Horror Book of the Week: Prettiest Girl in the Grave by Kristopher Triana

 

This week’s Horror Book Recommendation is Prettiest Girl in the Grave written by Kristopher Triana.

Published by Grindhouse Press in May 2023, the book is on the bestsellers list for Horror Fiction.

Prettiest Girl in the Grave has received good reviews for being spooky, tense, and having vibes of splatterpunk.

However, there was some criticism regarding the portrayal of teenagers and some readers didn’t like the writing style nor the constant put down if goth culture.

Quick Review of PREETIEST GIRL IN THE GRAVE based on sample

Bella, Rose and Celeste are off in the middle of the night to meet their friend Aubrey at a graveyard.

They are joined by Savannah and her little sister Marnie.

Aubrey is older than the other girls and wants to perform a séance in the graveyard that doesn't really thrill Rose, Bella and Celeste.

Rose is a popular girl and good at everything. Celeste is the complete opposite and Bella seems to be following in her footsteps, something that Rose doesn't appreciate.

At the graveyard, Aubrey asks them all three questions: What are they afraid of? Who do they love? What happens when you die?

The girls all reply but Bella is clearly not being honest. On the other side, Holly, Bella's mother is having a rough night and waiting for her daughter, unaware that she is at the graveyard playing a game she has played too in her teens.

PREETIEST GIRL IN THE GRAVE draws you in quickly with its descriptive narrative. It also establishes the characters and their personalities really well. The writing flows easily and keeps you enraptured with the story slowly unfolding.

There is definitely a build-up of an urge to know more and to discover just how the lives of the characters are going to change.

There is, however, the clichéd teenage girl attitude that seems common in the six friends and even though their introductions suggest contrasting personalities,  they quickly appear all the same.

The characterizations need more work in an otherwise compelling story.

PREETIEST GIRL IN THE GRAVE Plot (Taken from Amazon)

Some girls are fearful, others are brave. One girl’s a princess, the next one, a slave. But all girls are equal, when they’re down in this cave, until just one is left standing—The Prettiest Girl in the Grave.

It was only supposed to be a game.

When Bella, Celeste, and Rose meet with new friends at a graveyard in the woods, they soon realize they’re unprepared for what’s planned. At twenty, Aubrey is older than the high schoolers, and she knows of a secret game that’s been played by local girls for decades.

It starts with personal questions, but quickly moves on to a test of courage as Aubrey guides them into an underground crypt. But even Aubrey doesn’t know what they’re really getting into. Bella’s mother, Holly, may be the only one who does.

As a teen, Holly and her friends also played the game, and Holly barely survived. When she discovers her daughter has gone to the graveyard, she fears Bella will get lost in the mysterious catacombs just as she had… and face the same sinister forces.

As the girls search for a way out, Holly must return to the dreadful crypt she swore she’d never come back to, and finally face her own dark secrets.

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