A female 'Dexter'- Cordelia only kills bad men, monsters. Which makes it okay. Makes it so that she is still good and helpful.
But then it all starts to spiral put of her control. Because even if SHE thinks it's okay, the rest of the world doesn't. And now the city is convinced there's a serial killer - I mean, isn't there? - and there's a cop named Christopher, and it's all... going wrong.

This one is dark. I skimmed the graphic parts, but even with that, it's still really, really dark. Good storyline - just a bit too much for me.

Oh how I loved this story! It’s giving Promising Young Woman with Carey Mulligan! Cordelia’s extracurricular activities are justice for the women who fall victim to awful me. I know this is a story I will read over again!

This Girl’s a Killer by Emma C. Wells is a delightfully unhinged exploration of trauma and the unbreakable bonds of female friendships.

What if a strong successful woman decided to take matters into her own hands and Dexter a bunch of bad dudes? You’d get This Girl’s A Killer. Cordelia Black is successful, beautifully dressed, best friend extraordinaire, and a serial killer. Cordelia finds her life rapidly unraveling and must confront her past to save her future while still having to do all the work of killing the bad guys! Oh, and I did mention Cordelia’s best friend started dating the absolute worst guy?
I really love uncomfortable female characters and I found Cordelia to be wonderfully crafted and beautifully complex. She may be a serial killer in designer duds but she is actually wildly relatable. So often in the media we see female trauma explored as a result of the male gaze, three cheers to Wells for exploring trauma through the female gaze. Wells does a great job of making you want to laugh, cry, rage, and rejoice. Highly recommend.

I did not enjoy this book - since it is my book club pick on social media, I will not be publicly giving my review on any social media platforms.

4 ⭐

This was a fun read.

Nice concept. Good plot. Great characters. Fast paced. More a psychological thriller than a mystery.

Could feel a bit repetitive at the start, but it builds on that start and picks up steam and things start to unravel very quickly for Cordelia Black (the main character).

Recommended. 👍

4.25 ⭐️

This Girl’s a Killer was an addictive, suspenseful read. I stayed up way too late to finish it in one sitting because I just had to know how things played out. The main character, Cordelia, is a complex character who lives in the grey blurred areas between wrong and right. She gives off female Dexter vibes and has many secrets, including her own personal way of seeking justice against the “monsters” she encounters. She also has a strong sense of loyalty to her best friend and her best friend’s daughter that drives many of her actions. This book kept me on the edge of my seat as she dealt with a landslide of complications to her plans while at the same time struggling with her own sense of self and past demons. Overall, it was a suspenseful, witty, and entertaining thriller and I will definitely be checking out any future books written by this author. Thank you to NetGalley, Emma C. Wells, and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC in return for my honest review.

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for providing me with an early copy to read and review.

I liked the concept of this book, but I really struggled to get into it and read more than a chapter at a time. It felt rather disjointed as the main character spent so much time explaining how meticulous she was…but over half of the book was her trying to cover up mistakes.

There were plot holes and loose ends weren’t really tied up in the way that I think was intended.

I’m sure some will enjoy this, but it wasn’t really for me.

This Girl’s a Killer by Emma C. Wells is about a woman who is in fact a vigilante type killer. She finds and kills “monsters”. I enjoyed some of the humorous parts of this, but the overall plot of covering up killings turned out not to be my cup of tea.

"Meet Cordelia Black. Cordelia loves exactly three things: her chosen family composed of her best friend Diane and her goddaughter; her hairdresser (worth every penny plus tip); and killing bad men." --"This Girl's a Killer by Emma C. Wells

As a thriller fanatic, I found myself irresistibly drawn to "This Girl's a Killer" during the spine-chilling month of October. The captivating cover and intriguing blurb promised a thrilling journey, and I'm delighted to report the book delivered! Cordelia Black is an unforgettable character who steals the spotlight!

I paired the ebook with the audiobook narrated by the fabulous Stefanie Kay, and what a perfect match! Her voice brought Cordelia's dark humor to life, perfectly capturing the essence of this captivating character. Cordelia is the ultimate best friend—a fierce protector who ensures no vile man dares cross your path. Sure, she takes it to the extreme, but honestly, who needs the Justice System when you have someone like her on your side? I was itching to dive back in whenever I had to put this book down.

It was cruising towards a glorious five-star rating, but the ending left me unfulfilled. I have my fingers crossed for a sequel because I've become utterly attached to Cordelia!

Thanks to the author and Dreamscape Media/Poisoned Pen Press for providing this ARC via NetGalley. As always, all opinions are entirely my own!

#ThisGirlsaKiller #EmmaCWells #NetGalley #StefanieKay #Audiobook #DreamscapeMedia #PoisonedPenPress #GiftedARC

A new trope I didn’t know I needed? Woman serial killer. Especially when she’s after “bad” men. I seriously flew through this book, and did not want to stop listening. I was purposely finding chores I could do so I could listen to this and not totally leave my husband hanging 😂.

We’ve got a very morally gray FMC, and while when it comes to killing in general, she may actually like doing it, but she does have a code. Which also includes not hurting animals- annoying as her neighbor’s dog might be. So I was actually a big fan of Cordelia. She honestly just wants to protect her loved ones (her best friend & her goddaughter) and keep bad guys off the street.

This does have a little bit of gore (not much by my standards but others may find it unappealing). But it’s more of a thriller than anything else. If you like cheering for the villain, or see bad guys get their comeuppance, I think you’ll find this book very entertaining!

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance review copy in return for an honest review. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. This was so quirky and fun but also kept me on the edge of my seat. The last 100 pages or so I could not put it down and I was so stressed out the whole time.

This was really fun!

This gave me Dexter-lite vibes with some hijinks...think Finlay Donovan but written so much better!

I really enjoyed this and I think this was a stellar debut.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.
I picked up this book because it was recommended for fans of Finlay Donovan and Finlay Donovan is one of my favorite book characters.

I could see how this book could be compared to the Finlay Donovan series, but it wasn't completely like it, and it was actually more dark. This book was actually slightly more dark than I was expecting it to be based on the synopsis. (I was honestly expecting this book to be 99% humor and maybe 1% thriller, but it was really more 90% humor and 7% thriller and like 3% horror in my opinion).
I did enjoy the narrator, Stefanie Kay, and her voice sounded familiar to me although I don't know if I have listened to her narrate any other books. I also thought that despite this book being slightly darker than what I had imagined it would be, it wasn't a bad book, and the dark parts were only slightly off putting to me. Plus in all honesty this book was kind of addictive and I really wanted to see how this book was going to end.

Overall, I would rate this book 4 stars and I would look for more books by Emma C. Wells in the future!

Many thanks again to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this book.

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This was cute, fun and predictable. I do love a female bad ass and I thought for a debut it was written well. I think this one will be really popular with people that like a blended genre.

Thanks @netgalley for my copy!

This Girl's a Killer by Emma C. Wells is a gripping and darkly humorous exploration of revenge and identity. The protagonist's journey is both compelling and complex, as she navigates the blurred lines between right and wrong while seeking justice in her own unique way. Wells’s sharp writing and engaging dialogue keep the pace brisk, ensuring readers are hooked from start to finish. With its blend of suspense and wit, this novel offers a fresh take on the thriller genre that will resonate with fans of bold storytelling.

This book was Dexter mixed with a little Finlay Donovan. I had high hopes for this - love a good FMC vigilante. It was a more of a drama when I wanted it to be a solid thriller. Some parts were filled with suspense and some parts got repetitive with our MC wallowing in her mistakes. Overall a quick and entertaining read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

This Girl’s a Killer
4⭐️

This psychological thriller gets inside Cordelia Black’s every thought. She only kills monsters. She has a system, routine, and rules. But what happens when she goes off script? No one will understand that she does what she does to save other people. We first see Cordelia as a perfect, polished, confident woman, but then watch as she spirals with panic, loss of control, and fear of losing everything she has built for herself since leaving her traumatic childhood.

I tend to be a fan of female serial killer storylines. This was unhinged and complex as I found myself rooting for Cordelia. I found myself on the edge of my seat with my heart pounding as I turned the page and wondered how everything would turn out in the end. The only thing I didn’t like was how repetitive certain phrases and descriptions were. While part of me realized since this was all Cordelia’s POV and repetitive thoughts are part of the spiral, I found some repetitiveness distracting. Overall, this was an attention grabbing read that I recommend to anyone who enjoys a good vigilante serial killer psychological thriller.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. This review will be shared on NetGalley, Goodreads, and Amazon.

Pub Date Oct 29 2024

Thank you to Netgalley, Poisoned Pen Press, Dreamscape Media and Emma C. Wells for the ARC/ALC!

Finlay Donovan meets Dexter, plus the friendly neighborhood dog - this book was everything I didn’t know I needed! Cordelia Black loves three things - her chosen family of her best friend and goddaughter, her hairdresser and killing bad men. Much like Dexter, Cordelia only kills men who deserve it - bad men whom she can sense are evil. But much like Finlay Donovan, she lately finds herself in a situation she didn’t bargain for - her best friend’s new boyfriend turns out to be a bit evil. Before she knows her, she is facing losing her entire world.

This book hooked me from the very beginning! Even though her extracurricular activity was questionable, dare I say I found myself sympathizing for Cordelia - all she wanted was to rid the world of bad people. And most of all, she wanted to protect the people that mattered most to her. I found myself rooting for her to get out of the trouble she found herself in and to keep on “fighting the good fight”, if you will. If you enjoy witty, vigilante justice type thrillers - with a badass female lead character - look no further than this. I was grateful for the audio so I could keep listening to the story when I had to step away from my kindle! I will eagerly be waiting for Emma C. Wells’ next book.

“This Girl’s A Killer” releases October 29, 2024. This review will be shared to my instagram blog (@books_by_the_bottle) shortly :)

A female serial killer who only goes after bad men? This was one I had to check out. This book was so well thought out and I found it really interesting being in Cordelia's mind. She was meticulous and had her actions so planned out that she was confident that she would never get caught. Plus she was working for the greater-good! Until one small mistake starts a landslide of other things that have her scrambling to get herself out of trouble. I really enjoyed the second half, as I thought the beginning was a bit slow. Great fun thriller!

I... I loved this. And if I didn't love it by the last chapter... The not so subtle shade at real life scenarios was iconic.

The dark and tense atmosphere of secret killer Cordelia Black created such a stressful reading experience that was everything I needed to help propel me through this book at the speed of light. I was well and truly stressed through this WHOLE book, completely unsure if Cordelia would get caught for her murders.

The narrative has a such depth when you think of what Cordelia was trying to accomplish - despite having some very questionable approaches to problem solving. But her attempts at ridding the world of "monsters" (as she calls them, and is so true) is unfortunately never ending because there will always be more monsters out there - as evidenced in the real life comparison in the last chapter.

This book also had a fiery pace, with the story never really settling down because Cordelia just couldn't catch a break. The side plot of her job falling apart was probably the least exciting thing in the book, and even that had me wondering what could come of it.

The bond between best friends (found family) is so strong and seeing all that Cordelia does to protect Diane and Sugar is so heartwarming, despite its violent side effects. It's a tale of friendship and questioning "how far is too far" as much as it is a tale of vigilante justice.

Did I vibe with all of Cordelia's decisions? No. But did I love to follow her path as she navigated everything? Heck yes.