Absolutely loved this book. I enjoyed the writing style and the storyline and the characters were really well written.

Rhiannon Lewis (Ophelia) is my favourite anti-hero and it was great seeing what she’d been up to in Thorn In My Side.

Book 4 has the same whit and unrelenting narrative of its predecessors. Rhiannon continues to be a fabulous character, for all her bad behaviour you can’t help but route for her.

I can’t wait for book 5 because the ending of this book was so abrupt!

This is actually book number 4 in the series. I loved the characters. This book surprised me at how much I liked it. The plot was different and a nice change from my recent reads.

It’s really hard to review a title that’s fourth in a series without giving spoilers but I will say that I really enjoyed this one. Rhiannon is such a well formed character that while I don’t always agree with her I want to look after her! Bring on book 5

I love this series more than life !!! I have read all of cjskuse’s books young adult and adult this one continues the series along perfectly who doesn’t love a bit of murder and humour !!! Haha keep writing love it !!!!!

Amazing book!
I was thoroughly engaged throughout this book and I didn't want to put it down! The author captured my attention from the get go! Five stars from me :)

I love the Sweetpea series of books and this latest installment did not disappoint. We get to read more of Rhiannon/Ophelia's life as she prepares for her wedding to Rafael. There's all of the usual humour, wit and gore that we have come to expect from this character. What I didn't expect however was the ending. I don't think I've ever been so blindsided by a book ending before! I'm now even more impatient to read the next book!

The fourth in the series, still funny, still gruesome. C.J. Skuse has created a figurehead in Rhiannon with this hugely influential series.

It’s more of the same, with lockdown disrupting her k*ller tendencies. Fan will love it it, casual readers might get bored before book four, I’m somewhere in the middle. As always it’s entertaining but I’d like more plot development.

I wish C.J. Skuse would write another standalone as The Alibi Girl was great.

Thanks to Netgalley and HQ

It was so good to be back in Rhiannon’s orbit – fictionally speaking at least 🙂 And I love that beautiful cover.

Thorn In My Side is written in the same easy, conversational tone as the earlier books, with Rhiannon’s daily ‘kill list’ and run down of her not-at-all-average days. C.J. Skuse has included enough background to remind me what had occurred in the first three books which was perfect. I definitely recommend that you start from the first book though.

Once I’d started, I really struggled to put the book down. Like its predecessors, it is laugh out loud funny, dark, shocking but also surprisingly tender in places. It’s great to see a different side to Rhiannon as she settles in to family life, although her true nature is still there, simmering under the surface. Never has wedding planning been so bloodthirsty!

The final quarter of the book was completely compelling and I really could not put it down until I’d finished. There’s so much going on in the final chapter that I had to go back and read it again – oh my god that ending! I can’t believe how it was left. I can see from C.J. Skuse’s twitter that there is another book in the pipeline so now I’m counting down the days until I can get my hands on it. Hugely recommended.

A big thank you to the publisher for my copy of the book.

I hadn't read the other books in the series before this one, and it did work as a stand alone. However I have enjoyed this so much that I have now purchased the previous books and cant wait to read them all! Great storytelling and I loved the main character.

After over 800 days without murdering anyone, the woman formerly known as the Sweetpea Killer thinks she might have finally turned over a new leaf.

I love this series and am a huge fan of what I call the "good for her" genre of mystery/thrillers. Well done!

WOW. I absolutely LOVED this book! Thorn in My Side is definitely the best of the Sweetpea series so far. I've loved all the books, but this one is just next level.

Rhiannon is one of my favourite female characters ever. She's fearless, funny and charismatic.
Raf and his family are great too.
I love the relationship between him and Rhiannon, they have fantastic chemistry and they're well suited personality wise.

The writing was excellent as usual. I was drawn into the story immediately. I just couldn't put it down.

I wasn't happy with the cliffhanger though, so I hope I don't have to wait too long for the next installment. 🤞

I highly recommend. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks Netgalley for the ARC.

What can I say. My favourite serial killer is back with a bang. But is she?

Due to the pandemic, settling down with her wonderful Rafael and being embraced by his loving family Rhiannon hasn't killed anyone for 800 days. The Sweetpea killer is definitely in the past but can she stay there?
A troublesome family member sets off a terrible chain of events ending with an oh my god!!! ending. Set with the usual dark humour undertone I have to say this is the best one yet. I look forward to the next instalment as I don't know how she will get out of this one.

Brilliant five star read.

The Sweetpea books are still an auto read for me. Rhiannon's bluntness is still there but I remember her being more blunt in the earlier books. Rhiannon is a lot softer since she got pregnant, which is a bit of a shame, but she still has a such great, dark humour and I'd love to see this as it was in earlier books. Minor complaints aside, I still enjoy her as a character and I'm looking forward to seeing what the TV adaptation looks like!

Sweetpea is back!!!! Change of scenery away from the UK and she's sworn off killing (Pandemic made it tricky!)....but can it be true? Is a new life and a new name to make Rhiannon into a new person?

The first sweetpea book was great and her character has grown immeasurably since then.

Funny and brilliant, love having Rhiannon back!
She is up to her old tricks again but she is older and wiser.... well! So glad this has been released and can't wait for another installment
Thank you to netgalley and the publishers and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest opinion

Wow Rhiannon is back with a bang!

I must admit I was a bit apprehensive when I saw that there was a fourth sweet pea novel. But having been slightly obsessed with Rhiannon since the original book came out I couldn’t not request it. And oh my God, I’m so glad I did!

This book is so good!! Granted not as epic as the first book but CJ Skuse is certainly is coming into her own stride. Now that Rhiannon has become Ophelia.

If you’re new to the series, then you don’t necessarily need to have read the previous two books, but I would seriously consider getting the first book just to ensure that you fully understand who Rhiannon is and what makes her tick.

This book is so dark and so gruesome, but also so horrifically funny And not in the laugh out loud kind of funny it’s the kind of funny that makes you think. Should I really be laughing at this? Her quips and her insight into daily life and her opinions of people are brilliant. I love her take on life and other people.

I just can’t believe that the book ended the way that it did. I honestly felt that this might of been the finale of the whole series but clearly now I’m going to have to wait very patiently for book 5 because the ending of this book is an almighty cliffhanger. In fact, it’s a cliffhanger on top of a cliffhanger on top of a cliffhanger! Absolutely brilliant, fun and frolics all around… Kidding, this is Rhiannon after all!

Thanks to NetGalley for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

OMG that ending!! I have read all of the Sweet Pea books and I have loved them all. I didn't think I had a favorite but this one might be it. I loved that she found Raf and after he found out she wasn't really Ophelia he loved her anyway. Please, oh please do not let that man die!!! Rhiannon needs him! Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this. I just love Rhiannon and her smart ass mouth!

I first chose this book because of the amazing cover art, title, and because the reviews said you did not need to read the other three to know what was going on. Wow was that wrong. If I meant to go back and read the other three there were many spoilers in the first couple chapters that had me questioning how this was a standalone. But, mainly because of the trigger warnings I will not be going back to read the others. I definitely take some of the blame jumping into a fourth book like that, but I really did not enjoy this book.

Thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for providing me with this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately I was disappointed in this fourth outing for unlikely serial killer Rhiannon. I found some of the developments in this book quite out of character and didn't enjoy the focus on her relationship and desire for children, which suddenly seems to have become the main focus here where it wasn't really in evidence before. I'd still recommend the first three books and would still read more from Skuse but I'm no longer finding the Sweetpea series as entertaining as I once did.