Good Girls Don't Die was an incredibly thrilling and entertaining take on some classic ideas and tropes and really turns it into something unique and fresh. This book was such a ride and I'm so glad I had a chance to read it! I have loved just about all of Christina Henry's books and this was no exception.

In Good Girls Don't Die, we follow Celia, Allie, and Maggie through three individual experiences that all share some common threads that are revealed by the end of the story. I really enjoyed how Henry made each character's experience feel both classic and highly trope-y, while also managing to add in elements here and there that remind you that things are quite as simple as you may think. I think the first story, which follows Celia, was the perfect way to open this story as it really throws readers for a loop as they try–along with Celia, whose memory has seemingly been wiped–to figure out exactly what is going on.

This is an exciting journey that I had a great time being a part of, and I'd highly recommend ot any fans of thrillers, horror, dystopias, or anything that will really keep you on your toes.

Thank you @berkleypub for my complimentary copy. My thoughts are my own.

This book in the thriller/horror genre has a very intriguing concept. It presents 3 scenarios, each with a woman trapped in a situation that represents the thriller genre she enjoys most.

CILIA wakes up to find herself in a cozy mystery! She is in a house that she knows is not hers and she doesn’t remember her husband or daughter. How can this be sinister?

ALLISON, a college student, finds herself in an isolated cabin in the woods, with her two friends and their boyfriends. She feels uneasy about the remote location and wakes up in the night to a strange noise, and the terror begins.

MAGGIE finds herself trapped in a maze with several other women. She must fight, maybe to the death, to survive, and to save her daughter.

Three very interesting scenarios! I read this one late into the night because I couldn’t put the book down! I raced through each scenario, eager to see how/if the heroine would survive! I didn’t know what to expect, and the drama was definitely intriguing! The ending may have seemed a little rushed, but the 3 scenarios are guaranteed to get your pulse pounding!

4.5 ⭐️

Wow! I haven’t been this engaged with a book in a while! This is my first read by Christina Henry, and Good Girls Don’t Die was a great place to start!

This uniquely meta thriller tells the stories of three different women—except that their stories are not truly their own: Celia finds herself suffering from amnesia, situated in a family she knows isn’t hers, and embroiled in a murder mystery that’s too cleverly plotted to be real. Allie’s fun beach weekend with the girls gets crashed by her besties’ boyfriends, and the whole thing turns into a cabin-in-the-woods slasher situation. Maggie wakes to discover her daughter has been taken hostage while she herself has been drafted into a dystopian battle royale with nine other women.

I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say that the three stories are told separately and then woven together in the end. I loved reading each of the stories, even as horrifying as they are, and I had a great time working out how they fit together. I was surprised by how well this form worked for me!

In this novel, Christina Henry writes in a captivating voice that pulled me directly into the story while the words I read faded into the background—my favorite kind of reading experience! I was absolutely PROPELLED through this book by the need to know more, as each of our main characters is determined to solve the problem of her predicament. It’s impossible not to root for all three of them.

The ending does lack a little *something* for me, maybe that some parts of the story are explained away too easily or not at all. BUT that all pales in comparison to the overall thought-provoking narrative that had me turning pages like a madwoman. 😉

All I want to do is talk about this book to anyone who will listen. Well, and read more Christina Henry books!

⚠️Trigger warnings⚠️ for extreme misogyny and violence against women, at least one racial slur, gore, torture, gaslighting, spiders (briefly), extremely close spaces (briefly), and others I may have missed.

Review posted to Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5574118505

GOOD GIRLS DON'T DIE focuses on three women, Celia, Allie and Maggie, who find themselves in an unknown place. Celia is placed in a life that isn't hers. Allie's girls' weekend becomes a horrific trip to an isolated cabin in the woods. Maggie is thrust into a Hunger Games-type obstacle course. Eventually, they each begin putting the pieces together and focus their efforts on escaping their nightmarish surroundings.

This book is a thrill ride! The dialogue is punchy and the various storylines play upon various horror and dystopian tropes. I love how each chapter opens with an online chat thread about how readers view common character archetypes and book themes. I've found myself gasping in surprise during several scary scenes, and quickly turning the pages to see what is going to happen to Celia, Allie and Maggie. The ending wasn't as satisfying as I hoped, yet I enjoyed reading this one. Looking forward to more from the author.

Thank you to Berkley Pub for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Good Girls Don't Die had three compelling and separate storylines come together for a crazy finish. The setups were very intriguing, especially the initial storyline! That one could have easily been a psychological thriller of its own. I really liked the second final girl storyline too. I was less thrilled by the hunger games third one. I thought the conclusion and the resolve required some suspension of disbelief but it was an entertaining read overall.

Thank you so much to Berkley Pub for the ARC of this one!

Three women, three stories, different and yet somehow the same.

Celia - wakes up in a home with a husband and child and something doesn't feel right. The house ... the husband ... the child ...? She recognizes none of it, but sensing danger, she plays along until she can find a way to get out and think about her options.

Allie - goes along on a weekend outing with her two best friends and their boyfriends (not the weekend she was expecting!) to a cabin in the woods. She's seen enough horror movies that start this way, that she's almost prepared when their car is destroyed, the guys go missing, and the other girls are killed in front of her.

Maggie - just wants to be with her daughter, but when she wakes up in a shipping container with a number of other women, she finds herself in a dystopian-like situation - not unlike The Hunger Games or The Maze Runner - where she has to fight to survive to see her daughter again.

Three women; three horror stories. Their stories will come together with the one thing they have in common.

I definitely count myself as a fan of Christina Henry's work and I really like that I know I will get something 'different' with each book. That said, while this is a bit different from some of her other works, it was a little bit familiar in subject matter. This is a 'final girls' book - a horror story about those women who are the final, surviving girl in the movies (and books). There've been a few 'final girls' books recently ... I reviewed Grady Hendrix's The Final Girls Support Group about two years ago) ... and while Henry puts her own dark spin on the story, it doesn't feel too different from others ... a 'final girl' is going to be a 'final' girl no matter what.

There are some hints along the way as to what is happening and I had a pretty good idea as to what this was, though the actual 'who' remained a mystery until the very end.

I did find a little humor in Henry's getting even or getting revenge to prove a point to the on the online male trolls who are nasty (mostly to women) just as her villain is trying to prove his own misogynistic point.

Christina Henry is an author whose work I actively look for and will read any of her books at any time. While I don't think this is her best work, it's still a darn sight better than most.

Looking for a good book? Christina Henry takes her own stab at the 'final girl' trope with Good Girls Don't Die.

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

When you read as many thrillers as I do, they tend to all blend together after awhile, so it’s really fun to come across one that is entirely unique like Good Girls Don’t Die. I actually kind of forgot what it was supposed to be about when I started reading, which I think only made the experience better. Imagine a cozy mystery meets the movie “Cabin in the Woods” and you’ll basically have the gist of the plot. I didn’t like the first POV as much as the other two, but that’s the thriller lover in me. If you’re looking for a memorable thriller with feminist vibes and a post-apocalyptic feel, this is the book for you!

Three women, each stuck in a situation all too familiar-one in a small town with a murder, one in a remote cabin in the woods with a killer, and one in a survival game. They must each figure out what is going on to have any hope of escaping with their lives.

This is a really clever book, and I was fascinated by each scenario and rooting for each woman. The way everything comes together is fantastic. The only thing is I wish the small town with a murder would have read more cozy mystery than it did. I would recommend this book.

This was a bingeable read with three women all with different story lines. They all come to together at the end to escape.

Ceclia wakes up in a life that she doesn’t recognize. The house and her family are all unfamiliar to her.
Allie is in a cabin in the woods with her friends and a killer is on the loose killing her friends one by one.
Maggie is in a Hunger Games situation where she needs to figure out how to stay alive.

It was a fast paced read with the three stories but my favorite was Ceclia’s. The author kept me all on my toes because I had no idea where the story was going since none of the characters and their stories overlapped. When I got to the end it all came together and made sense. My only compliant was that the ending felt rushed and I would have liked an explanation of “why.” Other than that, it definitely was a unique and entertaining read.

Good Girls Dont Die felt like a cool sci-fi thriller merged with a great 80s slasher film.

It was a unique and creative story that kept me entertained.

Christina Henry is a new to me author, and I'm definitely looking forward to more by her.

I received a gifted copy of GOOD GIRLS DON’T DIE by Christina Henry for an honest review. Thank you to PRH Audio, Berkley Publishing Group and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review!

GOOD GIRLS DON’T DIE follows three women who find themselves caught up in stories they normally would only read about or watch in movies. Celia awakens in a life that she doesn’t remember, making lunch for a little girl she doesn’t recognize and saying goodbye to a man she doesn’t know as her husband. There are elements that feel familiar like her work cooking delicious Italian food, but a run in with a neighbor winds up putting her at the focus of a strange situation.

Allie is off on a weekend birthday trip, but surprise guests wind up derailing her plan with her girlfriends and soon they’re in a remote cabin surrounded by woods and the situation doesn’t feel right. Maggie is a single mom fighting for herself and for her daughter, surrounded by dangers she can’t believe are real.

The synopsis for this one really intrigued me and the book started off really well. I really liked how the stories starting with Celia played off familiar tropes in the thriller and mystery genres and gave them a bit of a twist. Having characters suddenly inside of the stories they’d generally read made for an interesting twist. It did keep me wondering what the bigger picture was going to be.

The book gives each of the key women their nearly full story before introducing the rest which was not what I expected initially going in. I did enjoy the first two stories the most, but I found it to start dragging a bit for me by the time we got to Maggie’s section as the reader knows quite a bit more than the characters on page by that point. Still, I was eager to see how everything resolved in the end.

I had some mixed feelings on the ending and this isn’t one that I’d necessarily recommend to readers who want full answers and a very wrapped up ending. I did really enjoy the women in the story and the overall concept, but something about the way it all came together in the end did fall a bit flat for me. I can definitely see very mixed opinions coming in for this one!

Massive thanks to NetGalley & Berkley Publishing for the gifted arc, which I voluntarily read & reviewed.

Good Girls Don’t Die by Christina Henry is a brilliantly ominous & wickedly clever mystery novel that has three different stories that combine into one twisted thriller. This is the type of the story that is the most fun when you have the least amount of information I think. So if you want to go in without knowledge, skip the next paragraph.

There’s this woman, Celia, who comes to a reality she doesn’t remember with a kid & a husband that are strangers. Then, there’s college aged student, Allison, who goes on a weekend birthday trip with friends but ends up in a sinister cabin in the woods. & finally, there’s a dystopian Hunger Games-esque maze come to life with a fierce mom, Maggie, dropped into this horror. I won’t say more because it is too interesting of a ride to mess with, but please go read!

I immediately buckled in because I knew my entire afternoon was going to be filled up by devouring this book & going along for this terrifying adventure.

Good Girls Don’t Die is perfect for fans of…
🖤Twisty Thrillers
🖤Amnesia Trope
🖤Horror Movies
🖤Badass Heroines

The writing!! The writing is just superb. It is engaging & captivating. My stomach was clenched in nervousness & fear thanks to the wild & terrifying haunts & the foreboding tone the author conveyed. It was like a scary movie where I was ready for a jump scare but simultaneously couldn’t tear my eyes away either.

The intelligence of the lead characters was beautiful. Smart main characters that are well versed in crime/horror like this create the necessity of the elevation of tricky mysteries & boldly advance the type of villain to the next level. As a devoted mystery fan, these are the types of stories that you will remember long after you finish reading. I honestly wished it was a bit longer because I wanted the ending to be drawn out a bit more. But overall, this was such a phenomenal & unique thrilling tale! This is fierce. This does not take the easy way out. This is one engrossing mystery that I highly recommend.

I am waiting for Amazon to publish my review & I will add my link once I do.

The first story is reminiscent of a cozy mystery version of The Truman Show. You can feel the fear as Celia realizes she is in trouble. I was very invested in this story and was a little disappointed when the book switched to the next section/story.

The second story is reminiscent of Scream. It’s theme of “final girl” and slasher film ramps up the terror.

The third story is reminiscent of Hunger Games or Maze Runner. I didn’t see the twist or reveal coming.

I loved the way all the stories pulled together at the end. It is overall an exciting and fast paced read.

I have posted this review on Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/p/CzofLNrL5TA/?igshid=ZG5ib2xvZG9xa3c1

Goodreads

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5968971203

And Amazon

GGDD is an exciting mix of mystery and horror, with twist and turns behind every door. The way each story ended abruptly was kind of enjoyable and I loved how it all came together at the end. My only complaint would be that end just felt unpolished. Satisfying for sure, but almost too easy and too many loose ends.

I definitely enjoyed this read. It is super quick paced and easy to devour.

Celia, Allie, Maggie... three different women, three different stories

After reading The Ghost Tree, Near the Bone, and Looking Glass, Christina Henry easily became an auto-buy author. As soon as I seen Good Girls Don't Die, pop up on Netgalley, I knew this would be Henry's best yet. Yes, I was that confident with the title and description alone.

I wasn't wrong

Christina Henry is a magician when it comes to crafting a blockbuster hit that will have you questioning everything you read. I can say, speaking from experience, I had no idea how these three women's stories were going to wrap together but when it happened, I was at a complete loss for words.

Good Girls Don't Die, is a must read!

Check out this teaser :

A sharp-edged, supremely twisty thriller about three women who find themselves trapped inside stories they know aren’t their own, from the author of Alice and Near the Bone.

Celia wakes up in a house that’s supposed to be hers. There’s a little girl who claims to be her daughter and a man who claims to be her husband, but Celia knows this family—and this life—is not hers…

Allie is supposed to be on a fun weekend trip—but then her friend’s boyfriend unexpectedly invites the group to a remote cabin in the woods. No one else believes Allie, but she is sure that something about this trip is very, very wrong…

Maggie just wants to be home with her daughter, but she’s in a dangerous situation and she doesn’t know who put her there or why. She’ll have to fight with everything she has to survive…

Three women. Three stories. Only one way out. This captivating novel will keep readers guessing until the very end.

In Christina Henry’s latest thriller, three different women find themselves precariously trapped and living inside their favorite genres — mystery, horror, and dystopian — but how, and by whom? I enjoyed this original and exciting twist on the thriller novel. I went into this book not knowing much about the plot, and that’s the best way to enjoy it.

I greatly admired the bravery and smarts of the heroines. I would have been freaking out had I been in any one of their situations, but they showed great resolve. I was on pins and needles waiting to see how their stories fit together. My one complaint had to do with the ending. I felt like it was abrupt and didn’t answer nearly enough questions about the wildness I had just experienced! An epilogue would have been a nice addition. Still, I found this thriller to be refreshingly original and well written.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me a copy of this book. Opinions are my own.

Three different stories that turn into one...

I couldn't put this one down! You are hooked right from the beginning and throughout each woman's story. What is going on? How are they all connected? So many questions running through your mind. Perfect for thriller lovers who are looking for something unique!!

*Thank you @berkleypub and @prhaudio for the egalley and audiobook in exchange for an honest review.*

Good Girls Don't Die is such a twisty and unique story, I simply could not put it down! I did not know what was happening, certainly not for a long while (and even then not really), but in the very best way, where you just need to keep reading because you must know everything. I obviously cannot tell you too much because this whole book is about finding out what the heck is happening, but let us briefly discuss!

My favorite part is that we are dropped into the story the same way as the characters- unaware, but finding everything out alongside them. It definitely adds to the intensity of the story, because every reveal is coming at the reader just as it is the character. It is told from the points of view of three different women, and each woman's story was absolutely as compelling as the others. Totally compelling, totally horrifying, compulsively readable. Add to it some completely badass feminist vibes, and you have a real winner here.

I perhaps wanted a bit more from the ending, especially after such a strong bulk of the book, but it did provide for a satisfying ending, even if it did feel a bit rushed for me. Certainly strong enough to not take away from the fabulous story leading to it, so I definitely cannot complain.

Bottom Line: If you're looking for an exciting book full of strong women and tons of twists, look no further, as this one was unputdownable!

Three different women, all in similar predicaments. Will they find a way out? I am going to be completely honest, I didn't know if I was going to finish this book after reading the first part. It just seemed like the part ended so abruptly, and went on to something completely different. I told myself that I needed to keep going because it would probably all come together in the end. Boy am I glad that I decided to finish this book. I can't say that I am not left with any questions but the story did have a decent ending. This is the first book I have read by this author and I will be picking up more of her books in the future! I don't know if I would classify this as a horror book, as it was listed when I requested to be an ARC reader, but it did have thriller aspects to it. If you are looking for a true horror novel, this is not the one for you. If you like books that have mysterious aspects, that leave you wondering throughout the whole book, then I say give this one a shot.

Thank you Netgalley, Berkley Publishing Group, and the author for an ARC copy of this book.

This one was quite the roller coaster! The synopsis sets out the majority of the story well. We have a stepford wife, a cabin in the woods slasher, and a hunger games esque fight to the death. What do these three have in common? The women realize it’s all a set up.

It truly is set up in 3 parts before the finale. We get to meet Celia, Allie, and Maggie in their own stories. My personal favorite was Allie in the slasher bc I (like Allie) love a good horror movie. Not being a fan of cozy mysteries the beginning part (Celia’s) felt a bit slow to me and then Maggie’s portion was a fairly fast paced read like any good ya dystopian novel.

But don’t worry, there is ab overarching plot! Without saying too much I will say this reminded me a lot of the escape room movies. It was fun and the ending was fabulous. 🧑🏻‍🍳💋