DEAD GIRLS TALKING
For fans of Making a Murderer and Karen M. McManus
The town of Wolf Ridge calls him The Smiley Face Killer. Bettina Holland calls him her father.
Everyone knows Bettina’s father murdered her mother a decade ago. It’s the subject of true crime podcasts, murder tours, and even a highly anticipated docuseries. But after growing up grappling with what that means, a string of copycat murders forces Bett to answer a harder question: What if he didn’t?
Old-money Bett must team up with the only person willing to investigate alongside her: bookish goth girl Eugenia, the mortician’s daughter, who everyone says puts the makeup on corpses. Can this “true crime princess” unmask a murderer who’s much closer to home than she ever imagined?
Gritty, gripping, and propulsive from page one, Dead Girls Talking is a ride for readers who love to see girls get their hands dirty as they claw their way to the truth. Peterson’s knife-sharp thriller cuts deep, with a wicked sense of humor, a wire-taut atmosphere, and a deadly serious approach to bigger issues of justice and female anger. This is the perfect spooky read for Halloween!
AS FEATURED ON THE NERD DAILY AND THE STAR TRIBUNE
"Spine-tingling."—Booklist
"Engrossing. This is a book you won't want to put down."—Crystal J. Bell, author of The Lamplighter
Reviews
“Written starkly…Even seasoned thriller readers will find [it] spine-tingling."
—Booklist
"Not only is Dead Girls Talking an engrossing mystery led by two unlikely friends, but a journey through grief and its many facets. Particularly when privacy and tact are disregarded for curiosity and entertainment. This is a book you won’t want to put down."
—Crystal J. Bell, author of The Lamplighter
“This fast-paced serial murder mystery is loaded with thrilling moments and complex questions that readers will stick around to see answered.”
—School Library Journal
“Grab a flashlight— you’ll be staying up late to solve the twisty mystery of the Smiley Face Killer. Dead Girls Talking will be your next true crime obsession!”
—Erin A. Craig, #1 New York Times bestselling author of House of Salt and Sorrows
“Dead Girls Talking is a dark, propulsive thriller packed with suspects and secrets, made even more compelling by the unlikely friendship that drives the story forward. Readers will be hooked from the very first page, insisting “one more chapter” until they’ve devoured the whole book.”
–Megan Collins, author of The Family Plot