I really enjoyed the storyline for “Whispers of Dead Girls.” The short chapters kept me engaged throughout and Marlee Busy’s writing was excellent. I personally liked Ren, although I can see a lot of people finding her to be an unlikeable main character. I did spend quite a bit of time trying to figure out the twists, to the point where I gave up because I knew I wasn’t going to be able to figure out where the book was going.

Overall, I feel the book was well-written & paced well. Definitely worth going in blind and adding to your TBR when it’s released May 27th.

Thank you NetGalley & Poisoned Pen Press for my advanced copy!

I went into this one largely blind, having read the blurb but it’s been a minute since. I was pleasantly surprised by the supernatural element, expecting a straight thriller. That said, I was a little underwhelmed by how ultimately pointless this device was. I found the FMC’s decision-making and impulsivity frustrating and it wound up leaving me finding her difficult to root for. I also generally like an unreliable narrator, but the device that runs through this book wherein the narrator keeps telling you she’s not telling you something, started to frustrate me — I would have liked some answers much sooner than I got them. I did appreciate that the length wasn’t too drawn out, I was able to finish this quickly. Unfortunately, since I wasn’t very sympathetic to the protagonist, I didn’t have much investment in the ending and found it just fine, no more, no less.

🚨 Buckle up, book besties, because Whispers of Dead Girls by Marlee Bush is one wild, twisty ride through trauma, teen ghosts (maybe), and one very suspicious physics teacher. 👀

Ren Taylor is back at her old high school (yes, the one where her sister was murdered—great choice, right?) trying to make peace with her past. Instead, she walks straight into a fresh nightmare starring Bryson Lewis: charming, hot, and practically dripping with 🚩🚩🚩. Everyone else loves him. Ren? She’s not buying it. She’s seen this kind of man before, and it didn’t end well.

The story grips from page one—fast-paced, emotionally layered, and written with just the right mix of eerie and heartfelt. Marlee Bush nails the slow burn of suspicion as Ren spirals from uneasy curiosity to full-blown protector mode. And the characters? So real, so raw. Ren’s grief and grit jump off the page.

If you love a thriller with dark academia vibes, fierce female leads, and writing that keeps you on edge (in a good, “I forgot to eat lunch” kinda way), Whispers of Dead Girls is calling your name.

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press for this advance copy via NetGalley for my honest, voluntary review. #WhispersOfDeadGirls #NetGalley

I’m not 100% sure how I feel about this book. On one hand, I was very intrigued to see where the story was going and how it would all unfold. There was a twist or two that I didn’t see coming and were really interesting surprises. On the other hand, I never connected with Ren and kind of felt like she had no personality other than being the sister of a dead girl. She jumped to conclusions pretty damn fast in the book and sure, she had experience with that particular situation, but it just felt a little clumsy. Also, while there were some great twists, there were also some that just felt bizarre and thrown in out of nowhere. The ending, to me, was really strange and felt very unrealistic. It’s certainly a quick read, but it wasn’t one that I feel knocked my socks off.
CW: murder, death, grief, sexual abuse, sexual harassment

Thank you NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the digital reader’s copy!

I went into this book blind and was pleasantly surprised. I feel like this book was easy to guess what was going to happen and the plot but I still flew through this book.

I have mixed feelings about the FMC. One part of me enjoyed her morally grayness and what she was willing to do to find the truth. Another part of me found her frustrating. She just wanted her parents to love her after the tragedy but it just seemed like she would just run away instead of confronting them. I wish she had the same fierceness with them that she had with exposing the truth within her school. I also, found it interesting that he sees her dead sister and talks to her.

The ending was a nice small twist. I found myself bumping the book up from 3 stars to a 3.5 based off of it. There is some triggering topics within this book so please check them out. Thank you poisoned pen press for the gifted ebook.

Okay, so I have to admit there was a time when thrillers made up like 90% of my reading life. I was obsessed. The twists, the unreliable narrators, the late-night page-turning… I lived for it. But lately, not so much. I’ve found myself getting a little burned out on the genre, and I think that might have affected how I felt about this one.

The premise is solid: Ren returns to her old high school, still haunted by her sister’s murder and the scandal that tore everything apart. When she starts suspecting that the charming new physics teacher is up to something very wrong, things spiral into familiar thriller territory.

There were moments I liked the atmosphere, the lingering trauma, the sense of dread, but overall it just didn’t fully click for me. Some of the plot points felt a little too convenient, and I didn’t feel as emotionally connected to Ren as I wanted to. I also guessed the direction of the story fairly early on, which didn’t help.

That said, I think someone who’s still deep in their thriller era might enjoy this more than I did.

Haunting and chilling small town vibes. Tension-filled plot with excellent characters. Suspenseful and heart-racing.

I personally do not like books where the main character can see/talk to the dead, so this aspect wasn't my favorite. Besides that it was a quick and suspenseful read. I liked that it was from a teacher's perspective.

Twisty and thrilling, I wasn’t a huge fan of the characters but I did enjoy the overall story! And will definitely be reading more from this author! Thank you for the opportunity to read this prior to release

"In the end, the monsters are never who you expect."

Wow, this was a twisty, dark mystery. It's a fast read, one that keeps you flipping the pages. Our main character, Ren, has come back to town after being gone a long time. Her sister died in this town - and is haunting her still. Because Ren feels guilt for her sister's death and she wants to protect young girls now - high school girls - from predatory teachers.

So, when she comes back as biology teacher at the local high school, she's on high alert for the young, attractive teacher just across the hall from her. She sees him laughing with students, arms around shoulders, the way he allows them to come and go from his room. When she sees a crying girl fleeing his classroom, it's just the proof she needs to see if her suspicion is true.

This is a race of a story - each twist was shocking. I loved that I didn't trust anyone, not even our main character, and the eerie sister ghost that's haunting her just added to the eerie feel of the story. I was surprised by the ending.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

Fans of A Good Girl's Guide to Murder will love this book! As a fellow teacher, I was intrigued by this book. I really loved this book. It kept me guessing until the end. I do think the book was a bit longer than it needed to be and the book has some pacing issues. But, overall, it is a solid work. I will recommend this one to my followers and my book club buddies! Thank you NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC! I really enjoyed this one.

3.75 ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Creepy high school halls, a haunted soul, and a not-so-dead dead sister? Yes, please.
This had strong Scream 4 energy and a twisty premise I loved—Ren is the unhinged vigilante we didn’t know we needed.

That said, the pacing stumbled around a bit, and some parts felt a bit YA- not a dealbreaker, just noticeable.

Ren’s back at her old school, trying to bury the past—except her sister’s ghost won’t stay buried. Enter Bryson, the too-charming teacher with secrets of his own. When Ren suspects he's preying on a student, she makes it her mission to stop history from repeating itself.

She won’t let it happen again. Not this time.

Okay this has everything I love in a thriller. A dark past, missing girls, twists galore. I loved every page of this book and it was 100% written in crack format.

🖤 Thank you Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.


Whispers of Dead Girls
by Marlee Bush

Ren Taylor returns home to the small town she grew up in and accepts a teaching job at her old high school. She's still suffering from the trauma of her older sister's death. Maybe going back home and to work at the school wasn't the best choice because she is seeing her sister everywhere and the rumor mill is churning full force about her involvement in her sisters death. She soon meets the handsome charismatic teacher across the hall and something about him is to familiar and really gives her the ICK. She is already on high alert when she notices he seems inappropriately close to a young girl at the school and she also learns of missing girls from the area. She decides she must do something before anyone else gets hurt.

This is more of a mystery/drama than a thriller and reads a little YA. I would also say it's a slowburn. There is a dual timeline but it's kinda hard to keep track of which timeline you're in. I would say strong start, drag in the middle & a little repetitive and the last 20% picks up but feels rushed plus the ending wasn't my favorite. I did still find the book entertaining and I'm sure many others will too.

Ren's sister died 10 years ago. She was having a relationship with her teacher. Ren has returned home to teach at the same high school. She is haunted by her sister and makes dubious choices. Ren believes this is happening again with the teacher across the hall. What should she do??
This is a story of characters that do not always do what is right? They make questionable choices which may cause harm. The characters seem to get away with everything.

This story was just OK for me. I did not like the characters and did not care for the ending. I'm sure some readers will like this book but it just wasn't for me.

Thank you to #NetGalley, #MarleeBush and #PoisonedPenPress for a copy of this book.
#WhispersofDeadGirls

Thank you to Netgalley and Poisoned Press for this amazing ARC.

I will go out on a limb and say I think this will be the twistiest book of the summer!

I adored this book and the twists just left me speechless at the end and stunned me.

Ren returns to her high school to teach Biology back in her hometown where her sister was murdered 10 years ago. The handsome teacher just across the hall, Bryson, who teaches Physics brings back old memories and strong feelings tied to her sister’s death. Oh yeah and Margo ( her dead sister) follows Ren around and is always talking and advising her. She notices how Bryson and a student interact and it makes her extremely suspicious about their relationship and past histories that Bryson has at other schools.
I can’t say much more without spoiling this book but to say GO READ IT.
Even though it is based on a student/teacher “ relationship” there is no spice thankfully!
Calling all my Freida readers because I feel like if you love Freida you will love this book!

Definitely will keep you on the edge of your seat, bingeable, high school drama, guilt, grief and the delicate line of taking justice in your own hands or thinking you can save someone from a mistake you made yourself in the past but your judgement is clouded.

Thank you Netgalley & Poisoned Pen Press for an eARC ♥️♥️

Let me be honest: I didn’t just read this book—I felt it like a cold hand on the back of my neck. Ren Taylor’s story burrowed under my skin and stayed there, whispering in that same eerie tone the town uses when they talk about her dead sister. And Bryson Lewis? God, what a perfectly crafted villain—if he even is one. That’s the brilliance here. The book plays with your nerves like a cat with a mouse, leaving you just uncertain enough to question every interaction, every glance.
I’ll admit, I went in expecting a standard thriller, but what I got was something far darker, far more intimate. Ren’s grief isn’t just a plot device; it’s visceral, rotting, *real*. There were moments I wanted to scream at her to run, to fight, to do anything—but that’s the trap, isn’t it? Trauma doesn’t let you think straight. It distorts. And by the end, I wasn’t just doubting Bryson… I was doubting Ren 😖
The climax didn’t just shock me—it gutted me. I finished the book in the dead of night, and I swear, the silence in my room felt heavier afterward. If you want a story that lingers like a ghost you can’t shake, this is it.

Years after the death of Ren's sister, Ren returns to teach in her hometown, determined to keep what happened to her sister from happening again. However, how her sister died is neither the central mystery nor that interesting. In fact, the major plot twist involving her sister is already clear if you read the book's description. Her sister is also part of the story as a ghost, but even that is not exciting, as it seems. It is merely a plot device for her to be the conscience that a best friend would provide to Ren, since Ren doesn't seem to have any friends.

The story is more about what happened before her sister died, although it is only indirectly related to her death. It is about predatory teachers and Ren's desire to protect young girls from relationships with them, particularly one young girl, Olivia. There is also a mystery that involves the death of a student and the disappearance of another, which may also be related to an improper relationship between a teacher and a student. It all connects in surprising ways that actually make the story less likable.

The main character, Ren, is not likable either. She engages in unforgivable actions that render her extremely hard to root for. Olivia also turns out to be not what she seems, and is also not likable or worth rooting for. Some of the least likely characters turn out to be the most sympathetic ones. Thus, the book is a reminder not to jump to conclusions about people. However, arriving at this lesson isn't a worthwhile reason to read the book, especially when it is likely to leave you feeling unsatisfied, sad, and maybe even a bit traumatized. If you like a book that leaves you feeling this way, you might enjoy it.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the free e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Ren returns to her hometown in Georgia to teach Biology at the same school where her sister was murdered years ago. When history seems to be repeating itself with physics teacher Bryson showing an interest in a female student, Ren knows she needs to step in to stop the damage that she wasn't able to stop for her sister.

There are plenty of small town secrets, strong tension, guilt, and so many memories. This is a well written, atmospheric, mystery. Recommend!

This one had me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. Ren was an unreliable narrator and that lead to several very incorrect theories on my pet. I never could have guessed the twists at the end. All and all I really enjoyed this one4⭐️

Thank you Netgally & Poisoned Pen Press for the Review Copy!!