This was such a fun book to read but since I finished it, it's become a slight nightmare to me in trying to figure out how to describe it without repeating the synopsis or giving away spoilers but I think I figured it out!
Claire is not a normal thriller reader's killer/narrator, those are normally totally unreliable but Claire is very honest to us readers, she's possibly the most open of all the characters we meet and tells us why she does what she does and I have to admit that although I really wouldn't do what she did, at least one of them and you will know which one when you read this book, did deserve what Claire did to him!
I did find the story arc very entertaining and engaging, it kept me interested and turning the pages. Hearing about Claire's younger days was a nice insight into who she was and perhaps a view of why she may have become what she is. All of the characters were really well drawn so they fit into the rolls the author assigned them well making me either root for them or suspect them as was needed.
There was a nice twist in the latter part of the book that I really didn't see coming. If you fancy a slightly different feel good read, give this one a go, you will be entertained!

What a great book! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this and devoured it in one evening, I just didn’t want to put it down! I found myself rooting for the main character throughout, despite the fact she is a serial killer. Her character was well developed and I loved that the book was written by her point of view.

A credit to Wallace’s writing is that I had moments where I was in pure shock and others when I was laughing out loud. The plot was really well developed with so many twists and turns that were unexpected which I loved. The addition of mental health, care settings and dementia were also portrayed so realistically and importantly factually correct - I find this really crucial when reading due to my work and personal experiences and it made the book more authentic.

If you love thrillers and dark humour this is the perfect read and one I really do recommend! If you enjoyed Sweetpea, this would also be enjoyable read.

Original and funny, great beginning but I struggled to engage with the characters. Think I am just not the right audience.

What devilishly and delicious book this is.
You'd Look Better as a Ghost has some amazing dark humour and fantastic cliches from the main protagonist Claire.
But Claire has a secret that no one knows about. She is a prolific serial killer! And what ever you do never ever queue jump in front of her because you might just come to a very sticky end!

After the death of her father Claire seeks out a bereavement support group, this is were she meets group leader Florence and the rest of the group who all have stories to tell. But one person in particular seeks Claire out, Jemma who has recently lost her mother.
But who is Jemma and what link does she have to do with Claire's recent kill Lucas?
Poor Lucas he really should have double checked the email address before accidentally sending it to Claire.
I loved this book and the characters especially Claire even though she is completely unhinged.
This is definitely one of my top reads of 2023.

Lucas is at a bar and meets Claire but little does he know, Claire is a serial killer. One that loves her hammer. Does someone know about Claire’s hobby and what will she do about it?This darkly comedic novel, following Claire and the problems that occur following on from her murders.

The novel focuses a lot on dark humour, which I found entertaining, although it does have some more serious themes running through it and is done very well. I liked Claire as a character and would enjoy seeing her come back in a second book. There were a few twists and turns that were done well and I liked how it all came together. Although I enjoyed the overall premise of the novel I wasn’t able to become fully invested in the story and I found some parts slightly repetitive. This is definitely a great book for those who love light hearted, female serial killer novels. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this copy in return for an honest review.

What a fabulously bonkers book. Murder, kidnap, blackmail & grief; all linked to Claire, the protagonist who happens to be a serial killer.

Despite her chosen hobby, Claire is a likeable character & has a wicked turn of phrase. Some of the dark, humorous asides & human observations are delicious. She finds herself in a bereavement support group following the death of her father & her story is told in the present & snippets of when she was a child.

Despite the subject matter, this was an easy, enjoyable read. Laugh out loud at times but also some very touching moments. I find it difficult to believe that this is a debut novel, but apparently so, I can’t wait to see what the author comes up with next.

The night of her father's funeral. Claire meets Lucas in a bar. Lucas doesn't know it, but it's not a chance meeting. One thoughtless mistyped email has put him in the crosshairs of an extremely put-out serial killer. But before they make eye contact, before Claire lets him buy her a drink, even before she takes him home and carves him up into little pieces, something about that night is very wrong. Because someone is watching Claire. Someone who is about to discover her murderous little hobby.

This is a story of murder, kidnap, grief, lies and abuse. I never thought I'd find myself rooting for a protagonist not to get caught. Claire is a likeable character even though she is a serial killer. She's heartbroken from the death of her father. The story is told from Claire's perspective. We also learn of the time when she was a child. There's a lot of humour to this story. This is an easy book to read, and I quite enjoyed it.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #SerpentsTailViperProfileBooks and the author #JoannaWallace for my ARC of #YoudLookBetterAsAGhost in exchange for an honest review.

You’d Look Better as a Ghost follows Claire, a serial killer who has start to get suspicious that somebody may be close to finding her out.

I went into this book not really knowing much about the plot and I think that’s the best way to do it! It’s so brilliant - funny and sharp, and really does have you rooting for a cold blooded killer.

It’s told between present day and flashbacks so you can start to piece together why Claire is the way she is which is a really interesting aspect of the book, and contrasted really well with the more funny, quick-witted present day extracts where she fights with her inner monologue and kills people off left, right and centre.

I loved Claire as a character - she is completely awful and kills a LOT of people but I was rooting for her and I actively didn’t want her to get caught.

I’m sure it’ll be compared to How To Kill Your Family but I think it can very much stand on its own. A seriously impressive debut, and i’m looking forward to read whatever Joanna Wallace does next!

Stories about female serial killers are popular at the moment. The thing that marks Claire out is that she sees her victims as translucent ‘ghosts’ before she kills them. Also, she doesn’t just kill ‘bad guys’ but very much chooses her victims based on her own moral judgements.

Claire has entered an art competition and is overjoyed to hear (at her beloved father’s funeral) that her artwork has been shortlisted. Only there has been a mistake, and the email was sent in error. Claire decides that the sender isn’t sorry enough and decides he must die. Unfortunately Claire hasn’t done her usual research on her victim and soon finds herself out of her depth. Is she going to be found out?

I wanted to like Claire, but I found it hard to get past her relatively insignificant reasons for killing someone. I did find myself rooting for her though, and wanted her to get away with it.

I expected that Claire seeing her victims as ghosts would be a more significant part of the story. While a nice touch, it didn't really hit how I thought it would.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book with its very dark humour and dry wit. When I tried to describe it to my husband he thought it all sounded rather revolting: a serial killer who kills without remorse but has a unique way of picking her victims because they themselves aren’t good people and then linking each death to the victim’s initial crime. I really loved the thought processes Claire goes through in what to most people would be normal situations and conversations, some of which made me laugh out loud - but maybe I’m a bit weird! I’ll be looking out for more books by this talented author..

A brutal and delicious thriller! I would recommend to those who love a sociopathic, hammer wielding, strong female protagonist.

Hilarious and dark in equal measure - I loved it.

Claire isn't the same as ordinary people, though she has learnt to respond as she should to conform to society while she quietly, cautiously knocks people off.

Ha, Claire you are a wicked one. And what a ride you take us on. From bereavement groups and care homes to the insides of a psychopathic mind! I enjoyed the characters and it kept me guessing all the way through, I suspected most people Claire came in contact with was on to her, which was fun! I wasn't sure of the title though, I understood how it was decided on, but not sure it gels very well with the content.

A quick read, a found it difficult to put down as the action didn't let up. Thanks Netgalley and Viper for the early copy :)

The writing was light and drew me in. It was in what I would describe as a "chatty style" with the main character speaking to the reader. We were told her thoughts and reasons for acting the way that she did. The whole story was from her point of view, which was interesting. I also liked that every so often there would be a couple of paragraphs that took place in the main character's past, specifically when she was a child. You could easily tell when we were in the past because the font was in italics. This helped to give the reader more of a background to the character. The book had a good flow to it and kept my interest. I think that going back in time added to the intrigue.

The chapters were long which meant that you got a good chunk of the story before moving on. The story never dragged and I enjoyed it from beginning to end.

The main character was excellent. I haven't read about anyone quite like her, and the way that it was written allowed you to see things from her point of view, which was interesting. The supporting cast of characters were also good and highlighted the main character's personality well. The other characters added to the suspense of the story. You never knew quite where you stood with them.

Lastly the settings. These were very much in the background as it was a character focused story. I didn't mind though as I was enjoying being on the main character's journey.

Overall a great story full of suspense.

I have to preface this review with a confession. I am a massive Sweetpea fan, Rhiannon is my girl, so any books in a similar vein have a lot to live up to...

In You'd Look Better As A Ghost, we meet Claire. After a horrible childhood thanks to her nasty mother, it is kind of understandable that she has a few issues, which have manifested themselves in a side-gig of murder! While dealing with the death of her beloved dad, she is the subject of a mixup around an art prize. Instead of accepting the mistake gracefully, she sets out to find the person who caused the upset and make them pay. What she doesn't realise is, someone is watching her...

This was a dark, comedic tale about a troubled young woman who has taken a unique approach in dealing with her problems. It also highlights some disturbing yet current issues in certain care homes which were unfliching in their portrayal.

Also, I try not to judge a book by its cover, but this one is 🔥

Hi and welcome to my review of You’d Look Better as a Ghost!

That cover does pop, doesn’t it! And the description, well. I knew I was a goner! I can never resist a serial killer thriller, and when the killer in question is female, that’s just the cherry on top.

You’d Look Better as a Ghost is exactly what it says on the tin. It’s a dark but humorous thriller featuring a protagonist who might be described as a bit of a female Dexter. Dexter and his dark passenger only kill people whose crimes he feels deserve such a final and lethal punishment, and in You’d Look Better as a Ghost, Claire does the same. And she does so with panache. And most often, a hammer. (Although she might need to reassess her standards cos it really should take more than being an annoying parent who has a problem with camels, just saying 😬)

The blurb immediately reminded me of C.J. Skuse’s Sweetpea series. If you’re a fan of Sweetpea, picking up You’d Look Better as a Ghost is a no-brainer. I was afraid it might read like a bit of a carbon copy, but it really doesn’t. Claire is her own person and Joanna Wallace has her own writing style, which, by the way, I really enjoyed, so despite its similarities, this is a completely different book.

I loved many aspects of You’d Look Better as a Ghost, most notably Claire. I do love an acerbic, sarcastic main character. I had oodles of fun with her and her dry comments and her antics. And the story itself was rather twisty with various reveals that I did not anticipate and that kept up the pace and the tension. Surprisingly, there were also quite a few thought-provoking bits, it does pack a bit of an unexpected punch.

However, I did have a few minor niggles. The chapters that take the reader back in time to Claire’s childhood, her origin story if you will, are, to my mind, a bit of an exploration of nature vs. nurture, but in a manner that was a little too superficial for my tastes, and perhaps also too much of an obvious choice. Although I have to admit that they were fun to read, Claire as a kid was a hoot and a half and her mum a character I loved to hate, and I was terribly relieved that the most obvious option of all was not taken. I also wondered about some of the forensic evidence, but that’s probably just me having read too many police procedurals. And obviously, this isn’t one, and we don’t learn anything about any police investigation. But that didn’t stop me from considering gunshot residue, or lack thereof, and DNA, and fingerprints.

All in all, I think You’d Look Better as a Ghost is a story that you just need to enjoy while giving your inner armchair detective a bit of a rest. I found it very entertaining, it’s suspenseful and funny and if you’re looking for a serial killer thriller that will make you laugh as well as thrill you, you should definitely give You’d Look Better as a Ghost a go.

You’d Look Better as a Ghost is out on 21 September in digital formats, hardcover and audio, with the paperback to follow next year.

Many thanks to Viper Books and NetGalley for the digital ARC.

I really enjoyed this thriller with added black comedy .Such a great read, completely bonkers ,a serial killer who thinks she is normal ! Full of twists and turns a very enjoyable unique read .Look forward to reading the next book from this Author .Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC .

I really enjoyed this! The dark humour was well written, and the characterisation of the main character had me rooting for her even when a serial killer. The book tackles subjects like grief, and it really kept me engaged. Would definitely recommend to a friend!

2.5 stars
Unfortunately this book was a struggle for me to enjoy.
At first I had high hopes that it was going to be filled with dark humour and the main character would have me cheering her on. But this wasn't the case.
Whilst there is some dark humour in this, it is sprinkled very lightly throughout but is never a main component to the book.
The plot and writing style didn't grab me at all and I wasn't invested throughout. I had no interest in what was going to happen, mainly because I was finding the whole thing so dull, boring and flat.
There was no tension or intrigue to the plot and it did feel a bit drawn out.
The main character Claire only became 3D because of the flash back chapters, which I found the most interesting thing in the whole book.
In my opinion this needed something more, maybe different POV's? That might have added more depth to the story.
The background characters also felt like a let down, there could have been more done with them.
I'm not sure what I was expecting going into this, but it was a big disappointment. If this hadn't been an ARC I might have DNF

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and never would have thought that I’d be rooting for a serial killer!
This is an original novel covering child and elder abuse, grief, loss and dementia and somehow manages to be extremely humorous as well. The final twist was unexpected to say the least. I wholeheartedly recommend this book.

'You'd Look Better as a Ghost' is a funny, fresh novel featuring a vigilante who sees her next victim as a ghost before acting on her impulses.

Themes including grief, abuse and how society treats its vulnerable members are tempered with wry observational humour and excellent set pieces featuring fantastically imagined characters. The dialogue is excellent.

It is gruesome at times with some torture so consider this a warning!

There is a lot to recommend this highly original debut.