Honestly… not sure what I just read. If you’re into super weird humor, LGBTQ+ sex workers, multiple serial killers, and small-time grifters, this is the book for you. I’m not sure this was the book for me.

The book started right in the middle of the action, which worked well for getting the plot going, but then the pacing kind of fell apart until the final few chapters. There were some characters with unique features, which I liked, but the whole thing was so bizarre I’m just… still thinking about it. Which is good, I guess?

I think this book is going to have to be a DNF for me. It is not a bad book per se, I am just having difficulty getting into it. I am rating it 3 stars because I have to give it a rating.

Wow. This book was different but in a good way. The MC just couldn't stay out of trouble. Very cool twists and likeable characters. Definitely worth a read.

When college psychology student Amber wakes up on a van floor fully duct-taped like a sushi roll, she feels stupid. Stupid for being tricked and captured by the Pikachu Killer, who already has 5 victims that he paints like Pokémon and then strangles. Evil Eevee, for sure. Amber sees a mostly naked Pikachu-masked man with a pudgy middle and realizes her situation is “terrifying, absurd and hilarious”. Drugged again, she wakes up bald and painted like a Poliwhirl or a Horsea, about to be killed when a ski masked ninja swoops in. Amber is rescued, but unwilling to go to the police because of something in her background. For her, escaping a serial killer is as unlucky as being caught by one. A sign from God (actually a postcard under her windshield wiper) tells her to go to Vegas.

The story gets crazy and thrilling from that point (more serial killers and more wanna-be ninja sleuths). Amber is likeable and really wanted a fresh start, but this matter of being kidnapped (and not wanting the scrutiny a victim gets) has put her on the run. The main character is quick-witted and easy to empathize with — Ms. Gagnon has a talent for getting you to root for Amber even with her flaws. There’s a lot of quirky humor as well to offset the gorier aspects — hey, we started with the “Pikachu Killer” ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I loved this book! So much so, I’ll be looking for the author’s backlist (a three part series) and adding it to my TBR list. 5 stars!

Thank you to Penguin/G.P. Putnam and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): NO But there is a guy with a dark, dark green aura. And if the Pikachu Killer gets through the entire Pokédex, then Elgyem and Spiritomb have green eyes.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): SORT OF Serial killer’s dad tried to “cultivate” tulip bulbs and apparently failed. Whatever that means. Just plant them.

I was able to read this book early through NetGalley and I am totally here for this book. It's a thriller, it's a comedy, it's everything. I was laughing from the beginning and I could not put it down. It looks like this might be the start of a series, and I am looking forward to the rest of them- I mean how can you go wrong with a killer called the Pikachu killer that paints his victims like Pokemon?!

Killing Me by Michelle Gagnon was an absolutely WILD, delightful ride! I would describe it as a campy thriller with lots of comedy thrown in. It has so many plot twists and turns, I was totally captivated!

It follows Amber after her narrow escape from a serial killer. Only to find herself the target of ANOTHER serial killer. It has an amazing cast of characters - mostly badass females! - that add so much to the story. Most of the book takes place in the seedy underbelly of Vegas - which also added an interesting element.

I can’t even tell you how much I loved this book. It’s a must read if you like:
🔑 Strong female characters
🔑 Thrillers with a side of humor
🔑 Flawed characters
🔑 Stories about serial killers
🔑 Alllll the plot twists

Publish date: May 23, 2023

Thank you to @netgalley and @penguinrandomhouse for access to this eARC.

This was such a strange book. Am I glad I read it? …maybe? It started out in a hilarious whirlwind, so I had high hopes for this one. A college student named Amber gets kidnapped by a serial killer known as the “pikachu killer”, who completely shaves his victims and paints them to look like pokemon… what!? Amber’s inner commentary throughout the abduction is just golden. So this book started off with this funny edge that I really enjoyed! If the whole book had stayed consistently funny like it was at the beginning, I think I would have really loved it. But then I feel like that level of comedy died down as you kept reading. It still has plenty of sarcastic banter, but it wasn’t so laugh-out-loud funny to me. I put the book down around 40% for a while, and then I struggled to get into it until closer to the end.

Things went from quirky but still slightly believable, to completely outlandish and I just couldn’t quite follow it. I think my main issue is it just didn’t quite fit with my sense of humor. However, if you *want* an outlandish and quirky read about catching a serial killer, I think you’d like this.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

I greatly enjoyed this book. So much so, that I read it in one sitting. It's a fun, quirky read with eccentric female characters, .sarcastic humor and heart.

The characters, particularly the MC, were fully developed. The pacing was perfect with the plot having unexpected twists and turns which kept me engaged until the last page.

Although there is humor, underlying it is the theme of second chances and redemption.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishing team for giving me an eARC of Killing Me in exchange for an honest review.

This was a FUN book, but it wasn't quite for me. It starts with our main character in the back of a van being kidnapped by the Pikkachu Killer, a serial killer who paints his victims to look like Pokeman characters. As off the wall as this is, the humor and wacky characters only grown throughout the book. It is definitely a campy thriller, and not an edge of your seat, nightmare inducing thriller. Overall, this book and it's characters were every bit as zany as I was hoping for. Unfortunately, the premise requires way too much suspension of disbelief and reliance on unexplainable technology to be my personal cup of tea.

Thanks to Netgalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons for the free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This is a fun, fast paced thriller/mystery/suspense story of serial killers and eccentric women with a touch of sarcasm. Its definitely good time! We meet Amber, a grifter, who has gotten herself kidnaped by a serial killer. She is rescued by a woman in a ski mask who hunts serial killers professionally and wields a mean cattle prod. Now the game begins!

There are a lot of twists and action to keep me guessing about what is around the corner but the unique humor thrown in was great! I definitely will watch to see if this becomes a series! Loved Marcella and Dot!

Highly recommend!

The cover of this book is what caught my eye and then the synopsis sounded right up my alley. Amber, the main character, was written so well. I really enjoyed her thoughts as she was being kidnapped and made an event that should be horrifying, much more entertaining. This book has so many random twists and turns but I was there for all of them. Definitely buying a physical copy of this book when its released to add to my collection. Absolutely loved this one and will be telling everyone I know about it. Thanks NetGalley for granting me the e-ARC to read.

Thank you to NetGalley, G.P. Putnam's Sons New York, and Michelle Gagnon for my ARC of Killing Me.

I thoroughly enjoyed this read. Seriously, this is a top tier book and I had so much fun reading Killing Me by Michelle Gagnon. I laughed, I cried, I gasped, I was on the edge of my seat throughout the whole book. Normally, there is "fluff" in books like these before you really get up to the action. That was not the case in this book. Michelle Gagnon is HILARIOUS. Seriously, she has such a way with writing that there is NEVER a dull moment in this book. In all books I read there are times where I read mindlessly and then I don't understand what I read, but that did NOT happen in Killing Me. I read every single word and loved every single second of it.

This is it. Amber Jamison is about to die. After getting abducted by a serial killer, she is now hairless and blue, and she is about to die. She's more embarrassed if anything because she's about to become a statistic. As if the situation couldn't get any weirder, she's saved by a knight in shiny armor... really a woman in skinny jeans and a ski mask using a cattle prod. A bit of a... really blunt person... Amber is saved by this mysterious person who quickly leaves just as fast as she arrived. Then, things get even weirder. After a close call with the police, Amber now has to go on the run and ends up in a sketchy Las Vegas motel where she befriends the noir-obsessed manager and a local sex worker. And as if things couldn't get more peculiar, she's now getting chased by different a serial killer. Time for Amber to go back to her roots and work with an unlikely team to take care of business. Maybe this time, she'll get lucky in Vegas.

I really felt like Gagnon left no stone unturned by the end of this book. She even gave us a satisfying ending! I especially appreciated the diversity of this book with the inclusion of POC and LGBTQ+ characters. Seriously, what a fun read. I don't think I've ever laughed so hard while reading a book. I know that first and foremost, it's a suspense/psychological thriller book. Don't get me wrong, I was seriously shocked at the plot twists and I felt like I was running a marathon. Even until the end I was still questioning everything, and I mean that. in a good way. It truly takes a talented author to be able to also stay true to the "humorous" aspect of the book. Honestly, I didn't find the comedy to be "cheesy", I genuinely found it laugh out loud funny. Also the fact that it was almost like a heist but not a heist to get money, a heist to catch a serial killer? Chef's kiss. Wow. Amazing. Wonderful. Show stopping. Now all I want to do is read more books like THIS. Gosh I really cannot express how incredible Killing Me by Michelle Gagnon is. From the author to the cover of the book (which is BEAUTIFUL, I love it), to the actual. book itself, I give it a million stars. But I guess I'll have to settle for five stars.

I would describe this first as a fun thriller, the characters were relatable and I thought amber was a great heroine. Quick read too, I throughly enjoyed this book. I went into this one blindly not sure what to expect I laughed out loud at parts and others I was in suspense as to what would happen next. Would definitely recommend this one. Thank you netgalley for advanced copy.

After the f-bomb was tossed almost as soon as I started to read, and within another page, several curse words were used, I opted not to read the book.
Zero stars

The book's description sounded promising, but such an implausible premise only works if everything else is convincing enough, but the writing here is so bad and immature, and the humor too flippant for my taste (but also, just not funny). I'm glad so many people enjoyed this book, but it's not for me and I couldn't finish it.

Killing Me, Amber Jamison. From a nice quiet town to a hunting ground for a serial killer, Amber thought she'd be safe but ended up in the hands of the serial killer. Tied up with a bag over her head, in the back of a van. The serial killer drove her to a warehouse and it seemed like that's where Amber's life was going to end. But it didn't. That's when things in her life got really weird. How'd she ended up getting out of the warehouse with her life? The first chapter brings you into the story quickly and doesn't let you go. The author, Michelle Gagnon, did an amazing job with Killing Me. I refuse to continue reading books that are full of filler words/information or when the story moves too slowly. The speed of Killing Me was great and kept my interest. You'll be rooting for Amber. I did!

I enjoyed this book mostly because of the writing style. Fun read. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Thanks to NetGalley and Putnam Books for sending me an ARC of Killing Me in exchange for an honest review.

Twenty-something Amber Johnson is about to become the latest victim of the “Pikachu Killer” when she is rescued by a woman who wears a ski mask and hunts serial killers. She may have survived this latest brush with death, but the attention from law enforcement risks her past coming to light, so Amber goes on the run. Soon she’s in Las Vegas meeting new people, which is great, but she’s also drawn into the path of an even more dangerous serial killer, which is less great. Good thing she already knows a serial killer-killer….

As you should expect from a book with an opening scene involving a serial killer who paints his victims to look like Pokémon characters, Killing Me is going for both laughs and thrills. The laughs often come from Amber’s cynical, sarcastic perspective on each scene, though the reader slowly learns the darker secrets in her past. But there’s also a solid mystery/thriller here as Amber is drawn into the murders taking place in Las Vegas, unsure of who she can trust. Dot, Marcella, and Grace are all good secondary characters. In fact, nearly every character in the novel is a woman—complicated and flawed, but redeemable.

The acknowledgments for Killing Me state that this book is the start of a series. The book certainly works as a stand-alone, and fully wraps up the story, though the ending is a bit bittersweet. Presumably the sequel would reunite the surviving characters to take down another killer in another fun story while also giving some of them a shot at a happier ending. All of that sounds good to me. Recommended. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

A fun and fast reading novel with sincere characters and good character development that highlights themes of trust, trauma, and friendship. If you are looking for something to keep your attention, that that has characters who are unpredictable and snarky but still likeable and kind this is a great pick. College student Amber can't believe her bad luck when she is picked up as the latest victim of the Pokemon killer - yes the Pokemon killer. Her life is not quite over yet, as something even more unexpected happens, leading to a cascading series of events that send her to Las Vegas. Not a cozy for the faint-hearted but not a dark noir-style thriller either - this is the type of twisty mystery that is a fun read for those who appreciate protagonists who flirt with the dark side.

- Thriller
- Mystery
- Humor

Bullet plot: Amber Jamison never imagined her life would be cut short by a serial killer. As a lover of serial killer podcasts she was supposed to be smarter than this! Then, by an even stranger turn of events she survives. Only to try and start her life anew out west. On her voyage she soon becomes a pawn between a brother and sister’s killer game of “catch me if you can”. Teaming up with an unlikely group to try and end this deadly game before she falls prey to yet ANOTHER serial killer… because sooner or later everyone’s luck runs out.

Rating:3.75/5