There’s nothing like a well done thriller with a narrators that may or may not unreliable. This book was a page turner that kept me guessing until the end, wondering who to believe. Thanks to the publisher for my ARC!

The cover and description of this book sounded intriguing so I had to read it. "Ladykiller" is fast-paced, full of drama, set at an exotic location. Although the characters were unlikable, the story was a fun, escapist read. I would recommended this for travel, beach, or poolside reading. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

So-so, having mixed feelings about this one. I finished and had to sit on it for a few days.

The premises of the novel drew me in and I was thrilled to start, until I got into it. It was captivating but at the same time it dragged little for me and the ending was a bit predictable. Maybe it's because I read a lot of thrillers but I needed it to have a bit more for it to gain a few more stars. The ending could have wrapped up nicer. Gave me Gone Girl vibes? Just placed in beautiful Greece.

Overall though, I enjoyed the story. I liked reading Abby's POV and Gia's manuscript. It was an easy read and fairly entertaining but didn't leave any lasting impressions.

Love love love the cover though.

Thank you NetGalley, Kathrine Wood, and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I liked the format that this was written in and I did like some of the tie ins in the end. I just felt I needed more a wrap up. I do think the author did an amazing job of painting the picture of Greece!

A destination thriller for those who love a high drama read. Gia and Abby have been friends forever, with a shared secret in their past. With Gia getting married, they’ve grown apart recently. The story is told partly in a manuscript written by Gia, and in the current timeframe with Abby traveling to see her.

These characters drove me crazy, if I’m being fully honest. Pretty unlikabke in my book. I decided on 4 stars for this one because it definitely kept me entertained, and I read it quickly. It was a unique story overall.

Thank you to the publisher for the gifted (free) ARC

So, again, this story was good, but it wasn't, so I'm stuck at three stars for now.

When I first saw this? ooooh the title and synopsis completely caught my attention and I had a little of high expectations with the story. I also LOVE LOVE LOVED Greece and even more than ever, want to visit and explore there one day. The first 50% felt like it dragged. Then we start getting into a little more mystery and suspense finally where I was booking it through until near the end, it crashed again.

I was also shocked to get Gia's manuscript so early on, but was not expecting how long of an impact it was in the book. Gia wasn't horrible, but Abby was more personable in a sense where we felt more connected to her, regardless if Gia was attacked etc. or not.

I also believed the story to take a darker, more gruesome twist especially with -killer- in the title, butttttt.....

Also, if you like having everything in questions more than answers, definitely your style of book!!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for a honest review.

This book reminded me of a modern Game of Thrones in that there was murder, sex, and not one character you can trust.

First of all, the cover is amazing (like the intro to GOT.) I was hooked early on with the mystery that took place twelve years prior. It occurred on a Greek Island where Gia and her brother, Benny, were raised. Also involved is Abby, whose mother worked for the family, and she was taken in by them. She and Gia are best friends.

The story goes back and forth between a manuscript written by Gia and the present-day POV of Abby. It is easy to follow as the actions of the past come to the surface when Gia gets married after a very short courtship and then goes missing. It’s always the husband (who is a first-class jerk), right? Or is it? Lots of twists that I didn’t see coming. There is a lot of misdirection. Although I read thrillers often, I fell for every rabbit hole in this one.

The author does a great job of creating a fast pace that keeps you intrigued. I enjoyed it very much, and it would have been five stars except for the ending. Still, I recommend it and will read more of her writing.

Thanks to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group/Ballantine, and the author for an ARC of this book.

Abby spent many summers at the Greek island home of her bestie, Gia. As adults, though, they have grown apart, especially after Gia’s marriage to a man she barely knew. Abby is a hard working lawyer making her way up the ladder, while Gia seems to be as reckless as ever. Excited to reunite during a trip with Gia’s brother, Abby arrives but Gia is a no-show.

Gia’s “manuscript,” a copy of a book she is writing that is based on her life, tells the story of her summer with her new husband, the workers fixing up her family home in Greece, and some unexpected houseguests. Did their summer in paradise as newlyweds take a sinister turn?

Ladykiller was an easy book to dive right into. I was immediately hooked on the characters and their story. The mystery of what happened to Gia was multifaceted and opaque–I thought some of the character’s intentions were well alluded to, while others were not easily given away. In the middle, I was convinced Gia’s manuscript was actually the author’s diary of sexual fantasies and worried that I was reading something a bit more trashy than I typically read, but it ended up fitting so well with the character of Gia, who supposedly wrote it. Ladykiller came through in the end, leaving me pretty satisfied with the story while still wanting a little more.

As an avid reader always on the lookout for captivating mysteries, I was immediately drawn to the premise of this book. The blurb promised a thrilling journey as a best friend embarks on a desperate search for her missing friend. However, upon delving into the pages of this novel, I quickly realized that the description was somewhat misleading.

The narrative does indeed revolve around the search for a missing friend, but it constitutes only a fraction of the story. Instead of the gripping tale I anticipated, I found myself trudging through a plot that failed to maintain a consistent pace. The storyline felt disjointed, and I struggled to maintain my interest as I progressed.

One of the most glaring issues I encountered was the lack of character development. The protagonists felt shallow and underdeveloped, making it difficult to invest emotionally in their plight. Despite being physically connected, their relationships lacked depth and authenticity, leaving me disconnected from their experiences. The ending fell short of expectations; instead of a thrilling conclusion, I was left feeling underwhelmed and unsatisfied.

I would like to express my gratitude to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Bantam and NetGalley for allowing me to read this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

What I truly love most about a debut novel is that I have zero expectations. I haven't read anything by the author, so I have nothing to compare it to. And more often than not, I wind up finding a new favorite author. Case in point -- Katherine Wood.

There were a few things I knew I would like based off of the description alone: exotic location, glamorous characters, teenage tragedy, and the promise of an unreliable narrator. Needless to say, I dove right in and didn't come up for air until I was done. I loved Wood's development of Gia and Abby over the course of their friendship, including the subtle fissures and cracks after the initial Greece tragedy. In fact, Wood creates the most unlikable character in Gia as time goes on, which was the perfect ending to her story. 10/10 recommend!

Real page-turner

This was an excellent read, one that had me avoiding needed projects so I could keep reading.

It is told in two viewpoints. The first is Abby's. She is an attorney raised by a single mother who worked as a personal chef for a wealthy family. The other's is Gia's. But Gia's is actually a manuscript that Gia writes that is supposedly autobiographical, but Gia lies. Gia is the daughter in the wealthy family. Abby and Gia were best friends for years, but their friendship ebbed and flowed once they hit college age. Now 12 years after a seminal event, Gia is newly married and wants a reunion with Abby and Gia's brother Benny.

There is lots of intrigue. You pretty much know that Gia's new husband and the wealthy couple that they befriend are bad news. But are they? Could Gia be the problem? Benny? Abby?

The book didn't have any weird twist at the end that made it unbelievable. It was a solid read that I really enjoyed.

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?

3.5 stars!

I have mixed feelings. This book wasn't my favorite but it also wasn't bad. I loved the cover and that it was in the Greek Islands. The beginning was a little slow for me but still enjoyable. This was twisty and left me with the question I think everyone who has read this is asking; IS SHE A KILLER???

i received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Sadly, I found this novel a bit predictable and I wasn't urged to read it nonstop, but overall still an enjoyable read. This very much had me wanting to lie on a beach in beautiful Greece though!

Amid the beautiful background of Greece and Sweden, author Katherine Wood gives us a real mystery in Ladykiller..
Right from the beginning it grabbed my interest and kept it as the story unfolded. Wood has created interesting characters and a smooth plot to keep me guessing.
Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Reviewed for NetGalley:

Abby, takes her first vacation in some time from her busy work life as an attorney, to meet up with her best friend and heiress Gia, and Gia’s brother, Benny. However, Gia never shows for the vacation across the Atlantic and Abby and Benny cannot seem to get ahold of her, and thus the search is on.

Told in two dual perspectives, from Abby and Gia (but from a manuscript she is writing). A fun, thrilling read with lots of twists and turns.

I was sent an advance e-copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley, so I thought I'd give it a try, hoping for something with some fun twists and excited about the Greek island setting - it's billed as a story about two best friends bonded by a tragedy when they were 18, and now 12 years later there's some funny business going on with one of them. She seems to be missing, and secrets will out... I usually like this kind of twisty read, and I like a con artist read too, which was definitely an element of this one, but the overall experience was feeling like I was reading something that I had read before (similar but better rich young people behaving badly con artist book: Janelle Brown's Pretty Things). Nothing struck me as fresh and new, the characters were rather shallow, and I was not a fan of the book-within-a-book construct that was used to tell one of the character's stories through a "memoir" that was predictably manipulative in content. I think a reader could get beyond some of the implausibility and loose ends, but the clear drive of this one character to be salacious and provocative REALLY was not for me. The talk of threesomes and skinny dipping and more ranged from uninteresting to off-putting for me.

Gosh I loved this one as much as THE LION'S DEN and that is SAYING SOMETHING!!! I absolutely adore books set in Greece and this one did not let me down. I wanted a bottle of mythos and a greek salad while reading this unputdownable, twisty thriller. And WOW did the ending get me all riled up!!

Starting with the good, this book has atmosphere for days. The Greek islands and mountains of Sweden will make you want to book a plane ticket asap. Beyond that this book was a slow build to nowhere, ending with more questions than answers. If you like your thrillers to come full circle and all loose ends to be wrapped up in a pretty bow, this isn’t it.

Loved loved loved this book!!!! This was a great read and I could not put it down! I think the story also being told from Gias manuscript definitely added another dimension to the story. Beautiful setting-I actually could visualize being there. I enjoyed all the characters and think the storyline was really well developed and beautifully written. Definitely one of my favorite books. Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine and Katherine Wood for the opportunity to read and review this wonderful book! Hoping there is a sequel……….⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you Netgalley and Bantam Dell for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review

PHEW what a read!!! I was invested in this one from the moment it started. A mystery/thriller that is PERFECT for a beach or hanging out by the water read. I mean the main setting is in Greece so while you're outside you can just imagine that you're living your best life there. You'll meet Abby, Benny, and Gia as the main characters in this book but more so Abby and Gia since they are long time best friends.

The story starts off with an introduction to Abby's lifestyle and how her relationship with Gia has started to become ehhh due to adulting. Abby and Gia have a history, not only are they childhood best friends but both were involved in a tragedy. So fast forward about 12 years and Gia invites her brother (Benny) and Abby to celebrate her birthday only she's nowhere to be found. So of course both of them start to become suspicious and there goes the hunt for Gia.

HOWEVER there's so much more to the story than just Gia going missing. Gia married her husband after a short time (3 months) and there's more than what meets the eye to her new husband. The book is separated into Gia's manuscript (her perspective from the book she's writing), Gia, and Abby. I highly recommend if you're looking for a twisty, fast-paced thriller that leaves you perplexed and wondering what the heck is going on (in a good way). What was holding me back from the full 5 stars was the lack of explanation so in a way you're left with a cliffhanger but not really more so your on interpretation of what happened. I like to know exact facts!!

Overall, WHAT a captivating setting, well-crafted characters, and fast-paced plot. I will be recommending this book to my friends as soon as it's out and I'm so excited to hear about their reactions.