This book is told in three timelines. The first is when Charlie was eleven years old and her family comes to the seaside town of Hithechurch, England for a holiday in a caravan.

The second timeline is the present day, when Charlie has returned to the caravan as an adult, ostensibly to research for a book on local folklore, but she gets caught up in a series of missing girls in the area. Later, the real reason for her visit is revealed.

The third timeline is a bit more mysterious, starting in the 1950s, about a young man and his life. Eventually, the three timelines converge to make a cohesive story, but it takes an extremely long time to get there. Readers may lose patience. If I didn't have such a stubborn streak I would have given up long before the story started to make sense.

In this book, Charlie and her niece Katie go on a cold January road trip to the seaside for Charlie to research her book. As Charlie's childhood memories take her to her own summer vacation in this town, she begins to remember the terrifying events that changed her life.

I was quite speechless when I finished this book. Just wow, what a story. If you're like me and usually avoid horror tales, this dark suspenseful read will get you as close to that very genre as you can get. Thriller meets supernatural in this clever mystery of disappearances that haunt a little sea town. It was thrilling and exciting unraveling the mystery, page by page!

Speaking of shocking revelations. Just when you think you know what's going on, another dark surprise is revealed. And whatever you do, DON'T read in the dark, you've been warned.

Multiple timelines were executed really well, and made the story come together at its hair-raising conclusion. Dr Frankenstein meets Dr. Hannibal Lecter. Although you may be able to predict some of the turns and twists, there is plenty to keep you on the edge of your seat the entire time.

If you are in the mood for a chilling thriller with some horror elements, this should be your next read! Can't wait to read more from this author. 4.5/5 stars from me.

A slow burn with three different storylines this book pulls you in deep. This was a uniquely haunting and incredibly atmospheric read! It’s a psychological thriller with a side of horror and some gothic vibes

A creepy and strange book that will keep you guessing, exactly what you hope for when you pick up a book like Games for Dead Girls. The title itself was so intriguing for me, and I definitely think it lived up to my expectation!

Missing girls in a seaside vacation town? Sign me up. This was creepy and atmospheric however this story just didn't hold up in the end. I really enjoyed most of the reveals and twists but there seemed to be too many storylines. I flew through this but it ended up just being a middle of the road three star book for me.

Thank you Dreamscape media, Jen Williams and Netgalley for the audio ARC of this book

This was a really good thriller read that had me hooked from the very first chapter. Weaving through multiple timelines I couldn't help but listen to every word.

I alternated between the ebook which was also a great medium and the narratation of the audiobook was great.


This was well worth the read/listen and I'm interested to read more of Jens work!

Games for Dead Girls has such an interesting premise. Combine that with comparisons to Jennifer Hillier and Alex North, and I'm immediately sold!

This fell really short for me, though. While the idea behind the book was great (little girl makes up a spooky story to scare her friend, but then everything takes a turn for the worse, and has this scary story come to life?) the execution just wasn't there for me.

The first half of this book was SO SLOW that I almost DNF'd more than once (I'm all for others DNF-ing, but I am so stubborn I almost never do it). Once we hit the second half of the book, the pacing really picks up, and it's getting much better, but then all of a sudden, we get whiplash at the end. The ending was so over the top, I don't even know how I feel about it because....what?

I will say the book is really atmospheric and creepy, so that's a plus, but overall, I was all over the place on this one.

It was okay! The pacing could have been better, but it was a fun book, part thriller, part ghost story which is always tense and entertaining when done right. The story kind of dragged in places but overall it was fine.

Thank you to NetGalley, Crooked Lane Books, and Dreamscape Media for the ARC of Games for Dead Girls in exchange for an honest review.

So you want to write a book on local folklore. What do you do? You go to this out-of-the-way decrepit campground in some godforsaken little rundown seaside town and start asking random people whether they have any stories for you. Sounds like a solid base for some in-depth research? Welcome to the logic of "Games for Dead Girls".

There's a Big Reveal (for which you do not need binoculars to see it coming, if the leisurely pace and the MC's near-constant whimpering about non-issues like the local boy wonder possibly not liking her back haven't sent you to sleep by then); there's a Dark Past complete with Secrets and a Figure From; there are Flashbacks and Mysterious Messages and lots of ominous posturing when it comes to the prose -- yes, it's all more than a bit YA (and I haven't even mentioned the ending -- good grief). I hated the gormless, passive, helpless MC with a passion, but that's about all the emotion I could work up over this.
Take this to the beach and forget it at the B&B, in about a week you'll have forgotten it even existed.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review this book; I had hoped for a lot more, but even a LITTLE BIT more would have been greatly appreciated.

Games for Dead Girls is a phenomenal thriller from start to finish. Filled to the brim with twists and a captivating plot, this one is sure to keep readers hooked. The characters are well-developed. The story is incredibly fast-paced. This is one not to be missed! Highly recommended! Be sure to check out Games for Dead Girls asap.

One summer vacation will change Charlie’s life forever, creating a monster and losing a friend. Years later, she returns to the town and while trying to write a book on local folklore gets drawn into the disappearances of several young girls. Her former friend is publishing a memoir of theie summer, intending to blame Charlie even more for what happened.

It’s a twisty-turny thriller that hops back and forth between time and characters, weaving multiple mysteries together. I got a tad lost here and there with the third pov, but once I got into it and saw where it was going, it made more sense and added a lot of context. It was a fast-paced, compelling thriller, and if you need something exciting in your tbr, definitely consider adding this one.

This unfortunately moved too slow for me. I had to put the book down a few times. I wasn't a fan of all the timelines to keep track of and the ending was anticlimactic.

This was a rough one for me. I usually love multiple timelines, but here, it was poorly executed.

There are three timelines. We spend far too much time in two of them, and not enough time in the third. The premise is fantastic, and the atmosphere was also well done. If the pacing had been ironed out, I think this would have been great. It's takes way too long for the story to come together. By the time we got there, I no longer cared.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media, Crooked Lane Books, and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 of 5 stars
https://lynns-books.com/2023/04/24/games-for-dead-girls-by-jen-williams/
My Five Word TL:DR Review : Thriller, murder-mystery and horror

I enjoyed Games for Dead Girls, it held my attention quite easily. The atmosphere is great, it was easy to imagine the setting and the tension was ever mounting. But, there are a few issues, not least of which are exacerbated by a slow moving plot, a number of threads that take a while to come together and an unreliable narrator.

I would advise you not to read the blurb for this particular story. I personally think it contains spoilers. Fortunately I couldn’t remember the description when I picked this one up so I got lucky in that respect.

So, this is a story with essentially two plotlines that will eventually become linked through the central character. We have, effectively three povs, or more to the point, three timelines. A post war (WWII) timeline that I won’t elaborate upon and a Charlie ‘now’ and Charlie ‘then’ timeline. In a way this can make the story feel a little jumpy at first as you flip back between the seemingly unrelated character from the 50s to Charlie aged 10/11 and present day as an adult. Charlie experienced a childhood tragedy that has had a dire effect on her life. As a child, Charlie had an active imagination, she liked to make up stories and elaborate on urban legends and local folklore embellishing them with dark and dramatic twists, unfortunately one of these tales gained traction and took on a life of it’s own with disastrous results. Now, as an adult, Charlie returns to the place that changed her life so dramatically. She’s clearly trying to stay incognito, dying her hair, etc, and she appears to be looking for something from her past. At the same time, it appears that a young girl has gone missing from the beach and Charlie’s amateur detecting soon uncovers the rather grisly truth that a number of girls have gone missing from this area over the course of the years, usually pegged as runaways and not investigated further. At the same time, Charlie is being watched. Okay, that’s it for my description of the plot.

Firstly, ‘the good’. I really liked the three timelines. They’re all very distinctive. For example, Charlie’s timeline as a child is really well done. The way she befriends another young girl on holiday, her attempts to impress her, the way they sneak around and fantasise about things – it feels like something out of a real childhood. Both their families, completely different, come across well. One, a large family, happy go lucky, loving their children but not necessarily keeping an eye on them 24/7 (in fact more often than not wanting the kids ‘out from under their feet’), the other small, secretive and a little mysterious, the father usually in a temper and the mum noticeably absent whilst the daughter takes any opportunity to get out of the way. Then we have adult Charlie. still not above spinning a yarn and definitely not the most reliable narrator – given what we read in her early chapters (not to mention her memory not always being the most reliable). She’s creeping around looking for something from her past – we eventually discover why this is so important to her but I won’t give it away.

The atmosphere and tension is also really good. I liked the settings described. The campsite from Charlie’s childhood compared with the now, similar, but slightly rundown version (or was her ten year old self simply wearing rose tinted glasses?). The small seaside village struggling to keep going. Everything a bit dingey and dilapidated. The cold also plays a contributory factor. Charlie is away ‘off season’ and the grey skies, cold and blustery beach and dark early nights all feed into the story really well.

Secondly, ‘the maybe not as good’. There is a complexity here which can be a little frustrating. To be fair, I didn’t particularly find it an issue because my natural curiosity usually wins the day and I can’t wait to find out what’s going on. But, the process of finding the who/why/when/where is a little slow and may be tedious for some. I actually read this one quite quickly and I would say that the two storylines do eventually converge to provide answers. I think this probably could have been simplified to make the story have a smoother feel though.

Thirdly, ‘the not so good’. Well, I mentioned that Charlie was an unreliable narrator. Clearly as the book begins we have certain elements described in a certain way – these elements, as we move through the book then seem to become something else, partly because we now have more knowledge but the execution of this felt a little ‘off’ for me and I don’t want to say why because it will involve spoilers. Also, you really do have to take a bit of a leap of faith with this one. Fortunately, reading plenty of fantasy and stories with magical realism this isn’t a daunting prospect for me but even so I did have a few ‘really?’ moments.

Overally, I think this book had a few bumps here and there but I actually found it to be a gripping read and very easy to get through, maybe a bit over chaotic in some respects, but the atmosphere and tension were really good and I enjoyed the murder/mystery/thriller and even light horror elements.

I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own conclusion.

I found this book hard to follow and not very intriguing. I tried to do the audio and the ebook but even going back and forth I could not connect with the story. The characters weren’t likable and I just didn’t enjoy the story. I had high hopes after the beginning starting off so great but it fell flat for me.

This was an amazing book…lots of suspense, following two young girls to adulthood, with huge imaginations, and frightful consequences. A great tale of redemption, discovery and mystery…I could.not put it down.

Legends, folklore, missing girls, mysteries and murder taking place at a seaside town in Hithechurch, England what more could one ask for!

The story takes place with the character of Charlie ( Charlotte/Sarah) taking her eleven year old niece with her on a vacation to the the seaside town that her family visited every summer while she was growing up until a tragic nightmare tore her and three other families apart leaving Charlie still trying to pick up the pieces of her life that now has been threatened again by a book being written about that horrific summer of pain, loss and confusion which shattered her childhood and stole her future until now and Charlie must find a way to stop that book from being published.

Charlie loved to make up horror stories as a child and she created one around the legend of "Stitch Face Sue" that a summer friend named Emily completely believed, so the girls created rituals trying to summon this spirit who would carry out their wishes as long as they made small sacrifices to her. The sacrifices were innocent enough because Emily was the only one who believed the stories that Charlie would make up until Charlie started believing in the spirit herself and the tragic consequences that would follow two little girls caught up in the make believe stories of their own imaginations will never be forgotten by anyone who lived in or near the little seaside town during that sweltering, hot summer of nightmares which took place in 1988.

The book' blurb had everything I look for in a story. It sounded dark, exciting with horror blended into the mix that was just too irresistible to resist reading. The story was reminiscent of the true American story of "Slenderman"
where two twelve-year old girls believed in a widespread internet fiction story about a horrifically, frightening monster-man who lived deep in the forest and only appeared to certain individuals. A truly frightening fictional story that turned into a bizarre real life horror story!

The storyline was very good but the execution could have been so much better. There were three timeline's occurring that just took too long to merge together. Too much of a slow-burn although the chapters were short which was a big plus. The book had a lot of promise but there were too much extraneous information and so many characters written in that the thoughts and emotions which were expressed didn't carry the depth that the author may have wanted to convey to the reader. I don't blame the author in any way for this, I hold the editor responsible because the story itself was enticing, spooky, dark and should have been emotional as well.. Unfortunately, the book was not a scary thriller for me because I couldn't get a grasp on deep feelings that Charlie was going through. The words were all there (too many) but the emotions were severely lacking.

Many parts of the story felt incomplete especially with the niece. I knew the outcome but why didn't the story explain what happened to her instead of just erasing her from Charlie's life. Did Charlie ever have a niece? Was she pretending to have a niece or was she delusional about this fact until she faced the truth head-on? I feel bad about this book because I wanted to love it and it really had all the elements for a terrific horror novel. But........
Again, a good editor would have made the necessary changes to bring this author's vision to life instead of the reader having to keep backtracking to keep the facts and characters straight. I would definitely read another book by Jen Williams because she has great, imaginative writing skills but just needs a really good editor (imo).

I want to thank the publisher "Crooked Lane Books" and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this novel and any thoughts or opinions expressed are unbiased and mine alone!

I have given a rating of 3 SLOW-BURN 🌟🌟🌟 STARS!!

**2.5-stars rounded up**

Games for Dead Girls is the latest release from Jen Williams. This is the second novel I have read from Williams and unfortunately, I wasn't crazy about either one.

In this story, we are following multiple timelines. One is a past perspective when two girls, Charlie and Emily, become friends in the small Seaside town of Hithechurch, England. In an effort to try to rid Emily of her abusive father, the two girls perform a ritual to summon the spirit of a local legend, a girl killed by pirates, who Charlie dubs, Stitch Face Sue.

Even though they are unsuccessful, Emily becomes obsessed with the idea of Stitch Face Sue and of summoning her. When the two recruit another young girl into their friendship group, the end result is disastrous. The new girl is killed and Emily and Charlie get caught trying to hide her body, after which they're both sent to institutions for the remainder of their childhood.

Another perspective is Charlie in the present. Now an adult, Charlie has returned to Hithechurch under the guise of researching a book about the local folklore. That's not her only reason for being in town though. Emily has released a memoir regarding the incident that changed the course of their lives and she's laying all the blame at Charlie's feet. Charlie is determined to find the evidence she needs to prove that what Emily is saying is false.

Then there is a third, more mysterious perspective, of a man in Hithechurch decades before Charlie and Emily meet. Eventually, the three perspectives as one story starts to make sense. Unfortunately, for me, it lost some of the impact because it was such a slog getting to the conclusion.

In my opinion, I felt like the perspectives didn't flow well, one into the other. It felt jarring to me and also a bit confusing keeping track of what was going on amongst the different times. I feel like nothing was memorable enough to stand out, so it made it more difficult to follow.

I liked the idea behind this, the legends of a small seaside town influencing some local kids to do terrible things. I like that premise. I also think the reason behind Charlie coming back to town was kind of fun and made sense as far as motivation for her current actions.

This reminded me a lot, a lot, a lot of The Dead Girls Club. I personally enjoyed this one a little more, because at least I never rolled my eyes at anything the MC was doing. Unfortunately, neither one of them really delivered the dark atmosphere and engaging plot that I was hoping for.

At the end of the day, while I wasn't crazy about this one, I can see that there is a good story in here, somewhere. Hence the 2.5-stars rounded up. With this being said, this will probably be my last-go with this author. Just know, it's not her, it's me. I just don't seem to be the right fit for her style of writing, but I know there are many Readers out there who will be.

After all, as I always say, there's a Reader for every book and book for every Reader. If the synopsis sounds intriguing to you, absolutely give it a go. You could end up finding a new favorite book!

Thank you to the publisher, Crooked Lane Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I appreciate the opportunity to provide my feedback.

A slow read for me and one where the premise wasn't quite matched by the execution. I could see early on where the different timelines were going to connect but the book took too long to actually make it there. The ending was also a bit anticlimactic.

I thought my first read by Jen Williams would have been her Winnowing Flame trilogy, but I have conspired against myself and her newest horror/thriller book was my first read. I didn’t remember much at all about the synopsis and hadn’t read any early reviews, so I was a little surprised by the story that unfolded.
In the present day, Sarah Watkins is visiting a seaside town during the offseason with her niece to uncover local lore for a book she’s writing. In 1988, unfolds the story of Charlie and Emily - two girls who’ve made up some silly rituals trying to summon Stitch Face Sue, the ghost of a girl killed by pirates. Finally, in the 1960’s there’s an intelligent boy nicknamed Doc, because he’s surely going to be a doctor when he grows up, just like his father. It’s quite clear how Sarah Watkins and Charlie Watts fit together - they are one in the same. Sarah has returned to find something she buried in an attempt to stop a defamatory book written by Emily from being released to the public. The mystery here is how the girls went from playing together one summer vacation to their current state of enmity and attempted anonymity on Sarah’s part. The part that doesn’t quite make sense until much later in the book is how Doc’s POV fits into all of this.
I wouldn’t exactly say I enjoyed this book because it was actually kind of messed up and definitely went into some dark territory. What I did like was the use of an unreliable narrator and the multiple timelines that slowly piece together a dark puzzle of missing girls and the dark secrets of a seaside town. There was a moment at 61% (I’ve been keeping notes!) where I wanted to chuck the Kindle because I had a sudden and rather frustrating epiphany about what was going on. The remainder of the book was me furiously turning pages to see *how* exactly all the events would unfold.
The characters weren’t exactly likable, though I did feel a bit bad for Sarah as I didn’t think she deserved the punishment she received. None of the major characters were truly innocent either, which served to provide readers with a complicated, morally gray tale filled with disturbed children. This isn’t a new favorite, but I admire Jen William’s writing skill and will definitely be reading the Winnowing Flame trilogy soon as fantasy is generally more to my taste.