"Life imitates art, and art gets dark, in a twisty, gothic YA murder mystery that sees an aspiring crime journalist try to track down a copycat killer."
Super-suspenseful and shot-through with esotericism, Cynthia Murphy’s Paint Me Like Your Dead Girls blazes with the drive of its determined protagonist, seventeen-year-old Fliss, who throws herself into investigating a series of murders after finding what her art history professor father describes as “one of the most important pieces of lost art in the last century”.
The artwork in question, “so fabled that no one was sure it even existed”, depicts a creepy “soulless face”, and completes a set of four paintings of women by the same artist, whose body was found with all five paintings. When Fliss learns that some experts believe the painter killed the four women and immortalised them on canvas, she sets herself a goal: “I’m going to find out who these women were and share their names with the world.”
Through Fliss’ investigation, the narrative shifts back to the artist’s victims in 1911, all of them young women who were trying to forge fresh lives in New York City. When a series of murders happens close to home in the present-day, Fliss pivots her focus to tracking down the culprit. Adding to the intrigue, while Fliss is convinced the perpetrator is copying the historic murders, her best friend believes the painting is cursed, with tarot card connections playing a part in both their theories.
Told in Fliss’ voice, the entertaining, suspenseful story builds to a searing finale. Fliss is focussed, earnest, and driven by urgency, and so is the writing. Recommended for 13+-year-olds who love creepy contemporary thrillers, gothic murder mysteries, and scary movies, Paint Me Like Your Dead Girls is also ideal for aficionados of the esoteric.
| Reading age: | 12+ |
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Murder is an art . . . and she's the next masterpiece.From the bestselling author of Win Lose Kill Die and Keep Your Friends Close comes an addictive killer-thriller with a horror twist, following an aspiring crime journalist's investigation into a case of copycat murders seemingly connected to a 'cursed' painting. Perfect for fans of Jennifer Lynn Barnes' The Naturals series and Bill Wood's Let's Split Up.When aspiring crime journalist Fliss Keller uncovers a disturbing self-portrait of a man at an estate sale, her Art History professor dad buys it, despite how unsettled Fliss feels.
The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed Paint Me Like Your Dead Girls and determined it is suitable for children aged 15-18 years old
Paint Me Like Your Dead Girls features in the following genres: Featured Books for Young Adults, Recommendations, Adventure Stories, Crime & Mystery, Horror & Ghost Stories, Thrillers, Children’s / Teenage general interest: Art and artists, Children's and Young Adult Fiction, Children’s, Teenage and Educational, Children’s / Teenage: General interest
Paperback. £8.99, down from the £9.99 cover price. In Stock.
Paint Me Like Your Dead Girls was written by Cynthia Murphy and published by Penguin Books an imprint of Penguin Random House Children's UK
Paint Me Like Your Dead Girls has 337 pages
£8.99, reduced from £9.99. In Stock.
