Dead End Girls

Review\nPraise for Dead End Girls:\n"What a wild runaway ride! Maude’s sharp mind and intricate death plan was brilliant. I was rooting for her and Frankie the whole time. A clever page-turner that I couldn’t put down."―Natasha Preston, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author\n“This fun, dark, fully queer thriller embraces its premise without pulling any punches. A romantic thriller that takes “Be Gay, Do Crime” to heart.”\n―Kirkus Reviews\n"There is no shortage of drama but the characters’ complexities build given time. Readers will need to block out the whole day for this one because they won’t put it down until it’s done."―BCCB\n“Wendy Heard writes smart, edgy thrillers that often explore LGBTQ and coming-of-age themes, and Dead End Girls promises to continue that reputation. In what feels like the lesbian version of Cruel Intentions I always wanted (I mean, who even remembers Ryan Phillippe these days), two stepcousins become obsessed with each other—and with faking their own deaths.”―Crime Reads\n“Utterly addictive. Dead End Girls is a riveting, holds-no-punches thriller with the deeply relatable adolescent hunger for escape and reinvention at its core.”―Kit Frick, author of I Killed Zoe Spanos and Very Bad People\n"Both Maude and Frankie are quick-witted heroines whose respective quests for autonomy and internal struggles regarding sexuality and gender identity provide depth. Culminating in a suspenseful ending, Heard’s alluring novel is an invigorating ride." 
―Publishers Weekly\n"An atmospheric, heart-jolting thriller. The book alternates between Maude's and Frankie’s perspective as they explore their relationship, identities, and what it means to be truly free from people who don’t want you to be yourself or pursue happiness." ―Booklist\n"An action-packed LGBTQIAIA+ thriller. Compulsively readable."―School Library Journal\n"Freedom, identity, and unexpected love collide in a pulse-pounding thrill ride."―Mindy McGinnis, Edgar Award-winning author of The Female of the Species\n"A clever page-turner that I couldn’t put down."—Natasha Preston, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author\nTwo girls fake their deaths only to face mortal danger in this YA thriller perfect for fans of The Twin and None Shall Sleep.\nIn one week, Maude will be dead. At least, that’s what she wants everyone to think. After years of research, Maude has decided to fake her own death. She’s figured out the how, the when, the where, and who will help her unsuspectingly. The why is complex: revenge, partly. Her terrible parents deserve this. But there’s also 'l’appel du vide,' the call of the void, that beckons her toward a new life where she will be tied to no one, free and adrift. Then Frankie, a step-cousin she barely knows, figures out what she’s plotting, and the plan seems like it’s ruined. Except Frankie doesn’t want to rat her out. Frankie wants in.\nThe girls vault into the unknown, risking everything for a new and limitless life. But there are some things you can never run away from. What if the poison is not in the soil, but in the roots? This pulse-pounding thriller offers a nuanced exploration of identity, freedom, and falling in love while your world falls apart.\nFrom School Library Journal\nGr 9 Up-An action-packed LGBTQIAIA+ thriller. Forced to live out of a suitcase and shuffled between her divorced parents each week, Maude is fed up with her life. But all that is about to change; Maude has found her way out by faking her death. However, her perfect plan goes awry when her step-cousin, Frankie, discovers her false passport. Maude thinks everything is ruined, but Frankie offers her a deal: help her fake her death, too, or she'll rat Maude out to her parents. Frankie has her own reason for wanting to start over, but she keeps it to herself. Maude decides she's put too much time and effort into the plan to stop now. So, with an unexpected companion, Maude fakes her death, and the first part of the plan goes off without a hit

Teen & Young Adult

Heard, Wendy

Literature & Fiction

Christy Ottaviano Books

Determined to escape suffocating expectations and menacing families, two desperate teens fake their own deaths in this queer contemporary thriller perfect for fans of The Twin and Five Survive.&#8203; In one week, Maude will be dead. At least, that's what she wants everyone to think. After years of research, Maude has decided to fake her own death. She's figured out the how, the when, the where, and who will help her unsuspectingly. The why is complex: revenge, partly. Her terrible parents deserve this. But there's also 'l'appel du vide,' the call of the void, that beckons her toward a new life where she will be tied to no one, free and adrift. Then Frankie, a step-cousin she barely knows, figures out what she's plotting, and the plan seems like it's ruined. Except Frankie doesn't want to rat her out. Frankie wants in. The girls vault into the unknown, risking everything for a new and limitless life. But there are some things you can never run away from. What if the poison is not in the soil, but in the roots? This pulse-pounding thriller offers a nuanced exploration of identity, freedom, and falling in love while your world falls apart. "A clever page-turner that I couldn't put down."--Natasha Preston, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author&#8203; A Rainbow Book List Selection A YALSA Amazing Audiobook for Young Adults A YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers &nbsp;

"Thriller fans, especially those who love One of Us Is Lying, will devour this page-turner."-Buzzfeed No one at Hollywood High knows who's behind We'll Never Tell-a viral YouTube channel where the anonymous creators trespass behind the scenes of LA's most intriguing locales. The team includes CASEY, quiet researcher and trivia champ; JACOB, voice narrator and video editor, who is secretly dating EDDIE, aspiring filmmaker; and ZOE, coder and breaking-and-entering extraordinaire. Now senior year is winding down, and with their lives heading in different directions, the YouTubers vow to go out with a bang. Their last episode will be filmed at the infamous Valentini "murder house," which has been left abandoned, bloodstained, and untouched since a shocking murder/suicide in 1972. When the teens break in, they capture epic footage. But someone trips an alarm, and it's a mad dash to get out before the police arrive-at which point they realize only three of them escaped instead of four. Jacob is still inside, slain and bleeding out. Is his attack connected to the historic murder, or is one of their crew responsible? A week of suspicions and cover-ups unfolds as Casey and her remaining friends try to stay alive long enough to solve murder mysteries past and present. If they do, their friendship may not survive. If they don't, the house will claim more victims.

We'll Never Tell

You Can Trust Me: A Novel

In a “thriller with a sharp take on wealth and privilege” (People, Book of the Week), two best friends grift their way through the California elite—until a scam goes awry.\n“A blazingly sharp, sexy, feminist thriller for those who wished The White Lotus season two was told from the POV of Mia and Lucia.”—Halley Sutton, author of The Hurricane Blonde\nA Glamour Best New Summer Thriller • A Paste Must-Read Thriller • A Crime Reads Most Anticipated Crime Novel\nSummer and Leo would do anything for each other. Inspired by the way each has had to carve her place in a hostile and unforgiving world, and united by the call of the open road, they travel around sunny California in Summer’s tricked-out Land Cruiser. It’s not a glamorous life, but it gives them the freedom they crave from the painful pasts they’ve left behind. But even free spirits have bills to pay. Luckily, Summer is a skilled pickpocket, a small-time thief, and a con artist—and Leo, determined to pay her own way, has learned a trick or two.\nEager for a big score, Leo catches in her crosshairs Michael Forrester, a self-made billionaire and philanthropist. When her charm wins him over, Leo is rewarded with an invitation to his private island off the California coastline for a night of fabulous excess. She eagerly anticipates returning with photos that can be sold to the paparazzi, jewelry that can be liquidated, and endless stories to share with Summer.\nInstead, Leo disappears.\nOn her own for the first time in years, Summer decides to infiltrate Michael’s island and find out what really happened. But when she arrives, no one has seen Leo—she’s not on the island as far as they know. Plus, there was only one way on the island—and no way off—for the coming days. Trapped in a scheme she helped initiate, could Summer have met her match?

Genre Fiction

Bantam]

Jazz will stop at nothing to save her brother. Their foster mother, Carol, has always been fanatical, but with Jazz grown up and out of the house, Carol takes a dangerous turn that threatens thirteen-year-old Joaquin’s life. Over and over, child services fails to intervene, and Joaquin is running out of time. Then Jazz gets a blocked call from someone offering a solution. There are others like her—people the law has failed. They’ve formed an underground network of “helpers,” each agreeing to eliminate the abuser of another. They’re taking back their power and leaving a trail of bodies throughout Los Angeles—dubbed the Blackbird Killings. If Jazz joins them, they’ll take care of Carol for good. All she has to do is kill a stranger.

The Kill Club

MIRA

“Her scream echoes in my memory. I know what happened. Whether anyone believes me or not, I know.” Sean Suh is done with killing. After serving three years in a psychiatric prison, he’s determined to stay away from temptation. But he can’t resist Annabelle—beautiful, confident, incandescent Annabelle—who alone can see past the monster to the man inside. The man he’s desperately trying to be. Then Annabelle disappears. Sean is sure she’s been kidnapped—he witnessed her being taken firsthand—but the police are convinced that Sean himself is at the center of this crime. And he must admit, his illness has caused him to “lose time” before. What if there’s more to what happened than he’s able to remember? Though haunted by the fear that it might be better for Annabelle if he never finds her, Sean can’t bring himself to let go of her without a fight. To save her, he’ll have to do more than confront his own demons… He’ll have to let them loose. A chilling, deeply suspenseful page-turner set in the 1980s, Hunting Annabelle is a stunning debut that will leave you breathless to the very end.

Hunting Annabelle

United States

The Kill Club Lib/E

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Thrillers & Suspense

MIRA Books

She's Too Pretty to Burn: A Novel

"An anxiety-ridden ride as two girls' lives crash together through secrets, love and danger. . . Captivating and stunningly visual." --Aiden Thomas,New York Times-bestselling author ofCemetery Boys An electric romance set against a rebel art scene sparks lethal danger for two girls inShe's Too Pretty to Burn, an expertly plotted YA thriller by Wendy Heard. The summer is winding down in San Diego. Veronica is bored, caustically charismatic, and uninspired in her photography. Nico is insatiable, subversive, and obsessed with chaotic performance art. They're artists first, best friends second. But that was before Mick. Delicate, lonely, magnetic Mick: the perfect subject, and Veronica's dream girl. The days are long and hot--full of adventure--and soon they are falling in love. Falling so hard, they never imagine what comes next. One fire.Two murders. Three drowning bodies. One suspect . . . one stalker. This is a summer they won't survive. Inspired byThe Picture of Dorian Gray, this sexy psychological thriller explores the intersections of love, art, danger, and power. Christy Ottaviano Books

Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)

About the Author\nWendy Heard is the author of the adult thrillers, The Kill Club and Hunting Annabelle, which Kirkus praised as “a diabolically plotted creep show from a writer to watch.” She is a member of Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers, and Mystery Writers of America, is a contributor at Crimereads, and co-hosts the Unlikeable Female Characters podcast. Wendy lives in Los Angeles, California. She’s Too Pretty to Burn marks her YA debut.\nAn electric romance set against a rebel art scene sparks lethal danger for two girls in She's Too Pretty to Burn, an expertly plotted YA thriller by Wendy Heard.\nThe summer is winding down in San Diego. Veronica is bored, caustically charismatic, and uninspired in her photography. Nico is insatiable, subversive, and obsessed with chaotic performance art. They’re artists first, best friends second. But that was before Mick. Delicate, lonely, magnetic Mick: the perfect subject, and Veronica’s dream girl. The days are long and hot―full of adventure―and soon they are falling in love. Falling so hard, they never imagine what comes next. One fire. Two murders. Three drowning bodies. One suspect . . . one stalker. This is a summer they won’t survive.\nInspired by The Picture of Dorian Gray, this sexy psychological thriller explores the intersections of love, art, danger, and power.\nChristy Ottaviano Books

Square Fish

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Heard, Wendy. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Heard, Wendy

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Heard, Wendy. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Dead End Girls

Dead End Girls

We'll Never Tell

You Can Trust Me: A Novel

You Can Trust Me: A Novel

The Kill Club

Hunting Annabelle

The Kill Club Lib/E

She's Too Pretty to Burn: A Novel

She's Too Pretty to Burn: A Novel