The town of Wolf Ridge calls him The Smiley Face Killer. Bettina Holland calls him her father.

Everyone knows Bettina’s father was the one who murdered her mother a decade ago. It’s the subject of podcasts, murder tours, and even a highly anticipated docuseries. But after growing up grappling with what that means, a string of copycat murders forces Bett to answer a harder question: What if he didn’t?

Old-money Bett must team up with the only person willing to investigate alongside her: bookish goth girl Eugenia, the mortician’s daughter, who everyone says puts the makeup on corpses. Can this “true crime princess” unmask a murderer who’s much closer to home than she ever imagined? 

Gritty, gripping, and propulsive from page one, Dead Girls Talking is a ride for readers who love to see girls get their hands dirty as they claw their way to the truth. Peterson’s knife-sharp thriller cuts deep, with a wicked sense of humor, a wire-taut atmosphere, and a deadly serious approach to bigger issues of justice and female anger.

AS FEATURED ON THE NERD DAILY, SPOTIFY, AND THE STAR TRIBUNE

"Spine-tingling."—Booklist

"Engrossing. This is a book you won't want to put down."—Crystal J. Bell, author of The Lamplighter

Bettina Holland, known for being the daughter of The Smiley Face Killer, confronts her past and questions her beliefs about her father's guilt when a series of copycat murders emerge, as she teams up with Eugenia, the mortician's daughter, to unmask a murderer closer to home than she ever imagined.