Thank you to the Tam Barnett and Boldwood Books for letting me read this ARC via NetGalley.

Genre: Mystery Thriller
Vibes: 🔪🔪🔪🤔
Rating: 3 ⭐
Tropes: serial killers / dark and twisty / phycological analyzing / family drama / secret identity

Was initially interested in this title because I am a big Criminal Minds fan but was disappointed with how slowly the book started off. It didn’t get interesting until about 60% of the way through. I typically would have DNF’d a book by that point but I am glad I held on because the ending was fairly satisfying.

The epilogue left me wanting more, didn’t really tie up the loose ends I was hoping for (Emy/Chi confrontation?)

I will say that it was definitely nothing more than average for me. Episodes of Criminal Minds are better.

First of all I would like to say thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This genre of book seems to be my go to at the moment and this book did not disappoint. I was hooked from the very start and read it so quickly I was annoyed that I finished it so soon! I have read some other books by Tam Barnett and am now a solid fan of her writing.

It is a cat and mouse mystery with a well laid out story, it is dark but also has some humour which helps to lighten the load. The characters are all well written and can see where inspiration from some films and books have come from to develop the characters.

This was by far the easiest 5star I have given a book this year! I love how to get away with murder but this was a whole new level of genius!

The author is such a lovely guy and what an absolute talent! Tam is now up there with my all time fav thriller writers of all time!

The characters were fab! The twists were fab! I’m a sucker for anything set in a prison anyway so you had me the minute I knew it was set there! The humour with this author is always such a fab and on point factor to this writing!

I have absolutely nothing negative to say about this book! Well written! Page turner! Likeable characters! Great level of description without over doing it! Humour on point! I just loved it! Absolutely brilliant!

Thank you to Netgalley and Author Tam Barnett for giving me an advanced e-copy of this work!

Oh my god. What an emotional rollercoaster of a book! As a girlie who read The Naturals within 24 hours, it was meant to be! It has been a while since I have felt the urge to continue reading, so thank you for this palate cleanser!

Dr Emy Rose is a psychologist who opened "The Hive" to speak to, possibly break the mind of serial killers with bodies yet to be found. When asked, this place is created to help families get closure by finding their beloved members remains. However, there is one family that took it further than the others to find answers.

From the beginning, I was immediately introduced to multiple main characters in this story, and they were easy to understand, feel and connect with. The story began at a natural point and was "show, don't tell" in a way where no detail was missed by the reader. Overall, this was a 10/10 experience and will receive full score!

I absolutely adored How to Read a Killer’s Mind by Tam Barnett.

The novel follows Dr Emy Rose working at a new institution where she tries to get convinced mirders to admit where they have buried the bodies. Although this is her passion and field of work, she has another motive - well, you’ll have to read it to find out.

The characters were complex and the cases harrowing. I hope a second book is on the way because I need to see more of Dr Emy Rose.

I have been in such a rom-com mood lately that I almost worried this book just wouldn’t keep me interested. Wellll, I could not have been more wrong. This book had a grip on me from start to finish (which was like a day because I couldn’t put it down!) Maybe I'm inspired by the book to be dark and dramatic, but if you don't read this book, you might be sad for the rest of your life.

Thank you to Net Galley, Boldwood Books, and Tam Barnett for an ARC of this book.

hank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Boldwood Books, for an ARC. The review is my own.

I had a hard time with the first few chapters, but once I was past chapter 5 I was intrigued. This is a book that I felt had some fluff in it; and could have been shorter.
I did enjoy this book, especially the last half. It kept me glued and I just had to know how Emy the psychologist was going to get out of these killers. I felt for her as a character and the author was amazing at getting emotion out- I felt angry and sad and then elated. Overall, I would recommend this book- it was one that I couldn’t quite figure out where it was going and how they all tied into one another until the last 75%. For those who are into crime, check this one out.

I found this one really hard to get into, the start was slow and while it kept good momentum, it was felt like it took quite a while to get into anything substantial. However the last 20% of the book really shone, and ended on a fantastic note which really made it feel generally like a fantastic book.

Thank you to Tam Barnett for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is the perfect thriller. From start to finish, this book is well paced with twists and tums in all the right places. The concept itself is not one I have come across before and instantly it had me hooked.

With a heavy dose of emotion- and not just suspense - this book will keep any reader on their toes.

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

Not quite a 4 star but still a good read.

This is a good story with interesting characters. I enjoyed the setting and I felt that the interactions between Emy and the prisoners seemed realistic and although all the crimes were murder, they were not similar. It was clever, if perhaps unfair, of the author to emphasise how botched the Elkins investigation was because surely the police would have followed the line of enquiry that Emy discovers near the end of the book. I suspected quite early on what had happened.

From about 85% onwards the story gets quite exciting and I felt real tension related to the road trip. I would say, however, that there are a lot of long descriptions in the book - for instance it takes 41 words to say "Mum cries" and lines and lines about Emy getting up one morning. I don't know if this was intended to build up tension but I thought it was a bit annoying, almost as if some creative writing set pieces had been added to the story. I think it could have been a shorter book and still been good.

I was a bit surprised by one or two of the similes - "like a Catholic on the rack", for example to describe Emy stratching in bed. I thought that was a bit off.

By and large, a good read and I would read the author's other books.

Wow, wow, wow!!
I am writing this at 2am because I actually couldn’t put this book down! Like I picked it up at about 25% through at 9pm and next thing I know it’s way past my bedtime and the book is done!
I can’t get over how well thought through this story was, how many unexpected things kept cropping up, how many twists and turns and how brilliant Tam’s mind is to write something like this.
The storyline is one of the most captivating things I think I’ve read. Serial killers are such a interesting subject to me (former criminology student) and especially trying to figure out how their minds work, it’s always been fascinating and something I just want to know more about and to read a book not only based on that knowledge but from a victims family’s perspective. I know it’s fiction but it’s still so interesting and the research that would have gone into this is insane. We all know by now I never read the back of books I go in blind I pick books based on the title and cover so I never know what I’m getting but with this I’m so glad I chose it!

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Release Date - 7th April 2025

DNF @34%

I thought this was going to be more fun and entertaining, than dark and serious. So it's my own fault that I didn't like this.

I loved this first book so I was very excited for this, I love the humour mixed with the darkness, great read overall.

How to Read a Killer's Mind is the second book I have read by Tam Barnett and I have to say i am now a fan of his twisty, dark and humorous books. I loved the premise of this one. We have psychologist Dr Emy Rose, (not her real name) who works with serial killers. It is her job to get these individuals to reveal where their victims' bodies are buried. Now things are not quite as they seem because Emy has her own personal agenda. There is one serial killer in particular that Emy wants to "get into his mind." Emy's sessions with the serial killers and how she relates to them are well done.

Emy does some things that are atypical of her position as a psychologist. She is at times not a very likeable character. I did like her relationship with her mother. The author keeps the reader wanting more as each chapter ends with a cliffhanger. I binged this book, I was so caught up with the twists and turns the storyline took me get to the conclusion. I especially enjoyed the Epilogue. I look forward to the next book by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Boldwood Books, for an ARC. The review is my own.

I don’t know how to start writing a review for this book.

I felt like j was watching an episode of Criminal Minds or something. Firstly, it started off slow with a lull in the middle and an ending I really enjoyed. I would’ve liked to see a couple more story lines rounded off like maybe Emy confronting Chi.

The ending left it open and it wasn’t one of those open ended epilogues where you thought ‘eh I don’t think it needs anymore’.

For the first 100 or so pages I was thinking ‘do I just give up?’ But I am glad I didn’t.

Great story and overall satisfied with the ending.

Dr.Emy Rose and Chi Aoki are working on a project for Barnaby Harrington. This project is like a mini- prison in Beeswell Barracks. It has been nicknamed The Hive. Killers are sent here so that Emy can  extract from them the location of their victims, so that the families can have a body to bury and some semblance of peace. She just finished with George Petty who finally gave up the location of his víctims. The Hive hosts Joe Okorie, The GhostKiller, who killed 8 women, turned himself in but refused to name the location of the bodies. There is Frank Ellins, The Dentist,  who killed 5 men. And their newest member,Tim Shenton, who the Ministry of Justice wants to see if he is guilty of killing an 8 year-old boy. But Emy is mostly focused on one killer who may know the location of someone dear to her. She must play a deadly game with one of the killer in order to extract information from another killer as to where a particular victim's body may be buried.

How To Read A Killer's Mind is a mind-blowing, fast paced, trippy thriller that will keep you on your toes.
💫💫💫💫💫

Thank you Netgalley and Bolwood Books for this perfect thriller.

This is an unputdownable, non-stop, action packed thill ride of a book. A phycologist, serial killers, secrets, a few twist and turns and plenty of suspense. This is a book that once you start reading you won't be able to put down.

Loving Dr Emy Rose, a perfect character for a book like this one. The book is easy to read, there is some humour to keep a lightness to it and of course plenty of suspense. Well written, great characters, an interesting and intriguing storyline. A great read from a great author.

Thank you NetGalley and Boldwood Books for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

📖 Title: How to Read a Killer's Mind- I read it as a standalone

✍🏾 Author: Tam Barnett-new to me author

📅Publication date: 4/7/25 | Read 4/3/25

📃 Format: eBook 288 pgs.

Genre:
*Mystery/Thriller
*Crime Fic
*Horror-Think movies like Silence of the Lambs, Seven, and Mindhunter-a Netflix series

Tropes:
*serial killers
*dark, atmospheric setting
*whodunnit
*family drama
*hidden truths
*mental health
*secret identity

👆🏾POV: 1st person single-Emy

⚠️TW: murder, death of a loved one, illness of a parent


🌎 Setting: Beeswell prison - New Castle, England

Summary: Emy has succeeded in getting George Petty to confess where his victims are hidden. Now she, her BFF of sixteen years Chi, and Ph. D. student Robbie continues The Hive Project profiling serial killers Tim Shenton, Joe Okorie "The Ghost Killer," and Frank Elkins "The Dentist" to get them to do the same. Emy's brother Sam was abducted ten years ago and is presumed dead after finding Elkins with Sam's teeth. Harrington, The Minister of Justice and the press race against time to get the confessions and stories out before The Hive gets shut down.


👩🏾 Heroine: Dr. Emy Rose-34, a psychologist who interviews serial killers to get their victims' location for the victims' families.

🎭 Other Characters:
*Samuel Whirberth-Emy's brother allegedly killed by Elkins
*Em's mother-has traumatic mutism-stopped talking after Sam's disappearance, has osteoporosis, needs home care
*Chiyoko Aoki-Em's BFF, communicates w/ the families and deals with the press
*Tim Shenton-accused of murder and r*pe of his stepsister's son Andrew Stride, 8
*Frank Elkins- abducted 5 men including Em's brother Sam allegedly
*Joe Okorie- the "Ghost Killer" killed 8 women in 3 years allegedly
*Robbie -a research assistant writes the transcripts of interviews
*Barnaby C. Harrington- Minister of Justice
*Leon Courtney-Peltz-41, a journalist with The Times


🤔 My Thoughts: I couldn't put this down with so much suspense. Emy was a hard woman to crack, able to spar with men like Harrington, Shenton, and Okorie. There were twists and turns that led to a satisfying ending. I hope this series continues, Joe is diabolical!

Rating: 5/5 ✨
Spice level 1/5 🌶️ off page

🙏🏾Thanks to NetGalley, Boldwood Books, and Tam Barnett for this ARC! I voluntarily give my honest review, and all opinions are my own.

Rated 4.5 stars 🌟
This book had me in a chokehold. Dark humour, darker content and a fascinating plot made for a great, rollercoaster-of-emotions read.

How To Read A Killer’s Mind plays into society’s fascination with serial killers while also highlighting the families of the victims. Emy Rose is cynical, dry and often straight-up mean but brilliantly persistent in her pursuit of justice for her family.

The author’s writing is informed, easy to read, funny in an unexpected way and I was hooked before I realised it. I look forward to reading more of Tam Barnett’s work!

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the e-ARC.

Enjoyed this read a lot, I didn't like that it was too fast-paced though and that the trigger warnings wasn't mentioned.

overall, it was a nice read and I'm glad I got the opportunity to read this book :>