Skip to main content

Member Reviews

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.

Connect with me for more reviews and content:
https://linktr.ee/bookreviewsbyjules
(includes links to my Instagram, Goodreads, TikTok, Storygraph, blog, and Substack newsletter)
If you're an author or publisher with questions about my reviews, stats, reach, or engagement, feel free to email me. I'm also open to book review requests. Thank you for taking the time to read my review, and I hope you have a wonderful day!

Was this review helpful?

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. I really enjoyed the audiobook, very easy and entertaining.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Was this review helpful?

Ah, Cordelia...the woman of my rage-filled dreams, the woman we all aspire to be...
Oops, I forget to thank the author and the publisher for this arc! I loved listening to this book from beginning to end. Cordelia, as you can guess, is a total bad b*tch and although I don't want to give anything at all away, I very much enjoyed following her line of work throughout the book.
This is such an etnertaining written ode to "Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?" in all of the gruesome and fantastic ways...
5 stars!

Was this review helpful?

Thank you netGalley and Dreamscape Media for allowing me access to this ALC in exchange of my honest opinion!
This Girl's a Killer by Emma C. Wells will be released Oct 29.
Cordelia Black is a pharmaceutical rep by day and a vigilante by night, targeting corrupt men who think they've escaped justice. She sees herself as karma, not a serial killer, and carefully controls her secret life in South Louisiana. However, her system falters, and her best friend begins dating a man who raises Cordelia's suspicions. As the pressure mounts, Cordelia's double life starts to unravel. Now, she must confront the consequences of her actions to protect her chosen family and her freedom.
Unfortunately I did not understand the obsession Cordelia had with her best friend. For me it was too much and so all hr actions were not justified. I do love a good vigilante, especially a woman killing bad men, I've read a lot of books with this theme but I didn't vibe with this one.
As for the narrator, I like her voice and I understood when she changed characters!

Was this review helpful?

Cordelia Black is a successful pharmaceutical rep by day, but by night she takes on a vigilante role, targeting bad men in South Louisiana. She values her chosen family, her hairdresser, and her mission to rid the area of criminals. However, when the media starts calling her a serial killer and her friend begins dating someone who may threaten her secret life, Cordelia's world starts to unravel.

This was a comical take on a female serial killer. I found myself chuckling a few times while reading! It's like a mix of Dexter and Daredevil, creating a unique and intriguing story.

The book was exceptionally well-written, making it difficult for me to put it down. It's the kind of book that you'll want to binge-read, despite the messy situations that arise. I often found myself wondering, "What now?"

The characters are deeply flawed, and the story is filled with bad coincidences. However, the plot keeps you engaged, leaving you on the edge of your seat to see what happens next.

The narrator did an excellent job of keeping me engaged and on the edge of my seat. Their performance was captivating and truly enhanced the overall experience. The choice of narrator was spot on.

If you enjoy a humorous take on a serial killer with a moral code, this book is perfect for you. I highly recommend giving it a read.

Thank you, Dreamscape Media for audio ARC copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
I LOVED this book. It was funny and witty and had some mystery and surprises thrown in. I loved the main character and the crazy adventures she got herself in. Such a fun book.

Was this review helpful?

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 :)

Was this review helpful?

˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗ 3.75 𝕊𝕥𝕒𝕣𝕤 ℝ𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕕 𝕌𝕡 ˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗

This was so much fun! If you enjoy 'likable' serial killers such as Dexter Morgan, Joe Goldberg and the FMC from the Mindfuck series - I think it's a safe bet that you'll like this one.

Cordelia, our FMC is a successful pharmaceutical rep with a designer wardrobe and a sharp witted and sassy personality who happens to be on her own Me Too mission. Often letting her dark passenger out to play...

She is fiercely loyal to her best friend Diane, a single mother who has terrible taste in men. When she meets Diane’s latest, her spidey-sense tells her he is bad news but she tries to be fair…until she can’t. After all, she’s a serial killer.

Honestly, this couldn't have hit my inbox at a better time. Recently and totally by chance, I started doing a re-watch of Dexter - it's been a while and I've forgotten so much that it's like watching it for the first time again. He's such a freaking loveable 'villain' and I think Cordelia is almost just as fantastic as Dexter.

This one will have you 'good for you girling', fist pumping and rooting for the serial killer. Highly entertaining and super addictive from the first page! Definitely recommend if you're looking for something quick and fun with a fantastically unhinged vigilante FMC on a mission to make bad men pay. 👀🔪🎃

The pacing was great, the writing was solid. The title and the cover are perfect! Love, love, love!

╰⪼ 🩸Found Family
╰⪼ 🔪Female Rage
╰⪼ 😎Sassy Serial Killer
╰⪼ 🩸Morally Grey FMC
╰⪼ 🔪Dark Humor

Also, if you enjoy audiobooks - this one is expertly done! The narrator, Stefanie Kay really brought Cordelia and the story to life! Chef's kiss! Mwah! 👩‍🍳💋

This was a tad bit repetitive in some areas, but nothing that hindered my reading enjoyment.

✨ Many thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the advanced audio copy - all thoughts are my own. ✨

Was this review helpful?

Cordelia “not Renee” Black is a pharmaceutical rep selling an off label erectional disfunction medication with a dark secret. Her ‘other job’ (as she refers to it) is killing bad men. Beautiful, intelligent, with a dark sense of justice, she seeks to extinguish men in Louisiana that are evil and dangerous.

Cordelia finds these men in all areas of her life, even through her dating app set up at the urging of her chosen family, her best friend Diane and Diane’s daughter goddaughter Sugar. The men she meets are all over the scale of terms of demeanor and sanity, each one threatening to topple her carefully created life and image. To top it all off, she is dating a cop. Things are getting crazier and crazier in her life.

This was my first NetGalley audiobook but it won’t be my last. I loved the voice and cadence of the narrator, melodical and soothing.

If you think the plot sounds like a female Dexter, you wouldn’t be wrong, but that did nothing to diminish my enjoyment of the story.

My only complaint was the way the narrator voices Diane. It is meant to be extremely sweet, I found it over-the-top and quite grating. Though, ultimately, the story made up for it by being engaging and very entertaining.

I received this advance audio copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review and feedback.

Was this review helpful?

Cordelia Black...if I had to know a repetitive killer, it would be her. I say "repetitive killer", because she's not your typical serial killer. I won't say much about her motivations, in order to keep my review spoiler free, but Cordelia has a big heart, she is deeply loyal to her best friend and goddaughter, and she's a dog lover (although it takes her a while to realize it). Is she a killer? Yes. Did I root for her? Also yes. I love this fun, witty thriller, all the way to the final words..."the end".

Was this review helpful?

I have not read either of the books to which the description of this story compares. However, I will say, that this is giving female Dexter vibes, but with a bit more style. Cordelia is a pharmaceutical rep with a traumatic upbringing, she loves designer labels, looking good, and sticking to her schedule. She also loves to kill the bad men she comes across. Not just your general cheat or scumbag, but men who are SA who haven't been caught, murderers, and the like. The true scumbags of the world. Everything is going great for Cordelia until everything in her life starts falling apart. Her best friend starts dating a guy that Cordelia just knows is a bad man, Cordelia's job is at risk, and there is a rumor of a serial killer out offing the men in the Baton Rouge area. If something goes wrong it will.

Cordelia is a fun character, I don't know how much I actually like her, but I do like her loyalty to her best friend and goddaughter, and also to the moral code that she has set up for herself. For someone as meticulous and controlled as she makes herself seem, she seems more like a barely controlled chaos. There were some threads that I would like to have trimmed up. Like Cordelia's art, in the beginning, her art pieces were pivotal, something that helped calm and soothe her, but also part of a routine. We see this mentioned a few times, then it is all but forgotten. I would have also liked to see the loose end of Cordelia's, "Mc Smiley". They kissed and then never talked again? He was also a character that seemed as if he'd be important. That seemed like a lot of negative. It really is all the negative there is in the story, if you even see that as bad. There was so much situational humor, and stress where you just know that Cordelia is going to get caught in her schemes, where you know that she is going to snap. Every situation just amps up the stakes and throw in a rambunctious poodle and a nosy neighbor and the stakes just go a bit higher. With that being said, the overall story was compelling, entertaining, and full of humor with a little bit of gore thrown in. A perfect cozy thriller!

Was this review helpful?

5 ☆
-
5 ☆ if I could give this book MORE I would. I enjoyed this story from start to finish, and honestly I agree with and approve of what the main character is doing. Sometimes bad people don't deserve jail but something worse.
The audiobook was great, the narrator did a good job. Easy to listen to and understand, I will definitely be buying this book when it's released.
-
Thank you, Netgellay, and Dreamscape Media for the audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an audio copy to listen to in exchange for an honest review.

I binged this in a day. It's dark humor and oh so good. A bit like Finlay Donovan but darker. I'd liken it more to My Sister, the Serial Killer. I would totally recommend it if you like dark humor and don't mind some graphic scenes/violence on the page.

Was this review helpful?

This story was so easy to love! The main character, Cordelia, is a vigilante man eater. After a dark upbringing, she finds comfort in her new family (bestie and her daughter) and protecting them from any wayward men that could cause them harm. The easy to love MC is very relatable- aside from her serial killer ways!

Then everything starts spiraling out of control. Cordelia has a series of events that bring her closer than ever to being caught and even worse- it’ll affect her family. The story runs so smoothly, pacing is on point and brings about suspense, and the ending was so satisfying!! Must read!

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this ALC!

Was this review helpful?

I had a lot of fun with this book. The narrator was fantastic and truly immersed me into the world of Cordelia. I do think there were slight pacing issues in the middle but ultimately was on team Cordelia throughout the novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape media for an ARC of this book.

Was this review helpful?

Wells creates that most unusual of creatures, a female serial killer. During the day, Cordelia is an upstanding, well respected pharmaceutical rep, but at night, she becomes a hunter. She’s meting out justice, one murder at a time as she removes the misogynists, sexual predators and worse, from the streets. What she’s doing is handing out justice, one man at a time. Then one day she encounters a man who ticks all her boxes, but she’s hesitant to kill him. Is he really as bad as all that? Has her murder rubric failed? A serial killer with an existential crisis? Tremendous fun, highly recommended

Was this review helpful?

2.5⭐️
Uggh, I wanted to like this book! I was so intrigued when I requested the audio ALC and the cover drew me in. I am thankful to have gotten the audio ALC for free from Netgalley and Dreamscape so I can leave my voluntary review.

However, I probably would have DNF’d had it not been an ALC.

First the narration… it was insufferable. The way it was read was cheesy many times and made the FMC Cordelia sound like she was a teen. Some of that was the prose but it’s the way the narrator chose to recite it.
I ended up speeding it up as fast as I could to be able to deal with it.

As far as the book itself… it was very repetitive. If I heard the dog Mangos name one my time in the sections about her I would have screamed. It also had a much of continuity issues. The editing left a lot to be desired.

What it reminded me of? That the author read Butcher and Blackburn and said “oh people like female serial killers, let me take a stab at it.” But then after it got written the publisher rushed to get it out to capitalize on the comedic serial killer error. Fine idea but it just wasn’t executed well.

So the story itself has potential but the execution just wasn’t there and then made worse with the narration.


My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars and I rarely round up.

⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again

Was this review helpful?

I absolutely loved this book. A "good for her" book with a thrilling ride that had you rooting for her the whole book. A satisfying ending after a rollercoaster of a ride. It was incredibly realistic and you really wanted to empathesize with the protagonist. For all of the trauma Cordelia experiences she channels it in a very risky but satisfying way.

Was this review helpful?

Cordelia is a successful pharmaceutical rep with a designer wardrobe and a #MeToo mission. She is fiercely loyal to her bestie Diane, a single mother who has terrible taste in men. When she meets Diane’s latest, her spidey-sense tells her he is bad news but she tries to be fair…until she can’t. After all, she’s a serial killer.
I didn’t love all the designer name dropping or that she and Diane are described as each others’ “ride or die” three times (we get it). Cordelia is very tightly wound and exacting, yet she makes a series of unbelievably sloppy choices that seem way out of character. Yet despite these niggles, the writing (and narration of the audiobook) are entertaining. 3.5 stars rounded up. My thanks to the author, publisher, producer, and #NetGalley for early access to the audiobook for review purposes. Publication date: October 29, 2024.
Suspend belief and enjoy the twisty ride on this one.

Was this review helpful?

I’m sadly very let down by this one. It had such a promising premise but I was just not impressed. Thank you for the chance to listen.

Was this review helpful?