Dead End Girls

By: Wendy Heard

Narrated by: Natalie Naudus, Taylor Meskimen

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.​

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​

A YALSA Amazing Audiobook for Young Adults
A YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers
A Rainbow Book List Selection

Critic reviews

Praise for Dead End Girls:

"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

“This fun, dark, fully queer thriller embraces its premise without pulling any punches. A romantic thriller that takes “Be Gay, Do Crime” to heart.”

—Kirkus Reviews

“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

“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

"Freedom, identity, and unexpected love collide in a pulse-pounding thrill ride."—Mindy McGinnis, Edgar Award-winning author of The Female of the Species

Predictable plotting

Lots of twists and turns, but most were foreseeable. Characters were flat, but I still felt compelled to root for them. A good YA beach book.

Phenomenal Narration

This is the type of book I will recommend specifically as an audiobook. The production quality, with unique narrative voices is incredibly engrossing. Natalie Naudus has a grounded, rich tone that welcomes us to the story with assurance. Taylor Meskimen’s voice is a delightful change, we have gotten to used to one character’s voice from the original POV, but what a gift to then hear their voice from their OWN POV. So fun. It made me sit forward and become even more invested in the twists and turns of the story. Will definitely recommend.

Be gay, do crime

Been waiting for this book for a while, because one of the narrators, Natalie, hyped it up on tiktok. I flew through it in the last couple days and enjoyed every minute of it.