Author: Wellington, Joelle
Reading age: from c 14 years (Young Adult)
Published on 6 November 2025 by HarperCollins Publishers (Harper Fire) in the United Kingdom.
Paperback | 416 pages
129 x 199 x 28 | 282g
Two siblings investigate the murder of a friend only to unearth even more deadly mysteries in their small town in this page-turning young adult thriller from the acclaimed author of Their Vicious Games.
When Mikky Graves left his small, stifling hometown of Prophets Lake to live with his estranged mother, he thought nothing could ever make him return for good.
Until his sister Kyla’s best friend, Erin, is murdered.
Mikky never worried about leaving Kyla behind at their family-owned funeral home so long as she had Erin. But when Mikky heads home, determined to help Kyla grieve, the sister he encounters barely resembles the one he remembers. Mikky decides, then and there, to do the one thing that seems even more impossible than returning: stay.
As Kyla spirals further into her rage and secrets, Mikky realizes the only thing that can help his sister is finding the truth about who killed Erin. But the more he investigates, the further he’s pulled into other ugly mysteries of Prophets Lake and the beauty brand that is its lifeblood. The town’s rot runs deep, and everyone has something to hide. Perhaps no one more than Kyla herself.
Perfect for fans of Holly Jackson and David Lynch, Girls Who Play Dead is an unputdownable suburban gothic mystery-thriller.
