The Dead Girls Club by Damien Angelica Walters

3 Stars

Publisher: Crooked Lane Books

Date of publication: December 10th, 2019

Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller, Suspense

Where you can find The Dead Girls Club: Barnes and Noble | Amazon | BookBub

Book Synopsis:

A supernatural thriller in the vein of A Head Full of Ghosts about two young girls, a scary story that becomes far too real, and the tragic–and terrifying–consequences that follow one of them into adulthood.

Red Lady, Red Lady, show us your face…

In 1991, Heather Cole and her friends were members of the Dead Girls Club. Obsessed with the macabre, the girls exchanged stories about serial killers and imaginary monsters, like the Red Lady, the spirit of a vengeful witch killed centuries before. Heather knew the stories were just that, until her best friend Becca began insisting the Red Lady was real–and she could prove it.

That belief got Becca killed.

It’s been nearly thirty years, but Heather has never told anyone what really happened that night–that Becca was right and the Red Lady was real. She’s done her best to put that fateful summer, Becca, and the Red Lady, behind her. Until a familiar necklace arrives in the mail, a necklace Heather hasn’t seen since the night Becca died.

The night Heather killed her.

Now, someone else knows what she did…and they’re determined to make Heather pay. 

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First Line:

There’s nothing special about the envelope.

The Dead Girls Club by Damien Angelica Walters

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My Review:

When I read the blurb for The Dead Girls Club, I was intrigued. I loved the idea that the blurb presented. While I did like the book, I found it confusing to read at times.

The Dead Girls Club is split into two storylines. Now and Then. The author did identify when it was Now or Then’s chapters. I am not a massive fan of dual storylines, but in this case, it was needed. I do wish that the book started with a Then chapter because I was a little confused about the necklace and why it scared Heather so bad.

Even though the book had dual storylines, the author was able to keep the flow of the story going. There were parts of the book, though, where the plotline lagged. That happened mainly towards the end of the book.

I do wish that the Red Witch was more of a presence in the book. That story wasn’t even introduced until the middle of the book. It wasn’t mentioned regularly until the last half of the book. It was the whole reason why I read the book.

I didn’t like Heather in either storyline. In the Now storyline, she was becoming unhinged. At first, I got why she was so freaked out about the necklace. Then she became obsessed. She started cyberstalking/stalking people. She wasn’t focusing on her job. I will say that I wasn’t surprised when everything imploded. The same goes for her behavior in the Then chapters. I will say that Becca knew how to manipulate Heather into doing what she wanted, and Heather didn’t fail to deliver.

I did feel bad for Becca. How horrible was her life that she needed to make up stories? And to alienate the only person who truly understood what was going on? As weird as this sounds, I do wish a couple of chapters had been written from Becca’s perspective. That way, I could have gotten a better handle on what was going through her head. I also couldn’t believe that any observant adult would notice the bruises and everything else that was going on with her.

I am going to age myself here, but I was the same age as Heather and Becca were in The Dead Girls Club. Just reading some of the things that they did, the music they listened too, and the clothing they wore sent me back to that time. Like Heather and Becca, I was interested in some of the same things they were. One memorable time of reciting “Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary,” and using the Ouija board is seared into my brain. But it ended when our parents found out, and we all got into trouble. No one dies (well, one girl was convinced Bloody Mary showed up and scratched her legs up), and we all grew up to be who we are today.

There were two big plot twists in The Dead Girls Club. I didn’t see either of them coming. Honestly, there was a point in the book where I did think the same thing as Heather. Then, when it was revealed, I was stunned. But, I was even more shocked by what was revealed towards the end of the book. It came out of nowhere. I had to put the book down and say, “Are you flipping kidding me???”

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I would give The Dead Girls Club an Adult rating. There is sex. There is language. There is violence. I would recommend that no one under the age of 21 read this book.

I am on the fence if I would reread The Dead Girls Club. I am also on the fence if I would recommend it to family and friends.

**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**