Book Review: Paint, Tarot & Murder: My 4-Star Review of Paint Me Like Your Dead Girls

hiveandhuestudio

Jul 21

2 min read

Pink horror book cover with blurred faces in frames, red wallpaper, and the title Paint Me Like Your Dead Girls by Cynthia Murphy.

Paint Me Like Your Dead Girls by Cynthia Murphy was such a fast-paced YA mystery that kept me hooked. I really liked how it mixed art, serial killers, tarot, and a little bit of the occult and its history. There were also some horror and suspense elements thrown in, which gave the story a really interesting mix.

My favorite part was definitely Fliss and her investigative journalism. I loved reading about her digging through the internet, the library, old books, and archives, trying to piece everything together. I thought it was really interesting watching her follow the clues and slowly unravel the mystery. Her determination to find answers was definitely one of my favorite parts of the book.

The dual POV was also really cool, especially the parts that went back in time to the victims. Each one gave you another piece of the puzzle. You'd learn about the first victim, then move forward in the timeline as the next victims were introduced, and each story added another layer to the mystery. By the time you got to the fourth victim, everything really started to come together, and I thought that was a clever way to reveal the story behind the murders.

I also really liked Fliss's best friend, Izzy. Their friendship felt like a true friendship, full of support and love, even when their interests were so different. Some of the other supporting characters didn't feel quite as necessary to me, and I wasn't sure the romance really added much, but those were pretty minor things.

While I wouldn't really call this a thriller, it was definitely a suspenseful, fast-paced YA mystery with some horror mixed in. I really enjoyed all the different elements of this story and how they came together to create something a little different. I had a great time reading it, and I'd definitely read more from Cynthia Murphy!

You can see my review for Goodreads here:

Goodreads Review

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children’s Books for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.