Abby and Gia have been friends since childhood. Abby's mom worked for Gia's family and she became one of them...somewhat. Gia and Abby's shared history makes it difficult to know who is telling the truth in this book.

Some of the chapters are from Abby's POV; some are from Gia's manuscript for her next book. Are any of them true? This one will keep you guessing until the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House-Ballantine for the review copy of this book.

How well do you know your bestie? This story goes from present to past quite a bit to unveil what you aren’t expecting. So many twists and turns that I truly didn’t see the end coming. A very good book, but I feel as though some women will be looking at their new husbands with a side eye hahaha

A psychological thriller set in Greece?! Yes please! I love books about intricate family problems and this one was fantastic!! I loved it!!

Absolutely fantastic book! I could not put the book down once I began reading it. Kept me turning the pages.

This is a great thriller. Lots of suspense and I didn’t want to put it down. 4.5 stars. Thank you to Netgalley, Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine / Bantam for the arc for my fair review.

"Ladykiller" by Katherine Wood promises a gripping tale of friendship, betrayal, and mystery. The dynamic between Gia and Abby, forged through shared trauma and divergent paths in life, sets the stage for a compelling narrative. Wood expertly weaves together past and present, drawing readers into a web of intrigue as Abby grapples with ominous emails and the sudden disappearance of her friend. The exotic locales of Greece and Sweden provide an atmospheric backdrop for the unfolding drama, adding layers of suspense to the story. As Abby delves deeper into Gia's manuscript, the shocking revelations about her marriage and the secrets of their glamorous circle of friends keep readers guessing until the final page. With its blend of suspense and psychological depth, "Ladykiller" promises to be a thrilling read that will leave readers on the edge of their seats, eagerly turning the pages to uncover the truth behind Gia's disappearance.

I need someone to discuss this book! Told in dual timelines, unreliable narrator and massive guilty pleasure read.
The obvious progression - with a lovely twist. I have my own ideas of the truth - and need to discuss!
Gia is the ultra rich girl - her father left hundreds of millions to his charities, property to his children. Desperate for money, Gia sells her beloved Greece villa to her stepmother. Committed to repairs, Gia and her new husband oversee construction.
A couple stranded - their boat requires repairs, Gia gives them a room.
Her husband, clearly chasing the young woman cooking and cleaning the house, draining Gia's bank account of hundreds of thousands. And who are these people just hanging around?
Abby, Gia's best friend, agrees to meet up with Gia and her brother to see the Northern Lights. But Gia doesn't show.
Lush with shady characters, a broken friendship and a brother's teenage crush. This book was fun!

Abby has moved on from her childhood and taken on adult responsibilities. Gone are the days of lounging by the pool without a care in the world. One day she receives an invitation to see the Northern Ligthts with her estranged best friend, Gia. Gia is currently living it up in Greece with her gorgeous new husband and a stream of intoxicating individuals. Abby has moved on from Gia's lifestyle, she was once engulfed in the rich and elite, and now devotes her life to bettering the world. Abby is granted the time off and travels to Switzerland, but when only Gia's brother, Benny, is there they both start to wonder where Gia is. Has she pulled a stunt again or had something gone wrong in Greece. The two head to find Gia and uncover the mysteries surrounding her vanishing act. The truth will come out, even if you don't want it to.

I loved this book. I could not put it down. The beautiful setting immediately pulled me in. Then add in the cast of characters, who all seem to be hiding something. This was a fast read, flew through it in a day. Thank you Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book. This will be a perfect summer read.

This book was right in the middle at 3 stars for me. I liked the narrators of this book and enjoyed the events occurring at the same time as it related to the narrator. I found the story to be a slow start for me and then I got into it during the middle then the end fell flat for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance reader copy of this book. This book was slow to get going, but had a good story once the reader makes it to mid book or so. The mystery turns to a page turner when Abby and Benny travel to find Gia and her partially written book. The story is zooming along and then it ends. I am still not clear on the ending. 3 stars, but only for the middle of the book.

Gia and Abby are best friends from childhood, but Gia is the heiress and Abby's mother was the hired help. As the girls grow older they have a falling out over Gia marrying a man she just met and Abby thinks she is moving too fast with a man she hardly knows. Gia convinces Abby to meet her and her brother Benny on a vacation to see the Northern Lights but Gia never shows. Benny and Gia start the hunt to find Gia and pray they will find her alive.

This book was a fast read as it keeps your attention and you want to see what is happening next. Most of the book goes back and forth from present day to Gia's Manuscript; which is detailing the events that happened to her until she disappears. Throughout the entire book I feel sorry for Gia as she just wants to have someone to love her and be happy. What happens between Gia and her husband is twisted and crazy. Most of the book I felt I was predicting what would happen but the ending did surprise me. It definitely took a different turn and I was a little jaw dropped. The only issue I had with the end of this book is that a lot of questions were left open ended. I know authors don't always wrap things up with a neat bow, but I felt some things could have been answered and still had a bit of a cliffhanger.

I will be on the look out for more books from Katherine Wood as she is a talented writer that knows how to keep a readers attention.

Thank you NetGalley and Bantam Books for an ARC in return for an honest review.

I tried to read Ladykiller a few times and I feel like the writing just isn’t for me. I loved the synopsis but I couldn’t get into it.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc ebook in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Though the author gives plenty away with multiple references to Patricia Highsmith, from the epigraph to character names to mentions of Talented Mr. Ripley (and multiple plot points lifted straight from TMR), the novel is loads of fun. It works both as an homage, and as a standalone for someone who hasn't read Highsmith. And I kept wondering who was going to ultimately be the stand-in for Ripley--Emilia and Timeo, Abby herself? A very fun page-turner.

⭐3/5
Not a romance, but some explicit content
➡ Gia and Abby have been best friends since they were young girls, when Abby's mother became the personal chef for Gia's wealthy family. Bound together by a complicated history that includes a horrible crime that took place when they were eighteen, the girls have slowly drifted apart throughout their twenties, with Abby attending law school and Gia publishing a memoir about the scandalous crime of their past.

Now, as Gia's thirtieth birthday approaches, she yearns to reconnect with her best friend without the presence of her commanding new husband and plans an all-expense paid trip for them to fulfill a lifelong dream of seeing the Northern Lights. But when Abby arrives in Sweden with Gia's brother Benny in tow, Gia is nowhere to be found. To find Gia, they'll have to embark on a journey back to Greece, where the secrets of their past lay dormant. Can she and Benny look beyond Gia's sinister romance and twisty secrets to find her before it's too late or will the secrets of their past come back to haunt them?
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🙏 Thank you to NetGalley, Bantam Books and Katherine Wood for the advanced copy of Ladykiller. All opinions are my own.
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🎯 What I loved: The web of relationships in this book was fascinating and racy. The story was told in dual POV with one perspective being a memoir manuscript (so you're not actually sure what's true and what's been exaggerated) and the other being relayed in real-time by Abby, Gia's long-time best friend. There are several exotic settings that are described in detail and an entangling of romantic connections between several characters that builds a huge anticipatory motive for revenge. Despite feeling immense frustration towards the end of the book, I was curious enough to finish it. I just wish there could have been more of a resolution.

🙅‍♀️ What I didn't: I was initially hooked by the complicated character relationships and Greek island setting of this book up and was compelled by the storyline until about 80% of the way through when I started feeling like I was being left with more questions than I was getting answers to. By 90% of the way in, I realized it was unlikely I was going to get any questions answered and by the end, I was just left completely frustrated that there was no true revelations or resolutions. The best part of a thriller is the way the plot slowly unwinds until you're left reeling from the knowledge of what actually happened. In Ladykiller, everything is speculation. While there are some reveals, readers never get firm answers as to what crimes were actually committed and who committed them- it was all just a winding story with creative narrators. There were multiple storylines that led nowhere (I'm still not sure what the point of the Sweden trip was) and and I was left feeling like I just went on an epic journey just to end up back at my starting point in terms of knowledge.
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Read if you love:
* thrillers set on remote Greek islands
* Greek mythology & classic literature references
* mysteries from different time periods that are tied together
*complicated romantic entanglings with multiple couples
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See also: The Fury, The Girls, The Heiress

Overall, I really enjoyed this psychological thriller. A beautiful setting that was very descriptive. Will hold your interest to keep reading. Thank you netgalley and the publisher for the arc in exchange for a review. .

Gia is the classic privileged rich girl navigating the loss of her father and his wealth. Her bestie, Abby, grew up with less advantageous circumstances before they met. She owes her education and career as a lawyer to Gia’s generous family. A trip to Switzerland to celebrate Gia’s birthday with her brother and Abby becomes frantic when Gia can’t be found. Gia was with her hastily married new husband at her favorite summer spot. She’s preparing the family’s estate on a Greek island for sale. She never arrives in Switzerland. Old secrets from Abby’s past on the island threaten to ruin the life she’s built. It soon becomes apparent that not everything or everyone is who or what they proclaim to be.
I had not read this author previously and wasn’t expecting the amount of graphic adult content. I have mixed feelings about the theme and plot. There were some characters I found authentic, relatable and interesting, others made less of an impression on me. The glorious location on a perfectly stunning Greek Island couldn’t have been more immersive. The author’s descriptions and attention to detail was memorable. It’s a place I’ve always dreamed of visiting. There were several reveals that took me by surprise and a few I’d already figured out. Gia was full of mystery, has a creative flair for portraying people and events to suit her needs. I believe many folks will enjoy the story, it’s probably not one I’d choose to read again.
An Advance Reader’s Copy of “Ladykiller” by Katherine Wood, Bantam Random House, publication expected July 9, 2024, was provided by NetGalley. These are my own honest personal thoughts and opinions given voluntarily without any compensation.

I have loved all of Katherine St. John's books, who is now writing as Katherine Wood, so I was so excited to get access to an advance copy of Ladykiller. I have mixed feelings on this book, there were many things I loved, but I'm not a fan of ambiguous endings, and I wanted so much more from the end then I got.

For me the book started off really strong, and there were secrets I couldn't wait to uncover. I liked how the book had both Abby and Gia's perspective and also chapters from Gia's manuscript, which dug more into her side of things. Around the middle of the book, I felt like it slowed down a lot and I just wanted to get back to the action and uncover what was going on. And then the end happened, and I felt more confused than I was going in to the book.

If you are a fan of open endings, then I would highly recommend this book.

This book sounded like it was going to be so good but it just didn’t pull me in like I had hoped unfortunately. But thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read it!

Ladykiller is told from the perspective on Abby best friends with Gia who grew up rich while Abby's mom worked for the family. There are alternating chapters of Gia's manuscript she was writing that gives her version of the things that have been going on while renovating her house in Greece. Abby is set to meet Gia and her brother in Sweden for Gia's birthday but she doesn't arrive and she's not answering calls only sending texts that don't sound like her. Abby and Benny decide to go to Greece to look for her themselves. From Gia's writing we learn there are problems with her hew husband who she married after only a month and they have houseguests staying with them whose story isn't adding up. There is also some resolved issues from an incident on the same Greek island when the girls were 18. There were a lot of twists in this book and a lot of characters being added in at times I had to suspend belief at some of the directions the story took. The twist at the end felt a little unfinished and I was expecting something else to happen, all in all enjoyed this book would rate it 3/3.5 stars. I want to thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Bantam and NetGalley for an eARC.

Ladykiller is a story told from two POVs that started off a bit confusing for me. First we have Abby, who grew up with Gia (a sad little rich girl). Abby grew up and became a lawyer, trying to live her day to day life. Gia married a guy after one month of knowing him and is upset that Abby didn't support her (Gia is very naiive ok). Gia is writing a manuscript while renovating her house in Greece to sell it. During this time she asks Abby to come to Sweden for her 30th birthday to see the Northern Lights. When Abby gets there with Gia's brother benny, Gia is no where to be seen.

Gia's manuscript was fun to read as she and her husband meet a couple who have boat trouble and they come to stay. A group of drinking adults with nothing to do all day is a formula for chaos and that's exactly what happens. I binged this book and couldn't wait to find out what happened but was very disappointed with the ending. The ending was not a thriller ending but the rest of the book was hyping it up to be one. Overall, this will be a perfect summer beach read!