I feel like this one struggled with pacing a bit. It could be really slow at times and then super good and then slow. And then the present and past was a little hard to follow sometimes.

This was a good listen. A a little slow at times but overall good. I like the narrator and the story. Crime fiction is a favorite of mine.

I’ve enjoyed Jen Williams Fantasy and Mystery novels and was excited to get an audio ARC of her latest book. I liked the audio performance and have no particular notes about that. I did have mixed feelings about the story itself though. The short version is that this story has a great plot, but the non-chronological plot made things difficult to follow.

The story is about a woman named Charlie returning to the small English seaside town where she vacationed as a child. But rather than a relaxing vacation, Charlie is there to deal with the fallout of something dark that happened when she was a child. The small town is hiding multiple crimes going on and hints of supernatural. And someone is sending Charlie threatening notes.

The primary, present day storyline is told in first person, past tense by Charlie. She was definitely an unreliable narrator and spent a lot of time referencing her secrets before things are revealed. I can’t say that I particularly liked Charlie, but I still got swept up in her story.

But unfortunately, there were a lot of other timelines thrown in haphazardly. The rest of the POVs were told in third person, past tense and jumped around between several decades. I lost track of how many there were. Keeping the “who” and “when” straight was difficult and distracting.

The ending really improved things, ramping up the tension and wrapping up the different plot lines in a satisfying way. I just wish the first half hadn’t been so hard to follow. I still look forward to reading whatever Williams writes next.


RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 3 Stars
Writing Style: 4 Stars
Characters and Character Development: 3 Stars
Plot Structure and Development: 3 Stars
Level of Captivation: 4 Stars
Originality: 3 Stars

1.5⭐️
This was extremely slow for me.
I could not keep up with the 3 storylines.
With so many things going on at once, I was just confused throughout.
I think it would have been better if I was reading a physical or ebook.

Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for this Audiobook.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley for an honest review.

This book ended up being a solid 3 stars.

The story kind of ebbs and flows, but not in a good way. It's more like it drags on, and right about the time you want to give up, it gets GOOD, and then that dwindles and again, you want to give up, and then it gets GOOD again. And it's kind of exhausting. It doesn't happen fast enough to be whiplash, it just gets boring and then does just enough to keep your interest, like a bad relationship you're in for convenience.

Here's the thing, this audiobook is 10.5 hours long and I feel like if this was edited down to about 8 or even 9, it would have been really solid. It's just a little too long for the story that's being woven.

This story has 3 time frames, the 60s, the 80s, and current day. And they all tie together, but it takes quite a while for these storylines to all converge.

There is a revelation around halfway that took me by surprise, even though it probably wasn't that shocking...I just wasn't looking for it at all. So that was a lot of fun. And then there are a couple more revelations that happen which, again, are fun.

The ending with Emily is...good but not great. All in all, I just wanted MORE from this in a shorter period of time.

This is eerie story where the past tragedy gets intertwined with the recent cases of the missing girls.

The horror-like atmosphere with the dark, mysterious tone and settings are the most catchy assets of the story. The scarred face woman with her ghostly presence is the connecting point in this dual timeline story of past horrors and nowadays struggles. And this atmosphere works, I was definitely immersed in it. The construction of a story is bit weaker in my opinion, especially for the present cases of the missing girls - the cases are covered, but only in the few last chapters. Also, there are aspects of the story where one needs to suppress the critical thinking, as the present is no Middle Ages, but the society with ever-present cameras and working police services. But still, there is an internal logic, the plan to get from the point A to the point Z, which I appreciate.

The narrator was very good, her reading has enhanced the experience.

Disappointed overall. Not a lot of cohesion. Harold's timeline and plot was a bit much Nd by the end there was a surplus of characters and reasonings

An exceptionally well plotted Mystery/Horror novel.

I’m surprised to see so many lukewarm reviews for this book, and I can’t help but think that the visual mismarketing of it might have something to do with it. The cover mimics a YA Thriller, as does the title (which is admittedly terrible and does the book no favors in being taken seriously as a well written mystery).

All of that bums me out because this was so clever and well structured, and though I didn’t love the Horror aspects of the plot, they lent so well to the bigger mystery that I was impressed and was able to suspend my usual distaste for visceral, grotesque horror.

There are a couple of big surprises sprinkled throughout the book, and I was impressed by the fact that the author got me with them without resorting to the type of cheap bait and switch stuff that usually makes twists succeed in surprising the reader. Unusually, this book’s twists and turns all add up seamlessly and cleverly, and make for an excellent, creepy. and sharp mystery that pulls together a very complex array of plot threads into one satisfying whole.

I love a good ya thriller and this one just did it for me. it was twisty and exciting while not being too gory or adult. I recommend these for young adults as well as adults.

This is a decent thriller but it had a very slow start. Overall I enjoyed to book but it took much too long to engage my interest. The narrator was not my favourite and for me, detracted from my enjoyment of this audiobook.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this audio book.

This was a good one, and kept me guessing at several points! Somewhat slow at points but overall enjoyable. The narrator was good as well.

Thank you to the publisher for the ALC. Such a good and creepy thriller an the narration just added to it.

**Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the ALC of this title**

As far as thrillers go, this one falls on the creepier end of the spectrum which I really enjoyed!! There were a lot of twists that I didn’t predict, and enough going on that it really did keep me guessing until the end.

Games For Dead Girls alternates timelines and follows two young girls in a seaside town, that isn’t quite as idyllic as it seems. For starters, an abnormal amount of young girls have gone missing from the shore over the years.

There are a lot of factors at play in this one, including a very creepy ritualistic game, some dark folklore, and some unsettling characters.

The audiobook was very well done and I would definitely recommend this one - I loved it for my commute this past week!

In a coastal village in England, eleven-year-old Charlie crosses paths with Emily. Together, they form an alliance with the aim of escaping Emily's abusive father, employing the supernatural powers of Stitch Face Sue, a local legend. Emily becomes fixated on Stitch Face Sue, believing that summoning her spirit will provide a solution. However, their plans take a disastrous turn when they involve another girl, resulting in a tragic accident that claims her life.

Years later, Charlie returns to the same small town with a mission to delve into the community's folklore. However, her focus is quickly diverted by the disturbing accounts of missing local girls. To complicate matters, her former best friend, Emily, publishes a memoir recounting their shared past. This revelation sparks intense anger within Charlie, driving her determination to unearth the evidence that supports her side of the story.

Through some parts of the book the story dragged a little bit for me but in the end I enjoyed it.

Thank you #NetGalley #Dreamscape Media for this advanded audiobook immersively narrated by Mhairi Morrison

Narrator did a great job, especially since she was moving between viewpoints.

On the whole, I think I prefer the author's fantasy books. However, despite quite a slow start, this quickly drew me in. It follows the story of a woman who returns to a seaside town to research folklore for her book, accompanied by her young niece. Of course she has a big secret. On a separate pov, two girls - too young to tag along with older siblings - play a dangerous game of make believe and ghosts that takes darker and darker turns. And the final pov follows a local lad and the beautiful girl he's obsessed with. These three storylines weave together in ways that are both predictable and surprising, the pace picking up until the final horror is revealed. One of the things this book does which I don't think it's been given enough credit for, is examine the powerplay within friendships. How one party can be perfectly cognizant that they hold more power because they need the other person less or they know they can coerce them, and then making the conscious choice to exercise that power. As a theme it fits well with the meat of this story.
Overall, a different and gripping thriller with plenty of body horror.

Games for Dead Girls has an absolute rock star premise. I was absolutely pumped to check this one out after reading the synopsis!

However, I have to say that for the first 85% of the book, not a whole heck of a lot happens... and the last 15% is absolute whiplash crazy town. I'm all for a slow burn, but the pacing was just a bit off for this one, at least for me.

That being said, I did enjoy the audio narrator, as well as the different narratives and timelines. And I was legitimately shocked and aghast at a few things at the end, which is always fun!

Originally, I didn't think I was going to like this book as much as I did, because it has quite the slow start. However, by the end I really enjoyed it and found it a bit unexpected. Definitely recommend checking it out and giving it a chance to pick up

This was not my favorite. It took a long time for me to get into this and by the time I was invested it was pretty much over. The premise behind it was promising and it had potential. I’m not sure if this is an issue with the story itself or maybe the delivery. The singular narrator for the dual timeline made it difficult to keep up with on audio. Sometimes I just couldn’t remember which timeline we were in. That’s a me problem really, but it did make this less enjoyable for me.

I had a huge case of, good book at the wrong time. Normally I would have loved the twists and turns this took but I called parts of the plot early and then it felt very confusing in other parts. I do enjoy when there is an unreliable narrator and things did surprise me. Like I said, if I had read this in a different head space, I would have rated higher.

This was such a creepy, atmospheric story of folklore, dark secrets, and missing girls. It features multiple storylines, and overall I really enjoyed.

*many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the gifted copy for review