This Place Kills Me

by Mariko Tamaki, Nicole Goux (Illustrator)

A compelling, propulsive YA graphic novel mystery from acclaimed Eisner Award–winning author of Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me, Mariko Tamaki, and Eisner-nominated illustrator Nicole Goux

At Wilberton Academy, few students are more revered than the members of the elite Wilberton Theatrical Society—a.k.a. the WTS—and no one represents that exclusive club better than Elizabeth Woodward. Breathtakingly beautiful, beloved by all, and a talented thespian, it’s no surprise she’s starring as Juliet in the WTS’s performance of Shakespeare’s classic tragedy. But when she’s found dead the morning after opening night, the whole school is thrown into chaos.

Transfer student Abby Kita was one of the last people to see Elizabeth alive, and when local authorities deem the it-girl’s death a suicide, Abby’s not convinced. She’s sure there’s more to Wilburton and the WTS than meets the eye. As she gets tangled in prep school intrigues, Abby quickly realizes that Elizabeth was keeping secrets. Was one of those secrets worth killing for?

Told in comics, letters, diary entries, and news articles, This Place Kills Me is a page-turning whodunnit from award-winning writer Mariko Tamaki and acclaimed illustrator Nicole Goux that will have readers on the edge of their seats and begging for an encore.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Mystery, Young Adult, Comics, LGBT, Queer, Fiction

272 pages, Paperback

First published August 19, 2025

About the author

Mariko Tamaki is a Toronto writer, playwright, activist and performer. She works and performs with fat activists Pretty Porky and Pissed Off and the theatre troupe TOA, whose recent play, A vs. B, was staged at the 2004 Rhubarb Festival at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre. Her well-received novel, Cover Me (McGilligan Books) was followed by a short fiction collection, True Lies: The Book of Bad Advice (Women's Press). Mariko's third book, FAKE ID, is due out in spring 2005.

Mariko Tamaki has performed her work across Canada and through the States, recently appearing at the Calgary Folkfest 2004, Vancouver Writer's Festival 2003, Spatial III, and the Perpetual Motion/Girls Bite Back Tour, which circled though Ottawa, Montreal, Brooklyn and Chicago. She has appeared widely on radio and television including First Person Singular on CBC radio and Imprint on TVO. Mariko Tamaki is currently attending York University working a master's degree in women's studies.

[MacMIllan Books]

Reviews

[Book Riot Community]

This is one of Book Riot’s Best Books of 2025:

This sapphic YA graphic novel takes place in the '80s, but its story of teenage alienation is timeless. Wilberton Academy's resident It Girl, Elizabeth Woodward, is found dead the morning after she starred in the school's rendition of Romeo and Juliet. She's said to have died by suicide, but something about that doesn't feel right. Outcast Abby Kita is determined to find out what really happened to one of the few girls at Wilberton who was ever nice to her. Turns out, Elizabeth had secrets—secrets that might have gotten her killed.

- Erica Ezeifedi

[Sunny Lu · Rating 4 out of 5]

my heart absolutely dropped at the reveal oh my goddddddd!!! the all-girls boarding school atmosphere and the inherent horror of that type of setting, the absolute hostility of this environment, the characters and their relationships.... wow

3.5 stars

[Chantaal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Our pasts make us who we are, and sometimes those pasts fucking sucked. I'm so sorry for whatever Mariko Tamaki experienced when she was young, but it's produced some damn good art throughout her career, and that continues here.

This Place Kills Me is a graphic novel that takes place in the 90s and follows Abby Kita as she's transferred to a new all-girls boarding school. She's lonely, she's angry, she's an outcast. She's the last person who saw the star of the school's theatre troupe before she was found dead - a supposed suicide. However, something feels weird and Abby is drawn to trying to learn more.

While this is a mystery, I wouldn't call it a true mystery thriller in the vein of typical stories of those genres. The main emotional theming in this story revolves around Abby's loneliness, her pain, her anger, and the way that teenage girls can make it so, so easy to turn someone's life into a living hell for being even a smidge different from the pack.

The strength of Tamaki's writing makes Abby's emotions and struggles incredibly visceral, to a point where I was almost uncomfortable. I wanted to reach out through time and space and imagination to protect Abby, to shelter her and let her know the world won't always feel so vast and empty and alone despite being surrounded by her peers every single day.

Nicole Goux's art really elevates Tamaki's writing. I read this as an eARC so unfortunately the art wasn't complete (it was all in black and white, lettering not quite finished), but even unfinished, Goux's art is great. It plays with space and sizing and movement in a way that speaks to Abby's emotional states, and facial expressions are top notch. I can't wait to see the finished version in full color.

The mystery itself wasn't a huge shock, but it helped tie into Abby's thematic journey in a way that made a sickening kind of sense.

Even if you don't typically read YA or graphic novels, this is definitely worth trying out.

Content warnings: mentions of suicide, drug use, homophobia, bullying.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Abrams Kids for the review copy.

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[Bethany (Beautifully Bookish Bethany) · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars rounded up

This Place Kills Me is a YA graphic novel mystery about an all girls school putting on a performance of Romeo and Juliet, only for their Juliet to turn up dead the next day...

The main character is a lesbian girl who is an outsider with a traumatic background, but she ends up investigating what really happened and uncovering dark secrets in this wealthy enclave. It deals with grooming and sexual assault of a minor among other things, so use caution if needed, but I thought it was really good and well-handled.

[Maia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Abby is the newest student at a clique-heavy girls boarding school known for its theater program. She doesn't fit in and is chased by rumors of what made her leave her old school. But when the star of the school's production of Romeo and Julietis found dead in the school woods in full costume with a dagger in her hand the night after the play, there's something new to dominate the gossip mill. Abby and her unfriendly roommate, Claire, a reporter from the school paper, both begin chasing hints and clues as to what happened. It's bigger and uglier than either of them could have guessed. This is a fast-paced murder mystery set in the mid-1980s, which means that key items in the investigation include a portable cassette player, a pay phone, and many handwritten letters. The art is gorgeous and I loved the setting and all of the period details.

[Rod Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mariko Tamaki is a bit hit or miss for me, but teaming with Nicole Goux for the illustrations helped push this girls' school murder mystery into the thumbs up territory for me.

Abby Kita's well-earned bitterness and negativity might make the narration challenging for some, but I felt sympathy for this outsider who becomes a teen detective out of a combination of spite and self-defense.


Disclosure: I received access to a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.com.

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

for me, the highlight of the book is the moody art, filled with beautiful details - dramatic motion, brilliant facial expressions and especially eyebrows, and bangin 80s fashions! while the storytelling isn't perfect, i really enjoyed this visually. rtc!!

[Tatiana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty, but way too short to be a fully realized story.

[Elizabeth A · Rating 2 out of 5]

This YA graphic novel is a murder mystery set in an all girls boarding school. There were some interesting themes, but none of them were explored with any depth. The illustration style didn't help me distinguish these girls from each other and I wasn't invested in this tale. Recommend checking out the TW if needed.

[RaspberryRoses]

The art style for this GN fucks severely. Really fun, and has some really great panelling choices. The limited color palette works in some areas, but it can lead to some characters looking a *very* similar. (Also, it made the entire cast light skinned. This is set at a fancy private girls boarding school in the 80s, so its possible this was a choice?? But it was also. Hm.)

The vibes are extremely fun, and there's something really raw about how the homophobia towards Abby is depicted. It's really powerful.

The mystery is mid-to-bad, though. It failed to truly come together, and it didn't end up with a satisfying motive. Also, when a major plot point is Abby realizing a character who sent love notes to the victim *had* to be a girl because the handwriting was "clearly that of a girls"... it's a bit of a miss to later make the handwriting of a male character deeply relevant, and to give him pretty "girly" handwriting.

[Dina · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
Set at an all-girl's boarding school during the 90s, Mariko Tamaki's latest work "This Place Kills Me" is a suspenseful noir graphic novel. The novel explores queerness and sexuality, along with themes of bullying, cover-ups, and power imbalances. I loved the artwork, and the story was artfully told through Tamaki's drawing style. Tamaki grounds the novel in the 90s through the fashion of the characters, along with cultural references and the accessories they use (ex. Abby's Walkman).
I was intrigued by the mystery, and I was really into the idea of there being secret societies present at the boarding school. Unfortunately, I felt that the mystery fell flat at the end. There was a lot of exposition at the end, but it felt anti-climactic, and I wish that there had been a better execution of the big reveal at the end. I also felt like the story ended very abruptly, and I wish we had been left with a better resolution. The story handles a lot of discussion of queerness, which is reflective of the mainstream attitude of queerness at the time (queer=bad), which was both accurate but also kind of depressing at the same time (everyone was so mean to Abby!). The novel does reflect the title very well, with Abby having a pretty terrible time at the school, but it got depressing to read at times because it felt like she never caught a break from her peers or the staff at the school. Overall, this is a good recommendation for someone looking for a mystery or noir graphic novel, but unfortunately, it falls a bit flat and isn't the happiest of books.

[Shannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really loved the art style in this, but the actual plot was honestly pretty boring. Like, someone died and there still felt like zero tension in the book. Nothing much happened until the reveal at the end and then it was suddenly over. It all seemed very anti-climactic to me.

Also, as a side note, whoever wrote the synopsis and said that this was told in 'comics, letters, diary entries, and news articles' was a huge liar because this was literally just a normal graphic novel.

[Machiavelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Place Kills Me by Mariko Tamaki and Nicole Goux is a haunting, surreal murder mystery that blends teen angst, grief, and the rot hiding beneath a small town’s surface. Tamaki’s writing captures that raw, restless edge of adolescence — the confusion, the self-destructive impulses, and the desperate search for meaning in tragedy. Nicole Goux’s art is stunning: moody linework, expressive characters, and a dreamlike flow that blurs reality and memory, pulling you deeper into the story’s unsettling atmosphere.

It’s part psychological thriller, part coming-of-age, and part brutal look at how friendship, obsession, and secrecy can twist into something darker. This is the kind of graphic novel that lingers with you, not just for its central mystery but for the way it captures that suffocating feeling of being young, lost, and haunted by both place and past.

[Hudson · Rating 2 out of 5]

i was kinda confused the whole time. i couldnt tell the characters apart and had to keep flipping back and forth between pages. theres definitely potential with the plotline and characters but overall didnt seem to be executed well. a lot of questions left unanswered.

[Bee · Rating 5 out of 5]

maybe I say this every graphic novel review but The Arttttttt yumyumyumyum!! I want to eat it all up

[Raina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read almost everything Tamaki has published that wasn't already existing IP. I'd only read one of Goux' works (Forest Hills Bootleg Society), but really dug that. Here, they combine their vibes and what comes out is an angsty queer teen mystery. As someone who was majorly influenced by the Nancy Drew series as an adolescent, I was very into it.

Tamaki and Goux use a limited color palette (slightly more limited than the cover) to tell the story of an outsider and a theatre company at an all-girls school where someone turns up dead. The ostracized outsider is a natural suspect for most, so she has a stake in finding the true killer.

[L. Luck · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think that it had a lot of potential and the building blocks of one of the best graphic novels, but it felt like it wrapped up all of a sudden. It needed a bit more space to breathe in the second half for clues to percolate properly. It felt choked off before it could soar (unfortunately like our victim). As a side note, I also don’t fully understand presenting this as a mixed media piece. I kinda get it, but it’s not really what people would actually consider mixed media.

3.5*
Warnings for murder, homophobia, forced outing, bullying, overdose/addiction, p*dophilia/predation, drugging, suicide mentions

[Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

We love a queer mystery.

[Eileen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could watch a show about this oh my God this was amazing! I love anything that involves an all girls school (and an all boys school as well) just a setting I'm a super huge fan of.

[mitrakats · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funnily enough the murder was the least interesting part. Loved the art style and mc

[haley ⊹ · Rating 3 out of 5]

ooo I liked this, loved the artwork and coloring especially. been a while since I've read something by tamaki.

[norah melden (death by tbr) · Rating 5 out of 5]

holy freaking---
🤩🤩🤩

this book surprised me in the best way, i LOVED IT. Mariko you are a genius, i want a book twoooo!!!!
also can we talk about the cover? tip of the iceberg on this glorious WORK OF ARTTTT 🤌🏻🤌🏻🤌🏻

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Content warning: drug/alcohol abuse, suicide, inappropriate teacher-student relationships, homophobia, bullying

Set in the late 80's at the height of Nancy Reagan's “Just Say No” movement... and when it was still very unsafe to be an outwardly queer person, Tamaki weaves a story of an outsider teen piecing together the final moments of another teen suspected of dying by suicide.

Goux's illustrations and muted color palate compliment Tamaki's writing very well. This graphic novel handles a LOT of heavy topics but doesn't feel overwhelming.

[Frank Chillura (OhYouRead) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Mariko Tamaki’s graphic novels. All of the one’s I’ve read have been bangers. Once I started this book, I couldn’t put it down. Not only is it queer/sapphic, but it’s a murder mystery. I guess it would technically be closer to suicide mystery, but that’s part of what you have to uncover while reading.

Set in the 1980’s, This Place Kills Me is about a girl sent away to boarding school after a mishap from her old life gets her banished as punishment. She was turned into an outcast for suspicion of being a lesbian and the same thing happens here as well. In the height of the AIDS epidemic, everyone was scared of queer people, so this makes a lot of sense for the story.

When one of the girls is found dead in the woods wearing her Juliet costume from the play that she starred in, a school wide investigation is opened to uncover the truth.

This was really well executed and the MC, Abby, is really likable. Not by her classmates it seems, but seeing as how I can relate to her woahs in a way, it made me feel for her so much more. I also didn’t expect the outcome to unfold like that. I definitely knew there was something funny going on with the principal and her creepy a$$ husband, but I didn’t see the other part that you need to read to find out about.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my eARC.

[Madison · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved Nicole Goux's art and I liked Abby a lot as a protagonist, but the story itself is something we've all read a million bazillion times.

[Celeste · Rating 4 out of 5]

Flew through this. I appreciated that “Grayson Hall” was the name for one of the school halls. I’m taking Tamaki or Goux as a Dark Shadows fan. Or both!

[Meggie Ramm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Transfer student Abby loathes Wilberton Academy, including the overly lauded student theatrical society. But when renowned starlet Elizabeth Warren is found dead and her death ruled a suicide, Abby isn't convinced. Wilberton is full of secrets, and Abby is determined to uncover them all. 

I got this as an ARC (THANKS CHARLOTTE) because Mariko Tamaki and Nicole Goux are a power combo one can only DREAM of, and this book did not disappoint. Tamaki is able to capture that under-the-skin teenage cruelty that is rampant among girls, and the constant scrutiny of being queer in an unfriendly world. The atmosphere created by this team alone would be enough, but the mystery is equally intriguing and I don't think I've encountered such a successful graphic whodunnit. I cannot WAIT to see this in full color, an excellent addition to both Tamaki's and Goux's already impressive arsenal.

[kenzie hampton · Rating 5 out of 5]

A queer gothic mystery that centers the mysterious death of an elite boarding school theater program's esteemed lead actress— a page turner until the very end! Transfer student and outcast Abby Kita is the last person to see Elizabeth before her death and its up to her and her roommate to piece together what happened to her, even if the truth is much scarier than fiction.

[Shana Bird · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5⭐️ really enjoyed the art, plot was okay but easy to whip through

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good. Kept me engaged and interested.