Pretty Little Dead Girls
Mercedes M. Yardley
Crystal Lake Publishing
March 4, 2016
Reviewed by Elaine Pascale
From the very first line of author Mercedes M. Yardley’s fairy tale-esque novel, “Bryony Adams was the type of girl who got murdered,” readers are beholden to care about the main character’s safety. Bryony is destined to be a “pretty little dead girl,” but death needs more target practice.
This was my first experience with Yardley and I was supremely impressed. Even though death lurks around every corner and every page, Yardley has created an entrancing world with warm and engaging characters. Most importantly, the language of the book is poetic and evocative and simply lovely. Her consistency of tone inspires envy and she makes use of dainty, fragile chapters that are as ephemeral as the main character.
The story is about Bryony, a magical “star girl” who is marked to die tragically and violently; a cosmic stamp that everyone who encounters her can plainly see. The narrative begins in her childhood where we are introduced to a very sweet, precocious and intelligent young girl. The young Bryony is wise beyond her years and comprehends the state of her life (that she is destined to be murdered). We follow Bryony as she tentatively accepts her early adulthood, both relishing and feeling anxiety over the fact that she is still alive. She can never rest because death is stalking her in the form of a voracious desert and a skilled serial killer. The supporting characters hold their collective breaths — awaiting some gruesome denouement — while vowing to protect Bryony with their own lives. The plot is tense, but as the subtitle denotes, the tone is very whimsical.
Pretty Little Dead Girls is a gorgeous novel, perhaps one of the most lyrical in its genre. It is charming, magical and inspiring — both as a tale and as an example of exemplary writing.
