I'm on the first page and I can already tell that this author is not a native English speaker (I recognize some Dutch sentence structures). Apart from this, I think this should have been edited a lot more. In the quote below, first, the author repeats Steve's characteristics way too many times. Secondly, she suddenly info-dumps information about his mom and dad, while this was not part of the conversation at all. This switch to explaining the parents' situation felt very jarring. As all of this was bothering me, and I've only read like 2 pages, I decided I won't be finishing this book.

Quote from chapter 1 (Viola's side):
"Why are you here, Viola?"
Steve Andrews. Nice, decent Steve Andrews. That's how I think of him whenever he comes to mind. Nice, decent, trustworthy, boring old Steve Andrews. Nice, decent, trustworthy, boring old Steve, who dumped me as soon as things got tough. But he never really argued with me, never told me I wasn't welcome anymore. And I am counting on his emotional intelligence to help me get through this situation.
"I need your help," I say. "Something's happened."
"Oh? What is it now?”
I'm startled by his sharp tone and the way he won't let me inside his house. He lives with his dad; his mom died ten years ago. His father never remarried but is seeing someone who lives on the outskirts of Love Hill. He owns a supermarket and works a lot, but Steve insists that he should have a personal life, too, and is very supportive of that relationship.

Syl and Viola two best friends, one is dead, which one is telling the truth.

The overall synopsis of this story had me hooked (reminded me of Verity vibes as which is true, Manuscript or Letter) the author let's the reader decide in the end, but something got lost in translation.

I might come back to this book again in the future, but overall for me it fell flat from the characters not being likable and having little to no personalities and the confusion and "boredness" to the point where it pushed myself to finish.

I could of just been the wrong audience for this book and if it does sound like a fun read, don't hesitate to pickup for yourself. Just wasn't for me.

This was an interesting read. I loved the dual plot version. I wonder if the choosing of where to start makes for an other experience while reading. Loved it!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I devoured this book in one sitting, I couldn't put it down. I was totally hooked right from the first page and I think the dual narrative worked so well as I felt like I really got to grips with the story and the characters. I can't wait to read more by the author

As soon as I heard about this book, I was sold. It is such a fascinating concept and something I've never seen done before. I started with Syl's side and then read Viola's, but I can see how easy it would have been to go the other way. I am still not over the ending of this book! I thought I had it figured out, but, the real ending was so much better!

Thank you NetGalley for giving me an advanced reader copy of this book. I did not love this book, but it wasn't bad. The whole concept of the book is an excellent idea, but the story was not executed to its full potential.

Release: July 29, 2025
Author: Sandra J. Paul
Publisher: Skyscape

Rating: 3.25 ★ 

In the quiet town of Love Hill, two girls—Syl Jameson and Viola Harrison—shared a friendship that ran deep but was far from perfect. Syl, drawn to the warmth of Viola’s family, often felt lost in her own cold, distant home. Viola, on the other hand, had her own secrets and a toxic edge that slowly chipped away at what they had. As the cracks in their bond grew, jealousy, neediness, and hidden truths pushed them toward a breaking point.
Then everything falls apart.
Syl is discovered dead in Viola’s car. Viola has vanished without a trace. What really happened that night? In this psychological thriller, the story unfolds from two perspectives—Syl’s and Viola’s—and it’s up to the reader to decide which to follow first. Each girl tells her own version of events, but only one truth lies at the end.
Dead Girls Don’t Talk starts with a brilliant concept: two perspectives—Syl and Viola—each telling their own version of the same story, leading readers toward one shared truth. The idea that you can choose which character to follow first is engaging and adds a unique, interactive layer to the reading experience.
That said, the execution didn’t fully live up to the promise for me. While the dual-narrative structure was intriguing, it didn’t offer the depth or new insight I expected. Reading both perspectives felt somewhat repetitive, and I found myself hoping for bigger revelations or a stronger payoff. The emotional stakes between the two girls, built around a toxic and intense friendship, came off as overly dramatic at times, and I struggled to connect with either character. Neither felt especially likable or reliable, which made it difficult to root for—or even care deeply about—either side.
The story occasionally dips into compelling territory, particularly in scenes involving the girls’ parents. These moments brought some emotional weight and context that helped explain the characters’ behavior. But unfortunately, inconsistencies in plot details (especially around the central accident scene) pulled me out of the story. And while the mystery held my attention, the final twist didn’t hit as hard as it should have—it felt underwhelming after so much buildup.
This book will likely appeal more to younger readers who can relate to the intensity of teenage friendships and emotions. For others, it might come across as a good idea that didn’t quite stick the landing. Still, it’s a quick, compelling read with an original structure that’s worth a try for fans of character-driven YA thrillers.

Favorite Quote:
"the dead may be silent, but their stories are never truly over."

Dead Girls Don’t Talk is about two besties and their POVs on how a car accident lead to death of one of them. You can choose whichever POV you want to know first to know the truth. Interesting.
The story was filled with teenage angst, teenage love, teenage drama, small town drama, LGBTQ+, tinge of supernatural etc. I mean the author just added whatever required to make the book popular. More in quantity does not always mean good quality. The author could have focused on the characters and the writing style more. The book was total waste of time.

DNF REVIEW
This book felt as though it had so much potential when I first picked it up, a story that will give me two perspectives and allow me to solve a mystery myself? Sign me up.
Sadly, it did end up disappointing me.
The writing
The writing was what actually kept me reading for so long, it kept me just interested enough to want to find out more.
The Characters
The characters were my main problem with this book; I just couldn’t like a single one of them, to the point where I genuinely just didn’t care how that girl died. The way they spoke and so many actions they made just felt so stupid, and really unrealistic. While I understand that teenage characters are bound to make worse decisions, the way it occurred in this book just felt like these decisions were just thrown in there to make them seem younger and make the death more horrifying.
The story
The story itself had so much potential, I was so excited and so hopeful for it to be what kept me reading the book, but it ended up feeling so drawn out, like we could have gotten the answer to what happened within a hundred pages, but each small event had to be drawn out in such detail that I just lost interest.

Thank you to Netgalley and Skyscape for the free e-arc. All opinions are my own.

Thank you Netgalley, Skycape and Sandra for the advanced copy.

I DNFed this around 20%. It's very robotic and it's very repetitive. It needed a lot of editing. Not for me.

I didn’t finish this book. I got about 18% in, read a couple of Viola’s chapters, then skipped around a bit. But yeah, couldn’t finish it.
The writing was robotic and repetitive. The dialogue was stiff and a bit unnatural. I couldn’t understand the motivations of the characters or, frankly, their personalities. They were just words on a page, not characters. There were contradictions line to line, too many breadcrumbs that could not stop being referenced in the same vague phrasing. There was no point in the bit that I read where I got close to settling my feet into the story/plot. Things felt jumbled and intangible. I know that that’s just how beginnings can be, but I should start to feel some sort of solid ground by that point in a book, and I couldn’t find it.
I HATE DNF-ing books, and I really tried to get into this one, but it wasn’t working for me unfortunately.

౨ৎ | ‘dead girls don’t talk… but this one does.’

— ★ 1/5

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing this arc in exchange for an honest review!!

let me be frank, i did like the writing and the plot was good but it did lack a lot of punch. like it was boring, and i didn’t feel compelled to read this hence why it took me so long.

also both syl and viola pissed me off. i wasn’t rooting for either of them, nor did i actually care about what happened in their lives.

but i mean it was okay! i just hated the characters which makes me not like a book at all. also the side characters….. *side eye*

Thank you Netgalley, Skycape and Sandra for the advanced copy.

I give this book a 3.25/5. I did not love the book, but also did not hate it. The whole concept of the book is an excellent idea, but the story was not my favorite.

The friendship between Syl (was that her full name??) and Viola was extremely toxic and made me uncomfortable many times. I was a little disappointed by the ending, I was fully expecting a switch at birth type of plot.

Terrible parents with terrible children. Apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

At the end, I was still team Syl!

A different take on a mystery book that was a clever concept. This is the story of two girls, Viola and Sly, and their friendship over many years. The book is set so that you can read whichever perspective you wish to, you begin at the start with Sly or you can begin halfway through the book to read Viola’s interpretation of what happened in their lives. I was pleased with my choice when I finished the book as I think it made more sense than the other way around, but I am not going to say which path I close, that is for each individual reader to decide.

Both girls have their own agendas, and the book is full of lies and betrayal on both parts. Even though they have very different personalities these two girls are more alike than they think, they come from very different family backgrounds and other family secrets will be revealed that you may not have expected or seen coming. At times it did become a bit confusing, and I do feel the author got carried away a little with how she wished to present the plot, and the grammar and spelling should have also been addressed.

Neither character was particularly likeable, sometimes that can make a story more interesting but, in this scenario, I found it hard to relate to either of them or sadly I did not really care. I will say that I did not expect the ending, and it is why it received one more star. I am sure many readers will enjoy the book, and it would make for interesting discussions but for me it was just ok.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy, all opinions expressed are my own.

3 ish stars. I read about a third of this book before I got bored with it.
The novel is about two former friends, Syl and Viola, involved in the same car crash, one dies and the other flees the scene. The book is organized kind of like a choose your own adventure where you can decide if you want to read either Syl or Viola's point of view first. This allows the reader to get both sides of the same accident.

I really liked the idea of this novel, but I found both narrators to be kind of toxic and annoying.

This book was totally different from my typical read based on the structure. It was fun choosing which side to read first. The story line was okay, what kept me reading was the fact that I needed to know what actually happened. Ultimately, I gave this 3 stars. Wasn’t the best read but okay.

Thank you for the opportunity to read!

(I received this book as a digital ARC courtesy of Skyscape, Amazon Publishing Group and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review)

Okay, I will be completely honest: this was a book that did not capture my attention straight away - and perhaps it's true that I was just a bit influenced by the many reviews I'd read saying that it wasn't actually as good as it seemed, or that it was a waste of a really good plot getting lost in translation. But let me tell you one thing: I'm so glad I let my curiosity over this story win, as I chose to ignore all the BS I had read online and picked it back up instead of throwing this book into my infamous "DNF dungeon" because by the time I was like halfway done with Viola's part... my oh my, I simply couldn't put it down.

Now, even though I did spend a pretty good part of the book not liking Viola over the fact that she seemed to be an annoying brat —or, as I called her in one of my tweets: a B*tch™ with a capital B—, I have to say that (at least for the first half of the book) I found both of them almost unbearably insufferable. Still, I actually ended up liking Vi a lot! Maybe she wasn't perfect, sure, she had plenty of flaws and certainly wasn't an angel - but I wholeheartedly believe she deserved the redemption she got.
And as for Syl... well, I honestly don't have much to say about her without spoiling the main events of this story. She did nothing remarkable; all she was nothing but a bitter loser and a prick so! Good riddance, I guess!

Overall, this was a great book and definitely worth the read. Given the chance, I'd love to buy it to add to my physical shelf.

Having previously read and enjoyed other works from the author, I got into this story with a healthy dose of curiosity.

The premise of following the events from both pov spoke to me and not knowing who spoke the truth spoke to me. Unfortunately, I don't feel like it was properly executed. Reading and finishing one pov takes away the suspense one would feel reading the other pov. The pacing was too slow for me, and it wasn't interesting enough for me to want to read the story twice, even if it was from a different pov.

Looking at the other reviews, this is probably a "me" problem. Unfortunately this wasn't for me.

two childhood friends, Syl and Viola, have a complicated, secretive bond that unravels tragically when Syl is found dead and Viola disappears. Told through alternating perspectives, this psychological suspense novel lets readers choose which side of the story to hear first, as both girls' truths come to light in a shocking twist.

Dead Girls Don't Talk gives readers a choose your own story at the very beginning of the book. I found this to be a quite unique way to write a thriller and enjoyed the concept. Sylvia and Viola are best friends and after Sylvia dies in a tragic accident, we learn the events that led to Sylvia's death.

The writing of the novel was well done. The typical story arcs of friendship and growing up in a high school setting are present with tenuous friendship (Viola getting annoyed with having Sylvia around all the time).

I found the character building and depth was very well done. Sylvia is a complex character and she feels inferior to her best friend Viola. She is a wallflower while Viola commands attention. Viola and Sylvia fight a lot more than they get along, as Viola resents Sylvia for taking up her parents' attention and never having space on her own.

The dual point of view sections of the book was well done. I read the novel in chronological order with Sylvia's point of view first. We learn that Sylvia has died in a car accident, and Sylvia claims Viola moved her body to put Sylvia at fault. Themes of betrayal, lies, jealousy, and coming into your own are prevalent throughout the novel.

The imagery in the writing style is well done. The way the author writes about Sylvia looking in on her dead body at the opening of the book painted a vivid picture!

Given the overall theme the ending left me a bit disappointed. But overall i really enjoyed this read.