Pretty Dead Queens

Ages 14 And Up, Grades 9 And Up

Seaview High's homecoming queen is dead . . . and she's not the first. From the critically acclaimed author of The Ivies comes a nonstop thriller about a decades-old mystery, a copycat killing, and the teen who won't stop until she discovers the truth.

"Sharp as a knife and utterly savage." –Jessica Goodman, New York Times bestselling author of They’ll Never Catch Us

After the death of her mom (screw cancer), seventeen-year-old Cecelia Ellis goes to live with her estranged grandmother, a celebrated author whose Victorian mansion is as creepy as the murder mysteries she writes. On the surface, life is utterly ordinary in the California coastal town . . . until the homecoming queen is murdered. And she’s not Seaview’s first pretty dead queen.

With a copycat killer on the loose, Cecelia throws herself into the investigation, determined to crack the case like the heroines in her grandmother’s books. But the more Cecelia digs into the town’s secrets, the more she worries that her own mystery might not have a storybook ending. 

Series Overview: Second of two books signed up

About the Author

Alexa Donne is the author of Brightly Burning and The Stars We Steal, sci-fi romance retellings of classics set in space, and the YA thriller The Ivies, which Kirkus Reviews called "a thrilling boarding school story with a satirical edge." A graduate of Boston University, Alexa works in TV marketing and has done pro bono college admissions mentoring since 2014. A true INFJ, in her "free" time she mentors with WriteGirl, organizes the Author Mentor Match program, and runs one of the most popular writing advice channels on YouTube. She lives in Los Angeles with two fluffy ginger cats named after characters from YA literature. You can find her online at alexadonne.com.

Author Residence: Los Angeles, CA