💭What I thought would happen:

I loooved The Necklace! It was exciting to the last page. I was pretty stoked to see what the author wrote next….

📖What actually happens:

There’s a journalist who attempts a podcast and somehow all the women/victims are massive assholes in this story.

🗯Thoughts:

Yikes.

At no point did any of the Characters know how to act, speak or text like real persons…

The author needs some sensitivity training before attempting to write from any perspective that is not a white male. I had issues immediately when i realized he was attempting to write as an immigrant female…it’s 2022. Get a Damn clue.

Honestly the ending had me so angry. A) it had no shock b) it was far too convenient c) it was the equivalent of a wet fart.

Every woman in this was quite hateful, cruel and insensitive. I’m wondering if the author even likes women. Petra and her colleague, Natalie were atrocious to one another. AGAIN, it is 2022. Why is there petty workplace drama between 2 of the few females in the office….and you know this girl loves her drama but these 2 hated each other so much that it took away from story itself (not saying much there) and jeopardized their careers and ethics at the same time..nooo nope nooo

Don’t even get me started on the treatment of outing someone who may or may not be gay due to no evidence except click bate. The writing was so unbearably cringe that I’m
shocked I even continued.

And finally going after a rape victim and then saying she has anger issues. Oh fuck no. Get the hell out of here. Honestly, Petra could have died and I would have felt some solace

The one positive is that it was easily bingeable.

Thank goodness I read this with a group of women who all either DNF’d or tore the book a new one.

Just how far would some young reporters and their editor go for more clicks, downloads and to keep their jobs? In Killer Story, they go as low as you could imagine and then some! There are some trigger warnings to be aware of in addition to shameful reporting: incest, rape, murder and extreme alt-right views. The review copy of this book that I received had some flaws which ought not be present in the final product. The main characters are pretty damn unlikeable overall. But I gotta admit, I kept reading Killer Story and it has kind of hung around with me afterwards because we all know Fake News isn’t a complete myth, some reporting is flawed, to say the least. Okay, the story is about Petra Kovach, a young journo about to be laid off from her third newspaper job in a row. A last-minute pitch to her editor to launch an investigation into the murder of a young woman buys her time. Now Petra must deliver the story of her life and a true crime podcast, the latter being completely new to her. And it’s personal because the dead woman was like a little sister to her. So, pretty much what won’t she do to save her job, solve the murder, and see justice served? And will she manage all or none of those goals? Recommended read for those who like very flawed characters and a moral dilemma in a fictional, investigative crime story.

This book stressed me out but in a good way. I appreciated the reader getting to experience rooting for Petra only to see her slowly get sucked into making worse and worse unethical decisions. I do think the transition maybe happened a little too quickly for my liking but it was still interesting to read about

This had such promise with a unique and compelling premise. However this really fell flat with the choppy, abrupt and stutter stop type writing. It never flowed. It was hard to follow and choppy. The cringey dialogue. It was like “I should write this in a setting with police”. Very cliche if you will. Just not for me.

I loved this a lot more than I thought I would. It’s a well told story. I really like the writing and the chapters seem short, which I love. It’s fun from beginning to end.

The premise of this book had a lot of potential, but unfortunately fell a bit flat for me. It started off good and I was interested to see how the mystery unfolded. As time went on the MC became increasingly irritating. I think the quote from the book that sums her up best is “You have the self awareness of a f***king flea.” There weren’t really any likable characters to be honest. I also wasn’t much of a fan of the writing style. There was tons of cringey, unrealistic dialogue. Overall Killer Story just did not hit the mark.

Livvy is dead, she was killed by an older man who was supposed to protect her. However, this professor claims he didn't do it. Petra, a journalist, realizes that perhaps this professor may be right and feels that she must find out who killed Livvy, her once close and dear friend. Petra embarks on a very dangerous journey that leads her to many potential killers who all had motives to kill Livvy and who may even want to kill Petra to silence her. Once you start this book you won't want to stop until you find out who killed Livvy and why.

This was a very interesting take on the podcast theme that has become popular in recent years. I like that Petra started a podcast in this novel in order to keep her job and was not part of an already established podcast. The plot twists definitely kept me guessing just as it did with Petra.

I enjoy Mitt Witten’s writing style and will continue to look out for more of his work.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
The synopsis of this book sounded interesting to me so I requested a copy to read.
Unfortunately, I have tried reading this book on 2 separate occasions and during this 2nd attempt, I have
decided to stop reading this book
and state that this book just wasn't for me.
I wish the author, publisher and all those promoting the book much success and connections with the right readers.

My friends raved about his debut The Necklace, but I wish I would have able to read the trigger warning prior to requesting. This one was not for me. DNF.

After reading the previous novel by this author “the Necklace” and loving it I was more than excited to get an advanced copy of this book.

Unfortunately this was not what I was expecting. The dialogue was weird and the characters were so unlikeable especially the main character.

It didn’t work for me, but I hope someone else enjoys it.

So, despite hating the main character, I really enjoyed this book. I read it over 2 nights and got caught up in the mystery. There was a lot of questionable decisions made by Petra and the way she justified them was pretty terrible. But hey, it is fiction so just go with it.

Petra is a journalist and has been made redundant more times than she likes to remember. And it appears that it is about to happen again, until she bluffs an idea to her boss. He gives her 2 weeks to make it work. Now she needs the information. She has told her boss that she has a big lead in the murder of You Tube influencer, Olivia Anderson. Only she really doesn’t. Then begins the hunt for clues and interviews. Oh and the boss wants a podcast.. no biggie right.

Thanks to Oceanview Publishing and NetGalley for my advanced copy of this book to read. Published January 17th

Petra has had a rough go of it, from witnessing her father’s murder to getting fired from each of her jobs following college. The tragedy she can’t get past? Olivia Anderson’s murder. Petra met Livvy when she was just 14, at a summer journalism camp, and in the years following became very close with her…or so she thought. Now, two years after Olivia’s alleged murderer goes free, Petra is determined to keep her current job by finding Olivia’s true murderer and finally getting justice for her family…

TW: incest, gaslighting, rape, sexual assault, gun violence, suicide

This storyline had so much potential and just did NOT meet the mark. I could sit here and write an essay about everything I found wrong with this novel, instead I’ll just give some of the major points.

I expect obstacles, what is a book without a conflict? There were none. Even the “conflicts” were non-starters because there was not an ounce of elaboration in these scenes. “Petra argued with Mateo” but there were no insights to the conversation that took place other than it was a “bad argument.” Being a journalist, I expect Petra to put herself in dangerous situations, have to dig in places nobody wants her to, and she did…kudos. But every single one of these were far too convenient and not at all intertwined with each other to make the investigation flow.

Petra had so much character growth waiting to happen - being in a bad way and making a grand comeback from her immoral decisions. Instead of this, it’s almost like she’s slowly losing what mind she had to begin with and continues to dig herself deeper even at closure. She doesn’t sever just one relationship, but seemingly ALL important and unimportant. She took the path of complete self destruction which was not necessary to, or enjoyable for, the storyline. It fed my annoyance, made me question my reading choices and it made me dislike this book.

The cherry on top of this not-so-great sundae?The lack of tact used to approach sensitive topics, the use of outdated stereotypes, and the disrespect to marginalized groups. We are well beyond the times where it is okay to include, and not address, outing individuals, pitting female characters against each other over a job (or anything, really), and providing commentary on who can or cannot be sexually assaulted based on their stature, gender, etc.

Thank you NetGalley and Oceanview Publishing for the free digital copy of Killer Story.

Killer Story is a fast-paced investigative procedural following a reporter solving an alt-right YouTuber's murder. The reporter, Petra, knew the victim, Olivia, prior to her extremist turn and feels it is her duty to seek justice and the truth (while also saving her own career).

While I understand the path the author intended the story and commentary to follow, the narrative became tone-deaf. The main character Petra, depicted in first person POV, is selfish scum and falls so far from her original goal of justice.

She has no qualms about stomping over any possible suspects or victims. This includes exposing her discoveries and their sources, after they explicitly ask her not to share:

1. Possible incest with stepfather
- with no concrete proof, thus wrecking a stepson/stepfather relationship
- attempted suicide attempt follows with no remorse from the MC

2. Outing a college football player
- after he went to her in confidence to share information
- Petra has a gay best friend and she considers how he'd respond to her outing someone else (though this only happens within a single paragraph), then she decides her fight for justice is more worthwhile.
- The actual discussion/fight with her BF is skipped over, though it is referenced a couple times afterwards. This was disappointing since it could've been a real moment of growth for the character.
- There is a paragraph for this outed character near the end of the book that was actually disgusting.

3. Perpetuating rape culture and victim blaming
- exposing sealed records from when a character was a minor (after illegally obtaining them)
- The victim of rape is described in a more detailed manner than many other characters, especially her size (tall and strong rowing crew member).
- The public perceived her allegations as false due to her size, and the MC believing the character's size would be a boon as a murder suspect

Petra's inner monologue, plus regular dialogue clearly demonstrates that her character is written by a man. There were many clunky and cheesy moments of her realizing what her next step is or breaking down a clue (that was clear from the previous dialogue and unnecessary). She is also pitted against another reporter at her newspaper, which perpetuates patriarchal beliefs. Only one woman is worthy in the eyes of their boss or their podcast tech assistant, depending on what information they've uncovered.

Though the novel read quickly, that is because every single discovery point is just so incredibly convenient and unbelievable. "I need to find this witness/victim... Oh, look he posts on Twitter that he's always at X location on Thursday nights OR oh look, he's sitting in the window of the café I'm just walking past.

There was no real tension build-up and all I felt was rage towards the story. The story was not about the search for justice and discovering what can turn a young woman towards extremist views. I don't even have the capacity to list off all the other repulsive characteristics and actions of the MC.

Killer Story absolutely missed the mark and could use sensitivity readers.

CW: incest, murder, gun violence, blood, gaslighting, toxic relationships, homophobia, racism, rape, outing, child abuse

After reading and loving Witten’s previous novel The Necklace, I was so excited to obtain an ARC of this one. Unfortunately I was highly disappointed.

The dialogue was weird and didn’t feel real. The characters were awful. People didn’t know how to send a text message. (I’m sorry but nobody signs off on a text - especially with someone you’re dating). It was abnormally sexual. The girl-against-girl work environment was gross and should not be a thing in 2022.

Though I normally don’t mind awful characters in thrillers, I need the MC to have some redeeming quality. And I can’t think of one.

I really really wanted to like this one more.

I absolutely loved Matt Witten’s other novel ‘The Necklace’, but unfortunately this one just didn’t live up to the expectation. Unlikable characters and scattered story, just not my cup of tea.

DNF - but had to read the last few chapters. Our MC Petra is just 100% terrible. Like, literally no redeeming qualities. Usually, this can work in a thriller, but it's a little harder when it's a main character that we're supposed to be cheering for. The way she treated everyone around her, always thought she was entitled and correct, and just made stuff up / lied all the time was unbearable. I don't like the girl v girl workplace drama, there was a storyline with part of someone's personality that was very cringy, and I am not really here for a storyline where a white guy is writing an immigrant female MC.

Despite a promising premise this book didn’t work for me, and I couldn’t finish it. It was clear a male author was writing, even though it was a female MC. The dialogue was bothersome and I really grew frustrated with Petra’s decisions throughout the story.

Parts of this book were good but I really couldn’t get into the dialogue and didn’t love the characters.

You follow Petra as she tries to solve the murder of someone she mentored when she was younger. The suspects change often. It was hard to keep my interest with this one.