* I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this book. All thoughts are my own.

The premise is very intriguing but I wasn’t jumping to pick the book up and keep reading. It was a bit gruesome, which I’m pretty picky about. I don’t really liked too much blood. I also feel like Cordelia’s backstory wasn’t fully flushed out and there are still some loose ends when the story is over. I even wish we got more out of the brief romance with Christopher.

I’m curious to see how the author cleans up some things before the release so I might recommend.

This book had me on the edge of my seat! It’s the perfect blend of feminine rage, unexpected twists, and Dexter-style unalivings. We follow Cordelia Black, living a double life as a pharma sales rep by day and a serial unaliver of harmful men by night. Her bestie, Diane, starts dating a guy who’s setting off all kinds of alarms, but he's just missing that one thing to make it justifiable for Cordelia. Does he make it out alive? You’ll have to read to find out!

I swear, I wanted to screeeeam at Diane so many times. I get the whole master manipulator thing, but girl, were your gut instincts turned off or were you just blinded by the idea of the "perfect" man?! Honestly though, we've all had that one friend who couldn't see the red flags waving right in front of them.

My only gripe was that it felt a little too long some chapters could’ve been condensed without losing any impact. Overall, a solid thriller!

The moment I read the book's description, I was eager to dive in. Perhaps it's because I'm an avid Dexter fan? Likely, but the premise of a serial killer who targets only the wicked is too compelling to pass up.
Cordelia Black excels as a pharmaceutical rep by day, yet her nights are spent hunting down villains. She defies the typical image of a serial killer; she's a sociable saleswoman with an enviable wardrobe and the cherished role of godmother. However, her true pursuit at night involves seeking out corrupt men to serve her own brand of justice. Complications arise when her best friend begins a relationship with a man Cordelia distrusts, and her professional life starts to crumble, challenging her to safeguard her friend as her own world starts to fall apart.
I found the book enjoyable, though it lacked the level of suspense I anticipated. The narrative focused more on the protagonist's efforts to avoid capture rather than her exploits in eliminating the wicked. Nevertheless, the conclusion was utterly unexpected.
Thank you Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for the ARC of This Girl’s a Killer in exchange for an honest and independent review.

Well dear reader, I honestly don’t even know where to start with this one. If I could use one word to describe this book, it would be: unhinged. Diabolical would be a close second. If you are a lover of all things Dexter and cannot resist a great female vigilante story, then This Girl’s a Killer needs to be next on your TBR list.

Cordelia Black is a born again badass in Louboutians who leaves absolutely nothing up to chance. She has reinvented herself from the sad, hopeless, victim she portrayed throughout her childhood to a vindicator for the voiceless. Her side hustle: removing bad men from the general population count so his victims may continue to live their life in peace instead on feeling like prey. Up until now, every move Cordelia has ever made has been meticulously calculated and planned. She had to do so in order to continue to operate undetected. Within the course of a night, Cordelia’s entire purpose and future suddenly hangs in the balance as one thing after another continues to go wrong and crumble. Can Cordelia get everything under control before she loses it all and ends up behind bars, no better than a serial killer? Will she be forced to reinvent herself again to avoid detection? Believe me, if anyone’s capable of finding their way out of this mess, Cordelia is.

When I say this book is unhinged, I sincerely mean it in every way, and in the best way. Cordelia may be completely insane by DSM standards, but as the reader, you absolutely see the purpose behind why she is the way she is and why she does what she does. Literally everything that can go wrong does go wrong for Cordelia and I cannot begin to express the level of anxiety that I experienced as a result of reading this book. Sleep was in fact, off the table. I couldn’t stop reading because I just wanted to see how in the heck she was going to get herself out of the next disaster. There were several times when I said out loud “What in the actual…?” while reading this book because again, unhinged.

This book will definitely be a topic of deep discussion across all book clubs, social media platforms, and work lunches from now into the foreseeable future, and I’m here for it. If you’re looking for something different, funny, and completely outside of social norms, please pick this one up because I guarantee you will not regret for a moment. I’m really hoping for a sequel here (fingers crossed)!!

Over the past year, I have read more books about female serial killers than I think I ever have in my life. That's not a complaint - I actually love it - but with the exception of CJ Leede's "Maeve Fly" (still one of my all-time favorite books), there seems to be a formula that all authors follow, which makes these books predictable. That said, this book does have several familiar plot points, but I can honestly say that the last half of the book had me on the edge of my seat, and I couldn't stop reading until I'd finished.

This novel focuses on Cordelia Black, a no-nonsense pharmaceutical rep with a penchant for fashion by day who is a ruthless vigilante serial killer by night. Like many female serial killer books, Cordelia enjoys ridding the world of evil men who prey on the innocent. She has a code (think "Dexter"), and she follows it to a "T," but things get rocky when her best friend Diana starts dating an ER nurse named Simon. There's something off about Simon, and Cordelia doesn't trust him, but she can't kill her best friend's boyfriend based on a feeling - the code won't let her. But as things begin to go south at work due to bad press around a drug Cordelia has been selling, and the media begin to focus on what they think may be the work of a local serial killer, Cordelia starts to feel the pressure. This culminates in Cordelia making a mistake one evening - something she has never done before - and this simple faux pas causes her carefully constructed world to begin to unravel.

While the author follows the familiar checklist of female serial killer books (no-nonsense, single woman hunting evil men, dates a cop, etc.), I was fully engaged and couldn't wait to see how this one turned out - and a lot of that had to do with the fact that I loved Cordelia. She is a multifaceted character that fluctuates between cool and composed and on the verge of losing her shit, but does it in a way that makes her feel like she's someone you know.

The plot is fast-paced and full of twists and reveals that had me setting the book aside so I could breathe. The first half of the book felt familiar, and while I was engaged, I wasn't totally sucked in. That changed about halfway in when things started going south for Cordelia. Once I hit that point, I couldn't stop reading, and I stayed up way too late to finish. Things kept getting worse and worse, and I needed to see how or if Cordelia could get herself out of the predicament she'd found herself in.

I only had a couple of (very minor) gripes with this one. First of all, Cordelia's niece mentions that she is playing Zelda on her Xbox. Being a gamer nerd, I know this isn't possible because Zelda is a Nintendo exclusive, so she'd be playing it on her Switch - not her Xbox. There was also one particular evening in the book - the night that everything began to unravel for Cordelia - where I felt that way too much happened, and the timing didn't add up. She meets a victim for dinner in the evening, takes him to her "spot," kills him, dumps his body, goes home, and changes; then something huge happens, which then leads to a close call with her cop boyfriend, then a shower, then to the store to buy a few things (the store would have been closed by this point), comes home, cleans up, goes out to hide more evidence and then comes home and gets some sleep. I feel like ALL of that would have taken at least 8 hours to do, and the timing of things didn't add up for me. I was able to get past it, but it really bugged me.

Minor annoyances aside, I found this one to be a lot of fun. Even though she felt somewhat familiar, Cordelia is a vigilante anti-heroine I couldn't help but root for. If you're looking for a dark and gritty book that will keep you on the edge of your seat, this is the one for you. Just be prepared not to do anything but read once you've hit the halfway mark. There's no way you can stop this one once things really start to go south for Cordelia.

I really dug This Girl’s a Killer!

This book follows Cordelia Black, a pharmaceutical rep by day, killer of bad men by night. She also loves her found family: her best friend Diane and Diane’s daughter Sugar. It’s a complicated life, but she balances it well…until the news starts throwing around the words “serial killer”. These words put Cordelia on high alert, only made worse when Diane meets Simon. Something’s not quite right about him and Cordelia will do whatever she has to to protect her family.

This book felt like female Dexter combined with aspects of Promising Young Woman, my favorite film the year it came out. This book was fun! It was funny at times and you can really feel the tension as things in Cordelia’s life starts to unravel. I loved Cordelia and her lifestyle…a bourgeois woman going after the pedophiles and rapists. The tone of this one was delectable and despite having read many thrillers, I actually didn’t guess this ending.

I definitely recommend checking this one out when it comes out next month!

Thank you to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: 10/29

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book.

Seeing good reviews for this so I am definitely in the minority in not liking it. Took me absolutely forever to get a third of the way and I just could not continue. Once Cordelia started explaining the method of her paintings, that was enough for me. She is such a hot mess yet the description of he would make you think the exact opposite. My favorite character wasn't even a main character - it was Samantha (Sugar).

The fact that this was a debut book is mind blowing. Cordelia Black has me obsessed. I couldn't get this book out of my brain. She's very much a female Dexter, hellbent on ridding the world of the smoke in bad men's eyes. This is perfect for fans of the Dexter series but want a female lead. Also perfect for fans of Butcher & Blackbird who want something without spice!

But what does she do when she has a hunch but there's no smoke? She'll have you dying to find out. 😏

This was an interesting book, certainly not what I was expecting, but in a good way. Cordelia is a hugely successful pharma rep, she makes enough money to keep herself in designer duds, until she finds out that one of the drugs she's been pushing is potentially going to be pulled from the market due to serious side effects, something that she had been down playing during her spiel to buyers. Then her bestie, Diane, has a new man, Simon, who Cordelia instantly gets very bad vibes from, Diane's daughter is Cordelia's god daughter so she's on alert to anything that may harm her, including the new boyfriend. Cordelia has a hobby, of sorts, she takes it upon herself to rid the world of 'bad' men, men who she sees with 'smoke' in their eyes (something that happens when she looks closely into their eyes), so when she spots one she drugs him and takes him to her storage room at a separate location that is specially setup to handle them. There is a really funny part when Simon decides to come visit her, which she isn't expecting and he let's it be known that he knows certain things about her, things she doesn't want anyone else to know, one thing after another happens like a non stop action/almost comedy of events that keeps her on her toes for many pages, quite resourceful our Cordelia. I also like the interaction with the neighbor and his dog, very well done. There is quite a bit of graphic violence and other triggers, Simon had a bad habit of collecting and sharing certain photos, that are not meant to be shared (mostly of women/young girls in states of incapacitation or hurt). I would recommend, hard to believe this is a debut book, it is very well written. Thanks to #Netgalley and #Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC.

This Girl's A Killer is the exact kind of dripping in tension plot, high intensity, about to explode drama that I live for in a thriller. And it's perfect for spooky season.

Emma C. Wells created such a freaking interesting character in Cordelia. She is not a bad person but she does kill very bad men, and she does not feel bad about that at all. She is also hugely passionate about her best friend and goddaughter, and she runs her life with exact precision. I can honestly say I adored reading Cordelia and I really kinda want to be her friend. I spent the entire book frantically reading faster and faster to see if Cordelia's entire world was about to collapse around her, or if she was going to get away with it.

No spoilers, but holy hell is it a rollercoaster of reading fun you don't want to miss.

The stakes are sky high and every chapter ratchets up the tension to a million - which is to say this is an entirely addictive and impossible to look away from book. You will devour this and you will have the best time doing it. It is a must for autumn reading lists, and honestly, I'd love to see Cordelia return in another book. Fingers crossed.

Many thanks to the publisher for my copy!

Dexter meet female Dexter. Exactly what I thought when I read the beginning of the book and the feeling through out. Which is funny, I’m finally watching Dexter the first time too. This was a good book with a great plot but there were some places that fell flat for me, and the pacing. She was harpening down on how perfect she was and her operation, but when 1 thing went down, everything started crumbling down and there was no back up plan. I mean it was fun and kinda funny to see how she picks up the pieces but some of it was way too unrealistic for me to get into the groove. I did love the book for what it was though and if she makes it into a series, I’ll definitely continue, especially if she found a “helper” at the end.

Omg.. Fantastic!!! 1st time I've read a book from Emma Wells and I definitely will be reading more.. At 1st I didn't think I would like it, but I was wrong.. She is a awesome writer... I could not put this down... Absolutely loved this book
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I thought I was going to love this because I do LOVE female rage stories in general. However, before bringing up my issues with this book, I should say that I don`t want to be too harsh on a debut novel and honestly my opinion seems to be the minority - a lot of people have left positive reviews on Goodreads. This could very well be something that you might enjoy, even though I didn`t.

The story follows Cordelia, a pharmaceutical sales rep who dearly loves her best friend and godchild, and enjoys killing bad men.
And that`s the extent of the character development for the protagonist. We are told (repeatedly) how meticulous, intelligent and organized the MC is but we never actually see any evidence of this in the story. For example, surely someone who works in the medical field would know better than to(view spoiler)
And she`s always frazzled and making frustrating mistakes. It`s as though the writer thinks that saying that she is intelligent and poised will make it so. Readers don`t notice actions, right?

Story-wise, there were some potentially interesting side plots and characters that didn`t end up being developed, or just sort of vanished with no exploration. I wondered if I had mistakenly signed up to read YA (nothing wrong with it, just not my thing) because of how shallowly things were explored (her murderously defensive obsession with her best friend, for example), but no. It is supposed to be adult crime/mystery but doesn`t read that way to me.

The thing I struggled with the most though was the writing itself. If you`re someone who cares about prose, this is not the book for you. Some words (like "monster") are repeated SO MANY TIMES. It must have been at least 100 times or more. Also, it`s written in first person but the narrator constantly refers to herself in third person ("Cordelia Black doesn`t get scared, Cordelia Black is scary). And just general phrasing sometimes gave me such second hand embarrassment that I had to stop reading. I`m surprised that "suck-fest of a day" "big brace-faced smile", "the hairs on my arm stood to full salute" made it through the editing process. But then again, this could be a preference thing.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I love female serial killer books. Cordelia is a badass. She’s so freaking sassy. I love it. She hunts men who hurt women and children! Go her! It’s a fun but flawed read. To me, it was just too much like Dexter almost like she was copying. The beginning is confusing and there’s a bit of delay? I can’t think of the word… With getting into it. But once I did get into it, it was overall pretty good. Overall I would recommend this.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book was a bit of a mixed bag for me. I really enjoyed the beginning, but the middle had me more feeling more stressed than entertained. For a main character who prides herself on being meticulous, she sure made a lot of careless mistakes.

The ending was mostly satisfying, but did feel a bit rushed. I just wish the book spent a little less time on the stressful middle and more time showing how it all resolved. Overall, I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone looking for a fun thriller.

Thank you so much for this ark!!!!! WOOOOOW
MC is such a bad ass and I enjoyed the whole book. I do have to say they give adequate trigger warnings but wow it’s quite graphic and at times was a bit much for me but it didn’t stop me!!

I think this is what would have happened if Lila on season 2 of Dexter had a child with Dexter...they would have created Cordelia. While not a bad thing, necessarily, it did follow a set guideline of been there done that. I wanted something a little more original .
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC

Thanks to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for this copy of "This Girl's A Killer."

I'm going to echo other reviewers who have said it's hard to believe this is a debut novel!

So Cordelia kills bad guys, Diane is her best friend, and Samantha is Diane's daughter. They're such great characters and you'll love them.

Cordelia is a meticulous planner and leaves no detail to chance. Until something unforeseen happens.....

I kept giggling and then thinking "Am I supposed to be laughing at a vigilante bad guy killer?" Yes, yes I am!

What a wild, fun read! This was a debut from Emma C. Wells, and she absolutely nailed it!

Cordelia Black is the definition of a badass female protagonist. By day, she's the picture of success as a pharma rep, but by night, she's dishing out her own brand of justice to men who deserve it. The way she balances her two lives—and the tension that builds when things start to go wrong—made it impossible to stop reading. I loved how fiercely she protects her chosen family, even when it means facing some hard truths about herself.

Thank you @poisonedpenpress and @netgalley for the chance to read this advanced reader copy. I seriously can’t wait to see what’s next for Cordelia. If you’re into strong, morally complex female leads, this one's for you!


#thisgirlsakiller

This was a Wild ride! I loved it so much and will be forcing this book on everyone I know this Fall!