DEAD GIRLS WALKING

A Virginia high school student awakens relentless evil when she uncovers the truth about her gruesome family legacy.

Sixteen-year-old Temple Baker is on a mission. Her father, a convicted serial killer, has admitted to murdering Temple’s mother and burying her body on their farmland. Refusing to believe her father’s death row confession, Temple decides to revisit the scene of his bloody crime. The only problem? The family homestead is being used as a sleepaway camp for Black LGBTQ+ teens who are interested in horror. Temple, a Black lesbian, swallows her distaste for forced camaraderie and earns a spot as a camp counselor. Shortly after her arrival, someone is found dead in the woods—and the appearance of the first body just marks the beginning of a terrifying weekend. As Temple and her fellow campers fight for their lives, Temple realizes that her father’s secrets eclipse even her worst nightmares. Narrated in the third person, Ellis’ debut novel combines the ghoulish delight of Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead franchise with the gore of an ’80s slasher film. The lore constructed around Temple’s violent family history is intriguing and creepy, but anchoring details about her parents’ pasts and their psychological motivations would have benefitted from more clarity and nuance.

An atmospheric bloodbath that effectively disrupts the expected prototype of the Final Girl.