GIRLS WHO PLAY DEAD

A high school senior returns to his Massachusetts hometown after learning of a shocking murder.

Michael “Mikky” Graves thinks he’s left Prophets Lake behind. Living in Boston with his mom, he finally feels settled. Although the move tested his relationship with his younger sister, Kyla, who stayed behind with their dad at the family funeral home, Mikky knows his decision was for the best. Nearly three years later, Mikky is pulled back to the lakeside community after Erin Vaughn, Kyla’s wealthy and popular best friend, is killed. Mikky wants to support his sister, but soon after arriving, he finds that Kyla has changed. Now a high school junior, she guards secrets and rules her dance squad with icy intimidation. As Mikky tries to readjust to student and family life in Prophets Lake, the key to Kyla’s healing becomes clear: Find Erin’s murderer. But the deeper he tumbles down the rabbit hole, the more Mikky must contend with the town’s poisonous legacy—one that somehow explains Erin’s death. Evoking Twin Peaks, Wellington’s latest delicately peels back the shiny facade of an all-American suburb to examine the darkness within. The third-person narration gives equal weight to Mikky’s and Kyla’s distinct perspectives, showing the aftermath of unprocessed trauma. Sharply drawn secondary characters highlight the town’s toxic dynamics. Kyla and Mikky are Black, and Erin is white. Mikky has an anxiety disorder and depression.

A compelling work that captures the seedy underbelly of small-town politics and the intense bonds of girlhood.