Paint Me Like Your Dead Girls

Brought to you by Penguin.

From the bestselling author of BookTok sensation Win Lose Kill Die comes an addictive killer-thriller with a horror twist, following an aspiring crime journalist’s investigation into a case of copycat murders seemingly connected to a ‘cursed’ painting. Perfect for fans of Jennifer Lynn Barnes’ The Naturals series and Bill Wood's Let's Split Up.

When aspiring crime journalist Fliss Keller attends an estate sale and uncovers a disturbing self-portrait of a man, her Art History professor dad buys it, despite how unsettled Fliss feels. The portrait has been lost for decades and completes a set of four existing paintings of women by the same artist already hanging in the town’s gallery.

That evening, the portrait falls to the floor, revealing paperwork inside the frame that suggests the artist was a serial killer and that the women depicted were his victims. Despite her alarm, Fliss vows to investigate and uncover the truth.

But when a series of gruesome murders start emerging and some think the resurrection of the self-portrait has unleashed a curse, Fliss knows better than to believe them. There are shocking similarities between the poses of the modern-day murders and the painted women, and she’s sure there’s a copycat killer on the loose. Now the countdown is on for Fliss to find the murderer before they claim even more lives . . .

‘A thriller author to watch!’ Karen M. McManus, international bestselling author of One of Us Is Lying

© Cynthia Murphy 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026