Ren Taylor never thought she’d return to her old high school—not as a teacher, not after everything. But with nowhere else to turn, she hopes that walking the same halls might bring a sense of closure. Instead, she’s met with old wounds. Her older sister, Margot, who was murdered years ago, is still revered like a saint. Meanwhile, Ren is the girl who spiraled—the one everyone whispered about in the aftermath.
Then she meets Bryson Lewis: young, charming, and effortlessly adored by students and staff alike. Ren knows better. She once trusted a teacher like him—someone who left her family shattered and may have played a part in her sister’s death. So when Ren sees Bryson getting a little too close with a student, alarm bells ring. She knows this story too well. And this time, she refuses to stay silent.
Whispers of Dead Girls dives deep into the murky waters of student-teacher relationships, small-town gossip, grief, rage, and the messy bonds of sisterhood. Marlee Bush crafts a haunting narrative that feels both intimate and unsettling—a dark, necessary exploration of trust, trauma, and the lingering echoes of tragedy.
This isn’t just a thriller; it’s a cautionary tale. About power dynamics. About intuition. About the lies adults tell and the ones teens believe.
While I found myself wishing a few threads were tied up more cleanly, the payoff at the end was deeply satisfying—enough to forgive the lingering questions.
Big thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. This one lingers.