Abby and Gia have been friends ever since they were kids. Gia is newly married much to Abby’s dismay. Gia invites Abby and her brother to a mountain retreat and doesn’t show. Abby and Gias brother leave to look for Gia and find her house abandoned and they suspect foul play. This was a twisty thrilling read and I hope to read more by this author. Thanks NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for this ARC that will be released July 9, 2024!

Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Publisher: Random House
Pub. Date: July 9, 2024

A good vacay read since most of the location is in the exotic Greek Islands. The protagonists, wealthy Gia and middle-class Abby are best friends who spent their childhood together because Abby's mother worked for Gia's family as a cook. Gia's father paid for Abby's education so she could go to the same prestigious schools as Gia. The author gives us a clear look into a world of wealth and privilege, which is often unflattering. Gia's manuscript is presented to Abby so the reader understands Gia's points of view. However, I found this type of narrative challenging to comprehend. In the book, there is a death, but the identity of the murderer is never revealed because of the novel's ambiguous ending. I can only recommend this novel if you are okay with the ending.

3.5 Stars!!!

Katherine Wood delivers a captivating mystery with "Ladykiller." It's a tale of friendship, betrayal, and the shadows that lurk beneath the surface of seemingly perfect lives. Readers who enjoy psychological thrillers with a touch of glamour and a richly detailed setting will find this book to be a satisfying and immersive read. I found the first 75% intriguing and the last 25% predictable.

Thank you to @Netgalley and @RandomHouse for the ARC.

This story of rich people acting horribly is one of my favorite troupes to read and it was super easy to get lost in! I felt like all the characters were very unlikable including Abby. The twists were a bit predictable, and the ending was definitely frustrating with no real resolution. I felt like it was a bit unbelievable that Gia's brother chose Abby over Gia but it was an interesting element. There was a lot of unanswered questions at the end of this that it almost set it up for a sequel of sorts. Overall, a very solid read!

Title: Lady Killer
Author: Kathrine Wood
Publication Date: 7/9/24

A slow burn psychological thriller that had me questioning what the truth was, what are their motives and what is reality with every single page. Kathrine Wood’s descriptions of locations and people and his/her actions are so perfect that I could taste the salt and see the blue in ocean. I was completely immersed in this story.

‘She was always divisive, beautiful and brash..’
‘…watching as he tossed a bucket of sudsy water that splashed onto his chest, dripping down his six-pack before being absorbed by the waist of his shorts.’
‘…zigzagged through the maze cutting through mounds of gravel and around piles of concrete pipes..’

Two POV’s, Gia’s manuscript, and Abby’s present and past recollections, keep the reader engaged and unable to predict the outcome with teasers perfectly placed and questions remaining until the very end.

Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing for an early copy of this book by Katherine Wood in exchange for an honest review.
I absolutely loved this story. It was incredibly juicy with lots of moving parts. I completely ate up all the chapters from the perspective of Gia's manuscript. I love when books can take so many directions with the stories and Ladykiller really had plenty of angles to talk about with situations from the past resurfacing and new problems piling up in the present. I thought all the characters were interesting in their own way, too. I really enjoyed this one and any time I had to put it down, I will counting down until I could pick it back up. It would be the perfect summer read!

Ladykiller was RIVETING. I could not put this book down and it kept me guessing at every turn! I kept thinking I had “figured it out” only to have another twist thrown my way. I enjoyed all the characters and their unique personalities. Wood also did a great job with the little bits of sexy spice weaved throughout. I truly enjoyed every page, and the final line of Gia’s Manuscript in the epilogue was genius. Can’t wait to read more by this author!

*A sincere thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for providing the advance copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.*

I want to give a big thanks to NetGalley and the author for my honest review.

This story is about Abby, Gia and Benny and their chance to reconnect on a trip together. Unfortunately, Gia doesn’t show up to meet them.

The book switches back between reading Gia’s manuscript and Abby’s POV. It kept me engaged the whole time. I couldn’t wait to get to the end and find out what happened. Great read.

How could I turn down reading this book with a cover (and title) like that?! When I was offered a widget for this book I immediately accepted! The synopsis took my breath away. A rich heiress on a Greek island. Yes, please take me there! A longtime best friend coming to the rescue- what could possibly go wrong?

This story started off super intriguing with two very interesting characters. We have Gia, who is newly married into a hasty marriage to Garrett. Her best friend, Abby, tried to stop Gia from this marriage but to no avail. This story goes back and forth between Gia’s manuscript (what she started writing while in her marriage to Garrett), and Abby’s present and past day recollections.

Gia and Garrett lived in her family mansion in Greece to renovate it for its near future sale due to Gia losing some of her family fortune when her father passed away. They meet some new friends while out having dinner, and invite these new friends, Emelia and Timeo to come stay with them. That’s when things start to go downhill for Gia. Gia starts to question everyone around her, even her own husband. Is there anyone out there that she can trust?

Abby, on the other hand is worried about Gia when she doesn’t show up for their planned vacation together. Can Abby make it to Greece in time to find out what’s wrong? And are things what they appear to be?

While this story started off super strong, it unfortunately lost its way somewhere past the halfway mark. We are left to assume to know what happened towards the end, but for me I would have liked this story to be wrapped up in a nice pretty red bow. I am left with way more questions than answers, and rather unsatisfied with the ending. I also started off liking Gia and Abby pretty strongly, but by the end I didn’t care much for either one of them (although I definitely liked one more than the other).

This book might be a better read for those who don’t mind stories that take sudden twists and turns of action, and have an open ending.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group/Ballantine, and the author for an ARC of this book, which I had the pleasure of reading. Publication date: July 9, 2024.
Genre~ General Fiction (Adult), Mystery & Thrillers

𝑰𝒕'𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒖𝒕 𝒂 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝒂𝒔 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒌 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒚...𝒑𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒊𝒕, 𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒔 𝒂 𝒃𝒊𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒘𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏, 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍. 𝑴𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒍𝒚, 𝑰 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌, 𝑰 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒕𝒚.

I wasn't too sure about this one at first, but once I got hooked, I was invested. Gia and Abby have been friends since childhood even though Gia's family is insanely wealthy and Abby's mom was their cook. Despite the financial gap, the two grew up almost as sisters. However, when the girls are 18, a traumatic event involving the two occurs, and neither can make peace with is, so they separate with miles of ocean between them.

Many years later Gia reaches out to Abby as she is newly and impulsively married and is planning to celebrate her birthday with her best friend in a chalet in Sweden. Abby agrees to meet her, and then things get strange. Interspersed throughout the rest of the book are chapters from Gia's 'manuscript' revealing the trouble in her new marriage with her husband's temper and wandering eye and the money missing from her bank account. When Abby arrives in Sweden, Gia is nowhere to be found, and all calls go straight to voicemail. What follows is a dizzying plot that spans the globe and makes Abby question everything in her life that has happened since that fateful night when the girls were 18.

I really enjoyed this twisted tale of friendship and misguided actions. Many thanks to NetGalley and Bantam for this early read. This title will publish July 9, 2024.

Picked it up and didn't stop till I finished! This book kept me guessing from beginning to end! Book club material

The beginning of the book was extremely long winded and I had a hard time staying interested in it. The ending didn't give the closure I was hoping for I still have so many questions.

This book reminded me A LOT of Dangerous Girls and also a bit of We Were Never Here - two best friends, a death, maybe the narrator is unreliable or maybe not, maybe they're all involved in a big conspiracy or maybe not? This is complimentary, because I enjoyed both of those books a lot! What I found lacking in Ladykiller was the way that the manuscript piece is interwoven – we find out fairly early on that what's happening in the manuscript is taking place in the past (unspecified how far in the past a bit later) and then we're getting Abby's perspective which is happening in real-time. It's unclear throughout who is reliable here - can we trust Abby or Gia, or neither? Even finishing the book, I felt like there are still pieces left unclear (which is simultaneously good and bad!).

I do wish we had less time with the side characters and more time focused on Gia and Abby, maybe more of their bond (rather than just being told they're so close), or more time in the after of it all and an epilogue giving more clarity from Gia's POV.

Overall, I liked it, and I'm wavering between 3 and 4 stars. It's not clear if the questions at the end are intentional to leave readers guessing, or it's that there simply wasn't enough tying up of the plot. I really did read this one quickly though, and will likely recommend.

If there's a hyper specific genre I love most, it's rich people with rich people problems. Ladykiller does not disappointed - badly behaved but incredibly glamorous rich people abound. What admittedly did start as what could be a formulaic domestic story (oh no my rich friend married a bad guy!) quickly turned into a genuinely enjoyable, twisty-turny thriller.

At the risk of divulging spoilers, I will just say that the unreliable narrators will keep you guessing until the end, and while I sort of could figure out the main villains, the way the narrators told the story had me suspecting nearly every character of being duplicitous in some way.

I bet within a few years, we will see either a mini-series made of this starring whatever young hot actresses are currently big or maybe a Netflix movie. The story would translate beautifully to screen.

This book was pretty much what you’d expect from the blurb – a breezy quick read about a wealthy socialite and what may or may not have happened during a vacation in Greece at her family's estate. Gia was born into money and made friends as a young girl with Abby, whose mother worked for Gia’s family. They’re still friends years later, except that Gia does nothing but spend money while Abby works hard as a lawyer. Gia did write a book about a big event that happened when the girls were eighteen (not a surprise that it’s not what it seemed) but she can hardly call herself an author.

Abby doesn’t have much free time which is why she didn’t go to Greece when invited by Gia. All the reader knows about that time is what Gia wrote in a manuscript, ostensibly to publish as her second book. But Abby feels guilty, so she agrees to go to Sweden to finally spend time on a short vacation with Gia. But guess who doesn’t show up? So, Abby and Gia’s brother go to the estate in Greece to see if she’s ok and that’s when they come across the manuscript. The story alternates between the narrative in the manuscript (which details the past up until about a month before the Sweden trip), and the present time narrative from Abby’s point of view.

Since we don’t know if the manuscript is more fact or fiction, it’s hard to know what to believe. And it kind of leaves you with a “What’s the point?” feeling because of this. If it’s all a big lie, or mostly lies, then you can only believe what happens with Abby which is not too much at all. Gia is not a likable character and since most of the book is her manuscript, it comes across as more of a romance novel than an actual mystery. Her husband is perfect in every way until oh wait, he’s not at all what he seemed, big surprise. Gia herself doesn’t make for a sympathetic character, so you really don’t care if she gets screwed over by everyone or not.

This leaves you to take this book at face value as a scandalous sexy story about the rich and beautiful. Fine if you like that, but disappointing if you don’t. Depending on which side you’re on, you’d probably either love or hate this story. But if you go into it knowing not to expect too much, you can be easily satisfied with a right down-the-middle ‘meh.’

Thank you to the publisher for the ARC of Ladykiller in exchange for my review.

Reading the synopsis, I was so excited to read Ladykiller that I bumped it to the top of my TBR. I probably should have left it where it was.

It's a very descriptive slow burn that just kind of fizzles. Though some of the characters were very interesting (Gia & get houseguests), some (Abby & Benny) were not, and unfortunately, about half the book is Abby's point of view.

I think my favorite part of this book was all the ambiguity. Normally, this would drive me up a wall. I need all the answers neat and tidy by the end of a book, especially of this genre. However, it worked for this storyline. I love the premise that you don't really know those you're closest to. I think the way this played out made the elements work together instead of a flop. Although I'm not quite as fond of the title of this...but I guess it works with the ambiguity.

I’ve been finished with this book for a couple days, but I’m having a hard time trying to figure out how to review it. I didn’t love it. It wasn’t bad, and it definitely kept my attention, but it just didn’t wow me. I wasn’t all that invested in the characters or the storyline. It was entertaining but something just fell flat for me.

I did enjoy the setting in the Greek islands. The description of the setting sounded breathtaking.

Interesting thriller, set primarily in the Greek islands (and a hint of Switzerland). I enjoyed the description of the house and settings in Greece almost as much as the story. Slightly predictable, but still twisty enough for me, with its long-buried secrets surfacing, and small touch of romance. I agree with others who commented that the title misses the mark a bit.

Become immersed into the Greek islands and adventure of Ladykiller. Gia, appears to be just another spoiled rich girl…or is she? A juicy read full of suspense and constant plot twists, Wood delivers with each unique line and even squeezes in a bit of romance via as you’re whisked away from Greece to Switzerland and the City of Light!
Finally, you’re left with the ability to develop your own assumptions as to what happened to Garrett and Emelia.

Thank you to Bantam Books for providing me the opportunity to obtain an ARC of Ladykiller by Katherine Wood and leave a 4-star review.