Pretty Dead Queens
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Narrated by:
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Phoebe Strole
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Written by:
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Alexa Donne
About this listen
The new homecoming queen is dead . . . and she's not the first unsolved murder at Seaview High. From the critically acclaimed author of The Ivies comes a nonstop YA thriller about a decades-old mystery, a copycat killer, and the teen who will stop at nothing to uncover the truth.
"Utterly savage."–Jessica Goodman, New York Times bestselling author of They’ll Never Catch Us
"Hand this fast-paced thriller filled with plenty of twists and drama to fans of Holly Jackson or Karen M. McManus."—SLJ
A 2023 Edgar Award Nominee!
After the death of her mom (screw cancer), seventeen-year-old Cecelia Ellis goes to live with her estranged grandmother, a celebrated author whose Victorian mansion is as creepy as the murder mysteries she writes. On the surface, life is utterly ordinary in the California coastal town . . . until the homecoming queen is murdered. And she’s not Seaview’s first pretty dead queen.
With a copycat killer on the loose, Cecelia throws herself into the investigation, determined to crack the case like the heroines in her grandmother’s books. But the more Cecelia digs into the town’s secrets, the more she worries that her own mystery might not have a storybook ending.
©2022 Alexa Donne (P)2022 Listening LibraryYou may also enjoy...
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She’s always had a special connection to the place, even before she was old enough to attend. The camp is the lifeline of Roxwood, the small town she lives in. Alpine Lake provides jobs, money and prestige to the region. Few Roxwood locals, though, get to reap the rewards of living so close to the glam summer that camp, with its five-figure tuition and rich kids who have been dumped there for eight weeks by their powerful parents. Goldie's one of them.
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In Gold Coast, Long Island, everything from the expensive downtown shops to the manicured beaches, to the pressed uniforms of Jill Newman and her friends, looks perfect. But as Jill found out three years ago, nothing is as it seems. Freshman year Jill's best friend, the brilliant, dazzling Shaila Arnold, was killed by her boyfriend. After that dark night on the beach, Graham confessed, the case was closed, and Jill tried to move on.
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Alice Lawrence is the sole witness in her sister’s murder trial. And in the year since Claire’s death, Alice’s life has completely fallen apart. Her parents have gotten divorced, she’s moved into an apartment that smells like bologna, and she is being forced to face her sister’s killer and a courtroom full of people who doubt what she saw in the corn maze a year prior.
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The Cheerleaders
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- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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There are no more cheerleaders in the town of Sunnybrook. First there was the car accident - two girls dead after hitting a tree on a rainy night. Not long after, the murders happened. Those two girls were killed by the man next door. The police shot him, so no one will ever know his reasons. Monica's sister was the last cheerleader to die. After her suicide, Sunnybrook High disbanded the cheer squad. No one wanted to be reminded of the girls they'd lost.
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Fell flat
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Pay close attention, and you might solve this. On Monday afternoon five students at Bayview High walk into detention. Bronwyn, the brain, is Yale-bound and never breaks a rule. Addy, the beauty, is the picture-perfect homecoming princess. Nate, the criminal, is already on probation for dealing. Cooper, the athlete, is the all-star baseball pitcher. And Simon, the outcast, is the creator of Bayview High's notorious gossip app. Only Simon never makes it out of that classroom. Before the end of detention, Simon's dead.
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
New friends Sam, Margaret and Diana are thrilled to be getting out of the city for a girls’ weekend - they’ve bonded over their messy divorces, and every mile on the odometer feels like another step towards putting their exes in the past. But when car trouble halfway into their trip strands them in the most unlikely of mountain towns, they come face-to-face with the hurts and betrayals they were so desperate to leave behind. When Diana doesn't return home after a night out, Sam and Margaret's search for her reveals just how little they know about their friend.
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They'll Never Catch Us
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Pretty good
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The Legacies
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Scoring an invitation for membership to the exclusive Legacy Club in New York City is more than an honor. It gives you a lifetime of access to power and wealth beyond any prep school doors and guaranteed safety and security. So it’s not surprising when Excelsior Prep seniors Bernie Kaplan, Isobel Rothcroft, and Skyler Hawkins are nominated as Legacies; their family pedigrees have assured their membership since birth—even if they're all keeping secrets that could destroy their reputations. But scholarship kid from Queens Tori Tasso? She’s a surprise nominee.
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entertaining and fun
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Little Monsters
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Kacey is the new girl in Broken Falls. When she moved in with her father, she stepped into a brand-new life. A life with a stepbrother, a stepmother, and, strangest of all, an adoring younger half sister. Kacey's new life is eerily charming compared with the wild highs and lows of the old one she lived with her volatile mother. And everyone is so nice in Broken Falls - she's even been welcomed into a tight new circle of friends. Bailey and Jade invite her to do everything with them.
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Whoa.
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Night, Forgotten
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Owen falls ill with food poisoning, leaving Julie to attend a neighborhood holiday party alone. When she wakes up, half-naked in her neighbor's bathtub, Julie doesn't know how to tell Owen, the police, her friends—anyone—that she has been sexually assaulted. So she keeps it secret until she realizes that she's pregnant with her assailant's baby.
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just awful
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Five Survive
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- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Red Kenny is on a road trip for spring break with five friends: Her best friend - the older brother - his perfect girlfriend - a secret crush - a classmate - and a killer. When their RV breaks down in the middle of nowhere with no cell service, they soon realize this is no accident. They have been trapped by someone out there in the dark, someone who clearly wants one of them dead. With eight hours until dawn, the six friends must escape, or figure out which of them is the target.
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Absolutely riveting
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Written by: Holly Jackson
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The Cousins
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- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Milly, Aubrey, and Jonah Story are cousins, but they barely know each another, and they've never even met their grandmother. Rich and reclusive, she disinherited their parents before they were born. So when they each receive a letter inviting them to work at her island resort for the summer, they're surprised...and curious.
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Nope. Nope and Nope.
- By Honest Anonymous on 2024-01-03
Written by: Karen M. McManus
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You'll Be the Death of Me
- Written by: Karen M. McManus
- Narrated by: Rachel L. Jacobs, Anthony Rey Perez, Max Meyers, and others
- Length: 9 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Ivy, Mateo, and Cal used to be close. Now all they have in common is Carlton High and the beginning of a very bad day. So when the three unexpectedly run into each other, they decide to avoid their problems by ditching. Just the three of them, like old times. Except they’ve barely left the parking lot before they run out of things to say...until they spot another Carlton High student skipping school - and follow him to the scene of his own murder. In one chance move, their day turns from dull to deadly. And it’s about to get worse.
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Absolutely obsessed
- By Anynomous on 2023-06-27
Written by: Karen M. McManus
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Someone Is Always Watching
- Written by: Kelley Armstrong
- Narrated by: Erica Anderson
- Length: 13 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Blythe and her friends — Gabrielle, and brother and sister Tucker and Tanya — have always been a tight friend group, attending a local high school and falling in and out of love with each other. But an act of violence has caused a rift between Blythe and Tucker . . . and unexpected bursts of aggression and disturbing nightmares have started to become more frequent in their lives.
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Couldn’t Finish
- By OnlineAddict on 2024-11-18
Written by: Kelley Armstrong
What the critics say
"An intricately plotted whodunit that maintains suspense to the end.”–Kirkus Reviews
"Donne sets up an irresistible premise for mystery lovers, blending toxic family legacies, small-town secrets, and true-crime culture into a twisty tale."–Booklist
"Sharp as a knife and utterly savage, Pretty Dead Queens has an ending that will shock even the most astute mystery buffs."–Jessica Goodman, New York Times bestselling author of They’ll Never Catch Us
What listeners say about Pretty Dead Queens
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Sylvia
- 2022-10-17
A great read!
I really enjoyed this audiobook. The main character, Cecilia, is easy to root for, and the supporting characters are plentiful and well developed.
The plot is solid and moves at a good pace - you won’t want to put this one down. Also, the twists are perfect - I figured it out right around the same time as Cecilia did.
Put it in your cart - you won’t be sorry!
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- Anynomous
- 2023-08-20
Predictable ending but enjoyable read
The ending(s) were really predictable but interestingly it didn't ruin the story for me. I really enjoyed the writing and performance and was captivated by the book overall.
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