Katherine Wood has written a vivid, sumptuous thriller set on a tiny island in Greece, where a newlywed heiress, without enough money left, is selling the house in order to….? Hmm, not sure.

The main protagonists are rich girl Gia, who we mostly know through her manuscript/maybe diary; her very new but mostly unknowable husband Garrett; Abby, lifelong poor friend who is forever bonded to Gia after an incident years ago that ended up with a dead man; and Benny, Gia’s brother (and sometimes crush of Abby’s). After an estrangement, Gia invited Benny and Abby to celebrate her birthday and experience a bucket list item, seeing the northern lights, in Sweden. Except Gia is a no-show and Abby and Benny redirect themselves to the Grecian Islands to try to locate Gia. The beach house is strangely deserted, but they do find Gia’s manuscript, chronicling events (and mysterious house guests) up until her disappearance.

The POVs are primarily from Abby (present and past) and Gia’s written story. Author Wood writes compelling characters, but Abby is the more relatable and you worry about the reliability of Gia’s manuscript (well, this was also supposed to be the basis for a book, but is it fiction or true story?) The book has a lot of salacious moments and the Grecian paradise gives new meanings to Bacchanalia. Plus, add a cursed well, dead goats and anonymous email threats to Abby to the story. The ending is a little ambiguous, but not frustratingly so. In fact, Gia and Abby and all their secrets could very well pop up in a sequel. 4 stars!

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): YES Abby has green eyes, as does Camila Delgado, Oscar nominated actress.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO We do experience the landscape of Greece — olive trees, bougainvillea, purple and yellow wildflowers.

Thank you to Random House, Ballantine/Bantam and NetGalley for a free advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Abby is supposed to meet her old high school friend Gia and Gia's brother, Benny, in Sweden for the northern lights. Gia has been living in Greece with her new husband Garrett, getting the family villa ready to sell. Abby is reluctant to leave her busy job in Atlanta, but ultimately agrees. When she and Benny arrive, Gia is nowhere to be found and they get suspicious enough that something is wrong that they go to Greece looking for answers.

4.5 stars

I really enjoyed this book. We had chapters from Abby's perspective in the present day, and we had lots of chapters of Gia's manuscript, where she detailed her life in the months leading up to the Sweden trip. I love the Greek isle setting off a Mykonos, and I was interested in this story right out of the gate. I never got bored and I really wanted to know what would happen to Gia as things in her marriage took a turn. My only issue is that the end was a bit ambiguous and open to interpretation and I like a more concrete conclusion.

The cover of this book made me want to get there immediately. Once I got into the book, it was just so so. I was not a fan of the back and forth POV. I found that Gia's POV was a bit harder to get through versus Abby's because Gia was set up to be the unlikeable one a little too well. I like a good negative person with some redeeming qualities and never could find that here. The ending was especially frustrating but some people will like not having everything tied up into a neat bow.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for advanced copy, and I give my review freely

Thank you, NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the copy of Ladykiller by Katherine Wood. It was worth waiting for the mystery to be revealed in order to learn more about each character. While I didn’t really like the characters, they were interesting with good stories. Maybe I have read too many thrillers or I’m just naturally suspicious, but I had the liars pegged early on so the reveals weren’t much of a shock. The book was engaging and I loved reading Gia’s manuscript. This would be the perfect summertime book to get lost in, and the writing will keep you reading until the end! 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Personally, I think it could have been shorter. I loved the writing and felt like I could really envision the setting and felt attached to some of the characters. However, I didn't like the ending. I was super into this book until about the last 30%

I know they always say that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but this is honestly what brought me to this book. The blue water just looks absolutely refreshing and the woman looks relaxed and seems to be enjoying herself. I found myself envying her. Then, I read the title, and was even more ready to read this book.

The book alternates between two different point of views. One is the manuscript of Gia, an heiress who lives in what sounds like a palace in Greece. The other POV is her best friend Abby, who is the daughter of the chef for Gia's family when the girls were teenagers. We find out Gia got married, but Abby told her not to rush things causing a little bit of a riff between the two. They have plans to meet for Gia's birthday, along with Gia's brother Benny. Abby and Benny get there and Gia is no where to be seen and neither can get ahold of her. This leads to lots of twists, turns, and tales of the past that are full of scandal.

Overall, there were things that I did and did not like about this book. I wasn't sure how it would be reading from Abby's point of view (which is in the present mostly, but does go back to the past) and that of Gia's manuscript. For me, it didn't end up being confusing. I loved hearing about the life of luxury that the main character lived. What I didn't like was the way that it ended. I could not stop reading because I needed answers and in the end, the author leaves it for the reader to decide. I really just wanted everything to be crossed and dotted. That's personally what I prefer, but some people like endings like that and I respect that.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine, and Katherine Wood for allowing me access to this ARC!

This was my first time reading this author so I don’t know if her style just doesn’t work for me or if it’s just this book but I had a hard time with this one. It was kind of convoluted and the characters blended together. I think the idea was really interesting, it was just wasn’t executed the best for me.

I have never read anything by this author.

There was a lot going on and was confusing at times and hard to follow. Sometimes it was hard to tell what the storyline was because there were so many different POV. The mystery was there but holy cow this just fell flat due to the array of stuff going on.

There should have been more to the story line and less confusing.

Thanks NetGalley for letting me read and review.

A twisty mystery set on a Greek island, where a woman has gone missing and only her brother and best friend seem to care. Ladykiller was a bit hard to follow in areas, but overall engaging and kept me guessing.

I have never read a book by this author. There was a LOT going on in this story. It was hard to tell what the "main" story line was as there was so many side story lines. It was a good mystery - yet, I needed less details and more focus on the main story line.

I was drawn in by the lovely cover and intriguing title. It was an interesting story about two friends who took very different paths after a tragedy when they were younger. One friend's path included a juicy memoir so when she goes missing, a manuscript tells them where to start.. until it doesn't. It ends abruptly, ad quickly as it started and it's left the friends wondering if they're out of time.

Have you ever listened to a podcast, read a memoir, or watched a documentary and wondered how much of it was true? What would the other side say?

When Gia disappears instead of meeting her brother and best friend, they must use her book to find out what happened to her. The problem is that Gia is a story teller, an embellisher, and while some of it is verifiable, how do you weed through the rest? Could her last few months really have been as grandiose as she describes? Knowing her, it’s possible. But also knowing her, it might not be. How do you find someone when you aren’t sure you can trust the only clues left behind?

I did find the story captivating and it held my attention enough to read through it quickly. I was trying to understand all of the pieces and how they fit together throughout the novel. Even though I was able to guess the ending, the story was told so well that I didn’t mind that fact.

However, I did take off one star due to personal preference on the graphic nature of some of the content. I understand why it was added, but I personally don’t want to read it in as much detail as was provided. I found myself skipping tidbits because of it, but it was also written in a way that it was impossible to really do that. The graphic bits were sprinkled throughout rather than poured into a couple of pages. So readers that don’t want to read about a salacious sex life, beware. It’s in there, it’s unavoidable, and it’s surprisingly graphic for as short as those pieces are.

**Thank you so much Random House Publishing and Kathleen Quinlan for reaching out with an earc! All words and thoughts in this review are my own honest opinion!**
Posted to: NetGalley, Goodreads, and The Storygraph
Posted on: 8 June 2024

3 out of 5 stars.

I tried to like this. I really did. I got to 20% then 25%, then told myself I’ll go to 35% to see how it’ll go and I still just had that love-hate relationship. When I start to feel this way with books, I’m wary to keep continuing because I start to get too critical over the smallest things and it further ruins the read.
So ultimately, I did decide to just DNF. I just don’t think this book is for me. It’s slightly out my range from the usual genres I pick. It’s also just a little slow and the characters a tad unlikeable in a bad way (because I love me a good unlikable or unreliable mc, don’t get me wrong)

I had this issue that a few others had in feeling that Gia’s manuscript POV was just… long. And it took too long to get to the point. I get that we’re peering into the buildup of what happened, but I don’t know… it just didn’t interest me yet there are a *lot* of chapters featuring Gia’s POV compared to Abby’s and that’s considering the fact that I didn’t even finish the book. I feel like I just wanted to see more of Abby, or more movement *anywhere*.

The premise was interesting, the whole idea, the cover, and the title- it was *interesting*, but the actual inside of the book just left me wanting. Maybe I’ll try again to finish this, but genuinely I don’t think it lined up with what I was expecting based off the summary and the cover? I think others will definitely enjoy this more than I have, but just for me personally, it really didn’t strike the right cord from the get-go.

This cover 🤩🤩 I loved the small island in Greece setting. The story flips back and forth between Abby, both in the present and flashbacks, and Gia’s unfinished manuscript. Gia is a good unlikeable character, very wealthy and out of touch. Abby is much more down to earth and I enjoyed her chapters more. Some parts got a little slow and I would have liked for the ending to be wrapped up a little better, but overall this was an entertaining read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing - Ballantine for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I'm left with more questions than answers after finishing this book. There was no clear conclusion to this story and I feel a bit let down that I have no idea whose story was the correct one. Not one character was reliable, especially at the end when varying stories were presented to the reader. I think I'm also a bit confused with the title of this story as it does not tie into the overall premise outside of a throwaway line in the epilogue.

The backdrop of this story was the one redeeming quality for me. I've never been to Greece, but the author's description of it makes me want to book a plane ticket immediately.

3.5 ⭐️

This was a fun one and there was a lot I enjoyed, but ultimately a thriller comes down to how it all ties together and this left me wanting in the end. The Greek island setting is 💯, the manuscript vs. MC chapters was a fun format, the plot was strong and had my head spinning with guesses as to what was going on, and then it just…ended? Womp.

I would like to thank Net Galley, Random House and Kathleen Quinlan for the opportunity to read this as an ARC. Lady Killer is very interesting book. It is told in 2 POV's- Gia and Abby. Abby tells hers in 2 timelines-past and present, while Gia's is written in a form of a manuscript of a book she is writing. It is a bit tricky to follow at first, but after a while it started to flow. It begins with a funeral. Hugo Torres is dead and his family and friends are at his funeral. Well,not all of his family- his first wife and grown children remain in England, and his second wife is in a mental health clinic in Switzerland.His children by his second wife- Gia and Benny are there, as is his third wife and youngest child. Also there is Abby.Abby is Gia's best friend. Her mother cooked for the family and Hugo paid for Abby's education. But something else binds Abby and Gia- an 18 year old scandal. Abby is trying to forget, but Gia wrote a book about the events. When the main part of the book begins, five months later,Gia is married to a man she met shortly after her father died. They are living in Greece, in the Torres family house. Gia and Abby are estranged, because Abby warned Gia from marrying someone she did not know well. However, Gia has now reached out to both Benny and Abby, inviting them to meet her in Sweden for her 30th birthday. As we read Gia's manuscript chapters, we read about a couple who meets Gia and her husband Garrett, seemingly by accident. The manuscript details the friendship ,as well as growing concerns in Gia's marriage. Abby and Benny go to Sweden, but Gia is not there. When they go to Greece to find her, they find the manuscript instead.Then the mystery continues to spiral. I really enjoyed this book. It is a well written thriller ,with interesting characters. Everyone is multilayered.It also has fabulous descriptions of Greece and Greek food:). The ending was a bit unfinished for my taste, I like everything to be spelled out, but thats just me.

Ladykiller by Katherine Wood. Pub Date: July 9, 2024. Rating: 3 stars. Set in Greece, this psychological mystery centers around two best friends, one a heiress and the other her friend from childhood. The heiress appears to go missing and it's up to the other to find her and find out what happened. There is mystery, intrigue and a manuscript to get through that leads the reader through the turn of events. Honestly, the premise of this story was good but the execution was not. I had a hard time getting through this novel and felt it dragged on. There were a lot of unnecessary sexual features to the story. Not my favorite read of the year, but the cover is definitely eye catching. Thanks to #netgalley and #randomhousepublishinggroup for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review. #ladykiller

In my opinion, the last hour of the book was the best part. The storyline felt familiar and bogged down with details, I think I would have enjoyed Ladykiller more if it was shorter, faster paced (like the last hour). It felt like every character was unreliable which added an element of "you can't trust anyone" and it certainly made you think about each character and what their end game was. I had some suspicions about certain characters but the twists at the end were great, they brought everything together while still leaving room for the reader to make their own assumptions about some things. This was a quick read, that's interesting and engaging, a good palate cleanser.
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Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book completely drew me in. It’s a story about friendship, marriage and conmen and somehow all the themes work together. The book is written in two parallel voices, one by Abby through the first person voice of what is happening and the other by her friend Gia through her manuscript of what has happened. I was questioning what was real the entire time. I’m not usually one for ambiguous endings but this one completely worked. I think it was because you had to decide whether Gia was an unreliable narrator or not in the end. Would absolutely recommend this book to anyone!