A great murder mystery with a twist, the plot was unique, and the characters were interesting! Can't say much without spoilers, but definitely a great summer read that keeps you guessing, 4.5 stars!

My Wife, The Serial Killer
by H. J. Garbett
Pub Date: Jun 17 2025

My Wife, The Serial Killer is a very dark and tense read with some humor thrown in! The main character, Fran is an unhinged female, who is the main focus of the story. Let's not forget the couple has a few nice pets you will fall in love with! The story is told in two POV's, Fran's and her husband Gareth's. So if you are in the mood for murder, dark humor and lovable characters I definitely suggest picking up this book!

Synopsis: A dark, sharp and hilarious novel about love, marriage, and murder, with an ending you won’t see coming… Gareth certainly didn’t.

Many Thanks to #MyWifeTheSerialKiller #NetGalley and #StormPublishing for providing me an E-ARC of this book.

I loved it! It was fun and a raw! Well written and coherent story
Good characters and I loved how the story unfolded

Marriage is hard, but sometimes it is harder when the wife is a serial killer in denial and the husband is an upstanding detective. When Gareth is assigned to the case of their missing neighbor, Fran must hope she hid the evidence of her deeds. Can these crazy kids make it?

H.J. Garbett writes a fun debut novel. Yes, there is a murder mystery aspect, but this is a story about how far you will go for the one you love. Fran is an unhinged, burgeoning psychopath, but she loves her inner circle fiercely.

An advanced reading copy provided by Storm Publishing via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

This is a great debut novel, it's a quick read with lots of suspence and humour.

So we know who dunnit but we are kept wondering why for a decent amount of the book. This is the one slight issue I had in the fact that I wanted more backstory into Fran's motives and her past with Angus, maybe a flashback or just a little more detailed explanation.

This was definitely my kind of thriller, not too heavy and an FMC whose inner monologue and haste/inexperience (because as she says 2 murders does not yet make a serial killer) added a lot to my enjoyment of the book.

I loved the dual POV here, it was great to see both of their perspectives but I did feel Garath had a bit of a personality change at the end with his actions but then again it shows how he wants to be committed to his relationship.

This was an entertaining read and is great for those who prefer to dabble with a light thriller.

3.5 stars

I’ve read many books about female serial killers, what that says about me I don’t know, but I find them fascinating, which is why, based on title along, I wanted to read this book.

At first this felt like any other book I’d read about female serial killers, nothing really stood out. As I got further into the book, whoever, I was hooked. Something that has not happened in most of the books that I have read is that the killer gets caught. I must admit I loved that aspect, including the murder trial, although the ending was not my favourite.

Fran was not my favourite FMC but the relationship that her and Gareth had made this book so worth reading, and although Gareth seems like a weak character, especially when compared to his wife, my opinion of him changed throughout the book.

Should you read this book? If you love female serial killers, or just a good murder novel, then yes, you should.

Fran Donoghue loves her husband. She loves her cat, Mep (barely clinging to life like a Victorian orphan). She also loves quietly murdering people who, in her very subjective opinion, really had it coming. Honestly, we stan a woman with hobbies.

"My Wife, the Serial Killer" kicks off with Fran taking out the neighbor via eyeball stabbing, and honestly? You will probably agree with her decision faster than you’re comfortable admitting. The real kicker is that Fran’s husband, Gareth, is a detective. And in a move straight out of the "How To Blow Up Your Marriage in 10 Easy Steps" handbook, Gareth finds himself unknowingly investigating his wife’s crime while she smiles sweetly over breakfast.

At first, this book is an absolute dark comedy blast. Fran’s internal monologue is dry, hilarious, and chaotic in all the best ways. She’s the kind of unreliable narrator you weirdly root for while side-eyeing your own moral compass. Gareth, meanwhile, is painfully oblivious for much of the story, walking around like the human embodiment of a warning label. The man couldn’t spot a red flag if it drop-kicked him in the face.

The pacing flies in the first half — snappy dialogue, genuinely funny banter, and plenty of those "oh no, Fran" moments that make you audibly gasp. The absurdity of a detective slowly closing in on his own wife while the family cat steals every scene is the exact kind of ridiculous I signed up for.

But once we hit the second half, the book stumbles. The tone shifts from sharp dark humor to something heavier and less focused. Fran’s backstory brings in trauma and infertility struggles that absolutely deserve space, but the transition fumbles the balance. At times it feels like the plot can’t decide whether it’s a murder comedy or a domestic drama, and both tones start tripping over each other’s shoelaces.

That said, it’s hard not to be entertained by this level of chaos. Fran remains a compelling little chaos gremlin, Gareth eventually earns some sympathy, and Mep the permanently-dying cat is honestly the MVP of the whole book. The concept? Fantastic. The humor? Surprisingly sharp. The execution? Wobbly, but still enough to keep me turning pages.

Which is why I landed at a solid 3 stars for sheer concept, the surprisingly funny ride, and, of course, Mep being the furry little scene-stealer we all needed.

Whodunity Award: For Making Me Weirdly Cheer for Eyeball Stabbing

Thank you to Storm Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC and the opportunity to read this delightfully twisted debut.

Well, I kinda loved this! Such a fun quick read. It’s more of a whydunnit than a whodunnit for most of the book. I enjoyed the humour and I absolutely adore Fran (can I say that? lol). Overall very enjoyable and well written, excited to see more from this author.

I received this E-ARC in exchange for my honest review! Thank you to Netgalley, Storm Publishing, and H.J. Garbett.

3.5 stars

My Wife, the Serial Killer is about a woman who murders her neighbor and her detective husband having the gut feeling that his elderly neighbor didn't just wander off to end it all, which turns it in to a murder case.

The book had me entertained the whole way through, but had bits and pieces that fell a little flat for me by the end. I loved the dark comedy of the book and the opposites attract relationship between Fran and Gareth.

I received this book as an ARC copy in exchange for a book review.

This book offers a unique view into the opposing minds of police officers and 'serial' killers. From the outside Fran and Gareth's life together seems idyllic. Fran's conversation with the reader over the course of the book is down to Earth and hilarious. The juxtaposition of Gareth's viewpoint chapters is grounding. I highly recommend reading this book to break up the monotony of the books that are currently releasing and being pushed by the algorithms. You'll laugh and shake your head just like I did!

This book left me feeling a little confused about how I felt about it. I enjoyed the story, but felt it lacked something and I can’t put my finger on what. It may have been some pacing issues or just my own lack of connection. But the plot is pretty juicy.

This was very entertaining with lots of dark humor and witty banter, but there was something off about the overall execution. The characters weren’t fleshed out, they seemed so surface level.. It was fun though and a great debut novel!

I normally devour thrillers, and this one was no exception.
Fran Donoghue? Iconic. She's chaotic, dangerous, dryly funny, and somehow still completely lovable even while disposing of a body. The opening chapter had me hooked, and it only got wilder from there. Watching her navigate marriage while hiding a murder from her detective husband was equal parts suspenseful and absurd. I loved her inner monologue.

Gareth was frustratingly oblivious at times, but it weirdly worked. And that cat? AAAHH
If you love thrillers with an unhinged female lead, emotional undertones, and laugh-out-loud moments (even in the middle of a murder cleanup), this book is a must-read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A serial killer wife and detective husband....what could possibly go wrong? It was a little slow in the beginning but it does pick up at about the 40% mark. It was a little dark and a little humorous which I really love.

It is a pretty quick read which makes it nice. I would recommend this book for sure!

Thank you Netgalley & Storm Publishing for allowing to read this ARC.

Unrestrained, chaotic, and utterly binge-worthy, this book had me captivated from the very first page!

Although the book is rich with hilarious dark humor that had me laughing out loud, I also deeply appreciated its exploration of the complex nature of family dynamics. The development of the characters, Gareth especially, was highly enjoyable.

3.5 stars. I'm on a streak of slightly unhinged books lately, and this definitely fit that category - but was also enjoyable. I've never read a character quite like Fran, a self-declared almost-but-not-quite serial killer. She was a bit psychotic but I enjoyed her inner monologues. The contrast between her and her detective husband was interesting and added a layer to the story as he tried to track her down.

This was dark but still managed to be funny, and I flew through it. There was a noticeable tone shift in the second half of the book - I appreciated that the author was trying to explain a bit more about the motive, but the execution was lacking a bit. The ending did catch me by surprise in true thriller fashion.

I was surprised to learn this was a debut novel - it was well-written and kept me engaged and wondering what would happen next. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

When there’s a serial killer who kills for the “right” reasons I can’t help but cheer for them at the same time I feel a bit queasy doing so. The relationship between Fran and Gareth felt authentic and sweet. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Fran Donoghue has just murdered her neighbor, and honestly, you’ll probably think he deserved it. Meanwhile, Detective Gareth Donoghue, her husband, is trying to piece together what happened and uncover the mystery behind this disappearance. As Gareth digs deeper into the case, he starts to wonder if the person he loves could be the one responsible.

I got an advanced copy, and the first half of this book was both witty and sarcastic…exactly the kind of sharp humor that kept me flipping pages and fully hooked. It’s clever, darkly funny, and Fran’s inner dialogue had me smirking one minute and gasping the next.

But once we hit the second half, the tone shifted. It got darker and slower and I felt myself losing focus. The punchy wit and quick pacing faded, and the story drifted into heavier territory. I appreciated the intent behind the darker turn, but it didn’t land for me the way I hoped. The ending wasn’t quite what I wanted either.

That said, one bright spot in the later chapters was the cat! Seriously, that feline stole the show. I’m always all in for a great animal character, and this cat carried every scene he appeared in.


This is a super quick and easy read. If you’re into dark comedy wrapped in a domestic thriller, especially in the first half, you’ll probably enjoy it. Just know the tone gets heavier later on, and the ending may not wrap things up as you expected.

Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the early copy. All opinions are my own.

After a wife murders her despicable neighbor, her detective husband’s investigation into the missing man unearths far more than he bargained for in this darkly comedic thriller.

This cleverly plotted novel is fast-paced with well-drawn characters and just the right level of emotion. Though the book is a little creepy at times, there’s little on-page violence or gore. It’s funny and disturbing in the best possible way.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Oh, how I loved this book! Fran and Gareth are one of my favourite couples. He's a detective, and she's a serial killer. When their neighbour dies, truths come out. The whole book I was waiting to see if their love could survive what they go through.
These characters are quirky, flawed, real, and so likeable. I found myself rooting for them the whole time.
I cannot wait to see what H.J. Garbett writes next.