Dead Girls Don't Lie

by Jennifer Shaw Wolf

Rachel died at two a.m ...Three hours after Skyler kissed me for the first time. Forty-five minutes after she sent me her last text. Jaycee and Rachel were best friends. But that was before...before that terrible night at the old house. Before Rachel shut Jaycee out. Before Jaycee chose Skyler over Rachel. Then Rachel is found dead. The police blame a growing gang problem in their small town, but Jaycee is sure it has to do with that night at the old house. Rachel's text is the first clue-starting Jaycee on a search that leads to a shocking secret. Rachel's death was no random crime, and Jaycee must figure out who to trust before she can expose the truth. In the follow-up to her powerful debut, Jennifer Shaw Wolf keeps readers on their toes in another dark, romantic story of murder and secrets.

• ISBN10: 0802734499
• ISBN13: 9780802734495
• Publish Date: 17 September 2013
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 4 March 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Walker & Co
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 352
• Language: English

Reviews

[Rowena]

So, this book was one giant ball of mystery and suspense. I was at the edge of my seat throughout the entire book and as exciting and suspenseful as it was, when everything is revealed in the end, I was a tad bit disappointed. Disappointed in that I had everything so wrong and disappointed because of that. I was also disappointed because Jaycee was a hard person to like. She was strong, yeah but she was also very stubborn and she trusted the wrong people, even when she was told by the one person that she did trust to trust in so and so, she didn't trust in them. It drove me nuts but in the end, it was all good.

[violetpeanut]

I love a good mystery and I think that's one genre that is severely lacking in YA lit so I was excited to read this one. While it was somewhat entertaining, it just didn't have the level of suspense or mystery that I was hoping for. It wasn't a bad book. It just wasn't as great as I was hoping it would be.

As far as the mystery itself goes, I didn't really know where things were going in the beginning but I had it all figured out by the halfway point. There were still some details that were surprising and I think some people may find the villain(s?) to be a surprise as well.

I think this book really tried to be more suspenseful than it actually was. There were some genuinely creepy scenes and situations for Jaycee but I never really felt that ramp up of danger and excitement that I feel with really great mysteries.

Jaycee herself was one of my least favorite parts of this book. She was indecisive and insecure and annoyed me throughout the book. I get that she was put in situations where she didn't know what the right thing to do was, but I had to read her whine about it over and over. I just didn't really like Jaycee all that much. I also really questioned her judgement when it came to people and who to trust. There seemed to be red flags waving all over the place that she just never saw and that was frustrating to me as a reader.

I did like that there were issues of race and economic disparity between the residents of the town and the Mexican migrant workers hired to work the local farms. I think that could have been explored a little bit more. I liked the idea that people should be judged on who they are and their motivations rather than only on where they're from or what they've done in the past.

Overall, this one was just so-so for me. I enjoyed it but it wasn't as great as I was hoping it would be. If you're looking for the next great mystery, this probably isn't it. This will be an enjoyable read as long as your expectations aren't too high.