While the stories are different, I feel that if you like the movie American Mary you will also enjoy this book. While the main plot revolves around Cordelia trying to cover up her murders it felt more about a story of trying to maintain control when everything starts to go wrong both at work and in her personal life.
The speed of the book was paced really well for me and I kept wanting to read the next chapter and I finished it surprisingly quickly given the length of the book.
Given that this is the authors debut, I can't wait to read more of her writing.

Holy crap, this was fun! A story about friendships, and the lengths we will go to keep loved ones safe. A story of protecting others from going through trauma that one has suffered themselves. All told through the quirky voice of Cordelia Black, a character as witty and charming as she is vengeful and tough. There is some repetitiveness in some small details but aside from that, this was so great!

I received an arc via NetGalley. The opinions and rating are my own.

Cordelia is a serial killer. In her mind it’s just a hobby and since she only goes for bad men it’s fine. This Girl’s a Killer actually reminded me a little of Butcher and Blackbird but only one serial killer and no spice. Definitely have a little bit of “what did I just read?!”

If you can get past the fact that Cordelia has got quite a bit of a crazy streak the story overall holds interest.

This book starts just as Cordelia Black's life begins to tailspin. We learn who she is as a professional when her job and professional relationships are on the brink of collapse. We meet her adopted family just as her best friend's new boyfriend threatens to distance them by emotional and physical miles. We learn of her creative and artistic side as she laments the loss of time to create her artwork. It is her hobby, however, that actually defines who she is as a person at her core. We only learn of her past and her metamorphosis into the avenger that she has become as she scrambles to hold onto the life she has made. Wells has blurred right and wrong and has revealed the acceptable levels of grey. Cordelia is no killer; she tells you this multiple times throughout the book. What Cordelia is, instead, is a phoenix, a protector, an investigator, judge and avenger. And Cordelia is a survivor. Cordelia takes back her life as she kills and buries her past, transforms into the person she wants to be and doesn't look back. Despite everything falling apart, piece by piece, she refuses to give up on the life she has made. Cordelia is the superhero we all want to be, being our best self and protecting our family no matter the cost! This story intrigues you right from the start; once hooked, you just can't put the book down until the final body disposal! Wonderfully written to be edge-of-your-seat exciting and therapeutic and funny even though it touches on some heavy social issues.

If you are a fan of S.T. Abby or S. T. Ashman this is the perfect book for you! I love a good revenge trope. Cordelia Black kills bad men, and we are rooting for her the whole time. This book isn’t too triggering, it tells you what they did but does not go into any detail which I liked. This was the perfect October read with some gore, but they deserve it. I was a little disappointed with the love interested but I do think that was a part of the story that she didn’t need a man, and she has her best friend with her forever they are “vintage”. Another thing I enjoyed was that Cordelia was an unreliable narrator. She would have mental breakdowns, and you didn’t know if she was going to snap. This book was right up my alley, and I can’t wait to read more from this author. Hopefully we will see more of Cordelia Black.

Thank you, Net Galley, the author, and the publisher, for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for providing me with an advance e-galley of this book in exchange for an honest review. Look for it in your local and online bookstores and libraries on October 29, 2024.

I sped through this book so fast, great storyline! For fans of Dexter and mystery/thriller. It is a little graphic/gory at some points in the story but I didn't let it turn me off of the book.

Cordelia Black is a beautiful, successful pharmaceutical rep in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She’s also a serial killer. But not just any serial killer. Cordelia sees herself as an instrument of karma, protecting women and children from bad men.

Cordelia’s highly organized hunt and kill operation is upended when her best friend Diane begins dating a man who is annoying — and even creepy— but does he pose a threat to Diane and her daughter Samantha? There is also a law enforcement investigation into the missing men Cordelia has killed carried out by a police officer who is romantically interested in her.

Despite her bloody hobby, Cordelia is a very likable badass heroine, and I found myself rooting for her to avoid getting caught. The plot is propulsive as Cordelia dances as fast as she can to avoid detection.

Despite the darkness of the plot, the novel is actually very funny in parts, and even touching as we learn more about Cordelia’s background and motives. The novel also shines a light on the important issue of sexual abuse of women and children which proliferates in silence as victims are too afraid of retribution by coming forward.

Thanks to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for providing me with a complimentary advanced copy of this book.

This girls a Killer by Emma c Wells

I have to admit I wasn’t sure I would love this book as a cover doesn’t do a story justice. But after reading the first chapter it immediately sucked me in. I couldn’t stop reading the story about Cordelia black who is a pharmaceutical rep who has recently fell under the scrutiny of her office as a couple of test samples for prescriptions have become missing. The side effects are grave, and The story gets even more in-depth as we look deeper into Cordelia in her extracurricular activities, as she is almost a heroine of justice for taking care of men that do women wrong. The story was an absolute blast. I loved every page and flipped through everything trying to reel in my mind. Are there actually women like this. I enjoyed the story thoroughly and will recommend it to everybody that I know.

Thank you NetGalley and Poisoned Press for this amazing book! I wish there were more stars to give! Wow

Ok this one was great. A female version of Dexter? Yes please! This story was well paced and great characters. They were smart, funny, well rounded. Highly recommend

Originally, I wasn't sure about this one but I'm so happy I continued listening. This one is dark, twisted, but very good!
Cordelia isn't your typical pharmaceutical rep, she also hunts bad men. I loved the dark humor in this book. It just all worked. Some moments can be a bit gruesome and Cordelia is a very meticulous person. Everything has to be just so but not everything can be perfect...especially with a dog walks all over a murder scene.
The ending seemed like there would be another book coming, and I hope that's the case because I cannot wait to see what happens next in Florida. I really enjoyed Stefanie Kay's voice. I felt like she was perfect for Cordelia and was able to portray the character’s quirks very well.

'Cordelia and Diane. We were vintage'

I hate to say this but I think female or revenge serial killer books are one of my new favorite kinds of books to read! Bad men who always get what's coming to them and female characters who blend into the crowd and outsmart everyone they encounter sounds like my cuppa coffee. This one hit the mark for me.

Cordelia Black is a serial killer- literally. She is smart, sophisticated, calculated and executes things to perfection. A pharmaceutical sales rep by day and a vigilante by night. But when her job starts to go up in flames and the police are catching on to the fact that there are “missing” men in the area, her perfectly poised life starts to unravel. Will she be able to wiggle out of the big mess she has created or will her controlled world crumble down around her?

If you are a fan of Butler and Blackbird, this one was a tamer version but just as fun! I liked Cordelia's inner ramblings and neurotic dialogue. As someone who was a perfectionist, she sure did start making a lot of mistakes and that's when most of the fun happened. She was so on edge and assumed the worst so it was exciting to see her squirm her way out and around situations that would have been dire for anyone else. She became chaotic and uncontrolled and it made me feel like I was on a rollercoaster of emotions with her.

I would have liked to see a couple of the minor loose ends tied up, but overall this was an entertaining and enjoyable read!

I enjoyed this book; it gave me DEXTER vibes. I liked the Cordelia character; she was fun but in a dark way. This story was a little slow but still very interesting and kept me on the edge of my seat. It was a good read.

Thank you, Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley, for allowing me to read and review this book.

I can not believe that this is a debut! I highly recommend this. I received a free eARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this opportunity.

If you like the fast pace of Finlay Donovan books (minus the awkward and cringy romance) and really miss Dexter, you will love This Girl's a Killer. Not only is she a killer, but you won't mind. She's the new antihero. She will do anything for the people she loves and a lot for people she doesn't even know. I really hope this is book 1 of many.

'This Girl's a Killer' is a tumultuous adventure and rife with tension through friendship and found family told from the POV of a serial killer - a serial killer who just wants to be loved unconditionally and to protect others the way she wishes she had been protected as a child.

Cordelia Black is a strong, successful, wealthy woman on a mission. Her mission? To eradicate the worst of the worst from society. The ones the justice system isn't able to punish (or have the money/connections to pay their way out of trouble). And she does it in luxury/designer clothes and Christian Louboutin stilettos her uniform, her method revolving around complete and total control. Life is coming up roses for Cordelia. If she isn't at work, she's spending time with hee ride-or-die, Diane, and Diane's daughter, who they call Sugar-the most important people in her life.

That is, until a potential serial killer is mentioned on the news and her date ends up being with a cop. Diane revealing a new boyfriend that trips some of Cordelia's mental alarms, sending her into a tailspin. The control she values so highly starts slipping as the tension rises, and then rises some more as she struggles to get a hand on things. 🤏🏼 Maybe if Mango, the neighbor's dog, would stop 💩 in her yard and darting into her house at the least opportune times-maybe then she could have a moment's peace to try and get a hand on the chaos that has become her life. Can she keep her world from unraveling, keep her little family safe and together?

"Nothing stains like red frosting—not even blood."

📖 The quote ⬆️ is the first line in the book, and had me compelled to read more. By about 15%, I was invested. Once I got to about 40% I couldn't put it down.

The chaotic twists and turns are well executed, leaving you never knowing how it's going to end - but hoping somehow, someway, she doesn't get caught. 100% I'm ready to join Cordelia Black. 😆

✍️🏼 I enjoyed the writing, loved it. It flows well, is descriptive, and felt like a good friend was telling the story. Even in my tense discomfort, I felt at ease (if that makes any sense at all 😂).

The dialogue is amazing. It felt and read as natural, and fit the characters perfectly. I love the bits of dark humor and found them well placed and timed so as to bring just enough levity. I enjoy dark humor, so it really worked for me.

🔪🩸It does get fairly descriptive in a couple places, but overall isn't detailed on the gore. Enough that you get a clear idea and picture, for sure.

⏳️The pacing is great, with no pointless meandering. It's fast paced with mostly shorter chapters, making for a fairly quick read.

👥 I loved/loved to hate the characters. Their personalities show in various ways and they feel real, dimensional.

💞 There's very little romance in this book and no spice. There is a focus on familial love, though, and how strong that bond can be. The things we would do to protect those we love most, those we call family regardless of DNA.

📚 If you like Dexter, the Mindf*ck series, Butcher and Blackbird, or other 'likeable' serial killer fiction, I think you would enjoy this book.

⚠️ CW/TW: If you're concerned, please go to
www.emmaCwells.com - theyre under the menu tab labeled content warnings.

Thank you to @emma.c.wells.books @poisonedpenpress and @netgalley for the opportunity to read this eARC.

I was hooked from the start! The humour and the drama were honestly done so well. I can go behind serial killers who have good intentions of killing bad people. This girl ruined her own ritual and started getting so paranoid and anxious about everything and when I’ll tell you my anxiety went through the roof reading that. The way people kept showing up at her house out of nowhere made me so anxious.

3.5⭐️ Female Dexter, yes please! Cordelia Black is a serial killer with a code. She loves her friend Diane and Diane’s daughter Sammy. When Diane gets a new beau Cordelia senses something is not quite right.
This story kept me interested til the end. I couldn’t wait see how Cordelia would get out of the mess she found herself in. She’s a killer with a code and only kills bad men.

Interesting characters, fast paced thriller, with a cute neighbor dog, Mango.

Thank you NetGalley and Poison Pen Press publisher for the Arc in exchange for my honest review

While Cordelia Black may not be the ideal girl next door that doesn't mean she doesn't have her strong points. She has a successful career as a pharmaceutical rep, she is totally devoted to the family she has made, and she has a killer wardrobe. However, she also has a side gig in which she kills men she thinks the world would be better off without.
This Girl's a Killer is told in Cordelia's voice. She is witty, sassy and pulls no punches. You couldn't ask for a better friend. She thrives on order and plans. In her orchestrated life, there is no room for mistakes. So, when something unplanned happens her life implodes.
Beautifully crafted, the narrative follows Cordelia as she navigates one disaster after another. Just when it seems things can't get any worse, they do. From one land mine to another Cordelia does not disappoint right up to the unexpected conclusion.
This book was an absolute pleasure to read! This Girl's a Killer is well plotted and has a great protagonist! Highly recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press, and Emma Wells for providing an advance reader copy (ARC) of this book. Below is my honest review.

A very rare 5 star review.
I'm not sure I'm supposed to like a serial killer but I do, I love Cordelia Black. Champion of women done wrong, doling out justice with a bit of vengeance in it. She's doing what I sometimes want to try my hand at, righting a disturbing wrong. Most people balk at killing but as the saying goes - sometimes a man just needs killing. I am not happy with one thing, McSmiley deserved so much better than an afterthought. Good men are hard to find, handsome considerate men are keepers. An enjoyable, if a little creepy, read.

#NetGalley #ThisGirl'saKiller #EmmaWells #Poisoned Pen Press #serialkiller #killingbadmen #doilinoutjustice #murder