4.5 stars

I couldn't put it down! I really enjoyed reading it and I liked the way it kept me guessing the whole time who the killer might be. It was interesting that we got the chapters with different POV's to see how the police was confused too, even though I didn't particularly enjoyed them. The whole plot with the Diary Killer was good, but the parts of Mary's past were more interesting. I didn't see all of it coming. When Mary revealed her real identity at the end of chapter 29 I thought that was it, but the end OMG.
I would definietly recommend this one!

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins UK,One More Chapter for the ARC!

It's quite a good paced read as you get to know the characters, their backgrounds and the victims. You begin to suspect everyone around with the red herrings that were there. I didn't see the twist at the end coming. Not sure if I liked the ending, it seemed a bit far fetched, but I quite enjoyed the rest of it. I would certainly read more by this author.

What a page Turner! I’ve never read anything by Jackie Kabler before and this was an absolute treasure! The premise was fresh and fun, a crime journalist receives a gift from an unknown person, a day planner… with the first name of a woman who was recently murdered, as well as the date she was murdered in the planner are there other names and dates, one of them the journalists… there were several twists in this book I absolutely did not see coming and I absolutely relish that feeling of surprise gifted by an author. Thank you Netgalley and ONe More Chapter for the ecopy in exchange for review.

Mary Ellis is a true crime writer, not as successful as her late father, crime novelist, Gregor Ellis, but she's sure she'll get there. Working freelance in Cheltenham, sharing her home with best friend, Pete Chong, she is happy and content.

Having a turn out after the Christmas festivities, Mary finds a diary she received isn't as blank as it should be. Instead it contains what appears to be a monthly list of murder victims one of whom has already died and, even more shockingly, she could be a potential victim herself!

Without warning four police forces find themselves working together to discover whether or not this is a hoax while trying to prevent another person becoming a victim of someone determined to be recognised, albeit anonymously, as a serial killer. Mary tries to continue working while constantly looking over her shoulder and trying not to overreact but if the author of the list is serious and isn't caught will they keep killing until they reach her?

This is a first class mystery to be solved alongside Mary Ellis who has already lived through a traumatic childhood but is now faced with the possibility of knowing exactly when she will die. My only problem was there were a lot of police officers to keep track of but for the storyline to work there needed to be.

Mary does a lot of thinking and, as an investigative journalist, is able to ask the right questions to move things along well although they didn't help me work it all out in advance of the big reveal and major plot twist, I was miles off! I tend to prefer book series as I like to get to know the main protagonists gradually but I really enjoyed this standalone and liked Mary and Pete from the start.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but the opinions expressed are my own. This is a brilliant read and comes highly recommended.

The Murder List by Jackie Kabler is a fun and clever story about a young woman who receives the worst gift ever, a journal with a list of people to be murdered. NO THANKS, return to sender! Unfortunately for Mary, this is something she can’t turn away from and she must take action.

SYNOPSIS:

When Mary receives a blank diary as a present, she thinks nothing of it. Until she opens the diary, and sees it’s not blank after all…

1st January MURDER LISA, OXFORD
1st February MURDER JANE, BIRMINGHAM
1st March MURDER DAVID, CARDIFF
1st April MURDER MARY, CHELTENHAM

Is this some kind of sick joke? But…it’s the end of January now. And a woman named Lisa was murdered in Oxford on 1st January.

Does that mean there really is a killer out there, planning to commit a new murder on the first of each month? And is the Mary due to be killed on 1st April her?

The clock is ticking for Mary to uncover the truth, before she becomes the next victim on the killer’s list…

What a great read! Out on May 31!

Totally twisted thriller with a massive surprise in the middle and a stunning end! This is the first for me by this author but certainly won't be the last. There are so many people to suspect, and the tension never lets up.

Many thanks to NetGalley and One More Chapter for this ARC!

When Mary receives a blank diary as a present, she thinks nothing of it. Until she opens the diary, and sees it’s not blank after all…

1st January MURDER LISA, OXFORD
1st February MURDER JANE, BIRMINGHAM
1st March MURDER DAVID, CARDIFF
1st April MURDER MARY, CHELTENHAM

A fast-paced, gripping mystery that had me hooked from the start. I really thought I had the killer all figured out from about 20% in, but boy was I wrong! There were a couple of twists I didn't see coming at all!

This book was brilliant, a real twisty, page turner. I was hooked from page one until the end which really shocked me as I wasn’t expecting it. I love books like this that leave you wanting more. I didn’t know about this author but I hope there is more from her. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley and One More Chapter for access to this eARC!

I felt that this one started strong but moved along with little development. It was very much just scratching the surface kind of, for example it speeds through victims providing little insight to them as individuals; We didn’t get to know them as characters. Since there was nothing personal shared, I didn’t feel much about their deaths thus I wasn’t drawn in as I would have been if I got to know more about them.
I felt that the twists were convenient and not really possible. This alongside the ending, just left me feeling dissatisfied and not at all invested.

The Murder List by Jackie Kabler is an interesting storyline about a journalist who receives a calendar in Christmas post that she had overlooked. When she looks at the diary of the calendar there are four entries.
This is the murder list and the entry for the 1st April is her name. Who is killing people and why are they chosen.
An entertaining and enjoyable read.
Highly recommended.

Mostly enjoyed this book,slow at times but with some good twists and turns,good ending,well written,I would read more by this author

First, I struggled with the writing and found it difficult to follow the story. Then I found the characters to be odd and flat. Finally, the story absolutely crawled, bogged down by far too much inner monologue that went on for ages into tangents and arrogant ideals. Not my cup of tea unfortunately.

wow. that is my immediate reaction to everything about this book. just wow. 😱🤯

in this book we follow main character Mary after she receives a blank diary in the mail, a seemingly normal gift she thinks nothing of it. But, when she finally decides to open the diary she finds that it’s not blank after all. The date is marked with nothing but 4 names and locations written on the 1st of each month stopping in April, and to her surprise her name is written on April 1st. 🫣The story alternates between Mary’s POV and the pov’s of the police working the case which is told in 3rd person.

psychological thrillers aren’t exactly what i tend to pick up, but this one intrigued me a bit. super fast paced and interesting from start to finish. i loved Mary as a character and the side characters were also lovable. i had my suspicions of who this killer could be and was completely shocked to find out i was 💯 wrong. the author did a really good job at making me believe it was everyone and also nobody at the same time. it was the perfect shock factor for sure.

even though i really enjoyed the book, the writing style did get a little confusing for me, going from 1st person, to 3rd so often, and it being based in the UK i also didn’t get some of the references. but, it didn’t deter me enough to stop reading so it gets 4 stars.

Thank you, NetGalley, HarperCollins UK, and One More Chapter, for providing me an ARC copy of this book in exchange for my haonest review.

This book was just ok.. It started off well but soon got tedious.and a bit boring in the middle. The suspense was lacking and the characters were rather somewhat bland. It just was not as good as I had expected. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review it.

I quite enjoyed The Murder List, by Jackie Kabler. It was slow going at the start, but it soon sped up and was very well written

Well, this was a twisty little read.

Mary finds a list with her name on, but it's a lost of dates and murders, she works with the police to try and solve the crime in time.

There are plenty of suspicious characters in this story who could all be the killer, but the plot twist is epic.

Thanks to netgalley for the opportunity to review this book this is my honest opinion.

I really liked the premise of this book, but I did have difficulty getting into it. The book jumped around a lot. I think it's a good mystery and I may have been too preoccupied to really get into it. I do think that there are a lot of people who are going to love this book.

4.5 which I will gladly round up to 5 as I did not guess the ending and I could not put this book down.

The Murder List is a cleverly written book where 4 names are found on a Murder List and the 4th name is the one who found the list.

Her name is Mary and her past has its share of tragedy.

Mary is a crime writer so she is doing her utmost to figure out who is sending her notes and who wants her dead.

The bodies pile up on schedule and the tension mounts.

The Murder List will keep you reading and the lights on as you look over your shoulder.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter for a nail biting read.

A good book with an interesting (if slightly left field) twist. I would reccommend this book, and would be interested in reading future books by this author.

This latest offering from @officialjackiekabler has given me a few late nights this week, because I couldn't put it down!

And when I wasn't galloping through the chapters, I was thinking about and trying to work out the plot!

I guessed one of the early twists, but that ending! OMG. I never saw it coming. Anyone that enjoys a super twisty, fast-paced, thriller, will love this.

Thank you @onemorechapterhc and @netgalley for the advance copy.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐