I love the recent trend for female fronted serial killer stories. A previous job of mine involved getting to know the stories of serial killers very well, my computer search history was atrocious because of this. One of the biggest reveals me during this time was that female serial killers were rare, and when they did happen it was usually as a reaction to life experiences such as male violence and neglect. More often than not female serial killers also tend to poison victims.

So the premise of this book drew me in, a woman fleeing a violent relationship, a support group for those like her, but they’re taking justice into their own hands. Except I found the pacing slow. The book was set up like the fact the support group were killing people off was some big reveal in the middle when we clearly already know that from the title and the blurb. It took until half way through to get to that point which I found frustrating.

Now don’t get me wrong the book is well written, the characters are well developed, but it’s written in a way that makes you feel like you should be guessing who’s doing the killing when you already know.

Despite being a decent story I think it could do with a retitle and a new blurb to hide the main plot point and actually make it a big reveal for the reader. It would improve the reading experience a lot.

If you’re into the female justice genre this is still worth a read, it just won’t have many surprises.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Jess has finally had enough of her abusive boyfriend Lewis. She makes the first step to leaving an abusive relationship and admits she's in danger. This leads Jess to realizing Lewis has pushed her from everyone she loved just when she needs someone the most. Jess ends up at a support group for woman of abuse where she meets woman like her and finds a great support system. However, someone is killing the abusers of the woman of the support group and the group is at the center.

The story is part wholesome with Jess getting her life back and making unbreakable bonds with the other people at the support group. The other is a murder mystery as you try to find out who the Caretaker is and whether he is a villain or a hero?

As someone who enjoys to piece together mysteries and try to solve it before the book is finished, I got a little upset when I couldn’t guess it because you are misled in a way. Never the less, this was a great mystery thriller. Who can resist a book with a title like that? Clearly not me lol. I think one of the main things I didn’t care for too much in this book was that towards the end I felt like everything was moving too quickly and I didn’t really have the chance to be on the edge of my seat if that makes sense. However, throughout the rest of the book, I think it was great work.

With a title like this, how can people not want to pick up this book?

The Serial Killer Support Group follows women who have been victims of domestic abuse. The group gives the women comfort in sharing their stories as most have been failed by the justice system.
It appears that someone is targeting the men who have harmed the women in the group.

I loved the twists and turns of this book. Although it was a bit slow at times it is a fast paced book about revenge.

DB Stephens’ The Serial Killer Support Group rests on a brilliant, witty premise that hinges on the Millian utilitarian J.S. question: can murder ever serve the greater good? CrimeCom continues to win me over (see my post on How to Kill Your Family by Bella Mackie), and DB Stephens’ The Serial Killer Support Group only cements the genre’s appeal.

In a world where the “court of public opinion” holds sway and Luigi Mangione (the prime suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson) is hailed a hero are a group of domestic abuse survivors to be blamed?

The final chapters reveal hidden alliances and challenge our sympathies in unexpected ways. In the end, we’re left questioning not only the deciding factor of these survivors-turned-vigilantes but also our own boundaries of right and wrong.


I do wish each individual characters’ personalities and physical attributes were fleshed out more as sometimes it felt hard to picture them. This was most certainly more of a plot-driven story. Still, the story’s momentum never falters, and with the promise of a sequel on the horizon, I’m eager to see where Stephens takes these morally complex characters next. I am excited to pick up the story where it left off!

Thank you to NetGalley and ONE MORE CHAPTER for an ARC of The Serial Killer Support Group by DB Stephens.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

A support group meets and then the therapist leaves. These members are able to connect in wildly adventurous and thrilling ways. Good read!

When Jess Pendle agrees to attend a support group aimed at helping like minded people, she gets more than therapy.
This was a wonderfully conceived tale of vengeance. It was full of twists and suspense. Complete with fabulous female leads, it was an excellent read.

A bit repetitive but still very good! I enjoyed myself very much while reading this. I enjoyed the characters and the plot is well planned.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I couldn’t finish this one yet, life got in the way and I lost the vibe for it - but I plan to come back to it later on!

There were lots of twists and turns in this, it kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. I really enjoyed this story

3.5 ⭐️ rounded up

After Jess Pendle is assaulted by her boyfriend on NYE and ends up in the ER, she finally decides to press charges. She is given a card for a support group for women who’ve experienced domestic violence. But what she finds is more than just shared stories—she discovers a powerful circle of women who support one another in unexpected ways.

I appreciated that the women weren’t portrayed as meek—they were determined to reclaim control of their lives. I also enjoyed the dynamic within the support group, but I wish the other women had been more fully developed. It would’ve been nice to get to know each of them better as individuals. I also appreciated the thought-provoking questions the story raised—like what truly makes someone a hero, and whether vigilante justice can be justified when it feels deserved and has the potential to protect others.

As the characters try to uncover the identity of The Caretaker, the person responsible for murdering the exes of the women, the reader is somewhat misled, which may feel unfair to those who enjoy piecing together the mystery themselves. It's difficult to explain further without giving away spoilers. Overall it was a good story, but the synopsis and the title reveal to much of the plot, which takes away from the suspense and lessens the overall thrill of the story. That cliffhanger ending leads me to believe there will be a book 2.

I thoroughly enjoyed this. There are definitely trigger warnings for anyone wanting to read.

The author does a delicate job walking us through what DV looks like to different people and I liked the fact that they showed it doesn’t only happen to women.

We follow our fmc Jess, who has been with her partner Lewis for a while. One evening changes it all and Jess decides to tell the nurses that she is being abused and needs help. She then joins the support group, full of women who have experienced similar things to Jess.

The support group is great for Jess and she starts to regain her confidence again. That is until the partners of those in the group start dying, one by one.

Whilst I didn’t guess the plot in the beginning as we neared it I thought that was the case and gasped when I was right lol.

I enjoyed The blossoming friendship (can we call it that!?) between DC Salaam and Jess. And enjoyed the friendships that Jess formed by going to the group.

I would recommend this book.

The Serial Killer Support Group by D.B. Stephens  is the first in a series about a Woman's support group and the detective who thinks they are responsible for some deaths.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Harper Collins, One More Chapter, and the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.


My Synopsis:    (No major reveals, but if concerned, skip to My Opinions)
Jess Pendle is a carer for children with special needs. 

Lewis, her partner, has been abusing Jess for years.  She knows that if she doesn't do something soon, he's going to kill her at some point.  She is handed a pamphlet about a support group when she finally reports Lewis to the police.  It seems to do no good.  He was just warned to stay away.  He did not, and the police officer who visits after another call from Jess, seems to think Jess is encouraging Lewis.  

The support group that Jess attends consists of other women who have lived through physical and emotional abuse, some worse than Jess.  The police force cannot or will not do anything. When a second of the groups abusive partner's is killed, Jess silently, and then not so silently admits that someone should kill Lewis.

That is when a few of the members let her know that there may be a way to get some retribution of her own.

Meanwhile, Detective Sophie Salam, mother of a special needs child, meets Jess in a restaurant, where her daughter Lottie, is having a tantrum.  Jess goes over and gives Sophie a couple of tips that immediately silence the little girl.  Sophie and Jess bond over this encounter.

But that's before the police start investigating the "Caretaker" murders.  Sophie knows that Jess is hiding something.

 

My Opinions:
First, DB Stephens and Darren O'Sullivan are the same man....which explains why the blurb was so appreciative of O'Sullivan's book, and yet the book is written by Stephens.  Whew!

Next, this was a fast and entertaining read.  The plot was good and the characters engaging. 

I'm really hoping that the police are doing more than they were doing in this book for abused women (and men) in society today.   I liked how the book looked at how far some will go to escape their abusers, and at the end it showed how widespread this problem is.  The idea of revenge is interesting.  Yes, occasionally it was a little far-fetched, but it's fiction, and I enjoyed it.

I actually liked how the book foreshadowed up-coming books....especially since I was not aware that this was the first in a series.  I really wish publishers would tell you up front when you are about to commit to reading more than one book!

I do, however, recommend this.  It was really well done, with good characters, and a good pace.  I, for one, look forward to the next book

The first half of the book was slightly slow and repetitive BUT still intrigued me to continue. When you hit the twist in the middle it flies until the end! Overall a great book to read with a unique plot.

This was a good read and a strong look at how the police fail a lot of DV survivors. The plot follow from three different characters which I found good. Overall a good start to what maybe a great series

I absolutely loved this book and can't wait for more as it ended on a cliff hanger so surely is a series.

It was a lot more gory and deeper than the blurb and title suggest. I thought it was going to be a cosy murder mystery and was much more than that. Even though it was obvious from the blurb and title! What was going to happen and who the care taker would be I loved the unfolding of it and the different points if view

Thank you for the arc

Thank you netgalley for the chance to read this!
I love thrillers but I typically don't read ones like this: a woman, suffering from domestic abuse, finds a group of supportive women that she can lean on in times of need. However, a serial killer is slowly taking out the abusers of their group, questioning the fine line between morality and justice.
This takes a ton of twists and turns: some very obvious, some a bit more surprising. There is no good way to review this and not give those up. But I really enjoyed it. A few times it was quite graphic and the content is really strong, but it really worked within the content of the story.
There is also a side story of a police officer with a young autistic daughter and I thought that was a nice touch: I wanted MORE from this side story, but it did really humanize the police officers.
I thought the ending was really ambiguous and I kind of liked that? Sometimes thrillers wrap themselves up really well with a clear 'who dun it' ending, and this just isn't that. It gives the reader a bit of something to chew on, and that questioning is a great way for a story to end.

OK this title had me hooked and I did enjoy this book. I did feel like that the story fell flat in some areas, but I was intrigued throughout the book and didn't want to stop reading. Thank you NetGalley for my ARC!

𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐲𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐲𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐠𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐝. 𝐅*𝐜𝐤 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐲.

If it's a thriller about a serial killer, I'm going to read it. Jess Pendle arrives at the hospital one New Year's Eve accompanied by her partner Lewis, who shows care and concern to his injured girlfriend in front of the hospital staff. They have no idea that Lewis made Jess relentlessly practice her cover story on the drive there. A fall down the stairs thanks to an errant laundry basket? Jess received the injuries to her face not by an inanimate object but at the hands of the main who claimed to love her.

After confiding in a compassionate doctor, Jess is given information about a domestic violence support group, and after some trepidation, she attends. She finds solidarity, sisterhood, and a serial killer. That's right, someone calling himself The Caretaker is systematically hunting down the men who harmed the women who are part of this group because sometimes the police just can't help, and karma needs a little help getting started.

The topic of domestic violence can be triggering for some, but I found no prolonged or lengthy descriptions that were overly graphic. The narrative shifts from Jess, The unnamed Caretaker, and Detective Salam, the female detective investigating the murders. I would love for this to be the start of a series, but if not, this was completely satisfying as a standalone thriller.

Many thanks to NetGalley and One More Chapter for the complimentary copy. This book published May 8, 2025.

The Serial Killer Support Group by D B Stephens

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A gripping read! 5 stars for the plot and delivery of this story. Jess has decided to finally leave her abusive boyfriend when she comes across a support group for survivors. What she finds saves her life and ends others.

I thought this was a fantastic read. A group of women taking matters into their own hands