I really enjoyed this book it was dark and twisted and I couldn't put it down. I will definitely be looking for more from the author

My first by Marlee Bush but definitely not my last.
Story was suspenseful and had me guessing, dead sure, then questioning myself.

3.5 ⭐️ | Whispers of Dead Girls was a very intriguing read! It created an eerie vibe that worked very well with the supernatural element in this story. The story follows Ren, a teacher that returns to her old high school after accepting a teaching position. It has been 10 years since she left, and her hometown holds an awful past that is still very much living rent free in her head. When she suspects a fellow teacher, Bryson, of having an inappropriate relationship with a student, she has to intervene as this hits a little too close to home for her to do nothing. As she secretly investigates Bryson, past and present secrets are revealed.

Overall, a solid read & perfect for fans of slow-burn suspenseful stories, with a touch of the supernatural. Thank you Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for this advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own.

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

This book was 4.5 stars for me!

Ren returns to her hometown after accepting a teaching job at her old high school. She hadn't returned since college because she was the girl everyone talked about after her sister died-and they all believed Ren was to blame. Margo, Ren's sister, a perpetual 17 year old, constantly shows up as Ren's conscience, a side effect of the guilt she feels over her sister's death. It's not quite a haunting, but her character is pivotal to the story. Not long after the school year starts, Ren becomes suspicious of the male teacher across the hall. She is certain that he is mixed up with his students in an inappropriate way, something she knows far too much about after her high school experience. She has her own demons to deal with, while also trying to save the girls she believes are victims in present time.

This author! I LOVED her debut book and this book also didn't disappoint. She is a master at weaving multiple plot lines together with so much mystery, without giving away what is really happening. Through most of this book, readers know something happened when Ren was a student at the high school she is working at, but not fully telling us. Plus, something else happened in her past and something is happening with her in the present, but we get just enough details to keep guessing! I love this feature of the story (and her debut book too!) so that the twist is unexpected and not what I expected. Actually, twists, plural!

If you like fast-paced stories with twists and turns, you will love this book! I'm actually bummed that I read this a few months before it came out because now I'll have that much longer to wait for her next book. Marlee Bush has now made it to my short list of authors that I will read without even needing to read the summary.

What a breathtaking read! This book took me through a roller coaster of emotions. The main character, Ren, had a quick wit but a troubled soul. Ren is a woman who returns to her hometown to face her difficult past, when history seems to start repeating itself. Ren cannot let this happen again on her watch and embarks on a difficult journey to find a way to right her wrongs.

In the beginning, I found it a little hard to follow with the daydreams/flashbacks but that became much easier to navigate as the book progressed and looking back, I see the need for them to help tell this poignant story of a woman and the trauma she and her family endured in her youth.

This was a quick read that was captivating from the start. I did not want to put it down! I usually can figure out the antagonist in a book pretty early on but this book had me thinking I had it down only to find that there were some unpredictable twists that kept me guessing until the end!

Thank you Poisoned Pen Press for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Marlee Bush delivers an eerie, spine-tingling thriller with Whispers of Dead Girls, a novel that masterfully blends mystery, suspense, from the very first page,

What sets Whispers of Dead Girls apart is its ability to balance psychological depth with a heart-pounding plot. Every chapter delivers new surprises, making it impossible to put down.

A chilling, hard to put down read that lingers in your mind long after the final.

Wow.

This book had me guessing from the start, I didn’t expect any of the twists. ren was a lovable character.. the grieving sister, the vigilante and the protector.. the writing style was great It really made you feel how she was feeling.

I’d of liked to know more about mr Henry like what happened to him after being released, did he try to get in contact but I feel like if he did that would have been mentioned.

I’d of also liked a small POV from Bryson but I’m not sure where that would have fit in without ruining the flow of the book

Overall a great book, can’t wait to read more from this author

This was engaging, I read through it quickly but also I found myself saying "what" a lot. It feels like the plot could be tightened up a bit.

If you're looking for a psychological thriller with a slight hint of "good for her" added, then you've found it. But Whispers of Dead Girls is more than that. We follow Ren Taylor, who is a strong yet flawed protagonist, as she attempts to navigate grief and guilt in her pursuit of resolving her past, seeking justice, and trying to stop history from repeating itself. She is compelling, fierce, and imperfect, which is exactly why I love her.

Our storyline is essentially a "mystery nesting doll" as we watch Ren uncover layer after layer, consistently being met with new secrets to resolve. While there are a few predictable plot points, there are enough surprising moments to keep the story interesting. The pacing does leave something to be desired, as the chapters seem in places like they're being rushed through. If you're a reader who likes your chapters short, though, this may not be an issue for you.

I'm not one to share spoilers, so I can't say much about the things that worked best for me, but I can safely say that if you have a Feminine Rage Reading List ((which I strongly recommend)) this book belongs on it.

((While the viewpoints shared are my own, I want to thank NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press, and Marlee Bush for this complimentary copy.))

Ren is just another person who lived in the shadow of her sister and she wanted an out without really thinking what that meant for her until her sister was killed. Her mutual love that she shared with her sister drove her to be angry and drove a wedge between a lot of people including reality. Once she became a teacher, she met a new version of her , her student.

This had so many reactions out of me that, I just could not put this book down. I was so shocked that Ren chose to do that after what happened to her sister because she never truly healed. The fact that she was seeing her dead sister while she walked through life was a blessing and a curse. She still got to talk to her in some sense but, it was creepy because you only know her old self no the growing up version, ya know? I hated the act the mother and father did not want anything to do with her after her sister died like they didn’t even really want to know what happened that night really, they just assumed and that anger just consumed them forever, just forgetting they have a live daughter completely.

The men in this story are complete idiots and should be ashamed to even called men. They all were a really sorry excuse of everything.

This book had me hooked from the very first page. As someone who loves a good mystery, I was thoroughly impressed by how Marlee wove an intricate tale full of twists, turns, and surprises that kept me guessing every step of the way!
Just when I thought I had things figured out and that I knew who the "bad guy" was, a shocking plot twist completely caught me off guard and oh my gosh it was one I never saw coming. It’s rare for a book to truly stun me, but this one managed it effortlessly.

The atmosphere of the story is hauntingly beautiful, with a spooky, eerie vibe that lingers throughout every chapter.

╭──── 🌿 Whispers of Dead Girls by Marlee Bush
╰ ❝Or maybe there’s always been something chemically imbalanced inside her. Something lying dormant and waiting for the right ingredient to trigger it.❞


╭──── 🌿 A B O U T – T H E – B O O K :
"Whispers of Dead Girls" is an upcoming psychological thriller by Marlee Bush, scheduled for publication on May 27, 2025.
The novel follows Ren Taylor, who returns to her hometown as a biology teacher at her former high school, seeking closure after her sister's tragic murder a decade earlier. Haunted by her sister's memory and the unresolved scandal, Ren becomes suspicious of a charismatic physics teacher, Bryson Lewis, especially after observing his close relationship with a female student reminiscent of her late sister. Determined to prevent history from repeating itself, Ren confronts her past traumas to protect the student.

｡☆✼★━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━★✼☆｡

╭──── 🌿 O V E R A L L:
╰ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ / 5
This was a hard book to put down. From the first page it pulls you into the mystery and makes you question every character’s motives as they are introduced.

The suspense and story building was fantastic, and the pacing of the story kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. The combination of past and present memories was also done well and was not confusing in the least bit.

You think you know where this book is going…. Give it a read, I think you will be surprised.

I actually really liked the current timeline with Alejandra, Tina, and Olivia, but the flashbacks to Margo's time felt kinda unnecessary to me. And I'm sorry to say it, but I hated the ending.

This book was a slow burn for me. I found myself very interested in the parts between Margo and Ren. The Ren and Olivia storyline did not resonate as well with me. I wish we would have had a little more backstory into Ren and Margo.

Overall I do think the plot was interesting and I did want to see how things would end. I would recommend to other readers.

Thank you to Marlee Bush, Poisoned Pen Press, and Netgalley for allowing me to read this ARC.

Whispers of Dead Girls was a slow burn for me but I absolutely the story and could not put it down. Thank you NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review.

I'll be honest: last year I read this author's debut novel and I wasn't impressed. And because I'm (nearly) always up for giving authors a second chance, I requested Bush's new novel to try her again.
And it didn't work so well for me, again. Once again, I liked the plot, the cast of characters in general, the mystery itself, but I do not clique with the writing. And that's personal.
I'm sure other readers will enjoy the writing and, consequently, the book as a whole.
Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher, for providing me with a free copy of this book.

3.5⭐️

i really enjoyed the premise of this story and how early it hit the ground running. it felt fast paced but in a good and addictive way, i ended up finishing it in one sitting lmao

ren didn’t feel like a reliable narrator, and it left me constantly questioning who and what i was meant to believe, which added to the tension i was feeling
i also really liked how her sister was incorporated into the story, it may even be my favourite part

the reason it didn’t reach 4⭐️+ territory for me is because the BIG reveal felt a little too convenient in a way? it was a shock yes, but when it was explained i felt a bit exhausted after how long that chapter was, and at times i was getting lost because it felt so extensive

lastly, i noticed when people were talking about a certain character at times they would reference them as jondra? idk if this is a typo or what cos it would be randomly between sentences of the character’s other name, and it came out of nowhere so it kept confusing me

all in all it was a fun read and one i would recommend to people if they need a thriller to get lost in for a moment

thank you to poisoned pen press and netgalley for the arc 💌

This was a great change to most of the thrillers I have read in the past. It had turns that I was not expecting! Without giving any spoilers, the ending you will either love or hate. I did leave me with the feeling of "ugh". But it is a more realistic thriller, in my opinion. I know many readers that will LOVE the ending. It will be fun to see everyone else's feeling. The author did an amazing job at keeping the reader invested and intrigued in what would happen next.

This one was such a slow burn for me, that I found myself putting it down and becoming distracted. It was over the top in places . I wanted to love it but I just ended up liking it.

First thriller of the new year and it didn’t disappoint! This book starts off by Ren, the FMC, returns to her hometown to teach in the school where both her and her sister attended. After 10 years she thought she’d be able to handle being back in town where her sister was immortalized after her untimely death. She was wrong, the death of her sister still haunts her at every turn. She meets the physics teacher, Bryson, and everyone is charmed by the handsome teacher. But there is something about him that makes her wary. Then she begins to see a pattern of things from her past!

I really liked this book and thought it had a lot of the good thriller elements.
-Short chapters
-Ren’s sister appears as a ghost acting as a moral compass
-Misdirecting the reader about who done it

I found this book to easily capture my attention and keep me hooked until the very end!

Overall, a really solid thriller and definitely plan to read more by Marlee Bush!