This was a great follow up after I loved Bush's debut, When She Was Me. Ren, influenced by events from her past, just wants to do the right thing. Because of this, she becomes a bit of an unreliable narrator and goes down a path that she can't turn back from. There are some great twists here and there's a constant level of unease that you feel as a reader. I also really enjoyed the paranormal element.

This story pulled me in right from the beginning. It’s filled with twists and turns while also tackling some heavy themes—like the complexities of a teacher-student relationship, the grief of losing a sibling, and the lasting effects of past trauma. The story slowly reveals what’s haunting the main character, and as those pieces come together, you start to understand how much it’s shaped her life and decisions.

I could predict a few of the twists, but definitely not all of them, which kept things interesting. I really enjoyed this book—it was emotional, gripping, and thought-provoking all at once.

The first 10% of the book really grabbed me, but then my interest started waning. I couldn't put my finger on why until another reviewer noted it: The dialogue just does not feel natural. Unfortunately, this bled into the characters' interactions and made everything feel a little forced. This ended up in my DNF pile, but I will definitely try something else by the author in the hopes that this book is an outlier for me.

A big pet peeve of mine is when the main character's secret is dragged out for nearly the entire book, hyped as this horrible thing they did, then the reveal ends up being a huge letdown.

Anyway, I struggled a bit with this one. Ren, the main character, was extremely unlikable. Actually, every character was unlikable. No one talked naturally with each other. They'd start off sharing information then suddenly, for no apparent reason, switch to being suspicious and closed off. Plus, there were a lot of motives and actions that seemed unrealistic. And jeez, can someone send Ren's parents to therapy? Preferably with her?

This next pet peeve of mine will be hard to explain without spoilers but I'll try my best: After reading the synopsis and the majority of this book, I felt like there was a clear, powerful message. But the ending, in my opinion, undid that message, even to the point where it felt like it was perpetuating a stereotype against women.

I will say, despite this book going in a direction I did not care for, the final few pages were pretty good.

Disclaimer: I received an arc of this book in exchange of an honest review.

I support womens right and also womens wrongs.

Wow, okay, this one really made me think.....in a good way or a bad way, I'm not sure.

What I loved about this book was the characters were fleshed out. You knew their motives, intents, sorrow, guilt, etc. There wasn't a character that felt unimportant or who you didn't understand the purpose of - and each character also felt real in their reactions and real in how people can handle certain things. It was a heavy book with the subject matter which is why I'm kind of torn on if I enjoyed it or not. If you take it at face value and don't think too much into it, it's great. I enjoyed it. Fun mystery. Fun story. Fast plot. It never slugged or felt tedious to sit through.

If you think more heavily into it, and I don't want to give anything away, I'm not sureeee....how I feel....given the subject matter and the way it was handled.

Overall I enjoyed!

A decade has passed since Ren left her hometown, but now she's back, accepting a job at her old high school. She's hoping the position will help her find some sort of closure regarding her traumatic past, and the death of her older sister when the two were teens.

Back in the school, Ren is unprepared for the wave of memories and emotions that come rushing back to her. Additionally, there was a bit of a scandal wrapped-up in her sister's death, and people sometimes still whisper about it. For her part, Ren will never forget the days and events leading up to tragedy, but being back is causing her to see things a little differently.

We get a bit of past and present, as well as a current situation involving one of her coworkers, a physics teacher, Mr. Lewis. Ren becomes suspicious of him, fearing history will soon repeat itself. She vows, not on her watch.

While Whispers of Dead Girls was compelling and enticing, it did sort of tick me off, NGL. I've been thinking on it for a while, anticipating that resounding sense of annoyance with it would dissipate in time, yet it hasn't. With this being said, most of the journey to get to the conclusion kept me entertained and invested. I was sucked into both the past and present timelines.

Additionally, I loved the set-up of the MC returning to their hometown after a long period of time away, and investigating a circumstance that seems reminiscent of something she herself had gone through. This returning MC aspect is actually one of my favorite tropes.

I also liked how Ren was an unreliable narrator. I never knew what she was going to do next. Nevertheless, the resolutions she came to, I was sort of miffed by all that. So much so, that in a way, it started to feel like a waste of my time. Though I can acknowledge this is a good story, and I think Bush pulled off a lot of great twists and turns, I still feel a slight sense of distaste about how it all played out.

I wish I could say more about this, but I can't without spoiling major reveals, and I'm not about to do that. I still want others to enjoy this book and I know many will. It does have many strong aspects, it's a good story, but at the end of the day, I rate based on my personal reading experience, and this one left me a wee bit perturbed.

Thank you to the publisher, Poisoned Pen Press, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I'll definitely be picking up more from this author.

This grabbed me from the first chapter. I was a little skeptical going into this because I didn’t care for ‘When She Was Me’ but this book was way more interesting and entertaining. The storyline was pretty eerie and when we get more into the story it does get pretty dark and disturbing, so TW: SA of minors and grooming. The only thing I think I don’t care for was the small story line that our FMC goes on the hunt for bad guys..I felt like it didn’t do much for the storyline and it felt out of place But I did like our FMC, I felt so bad for her and when we get to her truth, just made me hurt for her even more. And the end, I felt like it was rushed and messy but the more I think about it, the more I liked how it ended. It felt like a full circle moment in the end and it made it kind of eerie which I liked.

I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it at first. A girl seeing her dead sister and talking to her seemed a bit extreme. But the ending twist was good and super complex. It makes you think. Should make predators just get murdered without remorse? What should the punishment be. I also like the aspect about how Ren would look for men that were cheating on their wives just to hurt them. It added background to the story.

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My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Author: Marlee Bush
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Pages: 292
Genre: Thrillers
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THOUGHTS:

‘’ When girls die, when they can’t speak their truths anymore, all we have left are their whispers’’

So, this was an extraordinary thriller, loved how twisty and nail-biting this amazing novel was.

Copy received by @poisonedpenpress & @netgalley for an honest review.

BLURB:

She's right. It can never happen again. She won't let it.
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's dogged by the scandal that ruined her childhood and killed her sister.
Then Ren meets physics teacher Bryson Lewis. Handsome and charismatic, all the other teachers and students seem to fall at his feet. But Ren knows men like him – she knows they can't be trusted.
The more Ren watches him, the more suspicious she becomes. And when she notices his close relationship with a girl in one of his classes – 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.

Thank you, NetGalley, for a digital copy of this book.

I enjoyed reading this book. I did keep waiting and wondering what happened to Margo and you really to find out till the end, but that is ok, because there is another storyline that builds up to it. This shows an "unbreakable" vow between 2 sisters and how long 1 can keep the others secret.

This one was a slow slow burn and I didn’t quite love it. I didn’t love the unreliable narrator. She was a bit too unpredictable for me

I love a book with a pervasive sense of dread, and this one has it in spades. The small town setting really works well, and the slow burn buildup was so worth the wait. Lots of fun twists and turns, and I think thriller readers will really like this one.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Wooaaah! Amazing book great author.
Did not expect those twist & turns. I would say this one has a couple good twist that left me stunned. Fast paced steady entertainment.

I could see this book being made into a movie or show. I had a great time seeing it play out in my mind. I enjoyed the slow mystery as it unraveled and revealed more about the MC’s, Ren, past. Although her sister Margo died, she very much still haunts Ren by showing up on the daily. Full of secrets, twists, supernatural and suspense makes this an excellent thriller!!

Ren returned to her hometown 10 years after her sister Margo died, presumably at the hands of her teacher. She accepted a job teaching at her old high school and finds the teacher across the hall giving similar vibes as the teacher who killed her sister. She doesn’t want history to repeat itself so she gets suspicious.

2.5 stars
This was good. There were aspects I liked and the twist at the end I definitely didn't see coming. The downside for me was the pacing and a few odd time jumps. Also, some characters seemed inconsistent. Overall this was a good read and I'd still recommend it.

After being blown away by Marlee’s debut thriller, I was thrilled to receive an early copy of her upcoming book—and once again, she delivered something unforgettable. While the story starts off as a slow burn, the tension builds steadily, and I found myself completely hooked. I couldn’t put it down, and the twist near the end truly caught me off guard.

The main character, Ren, returns to her small hometown to teach at the high school she once attended. On the outside, she’s quiet and distant, but inside, she’s drowning in grief, guilt, and the lingering ghost of her sister. I loved how Marlee captured the hazy, dreamlike moments where Ren slips into memories—the writing created such a vivid, emotional atmosphere.

Ren is flawed and complex—sometimes hard to like, but always easy to understand. The story explores difficult topics like childhood trauma, sibling loss, neglect, power imbalances, and how cruel rumors can ruin lives, especially in today’s digital age. Every character had layers, and many surprised me by the end.

Even though I guessed one of the twists around the halfway mark, the execution was still brilliant. The ending felt right for Ren’s character and left me thinking about it long after.

This was gripping and ominous - but the ending fell apart for me...

Up until about 85-90%, I was in awe of the way the author built this dark and chilling thriller and handled some truly troubling themes so well.
(These themes include teen abduction and murder, inappropriate relationships between teacher/student including minors, gaslighting and victim disbelieving, and grief.)

Ren returns to her hometown and is faced with memories of life as a teen before (and after) her sister died while the two were in high school. When events seem to be repeating themselves with current students, high school teacher Ren seeks to right the wrongs of her past and prevent tragedy that she couldn't for her own sister.

Much of this book was captivating and I truly love Marlee Bush's writing. The characters are strong and have an air of suspense and suspicion about them that carries so much of the mystery.

Unfortunately, the ending did not hold up for me. In fact, I think the ending undid a lot of the messages portrayed through Ren's efforts, which left me filling unfulfilled. I can't say too much without spoiling it, but from where I felt the story would and should go, what unraveled was unexpected, and not in a good way.

Unfortunately this one just didn’t hit for me. I struggled to stay engaged as not much really happened until the twist near the end which was probably the highlight for me but then, I was left with quite a few unanswered questions. I also found it difficult to connect with Ren’s character that made it harder to fully get into the story. I hate writing negative reviews, but this one just wasn’t for me.

This book? Whew. It dragged me into the shadows and refused to let go.
Ren Taylor is one of the most morally grey, paranoia-fueled main characters I’ve read in a while—and I loved her for it. Haunted by her sister’s murder and her own past with a predatory teacher, Ren is a walking red flag with secrets buried so deep you’ll be digging them up chapter by chapter. She gave off “you might hate her now, but just wait” energy in the best way.
The tension? High. The twists? Twisting. The ending?? Absolutely made me FERAL. I was begging for justice—vengeful, satisfying, brutal justice—and while I didn’t get the ending I wanted… I probably got the one closest to real life, which hit even harder.
Was it everything I hoped for? Not quite. But it kept me up late flipping pages, whispering “noooo way” into the darkness. If you love dark, revenge-tinged thrillers with complicated, messy women at the center—this one’s for you.
🔪 Dark secrets
🌀 Twists you won’t see coming
📖 Revenge, trauma, obsession
👀 And a teacher you’ll want to slap by chapter 3
Perfect for fans of: Sharp Objects, Pretty Girls, and anyone who’s ever rooted for the girl unraveling.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
I really felt engaged with this story, anticipating the twists. I enjoyed Ren's character and the psychology behind her choices and actions. The switches between past and present were done seemlessly, leading to a good experience. Everything made sense, which made the ending so jarring and unexpected.
Overall, a read I couldn't put down and truly enjoyed.