Dead Girls Tell No Tales

by Carissa Ann Lynch

Some stories refuse to die.

In the forgotten corners of small-town Indiana, Adriana McMahon serves up nuts and fudge at the mall while hiding from her dark past. When her seventeen-year-old coworker, Rebel James, drops off a bloodstained notebook full of stories about missing girls, Adriana recognizes a haunting pattern—one leading straight to New Day High School, where her own nightmare began decades ago.

Then Rebel disappears and the bodies of dead girls start appearing.

Each murder mirrors one of Rebel's stories with terrifying precision. But they also hint at Adriana's own past and a secret she hasn't told a soul. But how could Rebel, or anyone, have known? It's not long before the police are asking questions . . . and Adriana doesn't have the right answers.

As body count rises, Adriana must Is Rebel crying out for help, or luring her into a twisted game? The truth might cost Adriana everything—including her life.

Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Fiction, Ebooks, Mystery Thriller, Amazon, Suspense

317 pages, Paperback

Expected publication August 1, 2026

About the author

Besides my family, my greatest love in life is books. Reading them, writing them, holding them, smelling them…well, you get the idea. I’ve always loved to read, and some of my earliest childhood memories are me, tucked away in my room, lost in a good book. I received a five dollar allowance each week, and I always — always — spent it on books. My love affair with writing started early, but it mostly involved journaling and writing silly poems. Several years ago, I didn’t have a book to read so I decided on a whim to write my own story, something I’d like to read. It turned out to be harder than I thought, but from that point on I was hooked. My first and second books were released by Sarah Book Publishing: This Is Not About Love and Grayson’s Ridge. I’m a total genre-hopper. Basically, I like to write what I like to read: a little bit of everything! I reside in Floyds Knobs, Indiana with my husband, three children, and massive collection of books. I have a degree in psychology and worked as a counselor.

Reviews

[Kristina Haro · Rating 4 out of 5]

This may be the best book I’ve ever read that was a “Kindle First Reads” freebie. I was shocked at the ending. The last 10% of the book read like a horror movie. The narrator was a little bit annoying as she kept putting herself in danger, but she had good intentions. As always, I do get irritated whenever fictional towns are “made up” instead of using real town names. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this and plan to read her other books.

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this as my Amazon First Reads for July. This book is crazy. It was a little slow and annoying in some parts but once it got going it was a ride.

[Brianas_best_reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

✨Review✨

Thank you so much Carissa Ann Lynch for the gifted copy of DEAD GIRLS TELL NO TALES which is releasing on 8/1/26.

“Some stories refuse to die.”

I really enjoyed this dark and twisty thriller. It’s broken down into acts with very short chapters that keep the pace moving along perfectly.

The suspense keeps you on your toes and I couldn’t wait to see how the past and present were all tied together. I don’t want to spoil anything, but be sure to give this one a read!

4/5 ⭐️

[Barbara Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unsure...

What am I unsure of. Well, first I am trying to determine which exact genre this book would be called. Sci-fi, mystery, crime novel, teenage mellow drama or just an undetermined set of fantasies mixed in with a whole lot of poor decisions. Well, I read it from start to finish but I suppose it should be classified as YA drama and call it done.

[Wendy Westfere]

Nope.

[Susan Davis]

Talky. Preposterous. Preachy. Silly

Talky. Preposterous. Preachy. Silly. Mostly silly. Sounds like a teenager tho hero is supposed to be grown.Mish mash of common tropes.

.

[Melissa Ammons · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my go-to authors no questions asked, and she absolutely nailed this one. At least, I think so.
Adrianna McMahon was down on her luck as her writing career was pretty much going nowhere at the moment. She finds herself working in a nut and fudge shoppe and develops an unexpected friendship with Rebel (Jane James is her real name), but Rebel just fits this girl for all the right reasons. Rebel has stumbled across something and decides to ask Adrianna for help under the guise of wanting to be a writer herself.
Rebel doesn’t show up for work or school and no one, other than Adrianna, seems to care.
The more Adrianna tries to find Rebel, tries to get help to find Rebel, the more she discovers as her past collides right into Rebel’s present. Not to mention some of Adrianna’s actions leading detectives to think …
I could’ve easily read this book in one setting, I thought it was that good. It has everything I like in a psychological twister. The past colliding with the present, but the thread holding everything together? I didn’t expect that and I probably should have.
I liked the way the author planted some red herrings throughout these pages, making me think I figured out the whodunnit and then I went down another path changing my mind. The final reveal … again, I didn’t expect it and I should have. I also liked the fact that there was family strife involved for both Adrianna and Rebel, it just made them more realistic and explained parts of their personalities.
For me, I found this one to be a page turner.

[Steve Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't identify with the main character Adrianna, a struggling writer, who makes one bad decision after another and fails to learn from any of them.

The book shows promise early with the intriguing friendship/mentor-student/coworker relationship that develops between Adrianna and Rebel, a troubled teen.

Working together at a nut shop (was this an inside joke?), they uncover clues and become much too heavily involved in a string of killings, involving young girls at an alternative school, which both attended.

Then Rebel disappears and Adrianna is on her own, free to make poorer decisions than ever.

She is determined to find out what happened to Rebel and to learn the truth about who killed the other girls ... and possibly Rebel. She pushes and probes, fails to tell police all that she knows, and behaves so suspiciously that she becomes a suspect herself.

The ending fizzles, descending into comic book/grade B horror movie territory with regard to both plot and dialogue.

Remember the old cliche in which the ditzy horror movie victim pauses at the top of the stairs leading to a dark basement and everyone screams, "No, no, no ... don't go!" ... but she goes anyway?

Coming down the home stretch, Adrianna makes several bad decisions in a row that are even worse than this.

Even the most patient of readers may feel like standing up and hollering, "What were you thinking?!"

All of this aside, readers may find themselves rooting for Adrianna anyway, if they make it as far as the final pages.

[Court · Rating 4 out of 5]

First book by Carissa and there will be many more. Adrianna and Rebel are the duo you don’t realize you need in a book. Discovering Rebel orchestrated their entire “chance” meeting by having her boss hire her was a good call and also unexpected upon first reading.. I excepted and suspected the killer to either be the teacher.. perhaps his wife (which honestly I could have suspected to be Candy as there wasn’t much of a description his wife at all).. or one of the students, but I was not suspecting Carrie! It was a perfect lay up for it to be Christina to be the killer in this story until the ending when she’s in Mr Hobbes house. Also the strained relationship with Adrianna and her mother is also relatable in a way that it’s not an over stretch. I did like the cute little ending of her and Rebel’s uncle hitting it off.

[C.W. Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

This author is new to me and I loved the premise of this book, of a struggling author and the strange girl she befriends, only to find there’s a rash of murders possibly involving this girl, and that connect to the protagonist’s past she’s tried to forget.

I loved the friendship between Rebel and Adrianna. The twists and turns were compelling, the writing style is unique and alternates between the real world and Adrianna’s fictional worlds. I related to Adrianna and her struggles when everything seemed to be going wrong. The ending was satisfying! Would definitely check out this author’s backlist and future works. This was my kindle FirstReads pick for July 2026.

[Jessica W · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was okay. It wasn't bad and it wasn't good. There were a lot of typos, which may be due to it being an early copy. The main character just seems so dumb....lacking common sense. She keeps doing things that are just stupid, and somehow the police are like "oh well, I'm sure you meant well." The ending is exciting, though a little cliche. Also random things would be brought up that seemed like they would mean more, and then didn't, like the protagonist's role in her best friend's death as a kid. She mentions she didn't help the friend when she could have, suggesting a darker side to the writer that goes nowhere.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I chose this as my Amazon First Read for July. I loved the writing style, and the story got more and more interesting. Adrianna obviously never read a thriller book or watched CSI, and all of the reckless mistakes she made got tiresome. The big reveal was a surprise, but I hated how they told Adrianna what happened. I would have loved a separate chapter in the past showing us events as they occurred. I love Lynch's books, and this was a fun read!

[Andrea R · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book on Amazon First Reads. I finished it in 2 sittings. I definitely wanted to find out what was going on. The book did a good job of making my you wonder and theorize what the ending will be and honestly, this was one I didn’t guess ahead of time like I usually do.

I also enjoyed seeing the descriptions the main character gives her worlds as a writer. It felt like an inside peek into the process.

If you like dark and twisty thrillers, give this one a try.

[Brittany James · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not going to lie I almost didn’t finish reading this one… I did pick this as my Amazon First Read for the month and if I bought it with my own money I would have regretted it 🤷🏽‍♀️the beginning was all over the place and honestly the story was a bit much to follow.. the main character battling between reality and her writers dreams again weird.. the twists at the end were really good, but I feel like a lot was left out or not explained.. definitely not a favorite for me…

[Saundra Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

So complex!

But this is not only complicated, it's compelling. The beginning seems a bit disjointed but as I kept reading, I realized that was just the build of the character. I never knew what was going to happen next, which is always good with a mystery. The entire book was beguiling.

[Rosio · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m so happy I chose this as my Amazon First Reads. This book started out good and just kept getting better. Every chapter added to the mystery of where is Rebel and why does she have a book about these dead girls?! And that ending was quite a surprise I did not see coming.

[Tara G · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️
The beginning was really hard to get into, and the narrator felt distant and immature. However, as the plot and mystery progressed I was hooked. I enjoyed the unraveling of the town and characters. Each detail leading to a conclusion that felt right.

[Rebecca Rogahn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Got as a Kindle first read and SO happy I picked this!! I began reading it and couldn’t put it down. I normally don’t enjoy constant narrative stories, however this was very well done. It reads easily and gives great visual as you read. You will never see the end coming, till it does.

[K · Rating 1 out of 5]

The main character was so frustrating. Her personality was really unlikeable, and she just kept making one bad decision after another. The storyline was fine, but I couldn't get past how awful the main character was; she just ruined the whole book.

[Kathryn Zweigenbaum · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so good! I couldn't put it down. There were twists and turns. Adriana got pulled into something and had no idea what she really was getting herself into. A real page turner!

[Eva Rogers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good!!!

[Mailmanr5 · Rating 3 out of 5]

The plot is ok. But it’s been done before. What I really didn’t like was the stupidity of the heroine. Just like in the typical horror movie.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Riveting Tale

This is my first time reading this author and this story hooked me from the start. I read this in one sitting and could not put it down

[Suzanne Ricker · Rating 3 out of 5]

0

[Vincent Bange · Rating 5 out of 5]

really nice twists

Read this in two sittings(would have been one except for that pesky thing called sleep). Well crafted story with some unexpected twists and turns. Guess I’ve got another author to follow.

[Emma · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’m making a mental note of the approximately half a dozen “mental notes” in the first chapter.

[Melanie Market · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite good!

I really liked this story. I will say I thought it started a little slow but it definitely gets good! Keep reading! You'll love it too

[Rachel Lovejoy · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75 ⭐️ rounded up - I struggled to want to pick this one up once I started reading. There were some fun twists but overall I just was a little underwhelmed by it

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars

[Nicole]

i quit i can’t stand this woman