Sami Ellis’s Dead Girls Walking is a shocking, spine-chilling YA horror slasher about a girl searching for her dead mother’s body at the summer camp that was once her serial killer father’s home—perfect for fans of Friday the 13th and White Smoke.
Temple Baker knows that evil runs in her blood. Her father is the North Point Killer, an infamous serial killer known for how he marked each of his victims with a brand. He was convicted for murdering 20 people and was the talk of countless true crime blogs for years. Some say he was possessed by a demon. Some say that they never found all his victims. Some say that even though he’s now behind bars, people are still dying in the woods. Despite everything though, Temple never believed that her dad killed her mom. But when he confesses to that crime while on death row, she has no choice but to return to his old hunting grounds to try see if she can find a body and prove it.
Turns out, the farm that was once her father’s hunting grounds and her home has been turned into an overnight camp for queer, horror-obsessed girls. So Temple poses as a camp counselor to go digging in the woods. While she’s not used to hanging out with girls her own age and feels ambivalent at best about these true crime enthusiasts, she tries her best to fit in and keep her true identity hidden.
But when a girl turns up dead in the woods, she fears that one of her father’s “fans” might be mimicking his crimes. As Temple tries to uncover the truth and keep the campers safe, she comes to realize that there may be something stranger and more sinister at work—and that her father may not have been the only monster in these woods.
Praise
“Shockingly brutal, beautifully written, this is a must read for horror fans. Keep the lights on for this one.”
—Kalynn Bayron, New York Times Bestselling author of You're Not Supposed To Die Tonight
“Ellis has crafted a riotously funny and blood-drenched slasher that should be #1 on your TBR.”
—Trang Thanh Tran, New York Times bestselling author of She Is a Haunting
“Unhinged, shocking, and scary as hell. At the most unsuspecting moment, [it] launches you headfirst into a Black Queer Evil Dead vibe that’s a pure adrenaline rush until the very satisfying (and bloody) end.”
—Terry J. Benton-Walker, bestselling author of Blood Debts and The White Guy Dies First
"An atmospheric bloodbath that effectively disrupts the expected prototype of the Final Girl."
—Kirkus
"[T]his fresh, if blood-soaked, take on the classic camp slasher story will keep readers mesmerized, half in thrill and half in terror."
—Booklist
"Temple’s prickly personality serves as a foil through which the author highlights heartening character relationships, and punchy horror-centric banter adds verve to this gruesome slasher."
—Publishers Weekly
