Center for Teaching & Learning

How could two grown adults open the door to a seemingly-psychotic stranger without any second thought? In Dead Girls Don’t Write Letters, Gail Giles attempts to answer this intriguing question.

The story takes place in a modern town called Angleton. Angelton has the same problems that many other towns have: kids skipping school, manipulative sisters, broken families, and deaths in the family. But in Angleton, some citizens find themselves asking if their dead relatives are really dead—especially after Sunny’s older sister, Jazz, arrives at her front door. Jazz seems perfectly fine until Sunny starts to see changes in her personality.

Giles develops a mystery that is full of red herrings. The characters find themselves immersed in a devastatingly elegant facade of lies, manipulation, mystery, and possible hysteria. The plot of this thoroughly crafted novella moves at breakneck speed, which leaves no time for readers to pause for a break and collect their thoughts. Unbelievably nerve-wracking suspense pulls the reader through each razor-edged chapter, right up to the very last sentence: “What have I done?”

All these components are supported by a combination of cut-to-the-bone prose, short chapters, and effective cliffhangers at the end of each chapter.

This book is perfect for anyone who prefers a short, suspenseful horror or mystery novella. Dead Girls Don’t Write Letters never ceases to make readers question reality.

Gigi

Simon Pulse, 128 pages