Loved this book so so much! This book had twists at every single corner that kept me on the edge of my seat. I couldn't put this one down, needing to know what happened!

This slowburn mystery was filled with drama that lead to a ton of tension that kept the story moving.

This book had a group of characters that I loved to hate. It was engaging and kept me hooked the entire way through.

I liked that you weren't entirely sure if the narrator was reliable or not and had to figure out who to trust. This was one that I almost wished I hadn't read the synopsis. A lot of people have said you should go in blind, and I completely agree.

The ending was pretty wild. I tend to like more definitive endings, but this one worked for me.

Overall, this is a great one I recommend to thriller lovers.

I picked up this book mostly because of Greece, but it seemed like a good mystery too.
Is she or isn’t she?
On the surface this book is about a “poor rich girl” who befriended a “real poor” girl and crap hit the fan because of it. Or is it? When it’s all said and done this book is more about if we can really distinguish what’s real and fiction which is a great theme, so I liked that. Also it had strong echoes of “Gone Girl”and “Bye, Baby,” because friendships can be toxic, even more toxic when money is involved.
So, the book starts slow, too slow. Abby and Gia are stereotypes of what they represent: The smart, not pretty, poor girl and the smart, pretty, rich party girl, respectively.
The pace eventually picks up once we confirm that whatshisname might’ve married Gia for her money (Girl, saw that one coming miles away). Here’s where the twist happens: instead of falling for the con, Gia fights back, going all Amy Dunne on her husband and associates. At least, that’s what the reader is led to think and what BFF Abby also thinks, because apparently our girl Gia has been homicidal for a long time. This is when we learn about their mysterious past and the secrets they were keeping, but… all because of a boy. A boy! Ugh!
Anyway, my final thoughts:
What was the obsession with the well all about? Why? It seemed extremely important but went nowhere and at the end it felt like filler.
Sometimes I had a feeling that Benny was the villain after all. Something in Gia’s comments about him, but I guess she was always an unreliable narrator, right?
My guess, is that those bodies were at the palaces on the other island. Just a thought.
I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, but… nope.
If you like the type of story where you won’t get any answers and everyone is hiding something at the end, then this book is for you. And I mean, everyone, because I dunno, something is off about Benny. 😉

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange of an honest review.

Wonderful story. I couldn’t stop reading! Highly recommend! The best storyline I have read in a while. It kept my attention and I could not put it down.

I received a widget for this book and could not pass it up after reading that synopsis! It started strong, kept me sucked in and then the ending wasn't exactly what I was hoping it would be, but it was still great! Definitely a recommended read.

I received an advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Ladykiller is a captivating and darkly witty thriller. The story follows an ambitious female detective, uncovering dangerous secrets as she hunts down a charming yet sinister killer. Wood masterfully blends suspense with sharp social commentary, creating an engaging narrative filled with unexpected twists. The strong character development and unpredictable plot make it a compelling read for fans of crime fiction with a psychological edge. It’s an intriguing exploration of power, manipulation, and the hidden dangers lurking beneath the surface.

Thank you for the ARC!
Definitely enjoyed this book, loved the characters and story! It did keep my attention from the beginning until the end.

Abby, Gia and Benny spend the summers of their youth on an idyllic island where the well to do summer. Abby is not wealthy like Benny and Gia but she is their closest friend.
During one summer a tragic thing occurs that changes the lives they live to some degree. Gia goes on to become an author and Abby goes on to become a lawyer. Benny becomes a film producer.
After Gia marries a fellow that she barely knows, things begin to change. She starts writing her long anticipated second novel, but also invites Abby and Benny home to see her.
When they arrive Gia is nowhere to be found.
When they do finally find her, they hear a story of deceit and possible murder, and kidnapping.
Over the next chapters, we begin to discover that all is not as it seems.
This novel will leave you wondering whom the guilty party is ( if there is one ) , I am still wondering in my mind who did what and where they are now….
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me this ARC.

This is a psychological thriller written in many different voices. It is about the very rich, hanger-oners, con-artists and liars. The trick is to distinguish one from the other. The majority of it takes place on a small Island in the Aegean Sea. Years earlier a man died there under suspicious circumstances. Both Gia and her friend Abby are quite familiar with the circumstances and Gia’s father has taken care of the situation. Now she is writing a book about Abby and enjoying life with her new husband. They meet a couple in town and bring them back to their villa. This is when things begin to fall apart. There are disappearances, kidnappings, licentiousness and what may or may not be honesty. Thanks to Net Galley and Bantam Books for an ARC for an honest review.

Suspenseful, twisty read that kept me guessing until the end. Told through different timelines and from different character points of view, this was a good read that had a few moments of dragging.

Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Bantam for the ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for access to this ARC! Kept me at the edge of my seat. Definitely recommend

Who doesn't love a book about rich people behaving badly? Ladykiller by Katherine Wood delivers.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me.

Gia and Abby have been best friends for years. When Gia goes missing in Greece, Abby travels there to find out what happened to her friend.

Told using alternating timelines and points of view. The present day point of view is from Abby, as she searches for her friend. The past is told from Gia’s perspective through a manuscript she wrote and left for Abby to find. Intriguing characters and an inviting setting.

Ladykiller is a compelling thriller with drama, secrets, and intrigue.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

DNF at 22% (approximately 80 pages).

I wanted to love this book. It has so many great things going for it–a missing heiress, a practical best friend, the suggestion of a friends-to-lovers romance, atmospheric settings in Sweden and Greece–but unfortunately the pacing is far too slow for a thriller, and I think that the story's dual timelines are not handled well.

In Ladykiller, we're following Abby, a lawyer, who receives an invite to meet her childhood best friend Gia and Gia's brother Benny in Sweden to celebrate Gia's birthday. The two friends have been estranged for several months due to Gia's decision to marry a man she hardly knows, and this birthday celebration presents an opportunity to reconnect. The two women are also drawn together by a traumatic event in their past in which one of them saved the other's life, but we don't yet know the full details of that event.

The premise tells us that upon arriving in Sweden, Abby and Benny discover that Gia is missing, and then travel to Greece to look for her. In Greece, the only clue to her whereabouts is an unfinished memoir manuscript that details her experiences in the month preceding her birthday.

That said, at 20% into the book, none of this premise has happened yet. In fact, almost nothing mysterious or thrilling has happened yet, aside from one spooky email and one character's inability to see red flags.

I think this is due to the way the dual timeline is structured. Gia's manuscript is, surprisingly, introduced right at the start of the book, and it actually makes up most of the first 20%. This manuscript is where the action is, as Gia wildly misses an increasingly concerning series of red flags, both in her husband and in her new friends on the island. These events are interspersed with Gia's repeated monologues on her sexuality, how much she likes having sex with her husband, and how attracted she is to basically everyone in the house. This makes Gia feel fairly one-note, and it's frustrating that she picks up on so little of what's actually happening, despite the fact that she's supposed to be a very smart character. It's possible that the manuscript is intentionally misleading, but I honestly don't want to wade through another 150 pages of Gia's sexual escapades. Good for her, but not very fun for the reader.

Meanwhile, the present timeline sees Abby spend large portions of time reminiscing on her own backstory, explaining her connections to Gia and Benny, and considering how their lives might have turned out differently if that one traumatic thing hadn't happened. Abby's chapters are also much shorter than Gia's. Given that Abby's sections of the book are few and far between at this point, and most of her (very limited) page time is spend thinking about the past rather than the future, the present timeline largely fails to push the story forward. This makes for a very slow reading experience, which is not what I expected or want from a mystery/thriller of this kind.

I'm really bummed that I've been struggling so much with this book because the premise is promising, and I do actually like most of the characters (and the ones I don't like I at least find intriguing), including Abby and Gia. The settings are atmospheric, and I've also found the writing to be enjoyable and easy to read. Unfortunately, these positive attributes are just not enough to pull me through.

The structure and pacing of this book just aren't working for me, but I would be interested in reading something else from this author in future.

Ladykiller offers an intriguing premise with a Greek summer estate mystery and the dynamics of childhood friends turned suspects, but it falls short of delivering the gripping thriller it promises. While the setting is atmospheric and dreamy—a 10/10 for Greece vibes—the plot feels uneven. Gia’s unfinished manuscript, which dominates much of the story, drags in pacing, leaving the more compelling present-day narrative of Abby sidelined. Gia’s character is frustratingly one-dimensional, embodying the stereotypical clueless heiress, while Abby offers a more relatable and grounded perspective. The suspense builds slowly, only to lose momentum before delivering an ambiguous ending that may leave some readers unsatisfied. Though the book has its moments, particularly in Abby’s chapters, it doesn’t fully capitalize on its potential for twists and thrills. Three stars. Thanks to Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine and NetGalley for the ARC!

Toxic friendship, secrets, and dual timelines which promises to give you a hint of what is to come but the twists will still get you. I sometimes struggle with books that use manuscripts/journals/letters as a way to tell the plot and did so here as well, but that’s just a personal preference. The writing and plot itself made up for it.

I love a book about rich people behaving badly especially when you add in an exotic destination. This one had lots of twists and turns but the ending was a bit open ended. I have so many questions!

LOVED this. This book had twists at every single corner that kept me on the edge of my seat with enough intrigue to keep me reading.

When Gia is missing, nowhere to be found but documents and manuscripts of the events leading up to the incident, leave it to her childhood best friend Abby along with Gia’s brother to break the mystery down to find her.

This slowburn mystery was packed full of drama that lead to a ton of tension that kept the story moving.

"Ladykiller" by Katherine Wood was an exciting, suspenseful, sexy novel. Full of twists and guesses, definitely a fun read. Thank you NetGalley, the author and publisher for the reader copy. All opinions are my own.

Gia and Abby have been best friends since they were young, with a bond that was solidified by a tragedy that happened when they were 18. Twelve years later, Gia is back in Greece where the tragedy happened, living her best lift with her new husband, and invites Abby to celebrate her birthday with her. When she arrives, Gia is nowhere to be found, so Abby and Gia’s brother Benny go to Greece to find her. In Greece, they find her home deserted but see a manuscript that details the events before her disappearance. Abby and Benny team up to find Gia.
This book was a perfect summer pool read (and yes, I really am 6 months behind on reviews, don’t come for me). This is a bit of a slow-burn drama with layers of secrets and tensions bubbling up until it all comes to the surface. There are a lot of twists but the setting is what really makes this book special.
Thanks to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the advance copy.