Read Complete4d 4/9/24 | 3.5 stars, rounded down for vibes
I was really excited to read this, having like Steve Cavanagh's Eddie Flynn books and seeing this as a 5 star book all over bookstagram & booktok. I don't know why I keep thinking that means I will rate it 5 stars because that almost never happens.

KILL FOR ME, KILL FOR YOU is still solidly entertaining! This was a Strangers on a Train style story, which can really be hit or miss for me. It all depends on how everything is handled and if it's believable and this one just really didn't hit the mark for me on the believability scale. I don't always have to know all the odds and ends, but some things felt a little too sloppy, other things I don't think the police would have let go, and it leaned a little too hard on mental health issues, in my opinion.

There was the big reveal that I didn't see coming and I really liked the WAY it was handled. There were a few things that again, I didn't really buy as far as all of the pieces falling into place and characters who worked their way into this tangled web, but I liked HOW the reveal happened, and that honestly probably brought the experience up a half a star.

Overall, this was just a little too popcorn-y. I can be here for a popcorn thriller for sure, but if it has me rolling my eyes too often, it's not a win for me. Some parts really didn't flow well and I wanted to be floored by it but I just wasn't. Even in the beginning I knew it couldn't be a 5 star book because I wasn't really into the writing style right from the start.

Not a huge miss for me but I'm a bit bummed I couldn't even manage to rate this one 4 stars. I definitely see its appeal and tons of people have and will love it. It was just too unrealistic overall and I couldn't let it go.

AUDIOBOOK NOTES: I listened to this as an audiobook, narrated by Stephanie Cannon. I don't think I've listened to a book from her before and I wasn't really blow away by her performance. It was a fine narration but there were some moments that took me out of the listening experience and the voices kind of blended into one another. I wouldn't avoid future narrations from her but I also wouldn't be excited for it either. Even though the book was in third person, because of the lack of change in voice, I felt like we could have benefitted from multiple narrators, though I know the budget doesn't always allow that.

Kill For Me, Kill For You is a fast-paced, multi-perspective, compulsively readable thriller. It centers on trauma and the theme of getting revenge against those who have destroyed our lives. Amanda and Wendy meet early on at a recovery group for those whose immediate family member have been murdered. They bond outside of the group and find they have similar revenge fantasies over those who killed their daughters. Soon after, they agree to kill the perpetrator of the other's child to elude the police. The story also follows Ruth, who has survived a nearly deadly attack, and lives in constant terror that the man who did it is still out there. Additionally, we see Detective Farrow's perspective as he tries to hunt down the perpetrators of violent crimes in New York. The chapters are short and told through multiple perspectives and there is so much action. You do have to suspend disbelief a little, but the story reads so quickly. When you finish a chapter, you want to keep reading to find out what will happen and tie the story together.

Thank you, Atria Books, and NetGalley for providing this ARC. All thoughts are my own.

Thank you to Atria Books for sending me a copy of KILL FOR ME, KILL FOR YOU. This one is out now.

This book is one of the best thrillers I’ve read in a long time. It’s my first book by Steve Cavanaugh and it definitely won’t be my last. The premise of this book is what drew me in but honestly the farther I got into the book and I realized I was completely wrong, the more I liked it. I definitely recommend this one!

This was a thrilling tale, from start to finish. I was ecstatic to grab an early copy! This story is jam-packed with revenge, thrills, and great female characters, this story is bound to lead you deep into the night when you should've gone to bed.

This has some super shocking twists that literally made my jaw drop! I also felt that this was a very unique story with a great plot.

Creative and a thrilling ride ...
Did not see any of the twists and with so many POV you are left guessing how they relate together.
Definetely recommend !!!

While the synopsis says Kill for Me, Kill for You by Steve Cavanagh is for fans of The Silent Patient and Gone Girl I will go one better and add Look Closer by David Ellis to that list. This is the twistiest book I have read since that one and it was freaking AMAZING. I thought I would be confused by all of the different viewpoints at first, but I quickly got to know each one and was perfectly fine even listening to audio. There is a great mix of genres all rolled into one here, and I loved the blend of suspense, crime fiction, mystery, and procedural. This is also a nod to Strangers on a Train which I have not read, but quickly got the gist of.

This was a nonstop action thrill ride from the very beginning up until the tumultuous ending, and Cavanagh blew my mind more times than I can count on one hand. I'm not sure I would necessarily like the very end under normal circumstances, but boy was it a doozy and I am still thinking about it. I thought the audiobook was fantastic and Stephanie Cannon did a great job with it. It would have been useful and fun to have a full cast here, but Cannon used all the tools in her narrator toolbox and made it a remarkable listening experience all the same.

I think it would be insanely easy to give things away here, so this is where I am going to end things. Kill for Me, Kill for You is WILD and left me completely SHOOK. I never once had any part figured out, and it is so twisty you will lose your mind. It is also quite terrifying if you think about it, so be prepared for that. Now please excuse me while I go pray for more of Cavanagh's books on audio. 😭

If you’re looking for a twisty, can’t stop reading thriller, Kill For Me Kill For You is it. It did take me maybe 20% to get hooked but once it did, I couldn’t put it down.

If you think you can predict the twists correctly, you’ll be wrong.

Kill for Me, Kill for You by Steve Cavanagh

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Multiple POVs, twisty, I wasn’t sure where this thriller was going!

—Amanda and Wendy are both grieving loved ones and wish for revenge. They get to talking and decide to swap murders.
—Ruth is attacked in her home while her husband Scott is out.
—Farrow is a cop with a history of solving difficult cases.

I was surprised how everything came together! This was the first book I have read by Steve Cavanagh, and it made me want to check out his other books.

Thank you Atria Books and NetGalley for the digital ARC.

This book gave me “The Kind Worth Killing” vibes and that’s a huge compliment!
I really enjoyed the multiple POVs and seeing how the stories came together for our two main protagonists. It was a fun and quick read but the last 20% of the book really drew me in and I couldn’t put it down. I was able to predict one of the twists but couldn’t have anticipated the ending.
This is my first Cavanagh book and I’m sure it won’t be my last!

Thank you to Atria, the author and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

From the first to last page, I was completely enthralled. There were unexpected twists & turns and it kept me constantly guessing. I love when I finish a chapter and feel like I can’t stop & need to know more. Thank you Net Galley for the copy of this book, it was a surprising new favorite.

This book definitely kept me on my toes while reading! The whole time I was wondering how the two different storylines would end up connecting- I just couldn't see how they could be related. I felt for our main character Ruth, because I can't imagine being attacked in my own home and then being afraid to go back, seeing the killers eyes in so many different people. And then Amanda and Wendy, who have both lost children so tragically. Little did I know I'd be going on such a wild ride from there. I loved the connections that continued through the book- from how each character met to how each victim was selected. It was all so intricately laid out. I love Steve Cavanagh's writing and can't wait to continue to pick up more of his books. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc.

I'm obsessed with this retelling of Strangers on a Train. I loved the twists and how the story was so much more than you're led to believe at first. Strangers on a Train is my favorite Hitchcock movie, and this rendition was modern, propulsive, and complex. Absolutely loved it!

Le sigh. This book had everything going for it, until it didn’t.

The setup was excellent. Two women meet in a bereavement group after they both lost family members to murder, and decide they can commit the perfect crime - they will seek revenge against the other person’s murderer. You kill for me, I’ll kill for you.

The chapters are short and the writing is fast-paced. Cavanagh writes an utterly readable thriller, and there were heart-pounding moments of true (literary) terror. I ripped through this novel in one day. It was utterly readable.

BUT!

I like a clean wrap-up as much as the next guy, but this was TOO clean. Unbelievably clean. Not-real-life clean. And, as I told a friend who warned me about this, I am okay with suspending my disbelief while reading. But this? It’s too much.

It was good, but the ending took this from a four star book to a three star one.

Onto the next!

MmMmMm this was a goodie. I’ll admit it took me a little bit to get into the story and I was wondering how all these POVs would connect, but when they did… I’LL BE DAMNED. I really couldn’t connect anything myself so I was shooketh when everything was put together. The ending tied everything together and I was happy with how everything played out!

This was only my second Steve Cavanagh book, but I really need to be reading more.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my eARC.

<i>Kill for Me, Kill for You</i> is an ethical dilemma throughout. The title holds no surprises but the story is filled with twists and unexpected turns. I do remember thinking "Ok! I didn't expect that."
When two grieving people meet at a support group and their plan involves revenge hoping it will heal them rather than working on healing themselves directly, you know this is going to be a wild ride. There are some crazy moments in this book, when you sit back and think - are they really doing this. It's easily excused by the fact that these people have been damaged. But to what extent will you exact revenge on someone you think is the bad guy, but might not actually be the person you thought they were.
As much as it's great to be surprised by this book, there were also times that I rolled by eyes in frustration. Can I even go as far as asking if this could be considered <i>Strangers on a Train</i> fan fiction? The book is referenced multiple times throughout as if it's admitting that it isn't an original theme.

I did not really care for this book. There were just too many moments that were kind of ridiculous and silly in my opinion. It almost read like a cheesy soap opera. And ugh, that ending! Like what??

I'm glad to see other people liked it, but it definitely was not for me.

This was really well-plotted and a great read, compelling and kept me turning pages. It also made me think long and hard about those age-old questions: is there anything you wouldn't do for your kids? and what would I be willing to do in the name of justice?

This book is getting really rave reviews. And I totally get why. However, it took me about halfway through to get invested and feel like this wasn't a book I haven't read 100 times before.

We've all read the book where you meet a relative stranger and agree to kill for them if they kill for you - the seemingly perfect crime. I liked that this novel deviated from this path about halfway through, but I needed it to happen sooner.

At the halfway point, this novel became totally gripping. Edge of my seat, 'what the heck is going on?', can't flip the pages fast enough. I couldn't trust anyone, started questioning the littlest plot points, and was totally swept up in the ride kind of gripping. And this is why people are totally loving this book!

There were times when this book was really hard to read. There are some serious trigger warnings with child death and other abuse and horrors committed against children. While there weren't necessarily graphic details, as a mom, I struggled at times. This did help me empathize with the characters and while there was certainly some suspension of belief, a wronged parent will go to great lengths to avenge their child.

Overall, I enjoyed this read and definitely recommend. Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for the copy.

This was so good!

Thrillers and I haven’t been seeing eye to eye lately - mostly because I have that toxic trait where I try to figure everything out instead of just enjoying the ride. I expected Kill for Me, Kill for You to just be another Strangers on a Train retelling, but this was not just that. This book was full of twists, some of which I saw coming, but many I did not. You will truly be kept guessing all the way through. We follow quite a few POVs, but each character’s voice was unique enough that I had no problem keeping up, and having all of those voices really added to the story.

Thank you to Atria and NetGalley for a review copy. If you’re looking for a good thriller that will hook you from beginning to end definitely pick this one up!