REST IN PEACHES

A high school mascot runs amok.

Quinn Marcelo is the third-greatest Peaches the Parrot mascot ever to serve at private girls’ school Olivia Newton-John High. But her appearance during the homecoming halftime show—wearing a much-anticipated new costume and accompanied by a live parrot companion—is sabotaged, exposing her closely held secret identity. Soon after, a dead body falls from the ceiling, kicking off a string of bloody killings. Violence isn’t new to the touristy beach town of Ocean’s Reach, California: A year earlier, the community was rattled by the double murder of a science teacher and the woman he was having an affair with. As Quinn investigates, she teams up with Tessa, who was also her first crush and whose clout as a cheerleader and senior class president contrast with Quinn’s status as “an anonymous, useless nobody.” The girls, who both have one white parent, originally met while attending Filipino parties with their families. Thoughtful social commentary about race and the justice system is baked into this entertainingly absurd, page-turning slasher, which expertly balances several complex mysteries with humor and camp. The well-drawn characters get involved in situations that lead to wacky but believable twists. Transcripts from the true-crime podcast of Justice Hope (Quinn’s best friend, with whom she had a fling she now regrets) and short, sardonic notes from the killer are interspersed among Tessa’s and Quinn’s alternating chapters, providing additional depth and intrigue.

Delightfully heart-pounding, suspenseful, and campy horror.