REVIEW: Hot Girl Murder Club by Ashley Winstead
I read Winstead’s first three books, published in quick succession in 2021, 2022 and 2023. I liked the second a bit less than the first and the third much less than the previous two, so I took a break. It seems like she’s still publishing at a quick pace – if I’m reading correctly this is her sixth book. I picked it up with some trepidation, but it ended up being pretty successful for me.
The novel starts with a framing device – short interstitial chapters from a Ph.D dissertation called “Our Ladies of the Dark: a History.” The subjects are labeled “the twenty-first century’s most unlikely outlaws.” Otherwise known as the Hot Girl Murder Club.
In the present, Detective Grey Holloway arrives to investigate a murder at a Bel Air mansion – a woman named Elizabeth Drake has been shot in the head. Drake bears a strong resemblance to Grey, which is made a big deal of and then I think never comes up again? (Unless I missed something.)
The story then switches to ten years in the past. Isabel Cruz attends a Christmas party at a television executive’s mansion with her boyfriend Brooks, her best friend, Scout, and Scout’s younger sister, Georgia. Isabel and Scout are childhood friends and aspiring actresses, with minor roles playing bitchy cheerleaders on a teen show. They are at the party to network and get their faces in front of as many influential people as they can.
Before the night is over, Georgia is dead. Isabel and Sage are sure they know who the killer is, but are unable to get justice due to the power of the people involved.
In the present, Grey pairs with another detective to investigate the Drake killing. It turns out the victim had worked for a recently disgraced entertainment executive (a Harvey Weinstein analogue). The other detective – Carmen Willis – thinks that minor pop star Scout Sage – yes, that Scout, from ten years earlier – is revenge murdering various Hollywood evil-doers.
While working as the youngest detective on the LAPD (I didn’t claim the book was realistic; she’s called “Detective Barbie” for her blonde good looks), Grey also works as a bottle girl at a hot LA club, The Serpent Room. She claims she has student loans to pay off, but really she’s seeking information about her sister, who disappeared years earlier.
Grey is working her night job one evening when Izzy and Scout and Scout’s considerable entourage (think Taylor Swift’s girl squad from a decade or so ago, except – presumably – a lot more focused on vengeance) come in. Also at the club, trying to get Scout’s attention – is Juliet, a young model who has heard whispers of Scout’s influence and ability to help other women. Juliet has spent several years being exploited by an unscrupulous talent agent, who has managed to maneuver her into debt and is now threatening to pimp her out in order to get paid back.
The Hot Girl Murder Club has a rather complicated plot, partly due to the fact that new characters keep being added. In addition to the main characters, there’s Rosie, a reporter working undercover who stumbles upon the story of Scout’s supposed murder coterie. There is Luca Clearwater, the charismatic founder of a non-profit, who ensnares Juliet in her plans. There are also various members of Our Ladies of the Dark/The Hot Girl Murder Club (to be fair, none of the women who are part of the group identify by either of these labels) – Cybele, Cara, Miranda and others. Also returning from earlier in the story are two women who were at the party the night Georgia was murdered – Dakota and Emmy.
It’s a lot to keep track of and also just feels kind of frenetic – I felt like the number of story strands could have been cut in half and the book would have been more focused. Still, the threads are wrapped up pretty neatly, though of course there are several byzantine twists (which mostly made sense to me? I think?).
The “Me Too” theme of Hot Girl Murder Club felt slightly dated, for lack of a better word. It really worked for me, though. The “girl power” motif could have been cheesy but in the context of the story it was touching (if somewhat sad at times).
I read this a couple of months ago and had to skim it again to refresh myself on some plot points. I gave it a B originally and I thought of it as a high B but I will say in retrospect that I’m more bothered by all the characters and subplots. Let’s still call it a B, with slightly less enthusiasm.
Best,
Jennie
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