First: all my thanks to Netgalley, Jen Williams, and Dreamscape Media for providing me with an advance audiobook copy of Games for Dead Girls in exchange for an honest review!

Games for Dead Girls is a pretty solid thriller/mystery. I have a few complaints with character depth, but other than that, I really enjoyed this book-- I listened to the audiobook version, which was amazing, over the course of about half a week, completely enthralled. I found myself pushing to stay up later so I could see where it was going.

I think one of the things that makes this book memorable for me is its setting. The braided storylines, spanning three different eras but largely contained to the same geographical location, all add layers of atmosphere to this quiet (almost TOO quiet) seaside town, and it’s just such a treat to explore. The world felt distinctly different between the three perspectives, but reasonably so; rather than feeling like three disjointed settings, it feels like the same place as viewed through vastly different lenses, which is exactly what I think the goal was here. It works really well. The town feels populated, and the various plots, while some of the details of the villains’ actions are a bit far out there, feel plausible to the extent that they need to. Without spoiling too much, I just love the guilty unease that leaches through the atmosphere and into the characters, and how differently it presents for all of them.

I also really liked the plot hook. I like how the story opens, puts you right in the middle of things, and basically explains the aftermath of a mystery-- you, as the reader, are left to piece together its history rather than watching it unfold in real time, so it really feels like a tragedy in the best way. The strongest plot beats in this book were definitely those which were rooted in the past. I really enjoyed how both of the “past” storylines influenced the “present” one, how tangibly that effect could be felt even before the pieces are totally put together. The first major plot twist, however slowly it arrived, was genuinely chilling to me in the most satisfying way because of that interconnection. I love how it recontextualizes the story and its narrator.

The character development in this book was pretty much the only thing I had a problem with. It starts off super strongly, and I like how it slowly subverts itself; neither Charlie nor Emily are at all what they seem, and the subtle way their character arcs curdle and then rot into full on horror is a LOT of fun to read, especially in the context of the plot twist I mentioned earlier. My gripes are how that moral complexity was resolved. By the end of the book, both main characters felt like they’d lost a lot of depth. That moral complexity was cast aside to tie up the story in a neat little bow-- the romance with Charlie’s character and the man from the town definitely did not help in that regard. Her gray morality was eased a little too much for me to find it satisfying. Emily was the same way. Even the other villains felt flat by the end, though it was a bit more fitting for them to be that considering EVERYTHING about them. So creepy it was almost totally far-fetched… almost. Works for them, but not for Emily and Charlie. I think the book would definitely have benefited from a little more character complexity through its end.

Overall, though, I really liked Games For Dead Girls. The atmosphere was just the right amount of creepy, the plot was engaging, and the characters were fun to read despite their pitfalls in the end. I enjoyed how clever the plot twist in the middle of the book was from a literary standpoint, and I thought the fact that this story was self-aware of how it was rooted in humanity’s ills rather than the supernatural added a lot of satisfaction to its narrative. It reminded me a little bit of The Furies by Natalie Haynes, in a really good way. This would’ve been a great read for Halloween, I think-- maybe I’ll read it again come October!

I had a hard time with this dark thriller. I should have known going in that this might not be my cup of tea because I find supernatural endings and explanations to be too convenient and typically dont have enough thought behind them. I felt this to be true with Games for Dead Girls. I also had a problem with the narration as the narrator's voice was not my favorite and took away from the story making it hard to concentrate. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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!

I was excited for this thriller, but ultimately I couldn’t get into it. There wasn’t a quick grab for attention, and as I’m in a reading slump my attention just wasn’t captured.

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

Such a great thriller!

This creepy, twisted story is told with present to past flashbacks. I was just as intrigued by both story lines.

This book was fast paced and exciting. I was racing to the end to see all the pieces slide into place.

The main character is not your typical "unreliable" witness to a crime. I really enjoyed the strong character development and the setting of a rainy cold English coastal town in the off season lent an atmosphere of bleak, damp suspense.

I totally loved this novel. It's my favorite thriller of the year.

Thanks to Dreamscape Media for providing me with a free ALC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This book follows multiple timelines and storylines. The first follows our main character, Charlie, in the present day, when she goes to a seaside town with her niece to write a book about the local folklore. Here, she learns that a young girl has gone missing. The second timeline also follows Charlie, but as a young girl, where she has a fascination with all things supernatural and creepy. The final storyline follows a young man in the 1950s/60s.

As other reviews stated, these storylines feel quite disjointed for most of the book, and while they do end up converging in an interesting way, it takes a long time to get there. I also wish that the author had spent more time on the boy’s storyline, as I feel this would have made the ending more impactful. I didn’t really feel that invested in any of the characters, and it’s definitely a slow-paced story, so it took me a while to get through it.

In terms of the mystery elements, this book certainly delivered. I guessed at some plot twists, but others took me completely by surprise, and there was definitely a spooky atmosphere throughout the book. It was well-written, and the narrator did a good job.

I’ve been trying to wrack my brain to think about more things to say about this book to make it a more well-rounded review, but there’s honestly not much to say, especially since I don’t want to spoil the plot. It wasn’t a bad book, it’s not a new favourite . . . Overall, it was an intriguing and unique mystery, and I enjoyed my listening experience.

Creepy thriller that grabbed me from the very beginning! This was my first book by this author and won't be my last. It did get a little slow about 1/3 of the way through, but just hold on, it will not disappoint. There are multiple POV and timelines, which can be confusing listening to an audiobook. Overall, solid thriller.

thank you Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review

"Games for Dead Girls" by Jen Williams follows multiple time-lines as Emily returns to her home town due to the disappearances of girls who she believes to a spirit she summoned when she was a kid with her friend Emily.


I would give "Games for Dead Girls" by Jen Williams a 2-star review because, I liked the idea of the novel, but I had major problems with the multiple time-lines that just got confusing, how slow it was, and it felt at times there was one thing going on but something else also happening that has nothing to do with what was happening.

I was very excited for this book but its just been dragging for me, I dont really like the narrator either. Maybe Ill give this another try at a later date, I just cant get into this story.

This was a really tough one. Told in three parallel timelines, 1960's, 1980's, and present, Games for Dead Girls requires close attention to keep from getting lost. Fortunately, it becomes easier to distinguish the three timelines, as the present timeline is in first person, and the 1960's follows the POV of a man. It's really hard to determine for a while how the three timelines intersect, though of course you know they will, and it becomes obvious about halfway through how they will. There's also not a lot going on in the beginning of the book: in the present, we see Charlotte (under an assumed name) returning to the seaside town she visited as a kid with her niece Katie, where she pretends to research a book she's writing on folklore. But really, Charlie is there because teenage girls are going missing...again, as it turns out, because the same thing happened when Charlie was young. In the 1980's we see Charlie as a kid, meeting another girl Emily, who seems easily impressed by the stories Charlie makes up about a ghost of a woman named Stitch-Face Sue--only it seems her creation may have a life of its own.

The present day timeline unfortunately is the most boring of the three for the first half of the book, as Charlie speaks with the locals while Katie just hangs around. There are snippets and clues tossed about, and at the end of the book it's actually quite impressive how they all come together and you can respect the suspense. In fact, it's the last quarter of the book that earns this the fourth star in my review. There are a lot of things that just feel weird, like Katie's presence on the trip, but trust me when I say there's a reason for all of it.

But Charlie doesn't come across as a very likable character, especially as a child, and so it's a bit hard to cheer for her at the end. The 1960's timeline starts out interesting but drags a bit in the middle, and though again it's interesting how it all ends up tying together at the end, I'm not sure if the entire timeline was necessary. It certainly made the book longer than perhaps it needed to be. It also bothered me somewhat that the entire premise is based off a complete coincidence, but it if you can suspend disbelief you can get past that.

Although Mary Woodvine does a respectable job narrating, I recommend reading the book instead of the audiobook unless you're a native UK reader. All the characters sounded the same to me, and Mary enunciates each word so deliberately it drags on more, but when I sped it up to 2X it became harder to understand her.

If you're looking for a fast-paced, quick read, this isn't the book for you. But if you like playing detective, trying to puzzle the clues together, and have time to spare, this is an intriguing read. Thank you to the author, Crooked Lane, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a fair review.

Charlie grew up with a love for scary stories and telling tall tales. Her family always vacationed at a small seaside town in England, where one summer, she met Emily. That was the same summer that a tragedy shook the small town and changed Charlie’s life forever. As an adult, she revisits the town to research a book on folklore but begins to receive messages from a mysterious person who seems to be stalking her. Charlie soon discovers that her past is on the verge of being exposed and finds herself in a race against time to expose the truth about that summer before everything she’s worked for crumbles around her.

This was an atmospheric and somewhat creepy read that was enjoyable. This work has three timelines/plots that are incorporated throughout the book – one timeline is set in the 1950s/60s and follows a young boy; the next is set in the 1980s when Charlie was eleven; and the third is set in the present when Charlie is an adult. There’s major disconnect between the three timelines initially that made the work feel disjointed, but they do begin to converge in interesting ways. I don't think the work was quite balanced in the amount of time it spent focused on certain things in certain timelines - it did detract from the tension and suspense that could have been present in the current and 1980s timelines.

I can’t say much about it, but there was a larger reveal that happened in the central portion of the book that was absolutely fantastic. The final reveal wasn’t surprising. But it was done well, and I wasn’t sure about the motivations, so I still enjoyed it. I did feel that the ending was lacking – I didn’t mind how it ended, but it felt rushed and was less impactful than I wanted from all that buildup.

This read was entertaining, and I do recommend it if you’re interested in smalltown mysteries and spooky secrets. My thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for allowing me to read this work. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I enjoyed this book. I wished it would have been more unpredictable. I was able to guess most of the twists in the book. However, I did like the writing style.

Great audio production for a really solid book. Creepy, atmospheric, well-written and well-read. I'll look out for more stories narrated by Mhairi Morrison.

Dnf at 14%

I really am not loving the trend recently of thrillers that use two timelines, one of a teenage girl being harmed and the other of present day.

This was an ok read for me. The story dragged a lot, and it was repetitive - I left I ready the same sentence at least three times. The story follows three different narrative through three different timelines which were connected at the end, but it felt rather anticlimactic since the pacing was so slow.

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for an advanced copy for my honest review.

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.

the ideas behind the different storylines in this novel were so intriguing, however their progression was so slow that approx. halfway through I was losing my patience waiting for something bigger and more interesting to happen.

overall, it was a novel that could be trimmed by probably 100 pages, and the audiobook wouldn't seem quite as daunting (very long) as well.

the author definitely had the right ideas for a plot, it was just too slowly executed for my taste so by the end, i was finding myself less intrigued than i was hoping to be.

3.75 stars

This was a weirdly intriguing thriller. My attention wandered briefly once or twice, but it kept pulling me back in, and ultimately, I quite enjoyed most of the story. Something about the title was rather catchy too, and the cover design was done well. All in all, I’m interested in seeing what the writer comes out with next.

In Games for Dead Girls there are three time lines we follow. One from the 1950s, the 1980s and present. The 1980s was the most interesting of the stories and begs the question of how far you can streach the truth and play supernatural games (think bloody Mary) before someone gets hurt. The 1950 time line seemed very disconnected from the rest of the stories until the very end. It felt like it was added after the main story was written just to make the ending make sense but was not as compelling on its own.

The beginning was rather slow but it made up for it as the last 20% was got more intense.

Overall I have mixed feeling on this story. It had some good parts and a few twists, but it did not feel as cohesive of a story as it could have been.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for an advanced audiobook for review.

It has been a few days since I finished Game for Dead Girls and I am still not sure of my opinion on it. But what is this book about, I hear you say? Well, Game for Dead Girls is mystery/thriller book about a woman named Charlie who, with the excuse of wanting to research for a book, visits the town in which, years ago, she and her friend created a monster. The story itself is divided in three timelines, each with its distinctive plotline which intertwine and collide to paint the bigger picture.

I will begin the review by saying that this is not my first Jen Williams books. I had read (and loved) The Winnowing Flame trilogy before and her being the author was my main motivator to pick up this book. Jen Williams is a true master at melding genres together, in this case mixing together Mystery, Thriller and different types of Horror. I specially like how good (but disturbing) she is at writing horror situations that will make me want to curl up and hide and she did that magnificently in this book.

What was it then that did not work? Well, for starters I do not usually gravitate towards Mystery books. I do not dislike them, I just do not have a preference for them. But I think that the biggest issue I had with this book is how slow the beginning was. Having the split timeline made this book progress three times slower than it should, and it also made it hard to follow as sometimes you might have forgot what was the last thing that happened on that particular timeline. I was over the 50% mark when I realised that I still did not know where things were going; which is not bad if you do not mind it but, unfortunately, I do mind.

Overall, although this was not the book for me, I still think that fans of Mystery or Thriller novels could find in a Game for Dead Girls the perfect book to scratch the itch for something creepy and unsettling.

Thank you very much to NetGalley and to Dreamscape Media for providing me with an Audio-ARC of a Game for Dead Girls!