Good Girls Don't Die

September 11, 2023
Henry (Horseman) twists familiar tropes on their heads in this innovative sci-fi thriller. Three women separately find themselves in troubled scenarios straight out of a cozy mystery, a horror movie, and a dystopian YA novel, respectively. Celia can’t remember anything about who she is when she awakens in a quirky small town. Then her strange but quaint new life is shattered by someone attempting to frame her for murder. Allie’s birthday trip is ruined when spooky events at her cabin in the woods prelude her friends getting picked off one by one. Maggie is kidnapped alongside a group of other women and forced to run a booby-trapped maze. It gradually becomes apparent that these scenarios are even stranger than they initially appear, and the women must discover both how to escape and how they got there in the first place. Luckily, the well-shaded heroines are more than up to the task. Henry has a lot of fun playing with genre here, but at its heart, this book is pure thriller, complete with a twist that will put readers in mind of Don’t Worry Darling. With a fresh plot and a feminist slant that highlights misogyny and elitism, this fast-paced and accessible story still offers plenty of depth. Agent: Lucienne Diver, Knight Agency.

September 1, 2023

Henry (Horseman) takes readers on a horrific adventure in this page-turning story. Three women find themselves in unexpectedly strange situations as they seem to be suddenly trapped in lives that resemble stereotypical genres--from a cozy mystery to a slasher film and a dystopia. Celia wakes up not knowing anyone in her life, including the man claiming to be her husband; Allie is supposed to be on a birthday trip with her best friends, but they are taken to a remote cabin in the woods; and Maggie finds herself navigating a treacherous maze to save her daughter's life. Henry deftly navigates the situations that each character is in, showing how they use their skills to attempt to figure out what is happening, while also making the women realize that reality can be far different than fictional tropes. At the beginning of each chapter, there are also snippets from message boards that are increasingly sinister, showing how these three women may be connected. VERDICT Featuring a unique premise and culminating in an engaging twist, this book offers a poignant feminist horror story with strong women characters.--Tegan Beese

Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.