Review: Pretty Dead Queens by Alexa Donne
Author: Alexa Donne
Edition: eBook
Publisher: Crown Books (October 4, 2022)
Genre: Young Adult, Thriller
Synopsis
Seaview High’s homecoming queen is dead . . . and she’s not the first. A thriller about a decades-old mystery, a copycat killing, and the teen who won’t stop until she discovers the truth.
After the death of her mom (screw cancer), seventeen-year-old Cecelia Ellis goes to live with her estranged grandmother, a celebrated author whose Victorian mansion is as creepy as the murder mysteries she writes. On the surface, life is utterly ordinary in the California coastal town . . . until the homecoming queen is murdered. And she’s not Seaview’s first pretty dead queen.
With a copycat killer on the loose, Cecelia throws herself into the investigation, determined to crack the case like the heroines in her grandmother’s books. But the more Cecelia digs into the town’s secrets, the more she worries that her own mystery might not have a storybook ending.
My Review of Pretty Dead Queens
Pretty Dead Queens is a twisty YA thriller that perfectly meshes small-town high school drama, grief and complex family dynamics with a murder mystery that’ll have you gasping at every turn!
I received a free digital eARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review
Another Alexa Donne Book I Loved!
First up, I should acknowledge that it has taken me an embarrassingly long time to review this book. In fact, I was part of Alexa’s street team way back in 2022 to help promote Pretty Dead Queens! So yeah, my review is a little overdue. I actually started reading this book multiple times, devouring the chapters like the ravenous little mystery lover I am…and then I stopped myself somewhere around the 30% mark every time. I’m not sure why, and now that I have finally read the entire book (in one go during a particularly long train ride!), I wish I had allowed myself to enjoy it sooner.
It’s no secret that I adored The Ivies, Alexa Donne’s previous book. She does thrillers and mysteries and clever teenage girls like no other and I love it! So naturally, Pretty Dead Queens was high on my list of 5 star predictions. And for the most part, it absolutely delivered! Let’s get into the juicy details, shall we?
The Hauntings of Grief and Small Towns
Pretty Dead Queens opens on a sombre note. Cecilia’s mother has died and she is moving in with her famous thriller writer grandmother she barely knows. To be precise, the book opens with Cecilia reflecting on the ways that death has seemed to follow her all her life. This was the moment I knew this would be a book for me! I love when YA books in particular don’t shy away from dealing with death and grief, and as someone who has also been familiar with death from a young age, I intimately understood Cecilia’s feelings.
This unease, the feeling that something about her is perpetually steeped in this haunting of dread and death is both enhanced and juxtaposed by the seemingly idyllic seaside town she now finds herself in. Surely a town with rich people and a famous writer can’t have much more than one infamous murder, right?
Well, things in Seaview go south pretty quickly when the now famous murder of a homecoming queen seems to repeat itself and Cecilia discovers one of her classmates, killed in the same way.
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Teen Detective on a Mission
Immediately, Cecilia is too close to the case but can’t stay away, no matter how much the local detective wants her to stay out of it.
With the help of her new friends and love interests, Cecilia starts to investigate this fresh haunting that has visited Seaview. And the secret about the town and its inhabitants she uncovers are much more twisted than she expected. I loved the whole investigation, Alexa Donne knows how to keep it interesting and I was immediately along for the ride. All the reveals were satisfying and hit at just the right moment. And it was just plain fun! Sneaking into a fan convention for her famous author grandmother? Sign me up!
As Cecilia and her circle of new friends investigate, things quickly get very dark. The dead homecoming queen was blackmailing friends and strangers alike, using her power as the it-girl in more way than one. The man sentenced for the past Seaview murder might very well be innocent. A killer is on the loose.
Cecilia, clever and stubborn, quickly finds herself in places she shouldn’t be, uncovering the deepest secrets of this town she barely knows. Naturally, she makes some enemies in the process and her own life is in danger if she can’t figure out the murders, past and present.
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I Almost Wanted It to Be Longer
Overall, Pretty Dead Queens is a fairly straightforward mystery. Don’t get me wrong, the twists are twisty and the ending will most likely have you gasping out loud (I certainly did!), but I almost wish the book had been longer and not wrapped up quite so neatly. Maybe that’s because of the speed at which I devoured it, or maybe I just want a sequel!
Either way, the speed at which the book moves and the more superficial relationships that Cecilia has in this new town, made this not quite a 5-star read for me. I wanted to be more immersed in Seaview, have more time to wander around and not feel like the story was quite on such well-traversed tracks.
However, if you like a thriller that knows what it wants and takes you along for the ride with equal amounts of charm and tension? Pretty Dead Queens absolutely delivers.
Overall…
… I really loved Pretty Dead Queens! It’s a great mystery and the setting in particular, mixed with the whole “my grandma is a famous writer” vibe was delightful! While it may not have matched The Ivies for me, it’s absolutely another incredibly strong Alexa Donne book
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This book is for you if…
…you like Karen McManus and thrillers centered around high-school students
…you are looking for a book that masterfully balances strong themes with a twisty plot
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