Good Girls Die First Spoiler Free Book Review
Good Girls Die First Spoiler Free Book Review [Updated – Feb 2025]
Climbing into bed, book in hand, I settled down for the night intending to read a couple of chapters before bed.
My chamomile tea, ready to help me relax as I dived straight into the story.
Then before I knew it, the daylight was creeping through the top of my curtains as I lay the book down on my bedside table, fully finished.
I spent the whole night reading Good Girls Die First, that’s how invested I was.
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Good Girls Die First by Kathryn Foxfield
I love picking up a book and getting lost in the story.
When it holds my attention to the point I don’t realise time is passing around me, I know it’s been a good read.
There wasn’t any part of Good Girls Die First that had me yawning or wanting the story to hurry up and end.
I was immersed in the plot the whole way and although there are some points in the book I consider “cons”, it didn’t ruin the overall experience.
It was a good read and I’m glad I took the time to get lost in it. I’d personally love to see this made into a TV Series or movie.
The visuals, if done right, would be outstanding and I think it would make a great paranormal teen drama on Netflix.
Something chilling and dark that would make a great British mystery teen show.
Because it’s set in the UK, I found myself trying to imagine where exactly this could take place and could visualise the characters living in a small coastal town with an island nearby.
Anyway, enough of my dreaming about adapting this for the big screens, let’s dive into the review.
No Spoiler Book Review of Good Girls Die First
Good Girls Die First Synopsis/Summary – From Goodreads
“Mind games. Murder. Mayhem. How far would you go to survive the night?
Blackmail lures sixteen-year-old Ava to the derelict carnival on Portgrave Pier. She is one of ten teenagers, all with secrets they intend to protect whatever the cost.
When fog and magic swallow the pier, the group find themselves cut off from the real world and from their morals.
As the teenagers turn on each other, Ava will have to face up to the secret that brought her to the pier and decide how far she’s willing to go to survive.”
Good Girls Die First, It wasn’t what I expected
Going into Good Girls Die First by Kathryn Foxfield, I expected there to be an antagonist from the outset.
Maybe we wouldn’t know who, but there would be clear signs pointing to someone behind it all.
But what I got going into it, was a bit of confusion because among the air of mystery, there were paranormal tropes.
I couldn’t tell if this was supposed to be a story around ghosts and the likes, or a real world situation only involving humans. It wasn’t until about halfway through I realised.
Can’t lie though, I enjoyed it. I do love a bit of the paranormal, especially as I enjoy all things horror.
But it did throw me for a loop at the beginning as I was left guessing if it was going to stay on the paranormal route or if it was all just humans.
I definitely think the book is a little deceiving in that way.
Personally I got the impression it would be a murder mystery like One of Us is Lying, as its said to be perfect for fans of that book and I Know What You Did Last Summer.
But, I don’t see the resemblance at all.
If anything it’s more like the movie Truth or Dare with Lucy Hale and Tyler Posey in a sense.
And that’s not a bad thing, it’s just not really what it’s made out to be.
Characters
In the book we follow 10 characters through the story.
Although there are 10, the story is told with an emphasis on one, Ava.
The way the story is told, you can tell that Ava is the main character and the rest are there to lend to the plot.
The other 9 characters are:
- Jolie – The tough girl best friend
- Clem – The heartthrob musician
- Olly – The athletic jock
- Scarlett – The gold digging hottie
- Livia – The burnout
- Noah – The mysterious bad boy
- Teddy – The entitled rich kid
- Esme – The bad ass loner
- Imogen – The stuck up airhead
Personally, I would have preferred if the group was a bit smaller, maybe 6 of them, 7 at the most.
This is because when reading through I found myself forgetting who they were.
The only ones I could Identify straight away were Ava, Jolie, Esme and Noah.
For the rest of the characters, I had to keep jogging my memory on who they were.
Character descriptions weren’t great and felt a little one dimensional with the usual stereotypes of “the drug addict”, “The athletic one”, “The hot girl” and so on. There wasn’t much substance to them.
But, I did enjoy the back and forth between them, although sometimes it felt like their interactions dragged on.
This wasn’t a huge problem and didn’t distract me from the story, but there were some parts which I felt could have used a revamp involving the characters.
For example:
When the characters were talking to each other there was a lot of
“Ava said”, “Jolie said”, “Esme said” and so on after every time one of them spoke in a conversation.
If there were less characters I don’t think it would have gotten as muddy.
The characters weren’t overly likeable either.
I didn’t find myself drawn to any one of them in particular or rooting for them.
They had their flaws and honestly, most of them were quite unlikeable and forgettable.
Writing style
The way Kathryn sets the scenes and her use of descriptive words is phenomenal. I really felt like I was there.
I could smell the surroundings, I felt the atmosphere and I was genuinely transported to another world.
Books like this set my soul alight because every step of the way you feel like you’re part of it all, in the scenes with the characters.
I think this is my favourite thing about Good Girls Die First. The descriptions were on point.
You can definitely see where the thriller comes into play. From the get go I was immersed into the story, hanging on every word to find out what was going on.
The beginning especially was strong.
I’m not someone who needs reality in their stories. I don’t need a story to be believable or something you could see happening in the real world.
So, I wasn’t bothered by the fact the book seems a little outlandish in the plot.
As long as it’s interesting and keeps me reading, I’m happy. And that’s exactly what Good Girls Die First was, interesting and gripping.
The Main Plot
Good Girls Die First sees 10 teenagers turn up to an abandoned carnival on an island.
It’s not a big huge island per say, but big enough to have different sections to it that allow for intrigue and mystery.
They all end up there under the guise of blackmail, although not all of the characters think that.
We’re introduced to them one by one as the main character, Ava, makes her way through the story.
It doesn’t take long to find out who everyone is before the weird happenings start on the island.
I feel like this story started out very strong with a lot of potential, especially if it was to go down the murder mystery route of a somewhat believable plot line.
About halfway through the story starts to fizzle out a bit although there is plenty of action to sink your teeth into.
I think it’s because the story is said to be one thing only to be something completely different.
As the story progresses, we see the different characters deal with what’s happening before them.
Their grappling on reality and trying to figure it all out is interesting and having the air of mystery about it lends to the chilling factor.
All the characters have different secrets that brought them to the island and although some of them are predictable, I was surprised by a couple of them.
It’s nice when there’s a reveal and I had no idea what it was.
The Cons of Good Girls Die First
There are few things in Good Girls Die First that I would consider cons, but they weren’t enough to deter me from the story.
But they are worth mentioning for anyone who’s considering picking it up.
The Characters
As I mentioned in the characters section, they felt a little one dimensional.
There wasn’t much substance to them other than the secrets they were carrying with them.
I didn’t find myself attached to any of them nor did I root for any.
I genuinely don’t think it would have made much of a difference to the story the order in which things happened to them.
Not what it seems
Again, as I’ve mentioned before, it wasn’t what I was expecting.
This doesn’t mean the story was bad, just that when I picked it up I had intended to read a story like One of Us is Lying due to the way the book has been marketed.
There’s literally nothing on the book cover that suggests there’s paranormal stuff in the story.
Luckily I enjoy these sorts of books as well, but for someone who doesn’t, it feels like a bit of a catfish.
The antagonist
As much as I enjoy paranormal, horror stories, I felt the antagonist was a little lacklustre.
Maybe it’s because I had certain expectations going into the book, but I just didn’t find them all that terrifying.
I can’t quite put my finger on what it was, but it felt like a bit of a disconnect.
Maybe it’s because I had an idea in my head when the story began of what evil villain was going to come into play only to have it flipped 180° on me.
Normally that’s not a bad thing, being surprised. But in this case it was a big “oh my god” reveal.
Final thoughts
All in all, I did enjoy reading Good Girls Die First.
It kept me engaged for the full night and I read it all in one sitting without realising, which is always nice.
Although it didn’t turn out to be what I thought it was, it was enjoyable nonetheless.
If you’re someone who enjoys their murder mysteries to have an air of reality to them, this probably isn’t the book for you.
But if you’re into Horror/Thriller books with amazing descriptions and mystery with a side of paranormal, I think you’d like Good Girls Die First.
My overall rating for Good Girls Die First is a 3 out of 5.
Check out Kathryn Foxfield other books today.
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Incredible review Jordanne! I’ve had my eye on this book for a while and I’m even more inclined to start it right now after your reading your thoughts. I love books that you can’t put down because they’re so engaging. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you so much 😊💕 I definitely recommend it as a read if you enjoy spooky things and supernatural stuff.
It sounds like the author really knows how to create an immersive experience; which is wonderful! I love a book that keeps me interested and is so well written that I can’t put it down. Thanks for the review!
She really does! I loved being transported into the world of the book.
I haven’t heard this book before. But this sounds like an interesting book. I am trying to read more, so I like seeing what other people are reading.
Lauren x
It’s such a great read! Definitely recommend
This is a great review! I’m not really one for that many POVs or MCs because, like you said, it just gets muddy and hard to connect with all of them. But this author’s writing style sounds great so I’ll definitely see what other books she has out x
mia //
Thank you 😊💕 the writing style definitely made those book, loved her descriptions