I love a thriller that keeps me guessing and Ladykiller did that.

What we know is that something happened in the past to Gia and Abby. Gia is very richly married and Abby is a lawyer. Gia is living in Greece and invites Abby and Abby’s brother Ben to come visit her, but when they arrive, she is nowhere to be found.

Told through different point of views and dual timelines, which can be confusing, but wasn’t really in this case. Abby and Ben are trying to figure out what happened to Gia and using a manuscript she was writing. They don’t know what is fact or fiction, however, and neither do we. While at the same time we are learning about the mysterious event that happened in the past.

A good solid thriller, the ending left a few loose ends, you’re left to close them yourself.

This is a new to me author. And I would definitely be looking for more of her works. This is an intriguing story and I’m hoping that there’s a second book to go with this one. The author definitely pulls you in and does not let you go until the end of the story. If you enjoy mystery and suspense, I believe you will enjoy this story.


I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Thank you, NetGalley and publisher for the early copy of the book.

I loved the settings and think the author did an amazing job describing the island, house, and beach. It made me feel like I was right there which makes this book perfect for your summer reading.
The first half was a very detailed setup and it took me a minute to get into the story, but the second half truly takes off and you don't know whom to trust.
The ending was not clear and as a reader, I got no true resolution. However, this is not a problem for me, but many readers would be disappointed.

This was a pretty standard thriller, the perfect choice for a beach or pool read. I found it entertaining and I liked the story structure of two perspectives that both enhance and, in some ways, contradict each other. But on the flip side of that, I didn't find any of the reveals particularly surprising, and I didn't connect with any of the characters. It's definitely a read that works well in the moment, but it doesn't really stand out from other thrillers in the genre.

thank you to netgalley, the publisher, and to katherine wood for the advanced reader copy of "lady killer".

as my favorite booktuber hailey hughes always says, i love a good book about "rich people drama"! the premise of "ladykiller" certainly promised that. and the fact the story takes place in a remote island in greece??? give it to me now.

what i really liked about "ladykiller" is the two contrasting main characters that we are introduced to: gia, and her best friend abby-- both have chosen different walks in life following the traumatic event they experienced as teenagers.

the main issue i had was with the pacing. it was inconsistent in the sense that in some areas, we were going at a really fast pace, and then others, it felt like the plot was dragging. this pulled me out of the storyline and prevented me from fully immersing myself into the book's atmosphere, which disappointed me greatly. what i WILL say though, is that wood absolutely knows how to craft a suspenseful and thrilling scene. most absolutely the author's strong suit! those crumbs that we were given in the faster pace areas were so effective, and i wish we could have gotten more of that writing skill cohesively throughout "ladykiller".

An intriguing plot with twists galore as you bounce between two points of view. One while events are happening and the other after the fact.

For me, the story started off slow with too much backstory, then picked up the pacing. It had all the makings for a great story with the poor, rich girl, the hired help’s daughter, and of course the best friend’s brother as the unrequited love interest. Now throw in the hasty marriage and lies, and more lies, and more even more lies. For the most part, they all worked. The author had a lot going on that kept the pages going. She made me wonder how it would end up and just who was going to get killed and by whom. What I didn’t like was the ending. It felt incomplete and unsatisfactory, but then again it also felt a bit realistic, if you get what I mean.

There was so much to love about this book. The characters were interesting and well developed, excellent setting (made me want to book a trip or two, lol), the twisting storyline is seriously intriguing, but then it stumbled with ending, at least for me. Don’t get me wrong I’m perfectly willing to admit this a me issue. It doesn’t bother me when some books end while still leaving loose ends. In fact sometimes the author leaving loose ends is the perfect ending for a story, often making it so the reader will continue to think about the story long after they’ve closed the book. But in the case of this story, I have to be honest and say I wouldn’t have minded a neat little wrap-up. I’d like to thank Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Bantam, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an eARC of Ladykiller.

https://www.amazon.com/review/R3LBXXIN8I5S1A/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_SRTC0204BT_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

Thank you Netgalley, Katherine Wood, and Random House Publishing for the ebook! This book pleasantly surprised me. I loved every part of it including the settings. It was so well written and even at the very end has me second guessing myself! I loved how it went from the present to the past but the past told in manuscript form so it really has you wondering if it's truly how the events happened or was it embellished for publishing purposes. Highly recommend!

Gia & Abby have been friends for a long time. Gia the rich heiress & Abby the hard-working attorney. They had a falling out a while back, but Gia wants Abby to come to her destination wedding in Greece. Abby initially says no because she can't think about taking off from work. Gia finally convinces her to come, but will they survive and can they stay friends when this trip is over?

3.5 stars

This was a dual timeline story with a twist--the timeline in the past was part of a manuscript written by the missing woman. However, her story started before the woman in the present found the manuscript. I would say something about the manuscript, but I don't want to give anything away and I think thrillers, especially, are important to read without knowing much about what you're getting into. I do think that the blurb on Amazon/Goodreads gives away too much about Gia being an unreliable narrator (maybe). Perhaps if I had not known that I wouldn't have been questioning everything that was in Gia's part of the story. But maybe that was the point?

There were enough twists and turns that I didn't expect that kept me guessing until the end. While I enjoy a good thriller now and again, I don't read enough of them to find them predictable, and this was no exception. That's not to say I didn't expect some of it. But I enjoyed trying out different scenarios to try to figure out what had happened and what I thought was happening.

As with many dual timeline stories, one side ended up being more interesting to me than the other. I preferred Abby's storyline, but it was partly because I had trouble feeling sympathy for Gia. Still, by the end, I was rooting for her, if only for Abby and Benny's sakes. The other thing I can say about this book is that the ending is somewhat open to interpretation, so if you don't like books like that, this may not be the book for you. Personally, even if I prefer a definite ending, for this one, I enjoyed imagining some different scenarios, so it worked for me. I really liked Abby, so although her past haunted her for so long, I liked the resolution of her part of the story.

I think this would make a great beach read, as you imagine some of the beautiful scenery that was described in this book. I would recommend this if you're looking for a mystery/thriller with a few twists and turns and an ending that is open to interpretation. Trigger warnings include potential assault/rough sex (not explicit), and murder. Overall, I thought it was a solid debut novel.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is a very good thriller. It’s fast paced and full of drama and twists. The plot is entertaining and drew me in right away. It’s very well written and an engaging, enjoyable read.

This book was chosen because it was set in Greece (a place I've always been intrigued by) and because stories about missing people draw me in most of the time. Katherine Wood is a new author for me, and I'm always on the hunt for new authors.

Description:
When an heiress goes missing, her best friend races to unravel the secrets behind her disappearance using clues left behind in an explosive manuscript…

Gia and Abby have been best friends since they were girls, forever bonded by the tragedy that unfolded in Greece when they were eighteen. In the aftermath, bookish Abby threw herself into her studies while heiress Gia chronicled the events of that fateful summer in a salacious memoir.

Twelve years later, Gia is back in Greece for the summer with her shiny new husband and a motley crew of glamorous guests, preparing to sell the family estate in the wake of her father’s death. When Abby receives an invitation from Gia to celebrate her birthday in September beneath the Northern Lights, she’s thrilled to be granted the time off from her high-pressure job. But the day of her flight, she receives a mysterious, threatening email in her inbox, and when she and Gia’s brother Benny arrive at the Swedish resort, Gia isn’t there. After days of cryptic messages and unanswered calls, Abby and Benny are worried enough to fly to Greece to check on her.

Only, when they arrive, they find Gia’s beachfront estate eerily deserted, the sole clue to her whereabouts a manuscript she wrote detailing the events leading up to her disappearance. The pages reveal the dark truth about Gia’s provocative new marriage and the dirty secrets of the guests they entertained with fizzy champagne under the hot Mediterranean sun. As tensions rise, Gia feels less and less safe in her own home. But the pages end abruptly, leaving Abby and Benny with more questions than answers.

Where is Gia now? And, more importantly, will they find her before it’s too late?

My Thoughts:
I loved the setting - Gia and Benny's home in Greece sounds like a gorgeous place. So idyllic on this beautiful island. When Gia doesn't show up at the hotel to see the Northern Lights it had to be shocking for Abby and Benny. Gia wanted the trip so badly - it had to be an omen of something bad happening. There are secrets here and quite a lot of decption which held my interest. The story unfolded with some unresolved issues from the past coming to light bit by bit. The ending left me with a few questions though and didn't tie up as well as I would have liked. Overall a good story for mystery lovers.

Thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Bantam through Netgalley for an advance copy.

Thank you to the Publisher for the chance to read this book. All opinions expressed are voluntary and my own thoughts and views.

I enjoyed this book immensely. I will say it took a few chapters to get really into the story. Once the storyline grabbed me I just hung on for the ride. A great weekend or beach read. I would recommend to friends!

Ladykiller by Katherine Wood focuses on Abby and her best friend Gia. When the girls were 18, a horrific event changed their lives. Years later this event has come back to haunt them both in different ways.

I went into this book blind and I’m glad I did. The story kept me reading and I was never sure exactly where it was headed. It wasn’t what I would call a traditional mystery or thriller- perhaps more of a domestic thriller. That is not typically my genre, but I very much enjoyed this one. Definitely a summer beach read!

Ladykiller was a book I didn’t have much hopes for but I’m glad overall that I read it. I enjoyed parts of it and the anticipation to what the thriller parts were but there were a lot of things I also did not enjoy. Gia’s whole pov wasn’t very good. She is a selfish woman that lets bad things happen to her because all she wants is to have a good time. Although I felt bad for her at times, her actions made me not care.
However I did enjoy the ending. We don’t really know what actually happened, whose story to believe. I do want to see more from the author in the future though, I can tell that if this were a different story I’d enjoy her writing more.

This one started like an episode of Succession and didn't let up. I loved the setting (and that cover!) wich was so vividly described throughout. The twists and turns kept coming along the beautiful writing and I'd recommend it to anyone who loves stories about rich people behaving badly, and who always want to indulge in some armchair traveling.

Ladykiller
by Katherine Wood
Pub Date: Jul 09 2024

Ladykiller is a very unique novel about female friendships and jealousy among friends. It has great characters that match the storyline being told in a dual timeline. Being narrated by both Gina and Abby who are childhood friends. A great page turner with lots of twisty plots and vivid descriptions. I highly recommend this book.

Synopsis: When an heiress goes missing, her best friend races to unravel the secrets behind her disappearance using clues left behind in an explosive manuscript…“Full of sun, sex, money, and greed".

Many thanks to #Ladykiller #NetGalley and #RandomHousePublishingGroup for providing me with an E-ARC of this book.

Sex. Drugs. Travel. Badly Behaved Women. Secrets.
When Abby gets an invite to meet her best friend Gia in Sweden for a weekend away, she meets up with Gia's brother, but no Gia. As they try to find Gia, they begin to realize something sinister may have happened.
Told in two forms, Abby's POV and through Gia's manuscript, we learn about Gia's marriage, money problems, and the scam to take everything she has. But when the scammers disappear, and Gia reappears, the question is posed- did Gia do it?

Ladykiller is atmospheric with interesting characters and a deliciously twisty plot.
Rich-girl Gia has always been spontaneous and risque, unlike her best friend Abby. When Gia announced she was marrying someone she'd just met, Abby tried to talk her out of it, but Gia had found her soul mate in Garrett. They haven't spoken since, but Abby agrees to meet Gia and Gia's brother, Benny, in Sweden for Gia's 30th birthday, but when Gia doesn't show up, Abby and Benny head to the island in Greece where Gia and Garrett have been living to figure out what's going on. Chapters alternate between Abby and Gia's point of view, with Gia's mostly told through what is basically her journal but is presented as a book manuscript. With lots of surprises and twists, the story kept me a bit "off-kilter", in a good way, and I don't want to spoil it for anyone else by giving too much away.

Wow! What a thriller! Twisty just like I like them! It was so good, prob one of my favorite thrillers I have read in a long time. Don’t miss out on the ladykiller!