Cordelia Black is a bit crazy! She really is close to her friend Diane. She is impulsive one night and killed a bad guy that Diane seemed to like. Cordelia is a very successful Pharmaceutical rep. by day and a killer at night. She feels she is getting justice.

She is really close to Diane's daughter Samantha. Cordelia would do anything to protect her best friend and bf's daughter. She is full of personality, snarky, smart, hard working, and confident!

Everything is always fine for Cordelia Black. "One thing I'd learned in my childhood, sometimes you had to lie to yourself until you believed it. Once you believed it, you could make it true."

This book is fun and the lead character is very flawed!

Dark, Suspenseful and Tense!

3.5 stars!

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy! This book will be released 10/29/24.

A female Dexter is always going to have me picking up a book. I know this has become a more common theme in books lately but I just love a strong woman who rids the world of bad men. How can you not want to read about that.

Emma C Wells debut novel is just fabulous!! It is so much to read and had me laughing so many times. Yes it is a dark story but told so well. Cordelia was a badass! a successful pharmaceutical sales rep with amazing taste is clothes and shoes. She loves her bestie and her goddaughter and will do anything to protect them…anything. And that is when things start to go wrong, and keep going wrong.

This book will keep you turning those pages well into the night, who needs sleep when there are bad men to be disposed of!

Thanks so much to Poisoned Pen Press for my advanced copy t read. Publishes on October 29th, you don’t want to miss this one.

In Emma C. Wells’ debut novel, THIS GIRL'S A KILLER, we are introduced to Cordelia Black, a pharmaceutical sales rep with a dark, unconventional side hustle. By day, she navigates the corporate world, dealing with the fallout from the FDA pulling her top-selling drug, Bosephan, off the market. By night, Cordelia becomes a vigilante, targeting and killing sex abusers, and selling their remains to Clarence Elgin, a broker of body parts. Despite the gruesome nature of her actions, Cordelia operates by a strict moral code: she only kills “monsters.”

Readers may liken Cordelia to Jeff Lindsay's iconic Dexter Morgan character. Much like Dexter, Cordelia is a complex and fascinating anti-hero, blending a cool, calculated mind with moments of dry humor and introspection. Her clinical approach to murder and meticulous organization make her both chilling and oddly sympathetic. Wells deftly weaves together Cordelia’s internal struggles with her increasingly risky actions, keeping readers hooked as Cordelia tries to outsmart federal agents who are closing in on her use of Bosephan to drug her victims.

Amid her secret life, Cordelia’s personal relationships add a layer of tension. Her best friend Diane introduces her to Christopher, a local cop, and Cordelia soon suspects he might be getting too close for comfort. When things begin to spiral out of control, Cordelia is forced to rethink her survival strategy, leading to a cascade of thrilling and darkly comic mishaps that will keep readers on the edge of their seats.

Wells’ writing balances gruesome action with biting wit, making THIS GIRL'S A KILLER a uniquely entertaining read. The detailed murder scenes and Cordelia’s twisted logic are not for the faint of heart, but fans of dark comedies and psychological thrillers will find this novel captivating. With its blend of suspense, humor, and moral complexity, Wells delivers a bold and memorable debut, leaving readers eager for Cordelia’s next chapter.

I love a good story of feminine rage, and god knows I support women's wrongs, but in the end I think this was a little more miss than hit with me. I think my true rating is probably more around a 3.5, but there were just too many things that niggled at me as I was reading this book to give it a higher rating. The premise is just *chef's kiss* but the execution seems more like an odd mash-up of criminal mind episodes and...dexter...maybe? I certainly wanted to see it though to the end, because I was curious to see how everything would play out. In the end I think even that let me down a little. I'm gonna try and lay it all out for you. On the surface I thought I would love Cordelia, she seems like the exact kind of character I would root for, but unfortunately she grated on me. I'm all for a stone-cold bitch character who is out to serve some just desserts, but considering she says she cares so much about her best friend she was kind of horrible to her. The only one she was really nice to in this entire book was the kid, but she just kind of vanishes from the story half way through. My biggest issue though was the fact that we're told again and again that Cordelia is meticulous and does nothing without a plan, but then 95% of the things she does in this book completely contradict this fact. The number of poor decisions she makes are mind-boggling. I'm honestly not even sure I would have been upset if she had ended up behind bars, because by god she certainly deserved it. It was through sheer dumb luck that the story had a "happy" ending. I think there were also just too many balls in the air. The whole part about her job and the medication she repped having issues was completely irrelevant, and the addition of the cop she was kind of dating added nothing. I think the ideas were there, and the skeleton of the book could have been something, but it just didn't come together for me. That doesn't seem to be the case for some other early reviewers though, so if this sounds up your alley don't hesitate to check it out. I personally won't be hand-selling this, but I do love a good female serial killer book, so I hope it does okay so that similar books get picked up in the future. I'll also be curious to see what Wells comes up with for her next book.

For a debut novel I was very impressed and am excited to read more from this author. The novel had a Dexter-like feminism feel to it and I loved the scheminess of it all.

The author did such a great job keeping me on the edge of my seat and stressing me out. Cordelia’s choices and luck in situations were making me ANXIOUS and I was so nervous for the entire second half of the book. Not many books give me such a visceral reaction of anxiety, so props to Emma C. Wells!

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The title says it all - we have a beautiful mid-thirties pharmaceutical rep who moonlights as a serial killer - or really the other way round as killing drives, motivates and satisfies Cordelia more than anything else. . And we are rooting for her? Yep, Her other love is her friend Dianne and her daughter Sam. If someone threatens her relationship with them WW3 could begin. So Dianne has a new love interest and off we go. Fun reading in the middle when life is 9ut of control. A little repetitive but a really fast read. I wanted to know if she gets away with it, you will too.

The Girl's A Killer is a wild fast paced read that had me cheering for Cordelia Black who takes it upon herself to rid the world of bad guys.

A female Dexter if you will.

By day she is a pharmacy rep (that's not going well) and by night she avenges those males that are just plain bad and prey upon women or children.

Cordelia is also quick witted, has a best friend, a god daughter and a neighbourhood dog who prefers her home to that of her neighbour.

She had me lauging, she had me cringing, she had me telling her look out ( to no avail)

When things go bad for Cordelia they really go bad and quickly.

Emma C. Wells takes the reader on a graphic but fun ( sounds strange I know ) journey that has you wanting more at the end of the book .

I hated for the book to end.

I certainly hope there is a Book 2.

Thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the privilege of reading and reviewing The Girl's a Killer.

Thank you for the advanced copy!

This is 5 stars. If I could give more, I would.

It keeps you on edge and the way things are built up is *chef's kiss*. I found myself loving the main character, despite what she was doing. The plot and the descriptions were perfect too. 100% will be recommending this.

This Girls a Killer is an incredible debut novel - really a debut ?

I lovr Cordelia Black what a great character !
Female revenge at its best ! .

This book I was addicted to I could not put down !

I knew from the first paragraph, I was going to like this book. The author’s writing immediately pulled me in & happily kept me there. It’s hard to believe such a well written novel is a debut! Cordelia is a very intriguing character, essentially a female Dexter, who gets rid of evil men. Outside of that she is organized & controlled & loves her bff & goddaughter very much. When things start slipping out of her control, things get very interesting. She has depth & complexities & is a lot of fun to follow around, even though is technically bad. The author handles the dark subject matter very adeptly, with both sensitivity & some humour.

This is a must read thriller for this fall, one of the best books I’ve read this year & an author I will be watching out for in the future.

🔪

Read if you like:
* Henry Kimball/Lily Kintner series by Harlan Coben
* For Your Own Good by Samantha Downing
* Pretty Little Wife by Darby Kane

Hard to believe there’s a sub-genre of crime novels about women who kill bad men as an avocation, but I think this is the fourth or fifth that I’ve read in the last couple of years. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. There are plenty of men whose permanent absence would benefit the world, and here is Cordelia Black to contribute to the cause, when she’s not too busy with her pharmaceutical rep job and spending time with her best friend Diane and Diane’s daughter Samantha, who is also Cordelia’s goddaughter.

Right from the get-go, our main character, Cordelia, lets us know she spends her spare time killing bad men. It’s a little hard to believe, not because it’s hard to believe there would be a badass female avenger sort of person, but because Cordelia is always running late, running into problems, or just plain screwing up. In her interior monologue, she sees herself as the great Cordelia, the ultra-organized and planned-to-the-Nth-degree person, but that’s out of sync with her actual persona. Things go wrong in obvious ways—once several at the same time—and she somehow hasn’t anticipated the problems, so she runs around like a crazy person trying to keep everything from blowing up. Maybe the author intends for us to notice the divide between how Cordelia sees herself and how she really is, but it didn’t feel that way as I was reading.

I had a few other problems with the book. I think it would have helped if the book included Cordelia’s origin story more and not saved it for a little bit of info near the end. It also seemed a bit too much to me the way the book described Cordelia’s enjoyment of torturing her victims and then using their blood in paintings. (Also, it seems awfully stupid to keep victim DNA around.) Cordelia herself seems obsessive and overly possessive about her “found family” of Diane and Samantha; like to the point where I almost wondered if the book would have a big twist of Cordelia eliminating anybody else who tried to get close to them.

The book has some fun moments, but there was just too much inconsistency for me in the way Cordelia sees herself and the way the plot plays out.

I really enjoyed this book. Cordelia Black was just a great character. A dark story of murder and a serial killer mixed with humour. How can you go wrong. A strong female character who I found enjoyable. Come on who wouldn’t wanna be here.
I enjoyed the strong female lead who no matter what is going wrong in her life she keeps her head up and trudges forward. There were a few missing pieces that I wish they would have at least tied up but all in all good story.
I highly recommend this to someone who’s looking for a bit of a thriller with a lot of comedy mixed in.

Thank you to NetGalley, Emma C. Wells, Poisoned Pen Press, for this arc of This Girl’s A Killer, out October 29, 2024.

📜Quick Summary: Cordelia can be a sweetheart…to the right person. Cordelia loves her best friend and step daughter but despises people who prey on others. To those unlucky few, she hunts them down and kills them. During the day, she has everything put together… she always has a plan. As a pharmaceutical rep, she’s put together but at night, that’s when her other side comes out. When a string of events causes her to lose control, Cordelia finds herself spiraling (me too!) and she has to work quickly to keep her small knit world together.

❣️Initial Feels: Cordelia is a unique leading character! I love that her family is her best friend and goddaughter, and she is comfortable with that. She doesn’t “need” anything else. This is what makes her strong, but also weak as her goal is to keep them safe. I like the banter and the dark humor, even sprinkled in by her goddaughter “Sugar” herself.

👀Trigger Warnings: murder, dismemberment

🙋🏼‍♀️Moving Character: Although it seems clear that Cordelia should be the star of the show, I have to hand this off to Mango, the devil dog next door. Lots of nerves were around when it came to Mango’s well being!

📖Read if you want: fast paced thriller, ludacris situations, dark humor, strong female friendships

💡Final Sentiments: Overall this was a good thriller! I enjoyed Cordelia’s character, even though at times I didn’t know if she was a hero or a villain. The lines blended well, which I think was done by the author on purpose. I wish there were more flashbacks or stories given about her as a child and her upbringing. (It was mentioned quickly a few times, but to get to really know her and her motives, I think this would have been helpful in her development.) There were many moments where my heart was racing for her, and even though it was a thriller, I found it humorous at times. It was also left open ended, so maybe another book!?

🌟Overall Rating: 3.75 stars


This novel was provided by the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 stars! I am a sucker for an eye-catching cover and this one fit the bill. It started out so good but somewhere along the way, parts of the storyline got a little improbable and were hard to ignore. That being said, I still really enjoyed it! If a book about a female Dexter sounds intriguing, you’re not going to want to miss this one. Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review – pub day is 10/29/24!

Cordelia Black is a fashionable pharmacy rep and also a serial killer of very bad men. I thought her character was interesting and unique, not your typical serial killer. The storyline was somewhat predictable with some mild suspense. Overall a quick read.

A female serial killer, who kills creeps, what more can you say? I loved the concept, and the way Cordelia Black watched her prey and knew when to strike. Such a clever story! Thanks #netgalley for the opportunity to read this incredible thriller by #emmacwells

I read this book in a single sitting on a recent flight and it was a perfect, edge of my seat romp. We follow the exploits of Cordelia, a pharmaceutical sales rep by day, Dexter-style serial killer by night. She has a best friend and goddaughter and the new boyfriend in their lives makes things complicated, because of course he does. Add in a blind date with a cop, a dog who keeps escaping her owner to hideout in Cordelia's house, and a possible lawsuit looming over the drug Cordelia has been peddling (and using to knock out her victims)... and trouble is afoot. Cordelia's backstory and her motivations and rules for choosing her victims makes her as relatable as a serial killer as possible -- I mean I was definitely on her side. Plenty of twists and turns, this was a super satisfying debut that I would recommend to fans of They Never Learn and Dexter.

Cordelia Black is a bad ass! She has gone through a lot of childhood trauma and risen above it to become a successful pharmaceutical rep. She is fiercely loyal to her best friend Diane and her god daughter. Cordelia Black enjoys stalking, killing and seeking justice for female victims. She has an uncanny ability of finding monsters and taking care of the problem if you know what I mean.

I enjoyed this book and look forward to what will surely turn into a series. I can definitely see this as a great Netflix show as well. It has the vibe of Finlay Donovan meets the show Dead To Me. At times it’s funny and other times it borders on ridiculous. It’s for people that love a book about friendships, a strong female protagonist and don’t take serial killing too serious.

A huge thanks to netgalley for an early copy of this book.

This Girl’s a Killer is a story of Cordelia Black - a successful Pharma rep by day and a man killer by night. Both aspects of her life start spiralling when the drug she sells is being pulled from the market due to side effects and the growing number of missing men raises suspicion of a serial killer being in town. On top of that, her best friend Diane, who is basically her only family, starts dating a guy that sets off her alarm bells immediately. Is she going to have to kill him too?

One thing about me - I LOVE stories about unhinged women, women who kill and female rage in general. The premise for this book is great but in the end there were things I enjoyed and things I hated. I think if you go into this without expecting some deep and compelling thriller, but rather a quick and fun read, you can enjoy it.
It’s fast-paced and really does grip your attention, but it’s also completely predictable, and even a bit ridiculous at times. I liked the idea and the writing but in order to enjoy it, I had to shut off the part of my brain that was whispering “well now that’s just completely ridiculous”.

What annoyed me the most if the fact that Cordelia is supposed to be this smart, meticulous woman (and believe me, she says so herself in this book about 150 times), but she does the DUMBEST shit.
For instance, she’s in disguise on a “date” with a guy she’s planning to kill, yet she still wears her very recognisable friendship bracelet. She then runs into Simon (her best friends boyfriend), has a chat with him, he POINTS to the bracelet and says it looks familiar, so what does she do? HOPES he didn’t recognise her and goes on with the killing. THEN doesn’t even notice that he followed her and saw everything.. AND THEN on top of that, she’s SHOCKED that he recognised her, where all she did is some make up and hair change. Miss girl what in the Supergirl were you thinking?
On top of that - she never even takes off the bracelet while doing the killing and disposing of the body! What do you think happens next? Surprise, surprise, she ends up losing it. If only there was a way to avoid it!

There were hundreds of moments where I wanted to scream in frustration. She just kept making the stupidest mistakes, ona after another, all while going off about how she’s always scrupulous. I understand that her life was falling apart and she was supposed to be out of control, but with the way she was behaving she would’ve been caught after the first kill.

All in all, it's not some shocking, incredible thriller, but a fun little book about a girl who kills bad men, which is something I can always enjoy. Could be better but I can appreciate it for what it is.

Dexter meets The Devil Wears Prada, entertaining and clever. I enjoyed this one! It will be perfect for those who don't love heavy body horror and still want relationship elements in their thrillers. The ride or die friendship and loyalty between Cordelia and Diane is, honestly, enviable. I liked the Dexter-esque morality of Cordelia's pursuits and her protection of those she loves. This story managed to remain hopeful, light, and often humorous while embracing the female rage space.

I would give this 3.75 rounded up to 4 stars and think it would be a perfect read for those new to the thriller/horror space. The only thing that held me back from a higher rating on this one is that I didn't feel fully invested or connected to the characters in the story. But, I also think that is, in part, because we really only know them in a one or two dimensional way. It's hard to imagine this is a debut, it is just as if not more successful than many other far more seasoned author's offerings in this genre in recent months. I will look for more from Emma Wells in the future.