Reviews with content warning for Toxic friendship - Games for Dead Girls

Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

Games for Dead Girls by Jen Williams

3 reviews

brookey8888's review

dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This was fine. The first 90% was honestly so boring and I felt like there was POVs that were unnecessary. It made sense in the end but I felt like it wasn’t needed. The ending was actually really good and kind of creepy but like that’s what made it a three star instead of a two. Nothing was really shocking or anything. I would recommend to probably skip this unless it sounds interesting. Also no games were played.

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conspystery's review

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

First: all my thanks to Netgalley, Jen Williams, and Dreamscape Media for providing me with an advance audiobook copy of Games for Dead Girls in exchange for an honest review!

Games for Dead Girls is a pretty solid thriller/mystery. I have a few complaints with character depth, but other than that, I really enjoyed this book-- I listened to the audiobook version, which was amazing, over the course of about half a week, completely enthralled. I found myself pushing to stay up later so I could see where it was going.

I think one of the things that makes this book memorable for me is its setting. The braided storylines, spanning three different eras but largely contained to the same geographical location, all add layers of atmosphere to this quiet (almost TOO quiet) seaside town, and it’s just such a treat to explore. The world felt distinctly different between the three perspectives, but reasonably so; rather than feeling like three disjointed settings, it feels like the same place as viewed through vastly different lenses, which is exactly what I think the goal was here. It works really well. The town feels populated, and the various plots, while some of the details of the villains’ actions are a bit far out there, feel plausible to the extent that they need to. Without spoiling too much, I just love the guilty unease that leaches through the atmosphere and into the characters, and how differently it presents for all of them.

I also really liked the plot hook. I like how the story opens, puts you right in the middle of things, and basically explains the aftermath of a mystery-- you, as the reader, are left to piece together its history rather than watching it unfold in real time, so it really feels like a tragedy in the best way. The strongest plot beats in this book were definitely those which were rooted in the past. I really enjoyed how both of the “past” storylines influenced the “present” one, how tangibly that effect could be felt even before the pieces are totally put together. The first major plot twist,

Spoiler

however slowly it arrived, was genuinely chilling to me in the most satisfying way because of that interconnection. I love how it recontextualizes the story and its narrator.

The character development in this book was pretty much the only thing I had a problem with.

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It starts off super strongly, and I like how it slowly subverts itself; neither Charlie nor Emily are at all what they seem, and the subtle way their character arcs curdle and then rot into full on horror is a LOT of fun to read, especially in the context of the plot twist I mentioned earlier. My gripes are how that moral complexity was resolved. By the end of the book, both main characters felt like they’d lost a lot of depth. That moral complexity was cast aside to tie up the story in a neat little bow-- the romance with Charlie’s character and the man from the town definitely did not help in that regard. Her gray morality was eased a little too much for me to find it satisfying. Emily was the same way. Even the other villains felt flat by the end, though it was a bit more fitting for them to be that considering EVERYTHING about them. So creepy it was almost totally far-fetched… almost. Works for them, but not for Emily and Charlie.

I think the book would definitely have benefited from a little more character complexity through its end.

Overall, though, I really liked Games For Dead Girls. The atmosphere was just the right amount of creepy, the plot was engaging, and the characters were fun to read despite their pitfalls in the end.

Spoiler

I enjoyed how clever the plot twist in the middle of the book was from a literary standpoint, and I thought the fact that this story was self-aware of how it was rooted in humanity’s ills rather than the supernatural added a lot of satisfaction to its narrative.

It reminded me a little bit of The Furies by Natalie Haynes, in a really good way. This would’ve been a great read for Halloween, I think-- maybe I’ll read it again come October!

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laceystairs's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This book was fast paced and exciting. I was racing to the end to see all the pieces slide into place.

The main character is not your typical "unreliable" witness to a crime. I really enjoyed the strong character development and the setting of a rainy cold English coastal town in the off season lent an atmosphere of bleak, damp suspense.

I totally loved this novel. It's my favorite thriller of the year.

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