Very well written, kept me on the edge of my seat all the way through. The plot is a variation on the old <i>Strangers on a Train</i> but with several twists that keep you (and the police) guessing. You can't help identifying with Jazz, a desperate young woman who does everything she can to get help from the police, the school, the child services people, lawyers, and anybody else she can get to listen to her. No one will help. She's desperate to get her little brother, Joaquin, to safety, so when a solution to her problem literally falls into her path, she's tempted.
What happens next is an emotional, action packed roller-coaster of a read. The only part I didn't like was the unusual sex/love scenes, but I learned to skim past them and stick to the story.

If the movie The Box had an elicit affair with Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train, The Kill Club would be the murderous revenge-filled wife.


The first half of this book had me held in rapt attention, flipping pages with abandon.

With The Kill Club, Wendy Heard has offered up a gripping and thought-provoking plotline with a badass main character.

Would you be willing to kill a toxic person from a stranger's life in exchange for an equally bad person being eliminated from yours? A bit of quid pro quo, execution style.

"First rule of murder club, don't talk about murder club."

Sign me tf up! Hell yeah, can I get a two-for-one discount?


The second half of the book quickly becomes frenzied and rash. I didn't find it nearly as riveting as the first half. It was wordy at times causing me to do a bit of skimming.

Although I hadn't guessed the unmasking at the end, I still didn't find it to be a gasp-worthy revelation.

All in all this is a terrific thriller with a fresh plot. I look forward to what comes next from this author.

3.5 Stars rounded down ⭐⭐⭐


** I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. **

Reminds me of the movie The Box.....taunt and fast paced....an excellent read. Vigilante justice at its best.

With a great premise and page-turning plotting, this is a first purchase for most fiction collections, especially where thrillers are particularly popular.

This book was an intense ride from start to finish. Jazz needs to get her brother out of the reach of an abusive foster mother, but she has exhausted every avenue for help to no avail. Along with Jazz, we're introduced to a variety of other characters who have been left in dangerous situations with no help from the authorities they're supposed to rely on. Each of them turn to a modified Strangers on a Train plan to solve their problems. They're recruited by a murder club to do someone else's murder in exchange for a stranger eliminating the problem in their lives.

The stories of the murder club participants are terrifyingly real, a reflection of real and persistent problems in our society, and the stakes are high for every character from the very beginning. But after we're properly introduced to the murder club and its members, the second half of the book takes twist after twist as it speeds toward an ending that's impossible to stop reading.

Wendy Heard is a brilliant storyteller and “The Kill Club” is a murderous, sexy story that sucked me in right away. Not only does this book promote insomnia, but you will never look at a flip phone the same way again. For some reason, I visualize everything in this story as a Quentin Tarantino movie stuck on a twisted roller coaster where Wendy Heard screws with your emotions. It has the essence of a dark comedy and it was hard for me to put down because the hook at the end of every chapter revealed a little bit more to unravel the mystery. To be honest, I’ve never been able to read a book with multiple POVs, this one is in both first and third person. It’s not a typical style I care for, but it flowed seamlessly and the plot was compelling and fast-paced.

Other noteworthy aspects:
The main character, Jazz, is a cynical badass I want to embrace, be friends with, and, perhaps, kiss! And be ready because this story will cover all the emotions, making you laugh, scream, and cry.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

As an almost instant fan of Wendy Heard after reading Hunting Annabelle, I was beside myself excited to get to read this book and I was not disappointed! Wendy has a way of grabbing you from within the pages and she holds on as she takes you on a twisted, creepy and wonderfully weird ride that will leave you both shaken and stirred and better yet—craving more! This book hits shelves in December and is likely to be one of your favorite reads of 2019!

This book was a nonstop nail-biter with such an amazing premise, which I'm going to keep vague here as to not give anything away. The pacing was spectacular — I read it in a single sitting, and couldn't put it down. The short chapters kept me like, "Just one more chapter... okay just one more, nope one more...". I was HOOKED. And by the end I was literally gasping (my husband actually asked from the other room, "Are you okay?" Ha!).

And while this was action-packed, the characters all felt really fleshed out. I absolutely loved Jazz's voice, and was rooting so hard for her and her brother. I also really enjoyed the multi-POV style. This is a must-read thriller, and I'm so glad I got to read it early. Thanks Mira/HarperCollins for the ARC!

If your like me and you love thrillers then you must read Wendy Heard's books. Last December, her debut novel Hunting Annabelle was released and my friend Audriana and I tried to do a buddy read of it but neither of us could put it down so we just read right through it and we both loved it! So suffice it to say, I was elated when Wendy's publicist sent me an ARC of her new novel The Kill Club which will be released December 17, 2019. I just literally finished reading it about an hour ago and I can't stop thinking about it - the first thing I did when I finished was send Wendy a tweet because I just loved it so much! The main character of the book is Jasmine (or Jazz as she's called most of the time). She is such a great character - I feel like she is someone I would be friends with in real life - she is fiercely loyal to those she loves, she has a sense of humor about her and I think she'd be fun to hang out with plus she can be an overall badass when necessary! If I were casting Jazz in a movie I would picture someone like Melissa McCarthy or Rebel Wilson with tattoos - I don't know if these actresses have tattoos or not I've never paid that close of attention. 

The plot of this book is really intriguing - The Kill Club or Murder Club is kind of a chain type of thing. You have to murder someone you are assigned and in turn another person murders the person you need out of your life. If you've read the book the Chain - its kind of the same concept. This part of the book was really intense at times and I could never guess how the story was going to play out which is a huge plus for me. Set in LA, this book describes what police have dubbed as the Blackbird Killings. I was really rooting for Jazz throughout the book which was utterly unputdownable for me. Be sure you have plenty of time to read when you pick this book up because you won't want to do anything else until your through with it! So this book is getting a solid 5 star rating from me - and Wendy Heard has just cemented her spot on my Must Read - Auto buy authors list!  Wendy better get busy with another book because I can't wait to see what she manages to come up with next.  

I so appreciate the opportunity to read and review this book. Thank you Justine for sending me a physical copy of it and NetGalley for the digital ARC. While you patiently wait for December 17, 2019 to get here for the book release do yourself a favor and pick up Hunting Annabelle. I hope you love it as much as I did!

I had run on a dry spell of books that were really grabbing my attention, so when I started reading Wendy Heard's The Kill Club, my expectations were rather low. Fortunately, Ms. Heard created a fascinating plot, an interesting/odd/unconventional/yet powerful and kick-ass main character, strong supporting characters,all woven together with themes of family love, emotional pain, fear and the drive to survive. This was a very entertaining read, and I found it difficult to look away.

I recommend this book to mystery and suspense lovers, particularly if you like to root for strong female characters.

I liked this book and really enjoyed the point of views of all the characters. The main character was very funny and sarcastic which I liked. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy in exchange for review.

The latest novel by Wendy Heard is a non-stop thrill ride from start to finish. I was hooked early and could not put down the novel after a certain point. When the main character, Jazz, receives a mysterious phone call from a blocked number offering to help her permanently solve her problems with her foster mother, Carol, it is clear that the story is going to take the reader to some unexpected places. Jazz no longer lives with Carol, but her younger brother, Joaquin, who suffers from diabetes, still does and is in danger. Child protective services has failed Jazz and Joaquin repeatedly, and Jazz is desperate to extricate him from Carol's fanatical clutches.

The caller tells Jazz that she's been selected to join a network of others like her, people the law has failed. This network of "helpers" has agreed to eliminate the abuser of another. The group leaves a trail of bodies across the city of Los Angeles, being dubbed the Blackbird Killings. If Jazz agrees to join them, they'll take care of Carol. All she has to do is kill a stranger -- no big deal, right?! As soon as Jazz makes her decision, the tension is amped up and only intensifies as the plot unfolds, especially after Jazz's assignment does not quite go according to plan.

The novel is told from multiple viewpoints, introduced by the name of a character at the start of each chapter. I really like that aspect and the dimension it gave to the story overall. Chapters featuring Jazz are written in the first person, which drew me even closer to her character and made me root for her to succeed in getting Joaquin away from Carol by any means necessary. The reader can't help but wonder, what would you do if faced with a similar choice? How far would you go to save a loved one?

Many thanks to the author, Wendy Heard, for including me on the Street Team, and to NetGalley and Mira Books for an early look at this novel!

Kill Club is an absolutely fantastic take on the serial killer mystery. I was drawn in by the idea of a kill club that centered on helping the marginalized and abused escape their tormentors. The novel did a fantastic job of examining what the effect of that much power would be. I wish there was a little
More development / backstory for the person ultimately behind the kill club (trying to avoid spoilers). There were several small twists after the major confirmation and reveal that really added to the plot although again, I wish the character involved could have had a more developed backstory. Jazz was a full and rich character but some of the smaller characters who ultimately ended up being important could have had a much richer arc.

Second book by this author and just as enjoyable, if not more...

This is sort of like chain mail but with murder. The concept is pretty genius - murder someone ( supposedly evil) who you have no connection to and then someone else will do the same favor for you. Nobody would suspect you as you have no ties to the victim. Brilliant if your conscious can take it right?

This one moves fast. Even with that pace though the characters are well layered and interesting. Jazz is fantastic and I couldn’t help but to root for her no matter the scenario😉. The foster care system and the legal shortcomings in relation to this scenario are heartbreaking.

A lot happens in a very small amount of time, many twists and surprises. There are multiple characters, but you don’t have to get too invested in them if you catch my drift. You will be able to keep up with the main players.

The conclusion was pretty good and pretty crazy! I flew through this one and was highly entertained. Look forward tot the next! Thanks to NetGalley, the author and HARLEQUIN -MIRA (U.S. and Canada) for a copy in exchange for a review.

Wendy Heard’s new release Kill Club has an exciting premise and works on many levels although there are times that some of the main characters choices make you want to go and shake her. This does not take away from the excellent story telling found within the pages but it is probably good thing that this novel is not interactive.

Upon starting to read this novel, it has an interesting plot which carries the story forward with a lot of interesting ideas that work in quite a realistic manner. The quick page turner, leads the reader down a dark path and raises questions on what would you do if you found yourself in a situation that there seemed to be no answer. A world that celebrates the perpetrator and turns the victim into the villain; a world that is full of injustice. Funny, what reads as fiction becomes more prominent in the real world as years pass by. This is the driving force of this novel.

The characters are well drawn and through some bad decision making on part of some of these characters, Heard has managed to not make them annoying which is quite a feat. Under another master’s hand, this could have been a total fail but Heard is able to balance this with heart, drive and interesting character plots. The characters are likable, infuriating and you generally care about them to see where their choices lead them.

Overall, this is a very good thriller that works on many levels and Heard has been able to handle the many strands of plot very expertly. Moving the narrative advice from first person (Jazz) and third person for everyone else works extremely well. The only low point is the novel does have quite a few endings that seem a bit elongated but is still interesting but probably could have been a bit better handled. It does give closure whilst giving a wink about the reality of the situation but could have been executed. It doesn’t let the book down in any way, shape or form. I did love the open ending that comes in at the last couple of pages which I really enjoyed.

This is highly recommended and thoroughly enjoyed myself whilst reading this. The author does say that this is a fictionalised account on real life events which does lead you to think, well tell me more but she does really expand on this. Could this be true or is she teasing the reader? I guess we won’t really know until she writes another book which I am hoping she is heavily working on at the time of this review. Waiting patiently.

Quid pro quo, with a twist. Wendy Heard puts the reader’s morals to the test in this full-length novel. Her cast and characters are extensive, which means the reader must pay close attention to the frequent narrator change. While the plot holds a tinge of familiarity, the story dynamic is intriguing and presents a plethora of twists and turns. However, the pivotal plot twists lacked shock-value as the story was constantly throwing surprises at the reader. These all lent to desensitize those one or two critical moments. Overall, it was an okay read, definitely kept me turning the pages. 3 stars.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of #TheKillClub from #NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you Netgalley for the advance copy of this title in exchange for my honest review/opinion. Kill club was an interesting book in the dynamics of what people are capable of to get their way if the offer sounds good. I really enjoyed this book and recommend it for anyone who likes a fast paced title!

What a ride this book takes you on! What if someone offered to "get rid" of a truly horrid person in your life, I mean a really bad person. Would you do it?? If what it required of you was for you to kill another rotten person? With a poison injection?? Hmmm ~ sounds intriguing. Jazz, the main character in the book, is offered just such an opportunity - to get rid of the awful foster mother keeping her brother locked in her house and refusing to give him his diabetes medicine for "religious" purposes. The whole story leads you on a crazy journey thru Los Angeles - thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read this ARC!

An unputdownable thriller that's also an incisive look at the failings of the foster care/child protective services systems and a love letter to East LA. In this Strangers on a Train world, the women of LA have an answer to the testosterone-fueled black-market justice of Fight Club, and no one—not even the killers of Kill Club—are safe. Explosive, compelling, and one hell of a good time, do not miss Wendy Heard’s propulsive dive into revenge noir.

Review previously posted on my blog: www.carocsmith.com/blog

Disclaimer - I was given a digital ARC by the author, Wendy Heard, prior to the book’s publication and was asked to give an honest review

CONTENT WARNINGS:
Murder - Violence - Stalking - Domestic Abuse - Poisoning - Homophobia - Rape Mention - Needles - Withholding of Medical Treatment

NON-SPOILER REVIEW:
The Kill Club is an adult contemporary novel told from multiple first-person points of view, alternating between a few core voices and several outliers in a way that creates swirling moments of tension and release like a beating heart or muscles straining during a pull-up. Tense. Release.

And also there’s poison.

Jasmine, preferred name Jazz, is our main character. She lives in LA in a one-bedroom apartment in a not-great part of town, but every penny she earns working at Trader Joe’s goes to a college fund for her younger brother, Joaquin, who’s living in the same foster home Jazz was kicked out of when she turned eighteen.

Carol, Joaquin’s foster mom turned adopted mom, believes his diabetes can be cured via a dose of Jesus, rather than through his insulin injections, something Jazz takes exception to, and since she knows she can’t get custody of him through legal means, she does everything in her power to ensure her younger brother has his medicine. But when Carol’s obstruction moves to a new level, Jazz knows she’ll have to escalate as well.

In steps the murder club, as Jazz puts it. After witnessing a death in the club where her band is playing, Jazz ends up with a burner phone that connects her to an underground group orchestrated by a voice-disguised stranger who takes out the destructive forces in peoples’ lives.

It’s vigilante justice honed to a needle-fine point.

Jazz has to decide if she’s willing to step into this murky world, but the alternate choice is leaving her brother in the hands of a woman who’s religious convictions might very well cause his death.

MY RATING:
I’M GIVING THE KILL CLUB FOUR AND A HALF OUT OF FIVE STARS FOR THE BRILLIANT WAY THE STORY KEPT ME GUESSING.
The switching of points of view lets the reader see more of the picture than if it had just been told by Jazz, and this adds to the tension in the narrative. From cops to victims to perpetrators, it’s still a whirlwind of a whodunit. A few of the voices don’t come across as authentic as Jazz’s (pretty sure the Brits say toilet, not bathroom), but the overall construction of the story is brilliantly done.

My only (very minor) criticism is the very...LA-ness of some of it. Specifically, the driving scenes reminded me of the SNL sketch “The Californians,” which made me groan/chuckle every time we were driving on the five or the one-oh-whatever to get from one place to another. Again, it’s a minor thing, but those not from LA (like me) can find the driving detail a bit tedious.

FAVORITE QUOTE:
“I hate the way I look in mirrors. I feel bigger from the inside, tougher, stronger. Sometimes I’m caught by my own reflection and shamed by my own smallness, by how vulnerable and female I must look to the world around me.”

This passage, part of Jazz’s internal dialogue, speaks volumes to any woman who has ever been made to feel small or insignificant or unsafe. It’s familiar to so many and is one of the core reasons she boxes and runs and has visible tattoos. She’s been a victim for years, she’s still victimized on a regular basis, but she isn’t letting that stop her from helping her brother.

AUTHOR INFO:
Per her website: Wendy Heard was born in San Francisco but has lived most of her life in Los Angeles, which is on fire more than she would honestly prefer. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Studio Art, emphasizing painting, and a Master’s degree in Education. When not writing, she can be found hiking the Griffith Park trails, taking the Metro and then questioning this decision, and haunting local bookstores.

Wendy is a member of Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers, and Mystery Writers of America, is a contributor at Crimereads.com, and co-hosts the Unlikeable Female Characters podcast.

Wendy Heard is represented by Lauren Spieller, Associate Literary Agent at TriadaUS and can be found at:

Website - https://www.wendyheard.com/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/wendydheard

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/wendydheard/

SPOILER REVIEW:
This story is the definition of bittersweet.

Never once do you forget where you are or the poverty that surrounds the characters. Jazz’s perspective, especially, is a frank exploration of someone one step above poverty. She comes from the foster care system, has a menial job at a grocery store, her truck is old, her apartment is tiny and in a bad part of town, she observes the homeless with empathetic eyes that don’t verge into white savior-ism or disgust. Everything about her life speaks of someone poised on the brink, but instead of falling into that abyss she’s surging forward with a singular goal. To help her brother break the cycle.

She’s not alone in her failed custody battle. Another character, Sofia, now only has limited visitation with her two-year-old daughter and is still harassed by her sleazy lawyer ex-husband. At times his obsession with her seemed almost comically villainous, but as the author mentions in her afterward, all of the cases of stalking and abuse mentioned in the story are based on real events. But Sofia isn’t giving up her battle, either. She’s just chosen a different strategy from Jazz. A much more permanent solution to her problem.

The choice of villain in this story is an interesting one. A female police officer with a British accent and an Indian surname. She’s a colonizer and colonized. She’s authority and vulnerability. She’s the partner of the lead investigator and doesn’t seem to care who is killed in the crossfire if it means getting rid of the people who weren’t successfully punished by the systems in power.

There’s a very Dexter vibe to the murders she orchestrates, only instead of doing the dirty work herself, she makes the disenfranchised and the powerless trade an anonymous kill for freedom from their own travails.

In the end, Jazz and her brother are the only ones who get a happy ending. Everyone else in Jazz’s circle seems to catch shrapnel from her involvement with the murder club.

Okay, but seriously, why isn’t it called the murder club, since this is how Jazz refers to the group of killers? Just a tiny gripe, but I have to admit The Kill Club has a nice ring to it.

Maybe that’s what the sequel will be called (I’d absolutely read a sequel to this).