You'd Look Better as a Ghost

I just finished You'd Look Better as a Ghost by Joanna Wallace and what a fun, dark read!
Claire looks like everyone else on the outside, but she's very different from your ordinary person on the inside. She has a history of taking her revenge on those she feels have slighted her but finds herself spiraling after the death of her father. Will she make enough mistakes to get herself caught and locked up? Will she turn over a new leaf instead? It remains to be seen. I highly recommend this title and I can't wait to read her next book!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this digital ARC.

You'd Look Better as a Ghost will have you rooting for the killer, in more ways than one! Original, hilarious, and with terrifying twists, this book is not to be missed!

This was dark but very engaging. I didn’t expect to enjoy this book this much. I highly recommend this for an unexpectedly great dark read! This is far from my typical read and I really liked it. I highly recommend this book!

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: Mar. 26, 2024
Fans of “Dexter” will devour “You’d Look Better as A Ghost”, the debut novel by author Joanna Wallace. Sharp, creative and deliciously twisted, this five-star read introduced me to another great protagonist!
After the death of Clare’s father, she finds solace in one thing- the knowledge that she has been shortlisted in an exclusive art competition. But she soon finds out that the was shortlisted in error, and she did not truly earn a spot, as a judge had sent her an acceptance email in error. Determined to make it right, Clare meets Lucas in a bar and they quickly hit it off, and Clare seeks revenge with the help of her trusty hammer. Now, Lucas won’t be able to crush some other aspiring artist’s dreams. Although Clare has gone throughout her entire life without being caught, it seems someone saw what she did, and is willing to talk about it. In order to save her reputation and her freedom, Clare needs to find out who knows the truth, and stop them.
Perhaps this says something about me, but I adored Clare as a character. A serial killer from an early age, she kills as a means of vigilante justice, seeking revenge and retaliation, her targets appearing to her as almost “ghost-like” entities, indicating that they will be next to die. Clare tells the story entirely from her perspective and my favourite parts were the snippets from Clare’s past, when she was being raised by an emotionally absent mother and a devoted father. It was fascinating learning about Clare’s motivations, and these facts helped me ally with the deeply strange and dark main character.
There are many twists and turns in Wallace’s novel, and although some of the connections between the characters toward the end seemed rather forced and loose, I thoroughly enjoyed every single page. As the story unfolds, there is constant tension as to whether or not Clare will be caught and, against my moral judgment, I did not want her to!
I thoroughly hope Wallace will bring Clare back again, and soon. “You’d Look Better as a Ghost” is a dark and engaging read that is easily going to make my top-reads list!

You'd Look Better as a Ghost is a bit You, a bit Dexter, a bit Hannibal, and a bit Fight Club - but not the Fight Club part of Fight Club. Claire is a serial killer with a dark sense of humor and her own personal code, and when we first meet her she's reeling from the death of her father and trying to cope in the way it seems only she can. Her bereavement support group doesn't seem to be helping ... and might actually end up hurting as it throws her together with people she'd otherwise never have met.

Claire's an engaging narrator obsessed with observing "ordinary people" and doing her best to fit in just enough so that her hobby - no, not her art; her other hobby - isn't recognized. For the most part she keeps to herself, which makes the bereavement group such a challenge, since she has to figure out how, exactly, "ordinary people" act in that situation. She makes some insightful comments about the other characters while at times missing the obvious about both them and herself, making you turn the page to see when - or if - she'll realize it, or if she's just set herself up for a fall.

If you like the narration of Joe Goldberg, Dexter Morgan, or the unnamed man in Fight Club, then you need to pick up You'd Look Better as a Ghost. Part comedy, part thriller, and guaranteed to keep you up until the last page is turned, this book kept me laughing - and guessing - to the end.

This was fantastic. Sarcastic, dark comedy with a hell of a lot of humanity thrown in. I can't believe this is a first novel!
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC which was given in exchange for an honest review.