Oh, I was really looking forward to reading this book! Books with family members who are serial killers are always really interesting to read, both with the family member knowing and not knowing, and the with the public knowing and not knowing! And it was a really entertaining read!

Carrie is in a tough spot. Her sister Becca is a serial killer, and honestly Becca was pretty terrifying. She's blackmailed Carrie to have her help take care of the bodies of Becca's victims. Which is not a good situation to be in!

When the latest kill is found with a bunch of other bodies that Becca says she hasn't caused, meaning that there's another serial killer in the area, well, the stakes get raised, because Becca can't stand the idea of someone else killing her her territory.

Not to mention, said other serial killer seems to be targeting Carrie, well,, that's an added incentive to go after him. I really enjoyed watching the story play out, as Carrie is dragged further into this world, with the dark humour and interesting mystery!

I had a really great time reading this book and I can't wait to read more by Elaine Murphy!

I've taken some time while I've been off for surgery to try to make a dent in my backlist of review books. Look What You Made Me Do by Elaine Murphy is one that I wanted to read really badly when it was pitched to me, but then promptly forgot about in the onslaught of other books. Forgetting about this one was a mistake because this one was a hell of a ride.

Now I'm no stranger to complicated family dynamics and sometimes disastrous sibling relationships, but the relationship between Carrie and Becca is just insane. Becca is a serial killer, which is bad enough on its own, but she is also a psychopath that her entire family is terrified of. That terror allows Becca to get whatever she wants from her family in the hopes that her killer gaze won't turn toward them. Becca yearly blackmails her sister Carrie into helping her hide the body of her latest kill. I can't even imagine.

But now Becca is mad, not at her family, but at another killer who has dared to dump the bodies of his victims with her last victim. Rather than this giving her the impetus to stop what she is doing, Becca gets mad that someone is moving onto her territory. Insanity, just insanity.

I genuinely enjoyed this one. The plot is just so different from anything out there and actually brings to mind the Dexter Series of books by Jeff Lindsay. Becca is an utter lunatic and Carrie is her eternal victim. It was a relatively quick read, and while it is very, very dark, it is also funny enough that you feel guilty for laughing.

This book had been on my list to read for a while as I was captured by the title which reminded me of the Taylor Swift song "Look What You Made Me Do" and also the fact it was quite a quirky cover. In this book, we meet two sisters who couldn't be more different. One is trying to live her life normally but keeps getting sucked into her sister's drama and the other is a psychopath and well, a serial killer. All Carrie wants is a peaceful life but every time someone crosses her sister Becca, she is pulled into a life of danger. Becca on the other side is a serial killer and loves the thrill of murdering anyone who crosses her path or gets in the way of what she wants. The thing she thrives on is getting away with murder and the knowledge that she just killed someone with no worry. Now that she has tied Carrie to it, Carrie knows that she can never escape Becca's manipulations. That is until now, but not in the way Carrie wants as looks like there was somebody else who knew about Carrie and Becca's evening body dumps as he did body dumps of his own. Now the town is on edge with a serial killer, but what they don't realise is that there are two in town. The serial killer though has his eyes set on Carrie, not Becca being the instigator, and is trying to frame Carrie for exposing his secret. Can Carrie prove to the world she isn't a killer but what happens when her sister goes missing and now Carrie must put on her big girl panties and head right into the serial killer's hunting ground? Can she survive the night and be the final girl? Find out in Book #1 Look what you made me do by Elaine Murphy.

This is one of those books that I really wish that I hadn’t waited so long to read, because it’s perfect. I loved Carrie and her apparent serial killer magnetism. She only wants a normal life, but it doesn’t appear like it’s in the cards for her. Look What You Made Me Do goes a little dark, but not in a gruesome way. I was never quite sure what twists and reveals would happen next, and I ended up frantically flipping pages to find out what would happen next!

Carrie Lawrence is tired... She is tired of helping her sister to clean up after her messes. Yes, sisters are supposed to help each other and be there when one of them messes up. Except, Becca's messes come with lots of blood and a possible prison sentence. Becca Lawrence has been getting away with murder for years, and she has been blackmailing her sister to help her out. But now, thirteen bodies have been found in their small town, and while Becca swears she did not kill these people, Carrie does not believe that her serial killer sister is not guilty. Until... Becca goes missing and now Carrie has to figure out if she was the unlucky lucky one who has come across two serial killers in the same town.


Review


Based on the description, I thought that the plot of the book was similar to My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite, but darker. However, I must say this book was nothing like I expected it to be. While the premise of the book is gruesome and filled with grim details about the deaths that Carrie has been helping to cover up, the narration is filled with whimsical interactions between the two sisters and the other characters.


The story begins with Carrie recollecting the details of the first time she helped Becca to cover up a murder. They were still in High School, and Becca had a bad encounter with a classmate, which ended up in Carrie and Becca carrying the lifeless body to a ditch. Since then, every year Becca calls Carrie with a request to "move furniture," and every year Carrie keeps helping her sister hide the bodies of the people she kills. But now, it seems that there is another serial killer who is using their knowledge of Becca's "hobbies" to hide their own bodies, and Carrie must figure out how to get herself and Becca out of trouble.


I must say that I was expecting this book to be hard to read. However, Carrie's narration is truly engaging and filled with humorous details of her life as the sister of a serial killer. The story is written in an amusing yet serious tone, so while there are some moments when I chuckled reading graphic depictions of Becca's behavior, I was also able to recognize how unsettling her actions were. The story is dark, and at times, I couldn't understand why Carrie kept helping Becca when it's clear all she wants is a normal boring life. The author paints a full story of two sisters who, while raised by the same parents in the same household, are completely different from each other and deal with their traumas in different ways.

The characters are great, and I found Carrie to be highly likable. While she is easily manipulated by her sister, she's also working out her trauma and trying to find the strength to stop helping Becca. She is resilient and smart, and she understands that stopping the other serial killer is the first step to stopping her sister as well. Becca is an awful human being, and not only because she is a serial killer. She has no sense of boundaries and takes advantage of everyone in her life. She's entitled and truly believes that Carrie owes her. She doesn't understand why Carrie wants to keep her away from her personal life, so she retaliates by blackmailing her own sister on a regular basis. She is highly unlikeable in every possible way. Their relationship is confusing, but as the story develops, it becomes clear that Becca depends on Carrie more.


The plot of the book flows nicely with the pace of the book. It's an easy and fast read, and the story is entertaining and engaging from the beginning. There are a couple of sub storylines that are nicely tied together at the end, and overall, the ending is satisfying.

This book was absolutely bonkers in the best way. Sometimes, a mystery or thriller shakes things up, and it was relatively unpredictable, and great. I'm sure some readers would find the main character unlikeable.

Such a great plot with a serial killer sister and this one was so much wicked fun. Taylor Swifts song of the same name is stuck in my head but worth it for this tense read

Thank you to @hbgcanada @grandcentralpub for the gifted finished copy of this book for an honest review. This book is out now !

After years of helping her sister Becca hide her crimes, Carrie wants a normal life. Becca just wants to keep getting away with murder. But before either of them can get what they want, they have to stop a serial killer 😮

This book is thriller fun. The writing is sharp and I loved the dynamic between Carrie and Becca. Both characters are well- developed and so readable. The book really shines in their scenes together and the dark comedy they deliver totally lands.

Read this if you like thrillers with:
✔️ serial killers
✔️ dark comedy
✔️ morally gray characters
✔️ interesting family dynamics

I’m looking forward to reading more Elaine Murphy and am so happy I discovered a new 🇨🇦 thriller writer to add to my list of go-tos!

I really liked this twisty thriller! Murphy's pen name of Julianna Keyes is one of my favorite romance authors so I was really looking forward to this. It felt like a mash up of Tarryn Fisher books with the slightly unreliable narrator and Victoria Helen Stone with the killing parts. It was twisty and suspenseful and had moments of humor. At the core, the book is about a complicated family relationship and I love that.

(I am an employee of Hachette book group but work for a different imprint)

Thank you to Net Galley for the advance reader copy of this book.

Loved the story idea and always love a good book about serial killers. Murphy does a great job writing and keeping the reader turning the pages. 4 stars for this thriller

This book was so much fun to read. The dark comedy, the characters, the writing--and everything else--made it one of my favorite fiction books this year. The humor was one of the main reasons I loved this book so much; from the dialogue to the funny situations, it all worked. The other thing that I ended up really liking so much was the character growth and the sisters together and apart. I have already recommended this book and would highly recommend it again!

This was a fun, twisty thriller! Well, as fun as a book with multiple murders can be. I thought the plot was very unique and I was thoroughly engaged in the story the whole time. This was a perfect plane read -- not too long but easy to get sucked into.

Loved the Premise!

Unfortunately, the chapters were wayyyyyyyy tooooo long (some over 40 pages...what?!?!). Not my cup of tea. It didn't flow and move fast enough for me so I kept setting aside.

Look What You Made Me Do is a solid fun thriller with an original concept. Becca and Carrie are sisters with a peculiar relationship. Becca is a serial killer. Carrie helps her dispose of the bodies. Becca is highly manipulative. But what happens when Carrie discovers Becca isn't the only killer in town? And matters get worse when the sisters end up on this other killer's kill list. Filled with a layer of humor I wasn't expecting, the story is entertaining and addictive. Highly recommended!

Great page turner! Will definitely look to pick up another of Murphy’s future novels.

A book full of interesting characters to say the least. Wide spectrum of likable, annoying, and WTF characters, but that made for a compelling read.

Carrie will do anything to appease the masses, but just how far will you go? Many turns off events for Carrie. This story was written so well that you eagerly want to binge and see what happens.

I don’t want to give more information too avoid spoilers, but was a fun read.

I included this title as part what's new in suspense, mystery, and thrillers in the month of July. I promoted on Twitter, Facebook, & Instagram. https://www.bethfishreads.com/2021/07/22-mysteries-thrillers-suspense-novels.html

I'd call this one a thriller-with-an-attitude. Based on the blurb, you can tell that there is a bit of humor to this fast paced thriller. Very satisfying twists and ending here.

Alright, does everyone know this is Julianna Keyes writing under a pseudonym? Well, if that was a secret...oops? I mention this little detail only because I am a BIG FAN of Ms. Keyes and I love most of her books. So, I was predisposed to like this one too, despite the fact it's not a romance and slightly bonkers.

About that bonkers. Carrie, our narrator, has a very messy life. She's in a job she likes but isn't all that exciting, she's in a relationship with a guy who's great but she's anxious about getting too close to, and she has a side gig helping her psycho sister hide the bodies of her victims. Hold up. You didn't read the blurb? Sorry, not sorry. Yep, Carrie's sister is a serial killer. And her victims are mostly people she's annoyed with. So, Carrie mostly keeps her complaints about the people in her life (co-workers; boyfriends; anyone) to herself in a futile effort to keep Becca from killing them.

Okay, but what's that about the serial killer sister and body hiding thing? Oh, yeah, Becca is a lying psychopath who LITERALLY gets away with murder. And after Carrie helps her hide the first body, she gets blackmailed by Becca into hiding all the rest. Shit luck for real, amiright? But things take an even crappier turn when someone spots them discarding a body and decides Carrie might be better as their serial killer bestie! Beat it, Becca.

Slow your roll. I'm getting ahead of myself. There's another serial killer in town! Carries learns Becca has company after the police locate a body, and then another body, and then...the police find 13 bodies! And since they're all missing {spoiler alert}! and Carrie's sure Becca's victims weren't missing a {spoiler alert} as they carried them out for disposal in Becca's murder carpet, Carrie is convinced they aren't Becca's victims. Then Serial killer number 2 starts targeting Carrie - for murder? For funsies? Carrie has no idea BUT she's scared out of her mind and so she turns to the only other serial killer she knows for help. Ahem.

Creepy, mean, and slightly hilarious Becca has ideas and thoughts and is annoyed someone is playing in her sandbox. She convinces Carrie that they should catch the killer themselves.

Look What You Made Me Do is brilliantly bizonkers and creepy and awful and terrible and even though I felt terrible reading it, I couldn't put it down. The story doesn't play out in ways you expect, and is so gleefully wrong, it's right. Does that make sense?

Nope, it doesn't. And neither does the idea of 2 prolific serial killers in one small town. Or victims who become victimizers because. Wow. That's a weird sentence.

Perfect; this is a weird story. Which, by the way, I recommend. With reservations, of course. Some of this might be triggering. Or gross. Or any squeamy thing you can think of.

This was such a fun, surprising read that I really enjoyed! There are a few parts that are a bit unbelievable but the story is so fast paced and fun that you can gloss over those and still enjoy the read. I loved how unique this one was was. There are so many thrillers that follow the same pattern but this one was refreshing. It was also funny, so if dark humor is your thing, it is definitely worth checking out!

Actual rating: 3.5 stars

This had a really fun, dark premise. I thought it was a very fresh idea! The pacing was a little slow at times, but it really ramps up towards the end to the point where I just had to keep reading. It definitely had some surprises! I didn't predict who the killer was or some of the things that happened, so I appreciated that I wasn't able to guess everything. I also really like the choices that were made here in terms of the direction this story went.

In terms of the characters, we mostly deal with Becca and Carrie. They certainly have an interesting relationship! Becca is SUPER manipulative and not a good person (obviously - she's a serial killer). At the same time, she thinks that these moments are a bonding experience between sisters. It's interesting to see how their dynamic changes as the serial killer hunts Carrie. Carrie starts off being rather meek and doesn't stand up for herself, but she's really allowed to grow over the course of the book. I really enjoyed her character arc and definitely rooted for her! The killer was an enjoyable, twisted villain as well.

I had a good time with this and would recommend it to those looking for a fun read about serial killers!

Content warnings for manipulative relationships, death, torture, and serial killers

My video review can be seen on my booktube channel (around minutes 4:11-6:09 of this video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Db_uZe3NLxk