Whispers of Dead Girls: A Novel by Marlee Bush
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
A decade has passed since Ren left her hometown, but now she’s back, accepting a job at her old high school.
She’s hoping the position will help her find some sort of closure regarding her traumatic past, and the death of her older sister when the two were teens.
Back in the school, Ren is unprepared for the wave of memories and emotions that come rushing back to her. Additionally, there was a bit of a scandal wrapped-up in her sister’s death, and people sometimes still whisper about it.
For her part, Ren will never forget the days and events leading up to tragedy, but being back is causing her to see things a little differently.
We get a bit of past and present, as well as a current situation involving one of her coworkers, a physics teacher, Mr. Lewis. Ren becomes suspicious of him, fearing history will soon repeat itself. She vows, not on her watch.
While Whispers of Dead Girls was compelling and enticing, it did sort of tick me off, NGL. I’ve been thinking on it for a while, anticipating that resounding sense of annoyance with it would dissipate in time, yet it hasn’t.
With this being said, most of the journey to get to the conclusion kept me entertained and invested. I was sucked into both the past and present timelines.
Additionally, I loved the set-up of the MC returning to their hometown after a long period of time away, and investigating a circumstance that seems reminiscent of something she herself had gone through. This returning MC aspect is actually one of my favorite tropes.
I also liked how Ren was an unreliable narrator. I never knew what she was going to do next. Nevertheless, the resolutions she came to, I was sort of miffed by all that.
So much so, that in a way, it started to feel like a waste of my time. Though I can acknowledge this is a good story, and I think Bush pulled off a lot of great twists and turns, I still feel a slight sense of distaste about how it all played out.
I wish I could say more about this, but I can’t without spoiling major reveals, and I’m not about to do that. I still want others to enjoy this book and I know many will.
It does have many strong aspects, it’s a good story, but at the end of the day, I rate based on my personal reading experience, and this one left me a wee bit perturbed.
Thank you to the publisher, Poisoned Pen Press, for providing me with a copy to read and review.
I’ll definitely be picking up more from this author.