Vegas baby! but not in the way you imagine. Michelle Gagnon did not sugarcoat stuff. She started with a bang where our MC was about to be chopped into blue pieces before mysterious headhunter saved her smurf-like body. that could be the end of the story in many books, but in this one it is just the beginning.

Amber was afraid. With her past and involvement of FBI in her case (no one should have known she was involved), she needed to move away from her newly settled life. She used her old tricks to find her way into new towns. Meanwhile she was getting messages from her serial killer slayer friend, who said she wouldn't want to be in touch. Later, she realized that her road to freedom would end in Vegas until further notice and new friends would join her crew to solve the biggest murder mystery of the US.

I love the slapping effect of this book. I loved how badass women rule the days and nights of Vegas and solve their own problems with network of smart people. This is a great story to shake things up a bit and make you flip those pages like there is no tomorrow.

As the story opens, Amber is bound and gagged in a basement trying to comprehend the startling realization that she is about to die at the hands of a serial killer. At the 11th hour, she is rescued by Grace, a petite powerhouse of a woman whose distain for Amber is evident in every interaction. Amber, though, has a history herself. She is the abandoned daughter of two grifters who grew up participating in their cons and survived for many years running them on her own until she decided to go straight. As Amber leaves town (2 months away from graduating college) out of fear of a second serial killer, she and Grace continue crossing paths until they are ultimately forced to collaborate to outwit the biggest serial killer of them all: Grace's twin brother.

I had a bit of difficulty getting into this book, but when it clicked, I stayed up well past my bedtime reading. Completely unique storyline - I would describe it as a seamier, Stephanie Plum'ish type of book if Stephanie came from a crap childhood instead of a supportive family. And was a lesbian. Also, even though it was all about serial killers and their depraved mines, this book was not gory or gross in its depictions of the murder scenes. I'm very interested in an Amber Jameson series! I'm hoping it happens.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of Killing Me by Michelle Magnon.

Normally I really love a good cat and mouse thriller, but I had a hard time sinking into Killing Me. I may have made a mistake by reading it, because perhaps the narrator's voice was too flippant and carefree for the type of novel it was, but it was almost too playful? The tone that I got was "ugh, I've totally been abducted, lame, being murdered is so cliche." And this is why it's important to remember that reviews are subjective, because there's absolutely nothing wrong with taking that approach, it just wasn't my cup of tea and I really struggled to invest.

A funny and unexpectedly humorous book involving a girl escaping a serial killer! Never would’ve thought I could enjoy a book so much where these two subjects merge, but here it is. The characters are colorful and animated. Each full of their own personality. There’s a suspense throughout the book involving our protagonist and her secretive background and the constantly there question of who is the serial killer, why is she the target, and out of everyone she encounters on her journey who can she truly trust!

I enjoyed this book quite a bit. The female protagonist was funny, tough, and easy to like. The plot had all of the right twists and turns. If you like suspense and mystery with a little dark humor, this will be right up your alley!

You might believe that surviving the lair of a serial killer would be the weirdest thing to happen to a person, but for Amber, that is just the beginning. Now, caught in a game of cat and mouse, Amber is forced to put her life in the hands of someone she can't trust to stay alive.

Set in Vegas, Killing Me is a campy murder mystery brimming with loveable characters, dark comedy, compelling twists, seedy motels, sex workers, sapphic romance, and one girl's will to survive.

Despite an utterly ridiculous plot, Killing Me was a great read. The story kept me guessing the whole time. I trusted no one. The setting was perfect. The found family was incredible. The noir-obsessed hotel manager was fantastic. I need her in my life!

My main issue was the pacing. It was a bit uneven due to expositional flashbacks that I wish were handled differently. The flashbacks are the only thing stopping this from being a 5-star read.

If you like thrillers with a bit of dark comedy and great characters, I highly recommend this one. I also recommend reading the author's note at the end.

Thank you to NetGalley, PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, and G.P. Putnam's Sons, for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I received a free copy from NetGalley. The strangest set of circumstances and coincidences set up this mystery. A great summer read that's a little different from the rest and a good mystery as a result.

Date reflects review, no the date read.

Amber is kidnapped by the Pikachu serial killer and thinks she's about to become his latest victim. Then a woman in a ski mask suddenly shows up, saves her, then leaves. When Amber thinks the FBI has come calling to ask questions, she decides to flee to Vegas instead, rather than dredge up her con past. As Amber tries to come up with the money to get a new ID, she befriends the motel owner Dot and fellow resident Marcella, who become entangled in Amber's situation. Amber thought she had been texting her mysterious savior, but when Grace shows up to find her, she learns there's another serial killer on her trail. Now they are all involved trying to stay ahead of the killer. Overall, a fun read filled with dark humor and implausible situations. Readers who like quirky and questionable characters will like this one.

To me the book Killing Me was part Silence of the Lamb, part Janet Evanovich and part CSI Las Vegas. It was an enjoyable read with a lot of twists in the plot and satisfactory conclusion.

Amber James is about to become the next victim of the Pikachu serial killer when she is miraculously saved by a mysterious woman named Grace who then disappears without an explanation. Given her questionable past, Amber chooses to flee to Las Vegas rather than meeting with the FBI to answer a bunch of questions. Once in Las Vegas, she ends up staying in a sleazy motel and befriending the hotel owner and a sex worker. Unfortunately for her, she’s also gets caught up in a deadly game with another serial killer.

Well, this was definitely a fun ride! The characters were great as was the premise, and I loved the location, added snark and dark humor which is always a bonus in thrillers for me. Amber has street-smarts and common sense which ultimately makes her a very likable protagonist. If you are someone who requires plausibility, this might not be for you, but if you can go with the flow and just have fun with it, I think you will enjoy this one. I am definitely looking forward to more books from this author. 4 stars.

I admit I didn't that I would like this the story, however I was so wrong. It is one of the best dark comedy that I have read in a long time. It will hook you and you will laugh out loud. Amber the main character is the best that you can't help but cheer for her. It is a quick read with all these lovable characters. Sometimes when you are trying to find a serial killer you need a community, since the police are doing nothing.

Amber is about to be the latest victim of a serial killer, she is more angry at herself then afraid. But then things get weird, yes, the guy her took her is weird. But the weirdest part is she is saved by this mystery lady who then disappears. Who is this woman and why is she hunting serial killers? But it doesn't stop there oh no she is now caught up in a deadly game that has been going on for years.

To survive she most go back to her old self, that part of her she put behind her.

All I have to say without giving to much away, you have to read this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons for a copy of this book for my honest review.

Probably one of my favorite books of 2023! It wasn’t what I expected at all but I absolutely loved it. The author does a great job of both connecting you with the characters as well as keeping you on the edge of your seat. There were a number of twists and turns that I never saw coming. And even the ones I did, the author took them in a direction much different than what I expected. This is definitely my favorite thriller of the year to date and likely to be in my top five books for the entire year as well.

I kept going back and forth on whether or not I liked this book. I got a hard copy from the library so I could read it again. My favorite part of Killing Me was the quirky side characters. I felt they had the most heart. Amber and Grace were not all that likable but Dot really made the story for me. This is about Amber who is taken by a serial killer. Grace rescues Amber and from here Amber decides to run away to Las Vegas. She meets a prostitute named Marcella and a motel owner named Dot. She doesn’t realize another killer has their sights on her… the premise is so good and this book could have been amazing. I found some flaws and wish the main character had some redeeming qualities in her personality but overall I did enjoy this book.

Killing Me has the best characters!!! I want to go drinking with them. Author has a new fan in me.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

Amber Jamison is street-savvy. Her past has been rewritten and now she is a few weeks shy of graduating college. That is why she is pissed she is about to become the next victim of the Pikachu serial killer. She cannot believe she did not see the abduction coming. Just as she is afraid she will be killed, she is saved by a small woman who helps her escape.

Think this tale is over? Not by a long-shot. Through a series of misleading events, Amber is now on the run from life because she does not want to talk to the cops about her abduction. As she flees from TN to the west coast, she settles in Vegas where you can get lost in the crowd. However, that does not happen for her. Unbeknownst to her, one of the world's most prolific serial killers is hot on her trail. Amber is now part of a decades long game that always ends up with no survivors. Can she be the first?

Blog:
When I saw this on NetGalley, I was intrigued by the Final Girls-esque vibe – the women who would be the killer’s victims turning on him. I was skeptical I would find it humorous because, honestly, my funny bone is a little particular. But I actually found myself chortling on page one.

If you’re the type of person with an internal dialogue of self-deprecating humor about bizarre situations you find yourself in, then you’ll probably enjoy the sense of humor in this book. Regardless, you’ll be able to tell quickly if it’s for you or not, because the humor comes so quickly in the book, and that style is what’s present throughout the rest.

This is primarily told in the first person from Amber’s perspective, and she’s dry, acerbic, self-deprecating, but also whip-smart. (There are a few third person chapters that let us see things Amber doesn’t know about.) Amber is simultaneously problematic (she’s a con artist) and easy to root for. She’s richly three-dimensional. The main secondary characters are also rich and well-imagined. It would have been so easy to see a caricature of a sex worker, seedy motel owner, an Evangelical roommate, etc… yet they all are allowed to be more than what they might seem to be at first.

The Las Vegas setting rang very true to me. It depicted both the tourist bits and the seedier local areas quite well. I especially loved the run-down yet beloved film noir stylized motel as compared to the one recently made over to appeal to Gen Z and Millennials. That had me chortling.

I also really appreciated that this is a book whose main character is a lesbian but the plot has absolutely nothing to do with her being a lesbian. You could have almost the exact same book with a heterosexual main character. It’s just Amber so happens to like women. I like having this type of representation. It doesn’t always have to be about the difficulties of coming out or a romance to feature queer people.

The mystery itself was decent. The plot was certainly unique compared to other thrillers I’ve read, and I did not guess the ending. There was one twist that annoyed me only because it was solely a twist because Amber held something back from the reader. But I was willing to forgive it because she sort of breaks the fourth wall and acknowledges that she did it…which was funny.

I hope there’s a sequel, because I think there’s a lot left to explore with Amber, and she has a very interesting set-up at the end of the book.

Overall, I really recommend this to thriller lovers looking for something different. The humor and the plot really deliver.

GoodReads:
Who knew a serial killer thriller could also be a hoot and a half? I was both laughing and hooked into finding out what would happen from the very first page where our protagonist is maligning herself for being abducted by a serial killer.

Check out my full review.

*I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.*

Instagram:
My last read for #PrideMonth is a humorous thriller. (I didn’t even know such a thing exists.) Killing Me starts with Amber self-deprecating herself for being abducted by the Pikachu killer. I was chortling from the first page. But don’t worry, it quickly takes a turn to women outsmarting serial killers together. What’s the queer part? Amber is a lesbian. Check out my book blog for my full review. Thank you to the publisher for providing a free copy in exchange for my honest review via NetGalley.
#bookalicious #thrillingreads #humorousbooks #lesbianreads #queerbookstagram

I could not get into this one, so sadly - it was a DNF for me. I have heard good things, so I know it was me.

This is definitely a good mystery mixed with humor via especially Amber who is so snarky, which is my favorite kind of character. She really added to the plot for me. She is kidnapped by a serial killer early on in the book. But without giving it away, she isn't only kidnapped by one serial killer in her lifetime. I generally don't find the genre of mystery "funny" but this one was, but it worked for me. I took it for how I felt the author wanted it to come across, so it didn't annoy me but it did make it more light-hearted which normally a serial killer plot is anything but. I mean, when you can kill two birds with one stone, why not?

I also liked that the pages flew by and it was a quick read without feeling slow. It had a coupe twists that were unexpected which I always love.

Michelle Gagnon's Killing Me is a quirky romp through a murder mystery. In it, we meet Amber Jamison. She comes from a family of grifters and is trying to escape that life by building a new one. She thought she had succeeded until she's grabbed by the Pikachu serial killer, who's all set to make her his sixth victim. But she's rescued by a badass woman. A mysterious woman who is reluctant to help Amber after she's rescued her. But one night, the FBI shows up and Amber makes a run for it, thinking that her past has caught up with her.

She decides to head west, and from a flyer left on her windshield, ends up in Las Vegas. There, she meets Marcella and Dot, who become her best friends. Turns out, Amber needs them to help escape another serial killer who has his eyes on her.

The characters are enjoyable. Amber is sassy, sarcastic, cynical and smart. Marcella is the prostitute with a heart of gold. Dot is hard, but once she takes a liking to you, your in. The story had a nice twist to it that left me doubting all I had thought about the outcome. Even though the pacing was a bit erratic, it was an all-around fun read.

#KillingMe #NetGalley

This was a fast paced enthralling read. I really enjoyed this author and look forward to more by this author.