Welcome to Bleak Haven! The town’s name says it all. A town that loves to mourn. A town built on tragedy. A town with a sinister history full of serial killers.

It is 2025 with tech everywhere and be used for sinister purposes. Flyers are posted all over the school asking “Are you ready to be murdered?” with a QR code that leads to a website. Swipe to die!

Ava is a student that wants to become a detective because she thinks her Uncle is innocent of murdering a family out of nowhere. With these flyers going up and deepfake videos being posted, she must put her detective skills to work. Her family is under scrutiny and she will not have them go through this pain again.

The idea of this story is very intriguing but unfortunately it fell short. It was very slow and the ending/reveal was very anticlimactic. I love slasher style reads which is what kept me reading.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for this eARC for review consideration. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart to the author, St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for allowing me the privilege of being able to read this book! I truly appreciate i!

My gosh! I know this sounds morbid and twisted but this book was so much fun! Despite being classed as teen and YA, please don't hesitate at all to pick up this book if you love or are in need of a really good horror/ mystery story no matter your age! The teen/ YA genre has been hitting it out of the park for me this year for thriller/ horror/ mystery reads. This had absolutely everything I look for in one!

You've got fantastic well fleshed out characters, an incredible storyline with zero plot holes, a killer you're going to hate, and multiple twists you might consider as an option. Those twists were such wicked fun, they were exactly what I wanted to see and were done so flawlessly! The nods to the town's dark history well not supernatural in the same aspect have the absolutely delicious pull and feel of Stephen King's Castle Rock series or potentially even R.L. Stines Fear Street movie series on Netflix and I can't wait to see where this series heads! I really can't get this book out of my head! This is honestly all you're looking for in the thriller/ mystery/ horror genre and so much more!

In and amongst this story you also have the absolute most thought provoking views on AI and deepfakes I've ever seen. Ones that teens and young adults today really need to know and be able to consider, and a fantastic swift reminder to all adults about what to look out for and that such a thing is a horrific possibility. The combination of that aspect with the full story itself is nothing short of haunting and I loved every minute of it!

Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for allowing me the absolute privilege of being able to read this book! I loved it!

Ava has always been known as the niece of a serial killer, so when a new craze called Swipe to Die takes over Bleak Haven High, Ava refuses to join in. Soon, AI-generated versions of students will be murdered in their own slasher movie moments. Everyone thinks it's fun and games until deep fakes are being replicated in real life. When Ava finds connections between the deep fakes and the murders her uncle committed, Ava is determined to find out who the killer is.

Dead Fake gives me all the Fear Street vibes with a town that seems to be plagued by serial killers in its history. I loved the implementation of new technology, such as AI, in a thriller, and I can definitely see the Swipe to Die website being popular in High Schools. Who doesn’t want to see how they would fare in a slasher movie? This book kept me guessing, and the twist at the end was a surprise. I am excited to dig into the next book in this series. Dead Fake is the perfect book for YA thriller fans or readers just starting to get into the genre.

Dead Fake is out January 20th, 2026.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to review Dead Fake. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Vincent Ralph’s “Dead Fake” is a fast-paced, bloody YA slasher with the eerie, small-town vibe of R.L. Stine’s Fear Street. Set in a town seemingly cursed by constant tragedies, the story follows Ava, a girl haunted by her family’s past. Years ago, her uncle went on a horrific murder spree. This tragic event left deep scars on both her and the community. Now, when a disturbing new app called Swipe or Die starts circulating deep fake death videos of students, Ava finds herself at the center of yet another nightmare as the line between virtual horror and real-life murder collapses. The book doesn’t shy away from gore and graphic descriptions, making it better suited for older YA readers, so be aware of the content before reading/buying this book.

One of the strong points of this book that sets it apart from standard horror slashes is how the story tackles timely issues, particularly the dangers of AI-generated content and our cultural obsession with true crime. While I did find the commentary a bit heavy-handed and preachy at times, and I also found some parts too philosophical for teenage voices, I did appreciate the way Ralph brings societal concerns into his slasher narrative.

Ava’s inner conflict is one of the strongest parts of the book; she still loves her uncle despite the horrors he committed, and this complex emotional thread adds depth to the story. The adults in the novel, refreshingly, aren’t useless bystanders but competent figures who actually contribute to the investigation, especially the police even though they aren’t especially prominent in the story.

The structure keeps things engaging, with survivor transcripts from her uncle’s spree sprinkled throughout, offering both subtle clues and added tension. Some suspension of disbelief is required regarding how Ava stumbles into so many murder scenes, but the suspense and the shocking twist more than make up for it. The identity of the killer, and the reasoning behind the crimes, is both surprising and satisfying, leaving the door open for future installments.

Overall, “Dead Fake” is a gripping, quick read that blends slasher thrills with chilling commentary on technology and society. If you grew up on Fear Street or love guessing the killer’s identity in twisty YA thrillers, Vincent Ralph delivers exactly that—and leaves you eager to pick up the next book in the series.

First book down, another to go. Is this a duology or a start of a series? We shall see. 😌

Bleak Haven feels very reminiscent of Shadyside. But instead of one street where bad things happen, it's the whole town. And I'm here for this vibe. Obviously.

Dead Fake gives us some minor background to the town filled with loss and killers. This one sticks with Ava and her still handling the fact that her beloved Uncle Miles killed a family and died never providing the why. Now someone is killing with his signatures after creating an AI site where you can watch yourself die. Only some are actually dying after the fact.

I really liked the plot twist. I did NOT see the real killer. I had my eyes on someone else entirely. So this was a nice surprise. Looking forward to diving into Night Terror as I got both ARCs back to back.

Thank you Wednesday Books and Netgalley for this eARC, these opinions are my own. I absolutely loved this! Ava lives in Bleak Haven, a town that’s known for death. A town that’s seen more murderers than any other. The last of which was ten years. In which a man named Miles killed a family, leaving only their youngest child alive. No one knows why he did it. The thing is it’s personal to Ava, Miles was her uncle. Ava still had trouble reconciling the man who showed her so much love with the man who killed three people. Her family gets hate over what he did, and she deals with constant guilt over still loving him. Now someone has created an app that shows you how you would get murdered based on some questions. She tries to get people to see it’s not a joke, but their high schoolers so of course many of them use it. They’re obsessed with how people die, but the whole thing makes Ava sick. And when people actually start to die she’ll have to work to figure out who’s doing it especially if she wants to keep more people from dying. The more she investigates the more she sees patterns between her Uncle’s murders and now. Is this a copycat? Or was, as she’s always felt, her Uncle innocent? Either way Ava finds herself in the crosshairs of a killer, can she survive? Or will she be just another Bleak Haven casualty? I was hooked and I couldn’t put it down! Fast paced, thrilling, mysterious, and kept me guessing! Plenty of heartfelt and gut wrenching moments as well! This is one of two Vincent Ralph books coming out on 1/20/26.

Thank you netgalley for this ARC and i plan on reading the 2nd book in this series shortly after i finished this one honestly at this point vincent is an auto read author of mine i really enjoy his books and when i found out he had TWO new ones i had to read them.. This book was a great one i enjoyed the characters but mainly the storyline was really good it put an AI spin on it seeing as AI is everywhere now this novel follows our main character who is the niece of someone who is notoriously known for murder and she starts school and notices people are using an app called Swipe or Die and what it basically is on the app is the app shows students having a deep fake death scene but when people start actually getting killed the town and our main character thinks she might be getting caught up in another situation because of who are uncle is. I will say the twist at the end i wasnt expecting and i thought that was really good regarding who the killer was this was definitely a quick read and fast paced and i kept reading because i wanted to know what happened next im really excited to read the 2nd one because the synopsis sounds great too! If you like slasher books/ YA this is a great book!

GUYS YALL NEED TO READ THIS BOOK. The author was so kind as to send this to me, and wow. It was so much better than I anticipated. Honestly, thrillers are very hit or miss for me, and this one was a hit. I loved the twists and turns, and the twist at the end really got me. Amazing read!

Gripping and haunting, Dead Fake explores the human obsession with all things true crime and combines it with reflections on all things unregulated AI use.

I absolutely loved the writing. It takes some time to get used to, but once you do, the book becomes unputdownable. I had to know who was behind the killings. Was it the same person who created Swipe to Die? Or was it a seemingly random person?

You know how I love guessing the ending, gathering clues on who the killer is, but Dead Fake was able to trick me and the twist was INSANE. Highly recommend.

I’m definitely here for the Fear Street vibes. This was a really entertaining story and I liked all the characters. I pegged the killer, but I thought it was a good twist. All in all, a solid thriller. And I’m interested in reading the rest of the series.

Thanks to NetGalley for the copy of this ARC. This will be out in January of 2026.

And he's done it again.

If you've been here a while, you might remember how much I loved 14 Ways to Die by the same author. It even made it into my top 5 of 2024, and now I get to relive the same feeling.

Dead Fake is everything I ever wanted from Fear Street. The seemingly cursed town, where tragedies are the daily reality, is haunted by a killer. Again. What started as a morbid joke and a way to get attention, has now been tainted by a real life human murderer, instead of a AI-generated Deep Fake, and Ava and her friends need to find a way to stop them before its too late.

While Ava is still haunted by her uncles untimely murder spree, it seems like he's coming back from the grave, bringing past memories she's tried to bury for almost a decade. Was it really him, who killed those people all these years ago? Or are we dealing with a set up?

Gripping and haunting, Dead Fake explores the human obsession with all things true crime and combines it with reflections on all things unregulated AI use.

I absolutely loved the writing. It takes some time to get used to, but once you do, the book becomes unputdownable. I had to know who was behind the killings. Was it the same person who created Swipe to Die? Or was it a seemingly random person?

You know how I love guessing the ending, gathering clues on who the killer is, but Dead Fake was able to trick me and the twist was INSANE. Highly recommend.

Wow! I powered through this one as I couldn't stop reading! High school student, Ava can't get any dates as her Uncle Miles was a serial killer. But then the students begin getting notes about a new "game" called Swipe or Die. And then things get ugly...! If you've ever worried about AI or the future of technology, you need to read this (with the lights on)!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

Since 2019 Vincent Ralph has impressed greatly with a run of edgy thrillers which lean heavily into horror, Are You Watching? (2019) Lock the Doors (2021), Secrets Never Die (2023) and One House Left (2024). The most recent of these books was previously reviewed on Ginger Nuts and his latest Dead Fake is another spicy page-turning horror thriller which will have you guessing until the final pages. In the great tradition of Scream, and the hundreds of imitations it spawned, good luck guessing the killer, as it’s always the person you least expect, but is also nicely fitted into the backstory. Set in the town of Bleak Haven, which has more than its fair share of serial killers, hell, even the main character’s home room teacher is a surviving Final Girl from a serial killer rampage several decades earlier! Vincent Ralph will be returning to Bleak Haven for the already announced Night Terror (although ‘Click to Kill’ would have equally cool.

Dead Fake does not do much new but does it very well by adding a realistic and thoughtful plot about Deep Fakes into its narrative. Written in the first person, our main character is teenager Ava Wilson whose uncle ten years earlier murdered a family of neighbours. Even though a decade has past Eva has struggled to get over it and busies herself by writing for the school newspaper and staying close to her family. Early in the plot a website appears called ‘Swipe or Die’ in which AI generated versions of her classmates are killed off in slasher horror film fashion. Her best friend and newspaper editor is the first to die, others follow, and then the murders start for real and Ava finds herself in the middle of the action and makes connections to her dead uncle. Dead Fake quickly develops into a clever and speedy thriller and was equally convincing in how it approached Deep Fakes, with the idea then teenage girls might live in fear than some classmate might Deep Fake them nude or worse. A lot of the action was set in the local high school and it was easy to see how such websites can snowball. A highly recommended page-turner, which like all good horrors deserves a sequel. Although the characters were older teens, there was little graphic violence, so sex and hardly any swearing. AGE RANGE 13+

Unique, relevant premise although a bit far fetched. Like why don’t these folks just leave!? Fun characters despite the morbid scenario. Writing style has improved since the author’s previous. It’s a fun, mindless read that I think others will enjoy!

This one was slightly disappointing. The whole thing, from the overall plot execution to the bizarre leaps in logic could've used more edits. This read like a messy first draft. It was clear that we were meant to be invested in this town, Bleak Haven, but I just wasn't. There wasn't enough information about the town's past to make me want more. It just felt like a cheap knockoff of Fear Street's Shadyside. The protagonist was dull and very uninteresting, and the slasher aspects of the novel were very underwhelming. Hopefully the series will improve with future installments. More to come on TikTok.