I went into The Names of Dead Girls expecting a solid thriller, but I didn’t expect it to get its hooks in me the way it did. The pacing started as a steady simmer, a few pages here, a few there, until suddenly I realized I wasn’t putting it down until the last page.
I connected right away with Rath. After rescuing Rachel from the murder scene of his sister and brother-in-law, she became the center of his universe. His fear of losing her again was palpable, and it made me root for him even harder. Preacher, on the other hand… manipulative, gaslighting, sociopath a**hole. Every scene with him had me on edge. I was thrown when Rath and Test started eyeing Sheldon as a possible serial killer. Sure, he’d done time with Preacher, but he seemed so sincere in his remorse that I found myself doubting the suspicion right along with them.
The Vermont setting, especially in the dense fog, gave the whole story a creepy, almost claustrophobic feel. It added urgency and a sense that something evil was always just out of sight. And oh, that ending. I was ready for Preacher to be arrested, maybe even to work the system and get out again. What I wasn’t ready for was the perfect slice of vigilante justice from someone he’d underestimated. Ta ta, Preach. See ya in hell.
If you like your thrillers with atmosphere, mind games, and endings that make you mutter “Oh yes” out loud, this one’s for you.
