Dead Girls Don’t Talk has one of those concepts that immediately caught my attention: two girls, one dead and one missing, and two versions of the same twisted story. Told through dual POVs—Syl, the dead girl found behind the wheel of her best friend’s car, and Viola, the one who disappeared without a trace—the book gives readers the option to choose which side of the story they want to read first. That interactive structure alone had me intrigued, and I appreciated the author’s attempt to play with format and perspective.

At its core, this is a story about a complicated, messy friendship. Syl and Viola have a bond that toes the line between deep sisterhood and unhealthy obsession. They live in a small town where everyone has secrets, and both girls carry more emotional baggage than they let on. The unraveling of what led to that fatal night is slow and layered with misdirection, jealousy, and the fallout of being a teen girl in a place that doesn't give you room to breathe.

That said, the unique structure was a bit of a double-edged sword. While the dual narrative setup was fresh, it also made the story harder to follow than it needed to be—especially with the frequent jumps in time and perspective. I found the beginning a bit disorienting, and it took me a while to connect with either character. The emotional depth is there, but it sometimes got lost under the shifting timelines and occasionally flat dialogue. Once the story settled into its rhythm, I found myself more engaged, but it did take some patience to get there.

Still, Dead Girls Don’t Talk offers something different in the YA psychological thriller space. It plays with perception, loyalty, and how far people will go to protect—or destroy—each other. If you’re into unreliable narrators, dark coming-of-age stories, and don’t mind putting in a bit of effort to follow a nonlinear plot, this one may be worth a read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Skyscape for the advance reader’s copy!

4★

Wow! This was such an interesting read. It’s a story about the death of a girl, Syl, and her ex-best friend, Viola, who is the alleged culprit of said girls’ death. This is a book where half of it is written in the perspective of the dead girl, and the other half of the best friend.

What’s super cool about this book is you can choose whose perspective to read first, and then read the other before moving on to the ending. I decided to go with Syl’s perspective first, and then Viola’s, which I think is the best way to read it.

This was an intriguing read and I sped through it. I didn’t wanna put it down. I was captivated by the start, especially with the story of how the friendship ended, and how one of them ended up dead.

Honestly, the ending was so shocking. I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t that! There was plot twist after plot twist!

My only negative, is that I think the ending was a little bit rushed. I wanted to really see things play out afterwards, and it was not a huge revelation. I was dumbfounded by the actions of two specific characters, and how they made the other out to be the bad guy.

I was honestly conflicted by the very end on who I really believed, but overall, it was a fun and interesting read!

The set up of this book with the dual viewpoints is a home run. I loved the clear set up of the dual POVs. I couldn't devour this fast enough. The twists were diabolical. Enjoyed from front to back.

This was peak freak4freak friendship. Two best friends, one dead, another missing - two sides of the story. Sounds like the perfect setup for a mind-blowing read, right? And honestly, it was.

The book is split into Syl’s and Viola’s POVs, and you get to decide which one to read first—the dead girl’s version of events or the one who lived—super cool concept, had me hooked. The plot itself is solid, but the writing in the beginning felt kinda dry? It only started hitting when the vibe shifted to something more tense and gripping. After that, I was all in.

The constant timeline jumps were so confusing, I had to literally write down timestamps to keep track of what was happening when. But once I powered through that, the emotions started landing.

'Part Two' of Syl’s section, where she dives deep into her and Viola’s friendship (or how it began, at the very least), was chef’s kiss—the kind of bittersweet nostalgia that makes you want to text your childhood bestie ASAP 🥹

Plot twist after plot twist, tragedy after tragedy, and people keep dying 😭 this book does not let up. If you’re gonna pick this up, be prepared for it.

This was GOOD!! I loved the option it gave to choose who’s side of the story you could start with. I’ve not seen that before. The plot was there and I wasn’t expecting the ending but also I still didn’t trust V a lot .

I enjoyed this storyline and absolutely love the concept of a choose-your-own-adventure/choose-your-own-perspective book. I struggled to feel many aspects were believable though. For example, throwing in WhatsApp felt very random and out of touch with what conservative small town characters would do? Some of the dialogue felt very forced and unrealistic for how two teenagers who have a lot of shared history would interact. Overally, I did enjoy reading the book and it was a quick read. Many thanks to Skyscape and NetGalley for the advanced e-reader copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

An excellent read for any and all readers! Author comes at you with both barrels and knocks you out of your shoes! Great job fleshing out all the characters. I give this book FIVE stars! Definitely recommend!

There’s so much but so little going on here. A ton of ‘plot twists’ but nothing is fullllly fleshed out in my opinion. I understand that Viola is the villain but genuinely she is the WORST. Her one page ‘redemption’ was a fucking joke. The choose your own adventure aspect is interesting, but the only redeeming factor of this book.

Review also posted on goodreads.

2.75/5

I chose to read Syl's POV then Viola's POV, though it was an interesting option to read their parts in either order. Personally I found there to be too much repetition between the two POVs and not enough individual characterization. I would have appreciated more individual experiences for each girl to round out their motivations and decisions instead of repeating back the same scenes with barely any added internal character.

I found the scenes between Steve and Viola to sound more like a choppy interview rather than natural dialogue. It seemed too structured and their questions and answers alternating took me out of the narrative. The conversation between Annie and Syl flowed better and I was more immersed in their discussion.

Because of the amount of repetition between the two POVs, I found the second recounting of events (for me, from Viola's POV) to be unnecessary which is a bummer because I wanted to love the dual POVs. I wonder if I'd feel the same way if I'd switched the sequence and did Syl second?

Overall, I found the book anticlimactic and dull without a surprising twist or lasting story to recall back to. This wasn't a book for me.

Thanks to Skyscape and NetGalley for the ARC of this edition for my review.

A psychological thriller unlike any other, being available in a flipover edition that allows readers to choose which side of the book they want to read first. The concept itself is intriguing and makes for a riveting read where each side gradually reveals more about what really happened.

The novel follows two viewpoints—the Dead Girl and the Runner—unreliable narrators with something to hide. Their accounts don't quite coincide, and readers will have to piece together the truth themselves. The tension is nicely constructed, and the mystery of what went on in that car is compelling enough to keep the pages turning.

However, while the dual POV structure is an excellent hook, the execution doesn't entirely follow through. There are a few timeline and detail discrepancies that make the story feel disjointed in places, and the characters' motivations could have been explored more deeply. Instead of reading like two completely different stories, the tales too often read like they were merely filling in missing details rather than actively contradicting or clashing with each other.

The mood is assisted by the location—Harbour Hill, a small conservative town full of secrets—although the novel doesn't quite reach its potential. The conclusion, although attempting to be a shocking surprise, was somewhat of an anticlimax and left a few loose ends that could have been tied up better.

Overall, Dead Girls Don't Talk is a fast and fun read with a truly intriguing concept, but the execution doesn't entirely match up to its promise. If you enjoy thrillers with unreliable narrators and an unconventional narrative technique, it's worth checking out—just don't expect perfection.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC copy to review.

Dead Girls Don't Talk is a twisty turny mystery told by two narrators who might not be giving you the whole truth. This book is unique in which you can pick which character's point of view to start with - the dead or the living. With two unreliable narrators, you never know what might come out.

This book is excellent for young adult murder mystery fans and for those who enjoy teen dramas. If you're a fan of CW dramas, this is a good pick for you. Family drama and small town drama are added bonuses, with LGBT+ themes.

It's hard to pick a favorite character or a favorite moment, but as a murder mystery fan, the reveal always winds up being my favorite and that's true here as well. It's well worth reading to the end to find out all of the secrets.

First and foremost, I have to say that the way that this book is structured is so unique. I loved the way that the reader can decide which character's side they can read first! I thought this was genius and reminded me of cluedo! I loved the way readers are given a snapshot of each girl's story before deciding which one to read first. This is definitely going to open up some heated discussions in book clubs!

As a thriller and mystery reader myself, there are certain aspects of a book that I tend to look out for. My number one is short chapters. With thriller books, it is so easy to get bored or lost in a long chapter of a book. However, this book absolutely nailed the short chapters. It keeps the readers more engaged and feels like you are reading quicker.

Another thing that I look for in books is a first-person writing style, and this book nailed that too. I find it much easier to follow books that are spoken in first person, and I like being able to see what the character is thinking, it is like being inside the characters mind.

This book is a must for Thriller and Mystery readers, it is fast paced, and I know that you will not be bored reading this. The concept is very unique, and I would definitely recommend this book!

This book was unique! I loved how you could choose which character’s POV to read first. I chose to go with Syl first, followed by Viola.

This book started out with Syl dead in Viola’s car while Viola was missing, and I thought it was going to be super twisty and exciting (especially with the paranormal aspect). Unfortunately, it fell a bit flat for me. The storyline follows the events leading up to the car crash and I felt like both sides of the story were too similar. Some of the smaller twists were predictable and the ending wasn’t anything that left my jaw on the floor. I do feel like the story picked up in the last few chapters and I found myself flying through the pages to find out what happened. I just wish the whole book had kept me that engaged.

Overall, I enjoyed the story and I liked the characters! (Except for both of the mothers). I hated how they both treated their daughters. It was clear why both Syl and Viola acted out the way they did with their difficult family dynamics.

Thank you NetGalley and Skyscape for the ARC of this revised edition!

Thank you Netgalley for the copy.

This was ok! Based off the description I expected to enjoy this one a lot more. I really enjoyed the format of how you read both the girls stories but at the same time it felt very long getting through certain parts of the stories due to this. I also was not suprised at all that the author of this book was not American as the geography and certain things the characters did not seem correct as an American (e.g. certain phrases, the drive to NYU, the fact a teen boy made tea lololol amongst other things....like yes you CAN drive to NYU and a teen boy can make tea it just felt weird to me). Also the description said Viola is planning go to Princeton while it was really UCLA she was trying to go to and I'm just very confused by all the places, this wasn't major but I can't get over it.

It was a cool twist at the end and I all in all enjoyed it.

This one was interesting! I loved how you could choose which character to start with - reminded me of those "choose your own adventure" books that were big in the 90s! Either way, this story follows Syl and Viola who were seemingly BFFs until Syl is found dead in the driver's seat of Viola's car with Viola nowhere to be found.

I really liked the premise, but I had trouble with the character development. Syl and Viola felt both too underdeveloped but also unrealistically detailed? Like I'm still not totally sure what exactly happened with the car crash and why they had a falling out because their personalities read very surface level, but then Paul used such complex word choices that, as a teacher myself, I never hear teens using. I know the entire purpose was to have unreliable narrators, but neither friend was developed enough to leave me wanting more. The writing felt vague and overly formal for YA.

I can see some younger readers liking this one, but overall, it wasn't for me. Thank you for the ARC!

Dead Girls Don’t Talk really caught my attention. I really thought it was a cool book and being able to pick which story to start first. Unfortunately, I feel like both stories were too similar.

It was the concept of this book that really appealed to me, getting both sides of the story from two potentially untrustworthy people. That was definitely cool, but it was really the main redeeming factor.
The twists were either super obvious or so out of nowhere you literally could not have predicted them, and I think what bothered me most was how the characters talk. Even though they’re 15-17 they talk closer to 30 year old who have had a lot of therapy and it’s just kinda weird.

Dark, twisted and an expected story about a dead girl and a runaway. Written in both point of views, and you choose which story to read first.
Who’s telling the truth? Who’s not?

It start as medium paced, then gets faster that you will not be able to out it down until you find out the truth.

Definitely recommended to anyone who wants to read a thriller but with a different twist, and especially to Pretty Little Lairs fans.

Thank you NetGalley & Skyscape for this arc copy!

Dead Girls Don’t Talk will be out on July 29, 2025.

this was so bad i don’t even know where to start.

i’ll be nice first: the concept and idea of Dead Girls Don’t Talk is good, like a book with two POVs of the same happenings sounds super interesting, a story where the villain depends on who tells the story and that tackles themes like revenge or morality or something, but the execution just is not there. there was potential but it got absolutely massacred by the stupidness of everything.
this book wasn’t bad in a Twilight kind of way, it was bad in a “someone get this lady an editor PLEASE” way
the best way i can explain this kind of writing is: it’s as if the author wrote the whole thing in Dutch, then copy-pasted everything in google translate, and it got published with 0 editorial revisions. i’m not judging because i know how hard it is to write in a language that isn’t your native one, but for god’s sake get an editor. the amount of grammatical mistakes and repetitiveness in the prose was enough to make me want to throw a dictionary and thesaurus at whoever thought “hm, yes, this makes total sense”. words are used wrongly and the only reason i understood them in the context was because i speak Dutch and could guess the author’s thought-process, but otherwise a “discussion” is not a synonym for a heated argument. a discussion is something you have with your boss or teacher in a normal manner. that’s what happens with words literally translated from Dutch to English: they usually don’t have the same meaning.
aside from that, the sentences were choppy and static, and oh my god don’t even get me started on the dialogue. these are supposed to be American teenagers but the whole time i was just screaming “NO ONE TALKS LIKE THISSS” because no one does!! i have never met a teenager that used the words “reverie” or “circumvent” unironically. and this could’ve been overlooked if that was the point, like a creative choice or whatever, but these kind of words are just thrown in there with no rhyme or reason among the other repetitive words that I just thought “yeah, she google translated this”. among other things, like i think it would have been better if the author wrote and published everything in Dutch and got a translator to help so the book can be enjoyable in English, instead of a frankly good sounding story being brought down by the bad grammar and structure. but again, just get an editor.
the story and characters. everyone and everything is so boring. for a YA, i found it awfully hard to relate to any of the characters. mainly because they literally had no depth. their personalities are their flaws only. and it’s told that Viola and Syl were besties but then not anymore or whatever, but we don’t get any proof of that. dynamics between characters should be shown, not told. especially not repetitively, every two pages, as if the reader has short-term memory loss. the characters feel unreal and almost silly. and the lack of side characters?? Viola and Syl are supposed to be teenagers going to school, but their worlds seem to be nothing other than family. and again, this wasn’t the point. “Viola sits with her friends” who are these friends? what are their names? sure, they might not be important but it gives a sense of realism for this teenage main character to know her friends’ names at least. and they can give the reader insight on how the MC is. is she nice to her friends? which ones does she not like? why? literally basic questions a writer should have figured out at the beginning. these are supposed to be actual people but they just felt like accessories to the main plot which is one of the worst things an author can do.
i physically could not care about the story. the only thing i liked was Syl being a ghost and maybe Annie, but again, she has no personality so i don’t think the bar is very high. i thought i was being mean because of the writing, but the more i read, the more i realized it’s not just the writing. it’s the tacky dialogue, the flat characters, the Belgian-ness in a supposedly American story, the non-existent dynamics, the constant “tell” instead of show and tell. it’s just so ugh.
also FYI no one in America uses WhatsApp other than immigrant families, so not white teenagers in a rich suburban christian conservative town.

final thoughts: the potential was there, the execution massacred it

1.25⭐️

The premise for this book was intriguing but when I first started reading I was a little bored. It felt a little like a story I’ve read so many times. But after a few chapters it started picking up and I got into it. I loved that it told Syl and Violas stories in two separate parts. I loved that both characters were unreliable narrators and the fact that you kind of had to figure out what was the truth within each story. I feel like the book showed the reality that we all have a different version of the same story because we all experience things in our own way. The ending really tied it all together! I was shocked at what actually happened in that car but it all made sense! Overall this book was really good and I’d highly recommend it!!