HOT GIRL MURDER CLUB opens with one of the coolest dedications I have read in a long time: “This one’s for the working-class, strip-mall, military-town kids, the ones who came of age driving back roads with their windows down and their music blasting, dreaming of bigger lives like the ones in books and movies.”

Ashley Winstead’s latest novel is a time-jumping thriller with a unique group of young women at its core. Readers will have to figure out if they are victims or homicidal vigilantes. She composes the narrative in such a way that they often toe the line between the two, which makes for a very interesting read.

"Ashley Winstead keeps the pages of HOT GIRL MURDER CLUB turning by leaning into these moral ambiguities. The end result is a thriller with real teeth that is quite satisfying."

In the brief opening chapter, a woman is standing outside a house with revenge on her mind. In her head, she is speaking to her darling girl and asks for forgiveness for what she is about to do. This leads us directly into the story that alternates primarily between the present and 10 years in the past.

One character who links the two timelines is Detective Grey Holloway, who is on the trail of those who committed a series of murders. Her colleague, Carmen Willis, was a patrolwoman when these killings --- for which the Hot Girl Murder Club was suspected of being responsible --- first began. 

Led by the enigmatic Scout Sage --- whose sister, Georgia, died mysteriously at a Hollywood party a decade ago --- these beautiful, somewhat elitist females are easy to misunderstand. They may seem to have it all as respected models and performers. But in an era that includes the #MeToo movement and toxic masculinity, they are often victimized, underpaid, and physically and mentally abused. It is these unfortunate truths that keep the pages turning as you find yourself getting behind whatever revenge plot they are concocting.

Meanwhile, Holloway and Willis continue to follow up on every clue and potential lead that will bring them one step closer to taking down Scout and her “girl gang.” Complicating matters somewhat is that Willis actually seems to understand where they are coming from and even warns them off of starting a war with the family of one of the male victims, even if he deserved what he got.

The constant dichotomy that Winstead presents here goes beyond ethical judgment and will challenge readers to make their own determination as to what is justified and what might be overkill. Still, you cannot help but feel for Scout and her friends, especially when a New York Times article outs them and pigeonholes them as the Hot Girl Murder Club, which is perhaps a huge injustice.

Ashley Winstead keeps the pages of HOT GIRL MURDER CLUB turning by leaning into these moral ambiguities. The end result is a thriller with real teeth that is quite satisfying.