🖤🩸BOOK REVIEW🩸🖤
My Wife, The Serial Killer by H.J. Garbett
📚Pub Date: June 17, 2025

“She only kills people who deserve it… probably.” 😳🔪🐈‍⬛

Welcome to the chaotic life of Gareth, a detective accidentally investigating the very murder his wife committed. Meanwhile, Fran (said wife) is over here murdering sketchy neighbors and narrating her crimes like she’s sharing a cooking recipe. And yes—there’s a cat named Mep who steals the show and might be immortal. 🐾

This one was:
✨Darkly hilarious
✨Weirdly charming
✨Chaotic good (emphasis on chaotic)
✨Full of gasps, laughs, and “No, Fran, NO” moments

If you love books like How to Kill Your Family or Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone, this will scratch your morally-grey, satire-loving itch. A little messy in execution but definitely a binge read!

#MyWifeTheSerialKiller #HJGarbett #NetGalleyReads #SatiricalThriller #DarkHumor #MurderMysteryBooks #KillerWifeVibes #MepTheCat #Bookstagram #MysteryBookReview #MorallyGray #BookRecs #SummerReads2025 #BookishHumor #HowToGetAwayWithMurderButMakeItFunny #StormPublishing

My Wife the Serial Killer by H.J. Garbett Interesting premise. A dark domestic thriller with morbidly humorous moments. Being in Fran's head was unsettling. Gareth didn't quite come up to expectations and was rather bland. Mep, by far, was the favorite and most relatable character. An interesting, somewhat disturbing but thoroughly entertaining read.

Thank you to NetGalley, Storm Publishing, and H. J. Garbett for the opportunity to preview the book.

A story that reminded me of "how to kill your family" and "how to kill men and get away with it".
Fran has a big secret, her husband Gareth has no idea and is a bit clueless about her past.
In this dual POV we follow Fran as she tries to cover up her latest crime and Gareth as he tries his best to be a good detective and solve a crime, he has no idea his wife committed.
I especially loved the ending and the way Gareth´s character developed.

thank you Netgalley, the publisher and H.J. Garbett for the digital ARC.

I had to dnf this book. I felt as though there was so much rambling indeed of focusing on the story at hand. It was hard for me to get through the 20% I read. The book was slow moving which I didn’t like.

I think it is better to give some twist at the middle of the story. Because i got bored in between chapter 16/17. This is well written, but i think i had read similiar theme/genre but much more captivating..

I'm not a huge fan of thriler but I wanted to give this a possibility and this book was such a ride. Fast, weird, funny in a dark way, like you’re laughing and then thinking that I shouldn't actually laugh. Fran is totally unhinged but also super smart, and I liked being inside her head way more than I expected. Gareth took a bit longer to grow on me, but he got there. I didn’t love him from the start, but by the end, I respected his struggle.
The pacing was great, super easy to read, and definitely kept me hooked. Would totally read another book from this author. Thank you so much to the author and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book early. I’m sharing my thoughts voluntarily and with genuine appreciation

The first page grabbed my attention immediately. If you love thriller with a comedic twist you’ll love this one. Fran gave me female Dexter vibes.If I wasn’t so busy with work I could’ve finished this in a day, that’s how good it was.

I read the ARC on Netgalley in exchange for a honest review

This book started off great. Fran is a great character, an unhinged serial killer who has the humour to argue that she is not a serial killer until she has killed three people.

Her husband works for the police. And fran kills their new neighbour. Weirdly the husband is hell bent on making it a prime investigation when the police dept doesn't care.

The first 50-60% of the book was outstanding. The middle section was very long, editing or rewriting would've helped a lot. But that's understandable, the book is from a new author. Would love to read the authors next books which I am sure will be much improved!

Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for providing this book, with my honest review below.

My Wife, The Serial Killer has a pretty catchy idea behind it - a wife who is a serial killer (or en route to being one) and just killed her neighbor, and her doting husband who is a detective looking into said murder. In fact, Gareth kind of blows up Fran’s spot by being so suspicious of her staged suicide of the neighbor that he turns what could have been a quiet disappearance into a murder investigation. For me, the promise of the premise didn’t completely come together, but there were plenty of fun parts to this story.

Fran, the serial killer wife, isn’t just killing for the sake of it but rather has a big secret (and I’d say worthy cause) that has her targeting her victims. Having recently moved to a quiet suburb for Gareth’s promotion in a pretty cruddy police station life could be in boring transitional period for her if not for the neighbor - and the murder. Some of the supporting characters in the book act as light spots and definitely add to the plot but alternating perspectives of Fran and Gareth are the main focus, and while Fran’s perspective was a high point, Gareth’s never came together for me. I will say I loved Fran’s view of covering her steps and Gareth quickly dispelling her calculated moves at almost every step.

The book is entertaining and pulls the reader in, and I see many enjoying it, but I just felt like it had a lot more it could have given.

My Wife, The Serial Killer had such a compelling premise—I was really intrigued by the idea of a wife hiding a deadly secret while her detective husband begins to unravel it. Unfortunately, the execution didn’t quite work for me.

The biggest issue was that I just couldn’t connect with Gareth. For a central character, he felt oddly distant and flat. I wanted to feel his growing suspicion, his conflict, his unraveling—but instead, I found myself detached from his perspective. His reactions often felt more like plot devices than genuine emotion, which made it hard to invest in his side of the story.

Fran, on the other hand, had a more engaging voice, but even then, the pacing dragged in places, and the tension that should have been simmering just never fully came to a boil. The story had opportunities for deeper psychological insight, but it stayed mostly on the surface.

There were some clever twists, and I appreciate the dark humor the author tried to weave in. But overall, I wanted more depth, more suspense, and a protagonist I could really root for—or at least understand.

A great concept, but unfortunately, not the execution I was hoping for.

A big thank you to NetGalley, Storm Publishing, and H.J. Garbett for the opportunity to read an ARC of My Wife, The Serial Killer in exchange for an honest review.

This book presents a brilliantly intriguing premise: Fran and Gareth are a married couple—Fran has killed their neighbour, and Gareth, a police detective, is assigned to investigate the murder. That setup alone had me eager to dive in, and I really appreciated the dark humour and quirky tone threaded throughout the story.

While the concept was strong and the pacing kept me turning pages—I finished it in one sitting!—I personally struggled to connect with the characters. Most of them felt a bit underdeveloped and unlikable, which made it harder to fully engage with the emotional stakes of the plot.

That said, the book certainly has its strengths. Its unique blend of crime and comedy could absolutely shine in a screen adaptation, and I can see it appealing to readers who enjoy dark domestic thrillers with a satirical edge.

Well this was a rather appetising read.. Just the perfect blend of dark humour, a handful of unhinged, with a touch of duel povs mixed together with some mayhem & secrets.

Get this.. Fran shes deeply unhinged a full on Serial Killer & part time social worker, married to the one & only Gareth.. he just happens to be a play by the book police detective 🕵️‍♂️

I loved Fran, Gareth & their grumpy old cat Mep, I adored the added layers of personal themes, surrounding fertility & trauma added some emotional depth.

Unique & witty writing style, definitely engaging, really enjoyed the dark yet sometimes sarcastic dry laugh out moments, a great debut & enjoyable read!!

Thankyou to Storm Publishing & Netgally for my ARC in return for my honest thoughts ♥︎

I would give this story three and a half stars. This story really started with a bang. The first chapter grabbed my attention right away!

I really enjoyed Fran's point of view and wish we had more of it throughout the story. I didn't enjoy Gareth's point of view as much. He had some good chapters, but I didn't find him as interesting.

The story was a little predictable at points, but also had a few things happen that I didn't expect. Overall, it was an enjoyable read with some good humor.

connecting with the writing is very important in these type of books and unfortunately I was never allowed to care because of the writing. it sucks because i was very excited for the premise but the premise itself didn't feel the one promised in blurb so idk

Fran and Gareth are a run of the mill married couple who have unwavering devotion to each other. That is until Fran is accused of murder, and Gareth, the police detective, finds out.

I will always love a book that features a solid marriage. I enjoyed the dual perspective, feeling it added much to the story. The whole time, I was wondering how Fran would get out of it. I deduced the ending but was satisfied at the devotion in which her loved one showed her. All in all, this was a quick, fun read!

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC!

ARC REVIEW Thank you NG & H.J!

First off, I love the cover of this book. I was pleasantly surprised with this book. I was HOOKED. This is a fast paced thriller with some comedy and domestic drama. All in the name of vengeance and drama. A serial killer wife and detective husband.

This is great for first time thriller readers too because it’s a page turner and it’s fast.

Goodreads —> https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7613192104

So let's be honest, my 3-stars-good-enough review is mostly due to the "we're trying for a baby" plot. As a childfree person, I already hate everything relating a pregnancy trope in a book, but here we get constant talk about trying for a baby, fertility test and clinics, it's a big part of like half the book... But the worst thing is that I feel like it's pointless to the story on itself, it's only a "look there's some humanity in Fran see she wants a baby!" kind of thing, and there's better way to share part of her humanity (and honestly none of them should be parent lmao).

Otherwise, it was indeed good and entertaining, even if slow. I liked the dark humour, see how much Fran is a psycho yet we're still wondering if she'll be found not guilty of the murder, as we're weirdly still hoping she won't be charged for it! I enjoyed her POV more than Gareth's, who changes a lot of also way too much and quickly (we get over a 2 months period that is easy to skim while reading, which might add to the feeling of sudden change of character).

I really enjoyed the dénouement, the ending. I wasn't chocked, disappointed, it was honestly the best and most logical thing that could have happened from what we've gathered from each main characters! The epilogue wasn't expected and kind of a fun little bonus.

I felt that the plot idea alone would have made this a great read but the over use of 'humour' (which at times fell flat ) dragged the story down.

I also enjoyed the second half of the novel more than the first half, it improved as the seriousness of the situation increased.

Whoops!! I devoured this book. Literally!

A friend on bookstagram commented that she feels like this is the year of Debuts. And I couldn’t agree more. My Wife, the Serial Killer is an absolute knockout of a debut. Dark, witty, and completely addictive.

Fran Donoghue casually kills her neighbor, and not only was I weirdly okay with it, I was laughing. Out loud. By myself. That pretty much sums up the vibe of this book: dark, wildly twisted, laugh-out-loud funny.

Fran is the definition of an unhinged female lead done right. Her internal monologue reminded was giving Decter vibes. Yeap, that Dexter. With the same sharp, calculated logic, but with dry wit and the kind of mental spiraling that’s somehow both relatable and deeply disturbing. I just wanted to spend more time in her head. Social worker by day, vigilante-ish by night? It was giving everything it was supposed to give, and I loved it!

And then there’s Gareth. Oh, Gareth. Sweet, oblivious Gareth. At first, I found him a bland, uninteresting character, But as the story unfolds, he grows on you. Watching him wrestle with his suspicions, question his marriage, and ultimately try to understand the impossible truth about the woman he loves. By the end, I was fully rooting for him too.

And the pacing? Perfect. Just perfect. Short, snappy chapters that kept me saying “one more chapter’ until I realized just how early in the morning I’d stayed up till. I definitely see that twist at the end coming, and I bet Gareth didn’t either.

For a debut, Garbett absolutely crushed it. And I’m definitely gonna read whatever she writes next.

This book was so good. I really liked how the story came together and how it ended. I liked Gareth's transformation as a person, a husband and detective. Mep was the cutest fictional cat and loved reading about him. I had no idea what to expect going into this book as I had never heard of this author before but I am so happy I was selected to read this. I look forward to seeing what the author does next. Thank you #stormpublishing and #netgalley for this opportunity.