Ace of Spades and Where Sleeping Girls Lie | New Suspense Books for Teens

Ace of Spades and Where Sleeping Girls Lie are two fantastic Suspense Books for teens! Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé, author of both books is writing some of the best New Mystery Books for Teens with a Dark Academia Vibe. I’m here with a Review of Ace of Spades AND a Review of Where Sleeping Girls Lie. Both are great, but they have some similarities and differences and I’m here to spill all!

Two Unputdownable New Suspense Books for Teens

I know what you’re thinking: YA Mystery and Suspense Books can be a little … unsatisfying. A little Scooby Doo rather than True Detective.

I have been reviewing young adult books since 2011 AND am an avid mystery reader, so I am not going to steer you wrong.

Two New YA Mystery Books by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

I’m going to review these together, as I think they have some interesting parallels and some differences as well.

Review of Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

Published on June 1, 2021 by Feiwel and Friends. Thanks so much to the publisher for providing an advance copy for review.  A longer version of this Ace of Spades review is on my adult review site, Jen Ryland Reviews.

Ace of Spades takes place at Niveus Academy, an elite boarding school in an English speaking country that is unspecified. On Goodreads, the author said that she wanted to leave the location vague.

The story is told from the point of view of two Black students, Devon and Chiamaka. Both are seniors and both have just been selected as prefects, a huge honor. They are among the few students of color in a predominantly white school.

Devon, a scholarship student, is a talented musician who hopes to attend Julliard. Chiamaka is Nigerian-Italian, but from a more privileged background, and is aiming for the Ivy League. 

Devon was an incredibly sympathetic character. He’s gay and lives with his mom. His goal is to stay under the radar at school and make it to Julliard. In contrast, Chiamaka is confident and outspoken. She’s also in love with her white male best friend, Jamie. 

Ace of Spades gave me strong Pretty Little Liars vibes. Devon and Chiamaka aren’t really friends, but when an anonymous group called the Aces starts texting secrets about them to the rest of the student body, they need to team up and find out what is going on and how to stop it. What they discover is way worse than they ever imagined. 

Part of the fun of this twisty book is trying to figure out what is happening and who is behind it. I figured out one small part of it, but not the larger picture.

My one and only complaint about Ace of Spades is that I think the big reveal came a little too late, requiring a lot of explanation in a short period of time and leaving a few unanswered questions.

But overall, I think readers looking for Mystery and Suspense Books for teens that really bring the chills will enjoy Ace of Spades.

Review of Where Sleeping Girls Lie by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

Published on March 19, 2024 by Feiwel and Friends. Thanks to the publisher for an advance copy for review.

Sadie Hussein shows up at the Alfred Nobel Academy is a junior, which everyone tells her is very unusual. As her new roommate, Elizabeth, lets Sadie into their dorm room there’s a dead rat on the doormat. Welcome … not!

Elizabeth seems excessively nervous to Sadie. (Elizabeth also has a GIANT box of Yorkshire tea bags, which I pay homage to in the photo above. The author is apparently very attached to her electric kettle, as am I!) Then, Elizabeth disappears.

While Ace of Spades had a dual POV with a female and male narrator, Where Sleeping Girls Lie is told through the POV of a single character, Sadie. There’s more ethnic diversity among the characters in Where Sleeping Girls Lie, though Sadie feels out of place as a Muslim who finds it hard to get halal (permissible) food on campus.

Where Sleeping Girls Lie is both deeply atmospheric and, at over 400 pages, also quite long. It took me probably two-thirds of the book to figure out where the story was headed.

Until then, I was just soaking up the Dark Academia/British boarding school vibes, orphan sent to boarding school vibes, and missing roommate vibes. Plus, there was a strange trio of (possibly) mean girls. 

Other Goodreads readers seemed to think that Where Sleeping Girls Lie was supposed to be sapphic, but unless that was so subtle I missed it, I wouldn’t put that label on it. I’d call it feminist.

There was a scene that was so unexpectedly cool and visual that I almost gasped. I hope this book makes it to the screen!

Where Sleeping Girls Lie uses a trope that was really popular in 2000s YA and updates it, so when I get that post done and updated I’ll explain and link it up.

If you are a reader who enjoys an issue-driven mystery that is also truly suspenseful, Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé is definitely an author to keep on your radar. I’ll happily read whatever she publishes next!