This is a very well written story. It took me a while to get into it. Thera is telling the story so her point of view took a while to get my head around. The ending was not what I expected. I thought it went too far. It made me question everything about Thera and wonder how I had missed that part of her logic. Overall this book is worth reading as it is a totally different perspective on investigating a murder.

This is a really well written story with lots of twists and turns that you don't see coming. The ending was a true shock! Enjoy every moment of this one

There were many things to love about this book. In particular the extraordinary character of Thera and her interaction with both the adult and the child worlds she lives in . The internal dialogue of Thera is at once insightful, childish, sweet, terrifying and so very real. In a world where she understands more than the adults who care for her ever give her credit for she is funny and determined. It all has tragic consequences in the adult world however she seems relatively sanguine about it all . The world of Thera and her Best True Forever friend Billie is charming and funny and exactly as innocent as it should be with Thera's little brother Sam hanging around the girls in need of a gang.

The book unravels a little when Thera starts to take things into her own hands, not so much the attempts to trap a killer but more the research into what exactly happened to Billie and how it felt made me pretty squeamish - children trying to work out how rape feels is just a step too far for me I'm afraid.

The adults are less well developed they exist almost in the shadows of Thera's life serving little purpose but to feed her and teach her new words. There is little in the way of good parenting going on that is for sure.

Over all it was an interesting read, I would have enjoyed it more had the adults been fleshed out a little but hats off to Abigail Tarttelin for truly splendid characterisation of Thera, Billie, and Hattie.

I was very lucky to have been given this book to review before publication by the lovely people at NetGalley. The views expressed are my own.

A very different book, it tells of Thera an eleven year old girl whose best friend Billie is murdered. It is told from Thera’s perspective and how she wants to find the killer. I would recommend it.

4.5/5 stars

"Dead Girls" was an intense and suspenseful novel from an unique point of view. Getting to read about a murder investigation from an 11-year-old's point of view was really interesting because it showed the actual murder victim as more of a person and character than these kinds of novels usually do. The children aren't innocent angels but active protagonists in their own story. I liked how Tarttelin managed to create a protagonist who was interesting and engaging, while retaining a child-like way of thinking and interacting. The juvenile way of thinking was sometimes annoying but really added to the story by showing Thera's way of thinking and processing the events around her.

The adults in the novel were infuriating at times because they insisted on treating the children as unable to deal with more mature matters. I think this showed quite well how parents' decisions to protect their children from everything can get their children in actual trouble and keep them from seeking the help they need. Thera's actions are essentially caused by the adults' refusal to engage with her in a mature way and their insistence on treating her as helpless. This novel not only offers a unique narrative perspective but also questions the way we interact and value children, and, I think, that these are important questions to pose and reflect on.

The message of the novel, driven home again in the acknowledgements, is an important one and I love how the novel didn't go for the easy answers but instead offered a complex and though-provoking narrative. I would definitely recommend this novel and hope to read more from the author.

I'll be honest and say I wasn't the biggest fan of this one - which is more to do I think with how I took to the main character rather than anything else so therefore highly subjective.

The premise is good - a child loses her best friend to murder, how will she and those around her cope with such a horrific event. Taking in themes of responsibility and what we learn as young women about how to protect ourselves the message is on target (I've given an extra star for that) but the execution for me personally fell short.

Writing from the point of view of an 11 year old is a difficult thing to take on. In this case I found her constant stream of thought and action to be very wearing from about a quarter of the way through. When she discovers her friends body for example it went on for pages with a lot of nothing I genuinely felt at that point that it could have been edited into a more taut and disturbing narrative. As it was I didn't really feel horrified I just wanted her to get on with whatever was next.

There were various points like that throughout, but there were also some very emotionally resonant moments where it struck me what a good writer Abigail Tarttelin is - so a bit of a mish mash for this reader. The eventual resolution I just thought was highly unlikely but it does have the benefit of being unexpected.

Dead Girls I think will be divisive. I'll be interested to see what others think and I'm interested also to read more from this author. I do genuinely think it was my lack of engagement with the main protagonist that was my personal issue here.