Review: Dead Girls Walking

Dead Girls Walking by Sami Ellis
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Narrated by Tamika Katon-Donegal
Presented by RB Media

Man, I tuned out for SO MUCH of this audiobook. It wasn't what I expected and I just couldn't get into it.

The blurb suggests something like a slasher flick, with a group of black lesbian kids camping out at a horror camp. One of the camp counsellors, Temple, is the daughter of a convicted serial killer, and she's only got the gig so that she can dig up (literally) the truth about the death of her mum. Then a body turns up, and Temple 'fears that one of her father's "fans" might be mimicking his crimes.'

I was expecting a serial killer roaming the woods, picking off kids. I was expecting tense moments, dramatic kills, and the fear of someone lurking in the woods. I wanted eerie atmosphere and jump scares.

What I got was a multigenerational haunting with a lot of ridiculous supernatural stuff and Temple talking often about what a terrible person she is.

Honestly, it was just so dull to me. It seemed to go on forever - when I thought things were coming to a head and we were getting into the explanations and final battles, I was barely 50% through. And then it was just the same crap for the rest of the book. There was nothing that hooked me in and had me invested at all - by the end, I was just desperate for it to be over.

I was also really confused about who was a camper and who was a counsellor because they all seemed to be the same age? I thought counsellors were supposed to be older so they could look after campers? Not that I've ever been to one of these camps in my life ... but I read, ya know?

So essentially, because it wasn't what I was expecting and there was a lot of the same stuff happening repeatedly, I tuned out often and still never felt the need to go back and re-listen. I even literally fell asleep at one stage (which I guess is also kind of a compliment to the narrator because her voice was quite soothing).

Admittedly, I listened to most of it while sick and out of it with a cold, so that might have added to how easily I was distracted, but I did find it really hard to concentrate and stay with this one.

Horror lovers might enjoy it, but don't expect a slasher flick - this is something a bit different.

With thanks to Netgalley for an audio ARC

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