Dead Girls Can't Tell Secrets by Chelsea Ichaso

Book: Dead Girls Can’t Tell Secrets by Chelsea Ichaso

Rating: 3 Stars 

Reviewer: Yasmin, Grade 12

Dead Girls Can’t Tell Secrets is a murder-mystery style story following Savannah Sullivan’s investigation of her sister, Piper’s, fall from the town’s infamous suicide point. After Piper’s fall leaves her in a coma, Savannah struggles with the part she might have played in pushing her sister to the edge, despite feeling that Piper would never have done such a thing to herself. However, when Savannah finds a note inviting her sister to the very place where she fell under the guise of a Survival Club event, Savannah is determined to infiltrate the club and get to the bottom of it. As she uncovers secrets, drama, and grudges, Savannah eventually finds herself struggling to tell who she can trust and who may be to blame for Piper’s current state. Dead Girls Can’t Tell Secrets is a classic high school murder-mystery novel, with features in common with novels like One of Us is Lying. Although this novel does a good job creating a line of clues that connects, I felt that too much of the plot was ping-ponging between talking to the same characters, with little actual collecting of evidence. The main character tends to believe others when it would be more reasonable for her to be more doubtful. The book also overall lacked the much building suspense that a book of this genre often has. There was little impact when facts were revealed, and often the book was fairly predictable, which is a major downside to a mystery-based novel. At the same time, I liked the organization of the book, which had a focus on Savannah’s point of view, yet still supplemented the story with pieces of Piper’s perspective before her fall, allowing the reader a different insight and also a way to start putting together their own story as Savannah finds a clue. Overall, I’d say this book wasn’t quite my style, but I found it a good quick and casual read.