I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Emma knows her friends all lie to her. And everyone knows Emma is the outcast of their group. She's usually fine with that, until her friends go on a camping trip that she planned...without her. The next morning, she wakes up to the news that all three of them died at the campsite.

When Emma starts receiving unnerving videos of the girls the night they died from an anonymous source, it becomes clear their deaths weren't an accident. And if this becomes a murder case, Emma will be suspect number one. Because while everyone knows she had been excluded from the plans, what they don't know is that she went to the campsite that night after all, and someone has proof.

Emma teams up with Beck, one of the victims' sisters, to return to the woods and figure out what really happened the night her friends died, uncover who is behind the mysterious videos she is receiving, and make sure that nobody can pin their murders on her. But stranded in an eerie town that doesn't welcome outsiders with a murderer on their heels, Emma and Beck just might be next…

Short and Sweet Review

What Happened to Those Girls was a fun, suspenseful YA thriller that kept me guessing from beginning to end. The story follows Emma, who has always been the outsider in her friend group. After her friends exclude her from a camping trip she originally planned, they are found dead the next morning. When Emma begins receiving anonymous videos from the night of their deaths, she realizes their deaths may not have been accidental and if the truth comes out, she could easily become the prime suspect.

The mystery was definitely the strongest part of this book. I liked how the story slowly unraveled, introducing strange events, small-town secrets, and even the possibility that something supernatural was involved. I was constantly questioning what was real and what wasn’t, and the author did a great job building tension. Just when I thought I had everything figured out, another twist would completely change my theory. The ending especially delivered with several reveals that I genuinely didn’t see coming. Emma was an interesting main character because she wasn’t always easy to like. She made questionable decisions, but that also made her feel more realistic. I appreciated that the story didn’t try to make her perfect, and I liked the uncertainty surrounding her motives. Was she trying to solve the murders because she genuinely wanted justice for her friends, or simply to clear her own name? That ambiguity made her more compelling. I also enjoyed Beck’s role in the story and thought her partnership with Emma worked well as they investigated together. The creepy atmosphere was another highlight. The isolated campground, the secretive town, and the rumors surrounding a possible witch gave the story an eerie, horror-like feel that set it apart from a typical YA mystery. It created a constant sense of unease that kept me turning the pages to find out what was really happening. The reason this wasn’t quite a four- or five-star read for me was because the pacing slowed down a bit in the middle. While I was invested in the mystery, there were moments where the investigation felt like it lost momentum before picking back up again. There were also a few plot conveniences that required suspending disbelief, but they didn’t take away too much from my overall enjoyment.

Overall, What Happened to Those Girls is an entertaining YA thriller with a gripping mystery, creepy atmosphere, and plenty of twists. If you enjoy stories filled with small-town secrets, morally gray characters, and endings that keep you guessing until the final pages, this is definitely worth picking up.