What an original book. A lot of twists and turns and a really compelling format. It was an easy read because it was so hard to put down!

When Gia Torres’ father Hugo died, he gave his $500 million fortune to charity, but not before he provided for his wives--current and exes--and divided his properties among his children, in the thriller, Ladykiller, by Katherine Wood, due out July 9. Gia inherited her favorite property on the small island of Miteras in the Aegean Sea.

Twelve years ago, Gia came to the rescue of her best friend Abby when Abby was attacked by Gia’s stalker, with Gia recounting the event in a memoir. Now Gia is back on the island with Garrett, a shipping mogul, who she married after knowing him for a month. She is preparing the property to sell so she will not go broke.

In the meantime, Gia is planning a reunion with Abby and Gia’s brother Benny to celebrate her birthday in Sweden to see the Northern Lights. Abby and Benny arrive in Sweden, but Gia never appears, and she is not answering her phone.

Now it is Abby’s turn to come to Gia’s aid. She and Benny go to Miteras where they find the estate deserted and Gia’s latest manuscript that contains clues to her disappearance. Gia describes how her new husband has turned dark and threatening, and the friends staying with them have disturbing secrets. The manuscript ends abruptly leaving no clues to her fate.

With chapters from Abby’s point of view interwoven with chapters from Gia’s manuscript, this is a book that readers will not be able to put down until they reach the epilogue. This is a book for fans of Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mr. Ripley who imagined his stories so “intensely that he came to believe them.”

Ladykiller is the powerful debut novel of Katherine Wood, a native of Mississippi. She lives in Atlanta with her family.

My review will be posted on Goodreads starting April 14, 2024.

I would like to thank Bantam, an imprint of Random House, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in return for an objective review.

Thank you so much for this ARC!

First, the setting of this book is 10/10. A thriller taking place on a Greek Island just does it for me.

Second, I loved the different perspectives the reader gets! Abby's story is told in present day and Gia's is told through her second manuscript which makes you wonder - is it even reliable?

This book was compelling, suspenseful and downright smutty at some parts. Mix that with insane wealth, shady characters and more money for a fun read.

My only criticisms would be that this felt a bit longggggg. Could have happened a bit quicker. Also, the ending was not fine but not my favorite after investing so much time in the story. Either way, this was a great read!

Sexy and sinister, deceptive and treacherous, Ladykiller will hook you with dramatic events before leaving it to your imagination to fill in the unresolved blanks. Katherine Wood has crafted a consuming tale of murder, deceit and manipulation within the world of the rich and famous.

Gia is at her family’s estate in Greece with her new husband, preparing the home for sale in the wake of her father’s death. Joined by other guests, everything is going well until tensions start to rise and Gia starts to wonder if the people around her are what they seem. Then she no-shows a trip to Sweden to witness the Northern Lights with her brother Benny and her best friend Abby. Meanwhile, Abby receives menacing emails that threaten to expose the truth of the trauma she and Gia experienced over a decade ago. Putting that aside, Abby and Benny travel to Greece to locate Gia, but find the home deserted, except for a manuscript Gia has written about the past few months detailing the salacious story of the past few months. Now searching for Gia’s whereabouts and with dark secrets spilling into the light, the only thing for certain is nothing will ever be the same for all involved.

Ladykiller juxtaposes hidden agendas and subterfuge from conniving individuals with the idyllic setting of a gorgeous home in the Greek islands. Giving the reader a beautiful backdrop in which to watch rich people behaving badly with sex, violence, scams and secrets abound. Indulgences for us normal folks to voyeuristically witness. Allowing us a guilt-free pass to judge the actions of these well-developed and mysterious characters while playing detective to figure out who is ultimately going to come out unscathed. And despite the conclusion of the story leaving several things unsettled, it’s still quite the entertaining, engaging and satisfying read.

I mean, what the heck was this about?? Filled with some crazy twists, this story was an interesting read and no one can be trusted! Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thrillers are one of my favorite genres to read (romance is my top genre), so I try to accept any and all requests that end up in my inbox. So, I didn’t hesitate when Random House sent me the invite for Ladykiller. I was taken in by the blurb and the cover (which is gorgeous). But now that I have finished the book, I am slightly disappointed.

There are two interconnected storylines in Ladykiller. The first centers on Gia and is told through a manuscript. The second storyline centers on Abby (and later Benny) and their search for Gia. Both storylines merge towards the end of the book. That merger and the events afterward made me go from really liking the book to feeling “meh” about it.

The storyline centered on Gia was interesting to read. The author provided a lot of information in those chapters of the manuscript. Gia came across as very trusting and, if I dare say it, a little naive. But that notion was blown away when she caught onto her husband’s duplicity. The end of her storyline was left up in the air, and I honestly didn’t know what to believe by the end of the book.

The storyline that centered on Abby was more straightforward than Gia’s. Abby seemed to be a straight shooter. But, after Sweden, there was something different about her. Her secrets ate her alive, and Greece was the center of everything. I found Abby boring. She wavered with her feelings for Benny. Her friendship with Gia was like a remora (right from the book), and I wish that she had taken the advice she was given.

As I said above, when the two storylines merge, I started to feel “meh” about the book. There was no lead into Gia’s disappearance nor clues as to where she could be. I also didn’t believe that everyone in that house disappeared without a trace or that the local authorities would let an outsider take over the investigation. I could have dealt with that and with not knowing who to believe. I would have been happy with the author’s half, no, and semi-explanations. But the epilogue made me go from “good book” to “meh.” It was too much.

The mystery angle of Ladykiller was truly that—a mystery. Because Gia was unreliable and her manuscript embellished, I had a hard time believing her story. I also had a hard time believing Abby’s story once both twists were revealed. Yes, there are two twists, and both I did see coming.

The end of Ladykiller was interesting. The author wrapped up one storyline but left the other storylines wide open. In a way, it is genius. I will never know what the real truth is, only what Abby precieves is the truth. And I don’t even believe that.

Many thanks to Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Bantam, NetGalley, and Katherine Wood for allowing me to read and review this ARC of Ladykiller. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

I really enjoyed this book. It was different than anything else I've read recently. I couldn't put it down! I will keep an eye out for this author's future work!

Lady killer by Katherine Wood

This story takes place in Greece with two friends who grew up together from opposite sides of the tracks one being extremely wealthy and the other not so much.
The two girls grow together closer as Gias father pays for her schooling.

After a slow burn story ignites, the two are at odds over a tragedy and a marriage not accepted by all….the two come together for Gias birthday however Gia is no where to be found. Gias manuscript is and tells the story of what has come to be.

The story is an interesting twist on a who done it thriller and I enjoyed it immensely. Great book! Thank you NetGalley and Random house publishing - ballantine!

The descriptive setting of this book makes it worth reading! I want to live in that house, without the drama of course! The location and the house are almost like a character in the book.
This is a crazy good book that starts out slow but builds up quickly. A definite bingeable thriller. I was engaged until the very end.
The story is centered around a tragedy that happened years ago and keeps the main characters from really moving on. It is hard to know who is being deceptive throughout the book until the very end.
Thank you to Random House Publishing for the gifted ARC copy provided by NetGalley. All opinions are my own and given voluntarily.

This book was a quick read for me since I didn't want to put it down! If you follow my reviews, I'm a sucker for a thriller that keeps you on your toes, and this one does not disappoint! It is very well crafted and addictive from the first chapter, I predict this book will have a bright future. This title has family drama, and twists, and has us second-guessing what we think we know...all this adds up to an intriguing read! Katherine Wood does an excellent job drawing us into the characters and caring about their lives only to discover that one of them might not be the person we think them to be. I think this book will be popular with book clubs and I will be recommending this title to my friends who enjoy a suspenseful read. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. I am so thankful to get the opportunity to read another excellent title!

Ladykiller is a book about deceit, lies, betrayals and revenge. We meet two best friends, Gia and Abby. They met when Abby’s mom worked for Gia's family. Gia's dad just dies and we learn she inherited a house but that was just about it. Gia is learning she needs to grow up now, Daddy won’t take care of everything. Abby hasn’t seen much of Gia for years even after she received multiple invites to the vacation home and weddings etc. Abby has been busy getting her career as a lawyer off the ground. Gia ,we find out, is a woman who wants what she wants when she wants. Her new husband is not what he seems and neither is the couple they meet when getting her inheritance ready to sell. This story leads us into the deceitful lies that we believe and the cost of past indiscretions. Can we live with the pain and lies from childhood, And if we are such children that do harmful things, don’t we grow up to be adults that do the same.
The story is told between the two friends, one in the present and the other through her manuscript that was found at the house. Are we seeing truths or just Gia’s truths. The story has twists and turns to keep it interesting with enough background to keep the story flowing. Characters are proficient with lies, double crosses and deceit. The story flows at a steady pace and going back and forth is not distracting.

Loved this. Weird and compelling, I had a hard time putting it down. I particularly love how descriptive this book is.

Gia and Abby are best friends. They come from opposite financial backgrounds, with Gia’s family having money and Abby’s mom being an employee of Gia’s family when they were younger. Abby and Gia get to reunite in Sweden after some years apart. They have a common secret from the past, although they have different renditions of what really happened.

Abby and Gia’s brother, Benny, end up in Sweden but Gia is MIA. They head to Greece to find her. She has a mansion in Greece that her deceased father left her and that is where she has been living with her new husband; the one Abby warned her against.

This story is told from dual POVs; Gia’s manuscript tells one side and Abby’s version is the other. From the get-go, each character is flawed. The cracks are seen in each of their personalities and every one of them seems to be up to no good. The only person who is fairly normal is Benny.

Gia is a sophist so what she says and does has to be taken with a grain of salt. However, in the end, after I sat and pondered all that I just read, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to save her or throw her to the wolves. Thanks to the creative building of her character, I was able to have these confusing feelings. Yes, you want to have these feelings because this book is chilling right down to the core. Just when you begin to take someone’s side, the feeling is immediately taken away from you.

The ending is a bit vague, as it is supposed to be. It is subject to interpretation or what you WANT to believe is the truth. This would be a great mini-series like White Lotus or Big Little Lies. Thank you to NetGalley and Bantam books for the ARC of this book. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one!

Reading any of Katherine’s books feels like catching up with an old friend, who is the best story teller and always has the best tea! This book had me on edge and staying up late. It’s a perfect mix of seduction and thriller! A must read! Thanks NetGallery!

The Lady killer is a intense mystery, with lots of twists and turns that make you want to keep reading until the end. The characters were interesting, the scenery descriptions on point and the story kept you on your toes. There were a few things left hanging at the end that I would have loved explained, but overall, I enjoyed the story and would recommend. Can't wait to read other books by this author!

Fans of Katherine St. John, hold on to your hats, she’s dropped her pen name! Ladykiller kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. While a little unnecessarily raunchy at times, I ate this UP. Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the advanced reader copy. This will definitely be a top read for me of 2024. Publication date July 9, 2024.

This book started out really slow. I read the first few chapters, put the book down, then didn’t remember what it was about when I picked it back up. The story just wasn’t sticking with me. Once it picked up, about 60% through, it got semi interesting, then flopped at the end. Gia was manipulative and they played her off as being naive. It was a good coverup until the truth started coming out and you saw her real character. Then the ending left too many questions unanswered. It ended without finishing the story. I wanted to know the truth of Gia, was she crazy? Where did she end up? Was Abby right in accusing Gia of everything? What happened to Garrett? Where is Emilia? I wanted more out of the ending.

great beach read..who is the poor little rich girl getting away with possible murder. and who is the husband? Is he a con artist working with a couple of other con artists to relieve the rich girl of all her money? is there anything in the poisoned well on the greek property? book good enough to keep interest to the final chapter. Was Gia really in Paris spying on her brother and Abby?

I really enjoyed this book, and found the plot compelling. I typically don’t like books that are written from more than one POV as much but this author did a remarkable job with switching POVs. My biggest complaint with this book is I felt like many of the questions I had at the end of the book weren’t answered.

Loved Ladykiller! Tense psychological thriller that starts slowly but builds suspense as the book evolves. Gia and Abby are best friends who have lost the closeness they had growing up.
Gia invites Abby to spend time with her and her husband and brother Benny at their father’s home in Greece. Gia reluctantly agrees and the story unfolds from there.
Don’t miss this one!