In the vein of Jennifer Hillier and Lisa Jewell, Jen Williams melds grisly urban legends and macabre secrets in a haunting and propulsive read that will linger long after the last page.
When Charlie was eleven, she created a monster…
In the seaside town of Hithechurch, England, eleven-year-old Charlotte meets Emily, a clever and secretive girl her own age with a dark family history. In an attempt to get rid of Emily’s abusive father, Charlie and Emily perform a ritual to try and summon the spirit of a Hithechurch girl of urban legend—named Stitch Face Sue by Charlie—who was killed by pirates and supposedly haunts the town in a quest for revenge. When it appears that the macabre game they’ve invented is working, Emily becomes obsessed with Stitch Face Sue, and ropes in another girl—but the game goes tragically wrong when the new girl is killed. Charlie and Emily are caught trying to hide the body, and both are carted away to institutions.
Past meets present when Charlie returns to Hithechurch as an adult to research a book on the folklore of the area, but is drawn into the cases of several girls who have mysteriously vanished. And she has other motives for coming back as well. Emily has published a bestselling memoir on the fateful incident from their childhoods, one that lays the blame squarely at Charlie’s feet. Outraged, Charlie scours the town for evidence to back up her side of the story—and in doing so exposes an older, even darker tale.
Charlie is set on discovering the truth about the girls’ disappearances, but someone is watching, and her own past is nipping at her heels. In a town haunted by tragic disappearances and unrelenting urban legends, Charlie’s determination for truth is laced with secrets buried deep in Hithechurch’s past.
GAMES FOR DEAD GIRLS
Jen Williams
Urban legends, folklore, and family secrets come to life in this recent thriller by Jen Williams. Out Now!
Charlotte and Emily are from the small seaside town of Hithechurch, England, where secrets run deeper than the sea. Years ago, Charlie and Emily summoned a monster called Stitch Face Sue and someone died, sending both girls to separate institutions.
Older now, Charlie returns to her hometown to investigate the disappearance of young girls who have gone missing in their hometown.
What does the disappearance of the girls have to do with Charlotte and Emily’s childhood secrets? What can be done to find the missing girls?
The reading experience for this book is mixed and chaotic. I am surprised by how disjointed it felt. It is part horror, part thriller and there is a mystery that runs throughout. All the elements for all three were there but I didn’t feel it was combined well.
The book lacked the feeling of a cohesive narrative. It didn’t feel like a whole book.
The characters are caricatures and lacked the depth I would have liked, especially given their seemingly nefarious nature. It would have been so exciting if there was an element of fear created by the legend of Stitch Face Sue, but her story wasn’t really highlighted, and it wasn’t about her.
Most of the story was about Emily’s father and traumatic long-held family secrets. The parts where Charlotte is investigating the mystery are interesting but ultimately it wasn’t enough to carry the whole book. There is a feeling throughout that a secret is about to be revealed. That feeling of anticipation was nice, but it never came to fruition.
For the book to be applicable to the three genres: thriller, mystery, and horror, it skimmed the surface of all three making it a weak contender in all areas. More is not always better.
This is my second two-star rating for a Jen Williams book and possibly my last. I don’t feel like her books are for me as a reader. Let me know your thoughts if you decide to pick this one up.
Thanks to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for the advanced listening copy!
GAMES FOR DEAD GIRLS…⭐️⭐️
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