you're given a lot of these characters at once and not all of them felt distinct to me. I would have to stop reading and think back to remember who was who and why they were important. I even went and checked the early ratings and thought huh? How can it be that high? I don't feel like I'm reading the same book as everyone else. So I got it together. I knew there had to be something really great coming. Once I got past my own shortcomings and cemented the characters and their roles, I couldn't put this down even if I had wanted to.. but I didn't want to. I did feel like Cecelia was a very real person. Like someone I could know in real life. And I also thought to myself that a murder mystery would be pretty damn boring if there were only a suspect or two. I doubt other readers will experience the same level of difficulty as I did keeping everyone straight. I do take some of the blame. And once you finish the book, you will also understand why this story deservingly has such a high rating. Like, buckle up. For real. Because you're about to get knocked around from one page to the next by the end of this.

This was my first by the author, Alexa Donne. Though, I had been interested in The Ivies and purchased it before even starting this one and now, I will be getting to that one much sooner, rather than later. I wouldn't mind seeing more of this story with these characters and I will definitely be checking out whatever Alexa Donne comes out with next.

set in a coastal californian town, pretty dead queens (releasing october 4, 2022) is a young adult contemporary thriller following main character cecelia as she navigates grief and her new normal living with her estranged grandmother. though the town seems normal at first, the prom queen is murdered, prompting cecelia to investigate a copycat murder of her grandmother’s bestselling murder mystery novel.

from the first line of the book, i was completely hooked. i even read the entire book in one sitting. much like the ivies, pretty dead queens was interesting and suspenseful and i also really love alexa donne’s writing style. cecelia was a relatable and complex protagonist; i really liked how pretty dead queens explored themes of grief and tragedy with her character especially. i also liked how the friendships and depiction of teenagers felt realistic in the novel as well. and the atmosphere of pretty dead queens! the coastal town setting makes the perfect book to read on vacation, especially for a road trip down highway 1.

the only thing that i sort of didn’t love entirely about pretty dead queens was that i found it decently predictable, as i was able to guess the murderer. however, i still really enjoyed my reading experience and i think that many of the best books are still amazing reads even if you know what is going to happen next, and that’s how i feel about pretty dead queens.

also the ivies is really good too, i recommend!!

thank you @getunderlined for an earc of pretty dead queens and thank you @alexadonne for the opportunity to be on the pdq street team!! <3

I wanted to fall in love with this book so much. Unfortunately, I didn't. The characters are hard to like. The pacing is not the best, and I guessed most of what happened. The writing was not very emotionally charged. It was much more a play by play of what was happening, but no one really cared that it was happening, least of all Cecelia.

Alexa Donne quickly is becoming a nuanced writer in the murder mystery genre, which is demonstrated in her newest novel, “Pretty Dead Queens.” After Cecilia’s mother passes away, she has to move in with her eccentric grandmother, Maura Weston, a famous mystery writer. As Cecelia navigates through the cliques at her new school, a shocking murder of an almost-Homecoming queen happens. And it seems to be a copycat murder of one written about in Maura’s novels as well as witnessed by Maura. Cecilia becomes obsessed with solving this murder and is shocked at how obsessed the people in town are with her grandmother’s novels. Donne does a great job of creating some red herrings and some surprising twists. As with any murder mystery, the main character seems to have some unrealistic liberties and privileges to help solve the murder, but that is what keeps the reader intrigued. I am left to wonder if this the first novel in a series, and if so, I will definitely read the second one.

I would recommend this novel to my students who enjoy murder mysteries. It is an accessible read that pays homage to other authors in that genre.

I would like to thank Alexa Donne, Crown Publishing, and NetGalley for the Advanced Copy.