This book is CRAZY GOOD. I mean it’s crazy (in a fantastic way) & good (actually great), too! I’ve never read one like it! It was suspenseful & hilarious I enjoyed every minute of it until it was over & then I just hate it ended at all. Pick it up! I’ve never read such a “delightful thriller”. Didn’t even know they existed!!😆😊

Really good. The first part of the book is a little rough (hence the 4 stars) but once it gets going, it gets going. I do have to say the backstory on one of the characters (mysterious woman) in the book. We get an infodump about what happens next, but I rather we had flashbacks on that or something, it just didn't work. All in all, the book was very interesting, funny, and sad.

"Killing Me" follows 24 year old Amber Jamison. Amber is a street smart young woman, but somehow ends up abducted by a serial killer called the Pikachu Killer (do not ask). Amber though is saved before she is murdered and then switches the tables on her rescuer. She finds out the woman is out there hunting serial killers. When the FBI shows up trying to question Amber, Amber flees and heads for Vegas. Unfortunately she seems to be part of another serial killer's messed up game.

Amber was great. I liked her character and her backstory. At times she wears her heart on the sleeve (when it comes to the love interest she gets) but she does show that she's street smart with some rules of the road.

The other characters we get to know really come to life. Honestly I don't want to go into them because it would be spoiling it for readers, but I enjoyed everyone and I hated the death we do get with this motely messed up crew. The mysterious woman's backstory as I said above could have been dealt with a bit stronger in terms of the plot. It just felt rushed and hurried. And I legit at one point went, what in the world. But I liked it though it fed into the ridiculous.

The writing was very solid, but the flow was not great, as I said earlier, the first part of the book felt a bit rough before Amber starts to reveal more of herself to us readers. The humor in the book is there though and I loved Amber's ongoing verbal battles with mysterious woman.

The setting of Las Vegas really works in terms of the plot. I can't imagine any of this going down in any other city.

The ending kind of leaves things opened to maybe another book starring Amber. I would definitely pick that up.

Wowwwww. I didn't know it was possible to make reading about a serial killer funny, but this book does just that. The main character is Amber and she is witty, sassy, and street smart. The author does a great job letting Amber's personality shine off the pages. I read this book in one sitting. I just came back from Vegas (like 2 days ago) and I love how the author takes you on a tour all around the casinos and hotels of Vegas.

Amber is about to become the next victim of a serial killer, but then an anonymous female wearing a ski mask saves her at the last second and then disappears. Amber then flees across the country to Las Vegas and meets up with a small group of companions who then become mixed up in running from another serial killer. The ending was a roller coaster ride.

According to the author's note we are getting a sequel and that is the best news ever!

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Group for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Received a complimentary ARC of Killing Me by Michelle Gagnon from PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam’s Sons/NetGalley. Scroll past the BOOK REPORT section for a cut-and-paste of the DESCRIPTION of it if you want to read my thoughts on the book in the context of a summary.

BOOK REPORT
This book was a fun ride.

Until it wasn’t.

Am not sure exactly when I found it impossible to continue to suspend my disbelief at the way the storyline was unfolding during Killing Me; a little more than halfway through, maybe? Wish I could give it 2.5 stars because there was a lot smart and funny about it, but, alas…..

Do think I need to read more by Michelle Gagnon, though.

DESCRIPTION
An utterly original and wildly entertaining, Killing Me is a laugh-loud-loud thriller with a protagonist whose life is a total mess.

She escaped a serial killer. Then things got weird.

Amber Jamison can’t believe she’s about to become the latest victim of a serial killer. She’s savvy and street smart, so when she gets pushed into, of all things, a white windowless van, she is more angry than afraid. Things get even weirder when she’s miraculously saved by a mysterious woman . . . who promptly disappears. Who was she? And why is she hunting serial killers?

You’d think escaping one psychopath would be enough, but Amber’s problems are just beginning. Her close call has law enforcement circling a past she’s tried to outrun. She’s forced to flee across the country, ending up at a seedy motel in Las Vegas with a noir-obsessed manager and a sex worker as her unlikely companions . . . and danger right behind. She’s landed in the cross hairs of the world’s most prolific killer, caught up in a deadly game that’s been going on for years. To survive, she is forced to dust off her old playbook and partner with someone she can’t trust. The odds are against her, but sometimes you just have to roll the dice.

The plot description hooked me instantly: laugh out loud humor interwoven with a serial killer's 'endeavors being prevented by an unknown heroine. The lucky recipient of these actions is a young woman with her own issues including a past she'd rather not think about. After her brush with the serial killer and not wanting to get involved with the police (because of her past) she is on the run and ends up in Las Vegas.
The humor (usually coming from her ongoing thoughts as each situation arises) continues through out the novel. All in all this is an entertaining, breezy story that never slows down. I would say if someone is in the market for light and entertaining it is a good choice.
One thing I did notice is that in reviewing book information to see if I wish to purchase it, it will usually list the genre (mystery, romance, horror, etc).and other characteristics . Had it shown LBGT I probably would have skipped it, just not my cup of tea, as horror and romance are not either. I was already into the story though when that info came to light so I cautiously purservered. Much to my relief this aspect was kept light and breezy too! (Can't complain about TMI here.) I have since discovered not all sellers will disclose each specific genre, to the nth degree. So if I don't want anymore surprises I need to review more than
just Amazon's information. Not sorry I read it (thanks Netgalley!) but probably will not go out of my way to read anymore of her books. With her talent, I would imagine she probably has a healthy following anyway.

Move over Finlay Donovan there's a new hot mess vigilante in town! Trade the suburban mom in for a grad school lesbian and change the setting to Vegas and you've got this book.

Killing Me was great fun! I was highly entertained even if I had one eyebrow raised in full disbelief the entire time. Read this if your need something fluffy to entertain you, but you want some murder with a lil dash of mystery.

This was a funny book to get through because it's so untraditional for a serial killer thriller! Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC for the purpose of this review. Four stars! I didn't think I would ever laugh at a book that told the story about a woman victim of a serial killer but Gagnon writes it that way!

This book is Mindhunter meets Poker Face with Fugitive vibes!

This fresh, sarcastic, smart, dark comedy meets psychological thriller is a big surprise for me! I didn't expect to enjoy it that much, but from the first chapter, I found myself drawn into the action-packed adventure and the witty, complex mind of Amber Jamison. She finds herself duct-taped, injected with sedatives, and kidnapped at the back of a van, which is probably being driven by the famous serial killer of Johnson City, Tennessee, who is preying on petite brunettes in their early twenties, just like her.

When she murmurs her last prayers, finding herself naked, duct-taped, with her head and eyebrows shaved on an operating table, hearing the killer in a Pokémon mask approaching, another person in a ski mask holding a cattle prod breaks into the cabinet to fight with the serial killer. A few minutes later, poor Amber feels a dead weight on her body: it's the dead body of the killer!

She realizes the person in the ski mask is a blonde woman in her early thirties who tracked down the man and accidentally killed him, planning to disappear without facing the authorities. They talk and part ways.

Amber has no intention of talking with officers either because of her past as a con woman who was raised by con artist parents. But she realizes the FBI has already found her connection with the crime scene, so she's forced to flee the state, heading to Sin City to sharpen her conning skills, which she's sworn not to use again, for starting fresh as a psychology student. Unfortunately, fate has other plans for her.

The woman who saved her life keeps sending her cryptic messages, leaving breadcrumbs to direct her to Las Vegas, where Amber's path crosses with the noir-obsessed hotel manager Dot, who is resourceful and connected with a rag-tag group of misfits, a kind of Las Vegas vigilantes, and sex worker Marcela, who has her own tricks to deceive the losers.

Amber realizes that, after getting saved from being another victim of brutal crime, she has gotten herself into a more dangerous situation by driving to the city where a psychopath is haunting young women to brutally kill them. She has to find a way to save those women and herself by teaming up with the person she cannot wholly trust.

Overall, Amber is an amazing, street-smart, quick-witted, funny, and likable character. The riveting crime story is captivating, full of surprises, and very entertaining. I'm looking forward to reading more works by the author.

Many thanks to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam/G.P. Putnam's Sons for sharing this amazing book's digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.

This book perfectly mixes humor and terror, leaving the reader laughing out loud and also nervously freaked out.

Amber has been grabbed and stuffed in a trunk at the opening of the book, and all she can think about is how pissed off she is about it. When someone saves her from becoming victim 6 for a serial killer, she choose not to contact the police as an almost victim. Odd choice…unless you’ve got a background the police may not like! When an FBI agent comes to her place, Amber decides to escape and start over in a new town. Vegas sounds like the perfect place to get her bearings, but then crazy things start happening and she might be in another killer’s crosshairs.

The tone of this book is fantastic- sarcastic, irreverent, and just plain fun to read. Our main character does crappy things but still somehow keeps us rooting for her, maybe because someone else is doing even crappier things and she is trying to stop them. She quickly bonds with a couple of women in Vegas who become our main side characters, and they are characters in every sense of the word. When they work together with one’s network in the city, it is extremely entertaining! You may need to suspend disbelief a bit here, but it is worth doing to go along for the fun and wild ride of this story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

What a wild ride!!!! I loved that it wasn't a spooky type book and yet still gave mystery/suspense vibes. I feel like the plot and character development was beautifully executed which made me love this book so much more!!

She survives a serial killer with the help of a masked vigilante who wishes to remain anonymous. Then she goes on the run from the FBI. That’s when things get wild.

This book was the most fun I’ve had reading so far this year. I absolutely loved it. It was an absurd and wild ride that I couldn’t turn away from. It doesn’t hurt that it has a messy found family. I wish I could read this for the first time again. I devoured it.

This was such a fun read. Somehow, a story about the hunt for a serial killer turned into a cozy mystery/suspense. Characters are full of heart. While there are descriptions of murder, and the killer’s preference for sex workers, there wasn’t any SA. I felt this helped keep the story from getting too dark and I appreciated that. Perfect, finish-in-a-day kind of read.

Okay I can already tell this is going to be one of my top reads of 2023. It was just SO effing good I devoured it. Like shoved everything else aside, can't focus on anything else devoured it.

This is a book about a serial killer -- but its not your typical book about a serial killer. Its unbelievably funny and creative and had so many incredible twists and turns that I couldn't wait to finish and immediately when it was over I wanted more.

Amber is no stranger to the con game --- but just when she has gone straight and tried to turn her life around, she gets abducted by a serial killer. In what she thinks are going to be her final moments, she is saved by a mysterious woman in a mask --- who happens to be tracking a serial killer, just not the one that took Amber. And saving her from the one puts her in the sights of the other -- leading Amber, the masked woman, and a misfit crew of Vegas locals into a deadly game of cat and mouse. And order to catch a killer, they will have to think like a killer..

I will be recommending this one to everyone when it releases later this year.

After escaping the clutches of a serial killer, Amber’s darker past forces her to abandon her near-complete college education and her life in general before the FBI comes poking around. But once she goes on the run, she begins receiving cryptic messages from the woman who initially saved her, then warnings that she’s attracted the attention of yet another serial killer. With the help of a rag-tag group of Las Vegas misfits, Amber tries to figure out what the hell is happening and also not get killed. Oh yeah, and it’s funny.

This book was wild. Just when you think you know where it’s going, it all changes. Amber was fascinating—after learning to be a con artist from her con artist parents, she was essentially left to her own devices and had to fall back on the only thing she knew. But she’s clever and quick and even con artists have a moral code. While the book is definitely dark (I’m not sure how you do prolific serial killers without being dark), the humor definitely lightens the load. Michelle is a new to me author, but I will definitely be checking out her backlist. Available 5/16/23.

In Killing Me Michelle Gagnon has a fun romp of a serial killer chase. Protagonist Amber is smart and funny and real with herself. Add several campy, feel-good friends and a ridiculously evil bad guy (girl?) and you’ve got yourself a good time.

Killing Me by Michelle Gagnon is a humorous take on a serial killer mystery, which may seem like an impossible feat but I assure you, this unique tale achieves it: This is a one of its’ kind mystery with a fascinating group of characters that provide a story of haphazard grace & grit against unimaginable odds.,

This book takes the reader on a messy adventure following Amber as she is evading,not one, but two serial killers on her path. Through her rollercoaster of a ride, she stumbles upon an eclectic band of allies that create a found family of sorts. Buckle up your seats because it’s a wild ride!

I loved the fact that the main characters all had very unique backgrounds chalked full of handing life’s most difficult challenges. There’s mistakes, mayhem, growth & healing. I loved that the cast of characters was delightfully imperfect, which made them feel very authentic to me!

This was a phenomenally unique mystery of mischief, mystery, murder & even humor-filled,l heartfelt moments.


Massive thanks to NetGalley & G.P. Putnam & Sons for the free arc, which I voluntarily read & reviewed.


Trigger Warnings: This book mentions &/or contains kidnapping, violence, murder, gun violence, drugs & addiction.

For a thrilling mystery about a woman who is immediately kidnapped by a serial killer, this story had me laughing from the first page. The main character's sarcasm and humor completely matches my own. The author did an amazing job in her writing, allowing the reader to fully integrate into the story. I found that I truly lost track of time while reading and laughed out loud so many times. The writing was awash with its creative plot, characters, and theme - losing oneself in the descriptions and actions was easy to do. The flow of the story had me so intregued while I was cheering on the characters in their quest for truth. I truly had no idea how it would end, which was a nice surprise. Such a fun twist on a murder mystery and I completely enjoyed every moment.

I highly recommend this, and wait with hope of a possible series. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book! I cannot wait to read more from this author.

I loved this book. It’s hilarious, thrilling and full of classic noir vibes. The Vegas setting is fantastic and adds to the atmosphere. I really appreciated Amber and her backstory. She was constantly making me laugh. This is a serial killer story done in such a unique way. I recommend it for those who love serial killer stories, female friendships and quirky characters.

I'll repeat what another reviewer wrote. "What did I just read?"

Full disclosure. I read mysteries. 95% cozy mysteries. When I requested "killing me" from netgalley, it was after I read the book blurb that it was a laugh out loud thriller. I knew it was not a cozy. I knew it was a thriller. I didn't know it would keep my on the edge of my seat anxious to know what happens and not miss any details by jumping ahead. The blurb said laugh out loud. I don't recall actually doing that while reading. But I did enjoy the sarcastic humor of the main character/ victim/heroine. Definitely a modern thriller that takes you from a woman trying to turn her life around for the better. Into the mind of the victim of a serial killer. To a family drama. A satisfying ending & standalone read. Loved all the characters .

I recommend this book for an exciting read of female heroism. Please be aware of triggers for kidnapping, abuse, murder, & sexual references. This is not meant to turn anyone away. I did not find it to be gory or overly explicit. But take the thriller murder part seriously. I'm going to pick up a comfort read for recovery. But thank you for the thrilling ride #netgalley #michellegagnon #putnamssons

This book was an adventure from the opening sentence where we find Amber being rescued from certain death by a serial killer. The novel unwinds through the trials and capers Amber undergoes as she attempts to escape her death and assist her savior in catching the real serial killer. Grace, the serial killers sister, begrudgingly works with Amber in setting a plan for catching her brother and stopping him from killing anyone else. This novel was a quick, energetic and spastic read that was engrossing.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC of this novel. All opinions expressed are mine alone.