Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press as well as the author for this eARC.

I'm really on the fence about this one. I guess I'd say 3.5 and rounded to 3. I liked the premise of this story a LOT but the pacing was a tad bit slow for me. I wanted the end to have a bit of a bigger pay off.

Some ghosts don’t haunt you. They dare you to burn everything down.

There are books that whisper. And then there are books like this one — that stalk you, sit beside you when you’re trying to sleep, and dare you to look away.

Whispers of Dead Girls is grief in combat boots. It’s trauma weaponized, survivor’s guilt turned into justice, and a fierce, gut-wrenching reminder that some women don’t just survive — they return to the scene and set it on fire.

Ren Taylor is someone I’d follow into battle. She’s flawed, jaded, and dangerously aware — the kind of woman who’s been shattered by the world and learned to carry the pieces like blades.

Ten years after her sister was murdered, Ren is back at the high school that helped destroy her — only now, she’s not a scared teenager. She’s a grown woman with unfinished business, and she’s not asking for permission.

Enter Bryson Lewis: charming, magnetic, and alarmingly familiar. Everyone else might be under his spell, but Ren’s not fooled. She’s been here before. And this time?

She’s going to stop it.

5 fierce, furious stars.
This book doesn’t whisper. It screams.
And I heard every word.

This book dragged on. I only finished because I wanted to know what happened, but I was severely disinterested. Everyone was quite annoying in the book, with barely anyone to root for.

I am so thankful for this copy! Unfortunately this was just too much of a slow burn for me and I kept losing interest.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press as well as the author for this ARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.
#NetGalley #PoisonedPenPress #MarleeBush #WhispersofDeadGirls #Horror #Fiction #BookReview

Title: Whispers of Dead Girls
Author: Marlee Bush
Format: eBook
Publisher: Poisoned Pet Press
Publication Date: May 27, 2025
Themes: grief, mental illness, murder, family, PTSD
Trigger Warnings: death of children (teenagers), mental illness, stalking, pedophilia, statutory rape, grooming, car accident, gaslighting

This book gave me a twisty and uncomfortable reading experience, which is exactly the idea. Ren Taylor has returned to her old high school. This time she’s the teacher instead of the student. She’s hoping that this teaching position will help provide some closure along with some peace of mind regarding her damaged childhood and death of her sister. What she gets, however, is far from peace of mind.

Ren Taylor is the very picture of an unreliable narrator. Her morally grey decisions caused me great discomfort throughout the story. When Ren starts to suspect a male teacher of murder and statutory rape, she becomes a sort of anti-hero. It’s clear that she’s trying to make her own past and the murder of her sister mean something. Her actions and the discussions of things that she suspects to be occurring with her male colleague are absolutely squirm worthy. The whole book is so uncomfortable and it’s quite delightful. Without spoiling anything, the ending took me by complete surprise. The author does a great job of keeping the reader guessing throughout using clever wording and character development.

As twisty and interesting as this book is, I had a little trouble with the characters. I cared about them but I also felt vaguely annoyed throughout. I can’t put my finger on why. I can’t decide if I was just unsatisfied with the ending or if it was just the wishy washy nature of most of the characters with Ren being front and center. I was definitely unsatisfied with the end and I viewed it as a bit of a cop out but, had I been more solidly behind any one character, I may have been able to overlook that. Unfortunately, I wasn’t and I couldn’t. I can’t go into detail without spoilers.

All in all, I mostly enjoyed this book and look forward to others by this author.

Whispers of Dead Girls by Marlee Bush

My rating:
4/5
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I really enjoyed this one! I had the kindle copy, physical copy after pub date and listened to about 25% on audio. I really enjoyed the narration of the audiobook and found this book overall very fast paced and kept me wanting to turn the page! A lot happened towards the end of this book so it may have been a little chaotic at times but it also tied up all of the loose ends in this book. While it was a little predictable, the main twist was quite satisfying and I didn’t expect it! I would absolutely recommend this one for a popcorn thriller. Definitely check your trigger warnings before reading but I really liked this one! The author is new to me but I will be reading her other book! Thank you poisoned press and netgalley for the ARC! You can read or listen to this one now as it was published on May 27th!

When I started Whispers of Dead Girls, I found myself drawn to Ren Taylor. She seemed like someone broken but brave— someone who couldn’t save her sister, but was determined to protect other girls from the same fate. Her anger felt purposeful.

But as the story unfolded, and her own secrets came to light, I felt myself pausing. Questioning. Could I still root for her, knowing what she was hiding?

Ren’s past is haunting— and not just because of what happened to her, but because of what she’s carried in silence. Her connection to Tyler Henry, a teacher from her school days, added a whole new layer of pain. And yet she never told anyone. Not even when her parents distanced themselves after Margo’s death. Not even when they quietly blamed her. Ren kept that secret because her sister asked her to. That kind of loyalty broke me.

Ren hears Margo. Every day. In her thoughts, her memories, in the spaces where grief hasn’t let her go. It’s not supernatural— it’s psychological. Margo’s voice is the whisper that guides Ren’s rage and her guilt. It’s the echo of a promise Ren made… and never broke.

This story isn’t about a clear villain or hero—it’s about a girl drowning in memory, trying to do right while being haunted by the wrong. It’s raw, morally complex, and quietly devastating.👏🏻

Thank you @marleebushwriter and @netgalley for the ebook.

Love love loved this sophomore novel! It had some top tier twists throughout the story and character development was really good. Cannot recommend this book enough!

"𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒆𝒕 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒉."

Set in a quiet Southern town, Whispers of Dead Girls follows Ren Taylor as she returns to her old high school — not as a student, but as a biology teacher — still carrying the heavy grief of her sister’s unsolved death. When Ren begins to suspect an inappropriate relationship between a popular physics teacher and one of his students, she’s determined to stop the past from repeating itself, even if it means digging into her own buried secrets.

Marlee Bush delivers a chilling, emotionally layered thriller that explores the weight of trauma and the fierce drive to protect the ones we love. If you’re drawn to dark, character-driven stories full of suspense and moral complexity, this one is well worth the read.

4.5 stars rounded up

I wasn’t sure I’d love this one at first, but about 20% in, my thoughts shifted and I was hooked. The pacing picked up, the tension built beautifully, and suddenly I couldn’t flip the pages fast enough.

The author did a fantastic job handling dark and unsettling themes with sensitivity while still challenging the reader to ask themselves “What would I do in Ren’s place?” I loved how layered Ren’s character was. She was haunted by the past, flawed, and fiercely determined. Her growing suspicions and the way the story unfolded kept me second guessing. This book surprised me in a way I love in books. It’s a gripping, thought provoking thriller that lingers!

Thank you NetGalley & Poisoned Pen Press for the e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

This book had a lot of plot twists and was written well enough that it didn't feel convoluted or excessive, I couldn't put it down!

This was quite the psychological thriller! It was full of dark mysteries, secrets, grief and morally grey justice. Our FMC Ren would do anything to protect young women from the predators filling their every day lives. Haunted by her sister and the town’s relentless need to not forget what happened many years ago, we see Ren’s mind unravel as she refuses to let history repeat itself. Marlee Bush does an incredible job of making readers feel like they are truly inside of Ren’s mind and creating a very real, uncomfortable atmosphere. While this thriller is slower paced, readers will be shocked by the ending plot twists. I’m really looking forward to reading more from Marlee!

*Thank you so much to Poisoned Pen Press publishing, NetGalley and Marlee Bush for this copy of Whispers of Dead Girls!!💗✨

I really enjoyed this book! I sat down for a few minutes and ended up reading for hours and finishing the book in one sitting! I throughly enjoyed the writing style and pacing of this read as well! I Would definitely recommend to anyone that loves an unreliable narrator, guessing what’s next and story told over two times lines.

What it’s about: Ten years have passed, and Ren Taylor is back at square one, having accepted a job at her old high school. She’d hoped to make peace with the past but now she’s thrust back into it: her murdered teenage sister is still immortalized in town, and Ren can’t stop seeing her wherever she goes. She can’t seem to escape the scandal that ruined her childhood and killed her sister. When Ren sees red flags in a student – a girl just like her sister – she worries history is about to repeat itself. This time, she won’t sit back and watch another girl be taken before her time.
This time, Ren will do what she must to save her, even if it means revealing her own darkest secrets. 

This was a pretty entertaining read. I didn’t mind the slow burn and actually enjoyed the unreliable narrator. My favorite part was the added touch of the paranormal as the MC is frequently visited by her dead sister. My main issue was that I am really not a big fan of stories where the MC spends the whole book beating themselves up over something that wasn’t really their fault. Unfortunately I felt like this was a huge theme throughout the book. Despite this I would definitely recommend to fans of female rage thrillers.

Thank you to Net Galley, Poisoned Pen Press, and Marlee Bush for the Advanced Reader Copy of Wispers of Dead Girls!

Marlee Bush definitely has a talent for storytelling! She had me on the edge of my seat the entire time with this book. This book is filled with twists and turns and leaves you guessing. I like how the book had a story within a story but everything was woven together. This book was extremely well written and held my interest until the very end! I can not recommend it enough!

Whispers of Dead Girls is a dark novel about a young woman, Ren Taylor who returns to her old high school to teach. She comes back on the tenth anniversary of the death of her sister. One of the first things to confront Ren is the picture of her sister in the school's display case....as if Ren needed a reminder of the tragic event that ended her sister's life during her senior year. After a relationship with a teacher is exposed, her sister dies in a tragic accident. Ren is confronted with her sister's ghost as she struggles to remember the past and accept the reality of teaching. As she fights to keep the past in the past, Ren is confronted with the reality of a missing student in a nearby school. When a body is discovered, Ren starts to question the integrity of the most popular male teacher of her school. Is he really who he seems, a charismatic teacher who is loved by his students or could the past be repeating itself?

Prepare for a truly gripping and psychologically intense journey with Marlee Bush's Whispers of Dead Girls! This novel masterfully weaves a web of suspense, ensuring you'll be guessing and gasping with every turn of the page.

Our protagonist, Ren, is burdened by profound guilt over her older sister's death—a guilt exacerbated by her parents' crushing blame, especially her mother's heartbreaking pronouncement that Margo should have lived. This deep-seated pain drives Ren's vigilant quest: to spot the warning signs of predatory relationships in schools and expose the 'scumbag men' who exploit others.

Reluctantly returning to her hometown high school as an employee, Ren's sharp instincts kick in. She observes the unsettling interactions of Bryson Lewis, another teacher, and when she sees a student leave his classroom in tears, Ren's alarm bells ring. Her investigation into his past reveals a chilling pattern: a disturbing history involving young girls, two now tragically missing or dead under suspicious circumstances. Ren realizes the terrifying stakes: she must intervene to stop a potential repeat of history.

Though it starts with a deliberate build, the narrative quickly accelerates into a high-stakes, pulse-pounding thriller culminating in an absolutely jaw-dropping revelation! This is a truly insane and deeply satisfying read. Thank you, Poisoned Pen Press and Netgalley, for the opportunity to review this standout novel!

After accepting a job at her high school, Ren is immediately thrown back into her tragic high school past. Everywhere she goes she see's her sister who was tragically murdered. While trying to cope she begins to get close with another teacher at the school but things begin to seem off about him and things start to feel like they when everything happened with her sister.

Whispers of Dead Girls by Marlee Bush is a gripping, haunting thriller about guilt, grief, and the lengths we go to protect others. Tense and emotional, this book keeps you guessing—defiantly a paahe turner.

Really enjoyed this one. Though I did feel the ending felt kind of forced and wrapped up way too quickly.