This Girls A Killer is the debut novel from Emma C. Wells. I absolutely devoured this book. It was a fun read. This book follows Cordelia, a pharmaceutical rep by day serial killer by night. But she only kills bad men who seem to evade justice. I love a book with a strong, not taking anyone's crap FMC, and this book did not disappoint. She has a chosen family that consists of her bestie Diane and her goddaughter, and she will do anything to protect them, especially when Diane starts dating someone who may not be a good person. This book was giving me a woman version of Dexter vibes, which I loved. I loved Emma's writing style and can not wait to read more. This debute book has made me a fan.

I received an advance review copy, and I am leaving my honest review voluntarily.

3.5⭐️ rounded up

Cordelia Black is a thriving pharma sales rep known for her image of perfection down to her very rigid schedule. She’s also a vigilante serial killer by night who believes she’s protecting the women of Louisiana by riding it of bad men.

But things start to spiral for Cordelia pretty quickly; her pharma account goes south, her best friend’s new boyfriend is suspicious, and a cop investigating the disappearances of local men ends up in her life.

While likely a minor annoyance for some, I found Cordelia’s relationship with her friend to be obsessive and her constant reference to herself by name to be a bit grating. It seemed to make the story drag as it became a repetitive focus throughout. While I don’t expect pure realism from fiction I found it somewhat far fetched how an incredibly rigid, meticulous serial killer could spiral so unbelievably spectacularly in everything that she was doing.

Overall, I really enjoyed the concept of a female serial killer and thought this was a fun read for the most part, albeit pretty predictable.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the opportunity to read and review this eARC.

This book has PLOT honey, it’s full steam ahead action and you knowI love that nearly as much as I love a FMC serial killer 😍
Cordelia is a hot unraveling mess throughout the novel and I love that.
I dropped a star because all the plot twist are predicable and I wanted it to go one way (I can’t say because spoilers!) but It didn’t - it took the obvious route.
Still had the best time and I would highly recommend.

Ok. I need to preface my review by saying that I am trying to read different types of book. I am always drawn to thrillers and mysteries, so I wanted to try something different for me. This book definitely made me uncomfortable because I struggle with books where the main character- who we are supposed to root for- is a killer. However- this book is so well written, especially the character of Cordelia! She is a well rounded character, with some issues. However, these issues cause her to be a vigilante hashing justice to men who hurt women and children. Cordelia is a bit of a control freak- with good reason. She loves her "found family", and will do anything to protect them. She is funny, strong, has a dark sense of humor, and also shows vulnerability. All the characters are well written.

The story is entertaining, but also dark. I will add that the author did not reveal too much about Cordelia's victims- just enough to make the reader understand why they were Cordelia's target. I appreciated this and the author's note at the end explains why she chose to write the story this way.

As the story progresses, some unexpected things happen, and Cordelia is struggling to maintain control while also examining who she is.

Sooooo... yes I was uncomfortable reading this book. However, it was a really good read! I was surprised to find this is a debut!!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC. This is my honest and voluntary review.

This book is the perfect one to take a break with, if your mood is veering toward grim but not too much. Cordelia, our MC is a killer, and her “victims” are monsters (not literally, this is not a fantasy, but to be honest, her victims are the real monsters, not some poor Ogre or Goblin), and we meet her when her life is starting to go awry.
Poor Cordelia, who is a planner at heart has to suddenly deal with problems on every front: her day work is plummeting, the media are starting to talk about a serial killer on the loose, and her adopted family has invited a new member in it. She is under attack on every possible front! This is what gives momentum to the book and keeps the story moving.
I enjoyed Cordelia and Sugar, I also enjoyed Cordelia’s new boyfriend, if we can call him that, (Diane not so much, sadly) and the reading is smooth and intriguing.
We have some comedic moments when things start to get bad for Cordelia, but I think that they were overplayed. For example, the part with Mango should have been hilarious but they made me roll my eyes, and that was it. So… what should have been a comedic relief felt short for me (time and again), and I think that this is one of the main reasons I didn’t love this book.
Mind me, it is easy to read, and it has an original idea, this is an okay book. But it wasn’t special.

Get you girlfriends together for a book club, because "This Girls a Killer", by Emma C. Wells is hands down one of the best books of 2024. I was hooked after the first page, and I read it in one sitting because it was so good I couldn't put it down.

This is the story of a serial killer who only kills bad men. It's silly and veers between how does she get away with it and ditzy girl who thinks she's in control.

For a book about a serial killer - this book is a lot of fun! Cordelia Black has a mission to rid the world of predators. Her meticulous world begins to fall apart when a drug recall wreaks havoc with her work world and a new man enters her best friend's life. Darkly comic events start to snowball as Cordelia tries desperately to maintain her hard-won control over her life. I LOVE mango the dog too.

Thank you to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for an advance copy for review.

Many thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

At first, I was excited. What’s not to love about a self proclaimed badass female “Dexter”? Turns out… a lot of things. The character herself completely changes throughout the book and not for the better. It’s almost like 2 authors wrote different parts of the book.
It has high points such as an independent female and someone looking to avenge mistreatment of women and children. Beyond that, the book missed the mark.
Maybe it was just

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for an eARC copy of This Girl's a Killer by Emma C. Wells.

Honestly, I also just picked this up in stores because I loved this book so much. I cannot wait to re-read this and figure out the little parts that I missed when I read it the first time around. What a wonderful debut novel!

Emma C. Wells does a wonderful job writing a gripping, darkly comedic thriller that plunges readers into the morally complex world of Cordelia Black - a woman who juggles a high-powered careers with her secret life as an avenger of wronged women. With a sharp wit and an even sharper knife, Cordelia is as relatable as she is terrifying. //She certainly is the female version of Dexter//

As the story progresses, the stakes are raised when Cordelia begins to encounter flaws in her methodical system. Her personal life - specifically her best friend's new relationship - begins to unravel the tight control she has maintained. This external threat forces Cordelia to confront the ethical and emotional consequences of her actions, while also grappling with the idea that her perfect life might not be as infallible as she believes.

You know it's going to be a good book when you're totally rooting for the killer.
Cordelia Black is a lot of things. She is great at her job, a great friend, and you know maybe she kills some men now and then, but they totally deserve it.
Like one of my favorite shows Dexter, Cordelia is secretly a killer. She has a whole ritual that up until the events in this book has worked to keep her off the police radar and left almost no evidence behind. Throughout the story as her life begins to spiral, I was on the edge of my seat hoping that she would make it to the end without getting caught for her extracurricular activities. I love her relationship with her best friend Diane and her goddaughter Sam aka Sugar.

With the downward spiral of Cordelia's well-laid plans mistakes are being made, secrets are revealed, and I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see how it was all going to play out. I will definitely be reading whatever Emma C. Wells writes next!

**Features:**

- Found family
- Female rage and a ‘righteous’ female serial killer similar to Dexter
- Witty and humorous while covering darker subject matter

**Summary:**

Cordelia Black will do just about anything for her best friend Diane and goddaughter Samantha. That includes turning the killer instinct that made her into a successful pharmaceutical rep against dangerous men. Cordelia knows she is making the streets a little safer with every predator she takes down and her carefully laid plan will ensure she is never discovered. But when her best friend starts dating a man who is more than what he seems and her company finds itself in potential legal trouble, her perfect plan begins to unravel.

**Thoughts:**

This book was a fun read but lost me a bit in some of the details. On top of being a lady boss, Cordelia Black is a dedicated godmother and friend. Wells does a fantastic job creating a female main character who is savvy and ambitious but still shows authentic warmth and fierce loyalty to those she cares about. Cordelia comes across a little overconfident and has some other quirks that would usually make a character unlikeable to me, but I think this plays into her double life as a serial killer extremely well. There was definitely tension throughout the book as Cordelia tries to stay ahead of the law and protect her found family, but the humorous style puts it on the lighter side of the thriller genre.

Though there is a lot I like about this book, it lost me a bit in the details. The odd part is that these aren’t the type of details that suspending disbelief would help overlook. As far as I could tell, this book was meant to take place in a realistic, present day Louisiana. However, every couple of scenes, there are very small inaccuracies that are simply out of touch with reality. They don’t really even come across as purposeful or due to Cordelia’s own lack of knowledge/awareness either. I know I sound really nitpicky here and other readers might not even notice them, but it irritated me that multiple, really basic things seemed simply ignored.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Poison Pen Press for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This debut about a female serial killer started off in an interesting, thrilling way. Along the way, we learned about the killer's past as well as her past kills. Cordelia only has two important people in her life and she will do anything to protect them. I thought it was an enjoying read especially since books written about FEMALE serial killers are rare indeed. I just wanted more from the ending.

Super entertaining read! I loved that Cordelia was giving me Dexter vibes. I really enjoyed the premise of the story and how bad ass she is.

Cordelia is a very successful pharmaceutical rep who has a dark side- she gets rid of bad men. She is very protective of and is super close to her best friend Daphne and her daughter. So when Daphne starts dating a man that just doesn't seem right, Cordelia begins to question her instincts and everything begins to unravel.

Tropes:
Serial Killer
Dark Humor
Found Family

If you love Dexter, The Mindf*ck Series and Finlay Donovan Is Killing It you will probably really enjoy this book!

Rounded up from 3 1/2 stars

This was an awesome debut novel. From the start, this book kept a quick pace and held my attention. About 1/2 way through, it seemed like all h*!! broke loose. I enjoyed the humor, found family, and the characters in this story. Would be cool to see this spin into a TV series where we could see the characters, their backstories, and where we could see more builds into the plot.

I’ve really been all about thrillers and serial killers. If that matches your vibe, snag this book. Perhaps you liked Bad Men by Julie Mae Cohen, then this one will be for you! This also gave me Finlay Donovan feels.

Thank you so much Netgalley for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review. I loved this it gave off female Dexter vibes in the best way possible. I found the main character funny and relatable. Definitely pick this up if you root for the vigilante!

During the day, Cordelia Black is a successful pharmaceutical rep with a good reputation. She is upset that the Feds have taken off Bosephan, the medication that’s been her biggest seller, off the market. During the night she goes after men who prey on women. These are men who always manage to not get punished by the legal system. Cordelia is always in control. She plans everything with great detail. It is this ability that makes her so successful in her murders. She has chosen her own family which includes her best friend Diane and her daughter Samantha. Samantha is Cordelia’s goddaughter. Cordelia doesn’t like Diane’s new boyfriend, Simon. When she realizes that the Feds may be curious about the samples of Bosephan that have gone missing from her possession because she’s been using them to dope her most recent victims, she comes up with a plan. But when she thinks Christopher, the local cop Diane has set her up with, may be getting a little too close for comfort, she must come up with another plan. Then, when something suddenly does go wrong, leading to a scrapes, misfortunes, and crises, Cordelia must plot anew if she’s going to survive. What is her new plan?

The author has written clinically detailed accounts of murder, dismemberment, and body disposal. It made me think of a tv show called “Dexter.” I do like the novel. Wells has made a novel that made me think Cordelia was an expert in being a serial killer. As Wells tells Cordelia’s past, I understood her better. The story has dark humor. The story is not about bloodlust. It is something more that the reader will discover. The book is a fast paced thriller.

Overview: Cordelia is a medical sales rep who secretly moonlights as a serial killer of very bad men.

Thoughts: Overall I thought this was such a fun book to read! In some ways it reminded me of Yellowface in that it gets inside the head of a female main character as her carefully curated lies begin to slowly unravel. Cordelia as a character was fantastically deranged and it was SUCH a ride following along as her bad situation got worse (and worse!). My main complaint is that I didn’t feel like I got enough of her backstory and in some ways it didn’t feel like the story fully resolved. For example, I thought there would be more with the McSmiley storyline.

Take home message: This is a humorous thriller with a female Dexter-like character whose life starts to go off the rails.

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Fans of Dexter, this book is for you!

Cordelia is a self-made woman with a secret hobby: stalking & killing men who are predators. She manages to maintain a close relationship with her best friend & goddaughter, & also has a lucrative career in pharmaceutical sales (easy access to drugs actually proving helpful in her recreational pastimes). Things start to get a little stressful though when there’s a medication recall at the same time the media begins reporting on a possible serial killer & her bestie starts dating a guy that gives her the creeps…

I loved the spoiler-free content warning in the beginning of the book, & the general tone of voice this debut author used when telling Cordelia’s story maintained a healthy dose of humor in the midst of some serious subject matter. Her artistic rituals & the neighbor’s dog were creative inclusions, & though it seemed like a few aspects of the story could’ve been a bit more polished I thoroughly enjoyed this novel & its themes of friendship, transformation, & adaptability.

Thank you to NetGalley & Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

*4.25 stars

I honestly LOVED this freaking book...

Until the ending....

IT WAS SOOOO GOOODDD... I laughed... I got emotional.... I fed my feminine rage...

And then. the author chose to end it this way? It felt so rushed!

Alsooo, Diane is kind of a terrible best friend.... How has Cordelia not killed her for her stupidity yet is my question to the author.

Overall, I loved the book, until the end. Hopefully the author will redeem Cordelia’s ending in the future.