The synopsis wasn't kidding about this being "your next stay-up-all-night thriller" because I was up till 3am reading it! And this is a thriller, you say... So why did I cry?!?!?!

This was a breezy read that hooked right from the start and left me desperate to know how it would all play out. I adored the fresh premise, the writing and all the characters, who I grew so attached to. I also loved the sisterly relationships and dynamics; the way Sissy spoke about Moody and Iris in one chapter left me in tears. Sissy's dilemma of family and duty versus love and happiness was so incredibly vivid and well-written that it left me feeling THINGS.

I love girlboss stories about female rage and How I'll Kill You is top-tier, particularly with its fantastic cast, rich emotional depth, and twist after twist. What a clever, engrossing and fun debut!

This was ok. The story follows the West Triplets - Moody, Iris and Sissy. After Iris’ boyfriend is killed the girls make a pact to kill their lovers before they can be hurt. Sissy has always cleaned up her sister’s messes, but now they are in Arizona and it is Sissy’s turn to kill. But as the girls start breaking their own rules, things start falling apart.
I was initially intrigued by the idea of identical triplet serial killers. Like what an idea. I’m just not really sure how I feel about it. The pacing is a little slow, and some of the plot was predictable. But overall it was a decent read.

This read more like a romance than a thriller. The premise of female triplet serial killers was intriguing but it just wasn’t for me.

Twins and triplets are supposed to be close, share each other's thoughts and feelings, swap clothes, trick teachers........all that good stuff. But become serial killers together? All I can say is don't date any of them! We're talking praying mantis level of dating here.

What happens when one of them decides she actually LIKES her boyfriend? Is this the end of a great sibling bonding experience?

Favorite Quotes:

The sound he makes is pitched and small, like a mewling little boy. When people know they’re going to die, they become children again. They shrink back down to when they were still aware of how helpless they truly are. Back when there were monsters in closets and skeletal hands reaching out at them from under their beds.

It’s been seven years since my sisters or I have been called by the names that were given to us by the state. Those cold syllables are meaningless and dead, like costumes hanging in a closet with no one to wear them.

I can see that he’s lonely too. Children don’t say as much, but they can smell emotions like bloodhounds. They can see misery, see loss at such a level that it frightens the words right out of them.

There’s a sameness to us, even in times like this when I hate it, when I hate my sisters so much that I wish I could drain all the blood I have in common with them and become someone new.


My Review:

Ms. DeStefano’s writing style was keenly honed, vivid, and had a depth that quickly snagged my gray matter and held my attention rapt throughout perusal. Even when I was forced to put my Kindle down and was quite busy elsewhere, I found myself ruminating on the genius of the character development, her grasp of the intricacies and nuances of the various twisted personalities, and the brilliance of the pacing and storytelling. The writing was disturbingly perceptive and kept me on edge and anxious for each new development. The gal has mad skills. I found her word voodoo to be devious and bewitching and have added her name to the top of my list of new favorites to watch.

Identical triplets (sisters) serial killers + dark romance + family drama = genre blending wild ride.

What I really liked:
✨Unique serial killer spin - Triplets?! Creative, brilliant, and a nightmare to solve! Sissy’s expertise in crime scene cleanup definitely is nothing but thorough! No doubt she would make a great female Dexter.
✨Character Depth: DeStefano seamlessly weaves the backstory of these morally grey sisters, creating sympathy and even understanding of how abuse and abandonment can mold a young adult.
✨Narration: Karissa Vacker outstandingly performs Sissy, Moody, and Iris! She gives distinct voices/personalities to the triplets.

Read this if you love:
✨Character-driven thrillers
✨Mixed genres
✨Morally gray MCs

The premise of this book is exciting. Identical triplet sister killers?? Sign me up!
Unfortunately, it did not live up to expectations. The writing fell flat, character development was non-existent, and pacing was slow. Sissy, Moody, and Iris go around the country taking turns killing their lovers. Now it's Sissy's turn and she falls for Edison in Arizona. She ends up falling in love with him and contemplates betraying her sisters by not killing him.
Told from Sissy's point of view, there's nothing relatable about her. Readers don't really get a sense of who these sisters are and, really, why they are going on a killing spree. They spent time separated in foster care, but that's a very weak reason.
I really had a hard time getting through this one.

How I'll Kill You
Ren DeStefano
OUT NOW

THIS is the book that IG threatened to cancel my account over. Because of a word in the title. Y'all, the last TWO books were amazing! March is a really good month for me!! Anyway, on to the review

review

This book...I don't know what I expected. But, this was not it in the best way! Triplets Iris, Moody and Sissy (this is not their legal names. We don't learn that until the end). They were dropped off after birth with no documentation. No one knew who their parents were, and they never came forward. Their names were given to them by DCF, and they were ripped apart and subsequently spent the years until they were 18 in the foster care system, all placed in different homes, group homes, etc. This helps set the scene for their behavior, so to say. The book is told from Sissy's POV.

They have a pact to make men fall in love with them and then kill them. But, through it all, they always had each other, and the love they shared for their siblings was the only thing that mattered at the end of the day. They would be together, and nothing could tear them apart.

There was one point, maybe 2/3 or 3/4 of the way through, I had an idea of what was going to happen at the end. I was pretty close, but I had some of the final details wrong. Which is totally okay with me.

There are a few TW in this book : murder, suicide, and slight mention of dismemberment. Some of the descriptions were a bit gorey, but I loved it. I was heard gasping and saying oh my God a lot during this book!!

Read this book if
🩸You like books about twins or triplets
🩸You want a psychologically dark book
🩸You want a book about siblings that would do anything for one another


Thank you to @laurendestefanoauthor, @berkleypub, and @netgalley for an eARC of this book. It is out NOW!

Well, this was unpleasant. Not the book, the writing or the plot- all diabolically good. But these sisters, identical triplets,who murder their boyfriends. On purpose. Unpleasant business to be sure.
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I went in blind to How I’ll Kill You, by Ren DeStefano, so I was surprised right away that there wasn’t one murderer, not two murderers, but three of them! They are clever and cunning, just do not get in a relationship with any of them.
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Then the youngest, or who they assume to be the youngest, actually falls too deep for her target, suddenly her sisters are changing all their rules. This time is definitely not like all the others.
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The author did a great job of filling in these sister’s back story and making these murderers sympathetic characters. You might not agree with what they are doing, but you will cheer them on anyway, still expecting the best of them. They are fiercely loyal, smart women. They just happen to calmly discuss the best ways to kill people as if they were discussing the best shoes to wear in the rain.
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There is no “whodunnit” here. You know right up front who, you know where, when, and why. You have several guesses as to how. You just can’t stop reading to see it play out.
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Definitely twisty! This was a really unique read. I enjoyed the triplets, even though writing this makes me feel a little crazy!


I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

Triplets abandoned at birth — never placed with the same foster families. They kept in touch as much as they could over the years but now, they’re finally back together…as a trio of killers.

Y’all, I couldn’t put this one down! It isn’t JUST a suspenseful thrill ride. Identical triplets generally have so much more in common than regular siblings. Their mannerisms, quirks, and thought processes are more in sync. This book shows that, despite these genetic similarities, a person’s environment also has a tremendous effect on their overall view of the world. These three sisters are similar but each with their own distinct personality.

The romance element is a major player in the plot and I loved the chemistry between Sissy and Edison. Sissy loves fiercely. But when faced with the hardest decision of her life, which path will she choose?

Read this if you love:
Romantic suspense
Sisterly bonds
Serial killers
Found family

I received an advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.

How I’ll Kill You is not a hyperbolic title for this nerve-wracking thriller from new author Ren DeStefano. I did not hit the brakes once from the first to the last page, reading through into the wee hours of the morning. Sissy, the narrator is one of identical triplets who were separated into different foster homes during their childhood, though coming together frequently enough that they always identified as a triad. They were a bit of a cause célèbre when they were left as children so they have plenty of money to live on as they travel the country killing people. Well, so far, her seconds older sisters Iris and Moody have been killing and Sissy has been cleaning up. But this time, it’s her turn.

She identifies her target, Edison, a widowed man. It complicates the matter for Sissy when his stepdaughter showed up. To follow the plan, Sissy should be distant and not form an attachment to her, but Sissy makes the mistake of caring. With Edison, she narrates how she would kill him, she imagines it and it’s fascinating, but with him, things get complicated as well. Very complicated.



How I’ll Kill You is a completely original thriller. Yes, there have been murderous narrators before, but few have spoken so dispassionately about murder. She’s excited to be taking her turn. You can see how the triad formed by the sisters’ separation and coming together. Sissy was lucky enough to have a loving foster family, a source of guilt and obligation to her less lucky sisters. It’s fascinating to see how they came to be and how disciplined they are at the art of murder. Imagine that applied to more wholesome pursuits.

How I’ll Kill You at Berkley | Penguin Random House
Ren DeStefano on Instagram

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the eARC of How I’ll Kill You in exchange for my honest review.

This was an impressive debut (I’ll be honest I was surprised it was a debut!!). The plot was extremely clever and well planned out. It wasn’t super shocking, but it didn’t pull its punches as it moved along. There are some similarities to The Kind Worth Killing, but that’s one of my favorite books so I had a LOT of excitement with this one. I love a good morally grey character and this had quite a few.

Best to go in blind and not look at reviews or too deeply at the synopsis! A wonderful page turner, well worth a read!

Short synopsis: Sissy and her 2 sisters are triplets with a tragic childhood. They’ve learned to only stick together, and have a strange pact to kill off their boyfriends. Sissy’s always been the one to clean up, but this time it’s her turn to fall in love, and leave her man dead.

My thoughts: Wow this was twisty, unlike anything I’ve read before, and completely insane. Such a great psychological thriller that leaves you questioning whether to root for the killer, or to wish they’d get caught.

I enjoyed the relationship between the 3 sisters, and how different they were. Watching their history unravel, and their dedication to each other strengthen was quite the experience.

I did wonder whether it was strange that I enjoyed this so much. It gets graphic at moments, and definitely deaths with death and planning murder. There’s something about it that had me flipping pages and wanting to know what they sisters got up to next, and what happened in their pasts to make them the way they are.

Read if you love:
- Twisty thrillers
- Bonds of sisters
- Arizona heat
- Slow burn thriller
- True crime

Identical triplets, separated in the foster system, have now become a team. A team of serial killers. Sissy has always handled the clean up but now she has been given her own target. And she has chosen Edison. But, Sissy begins to get too close and the other sisters are not letting her forget her mission!

I think my problem with this book is I absolutely hated all of the characters. There was absolutely nothing at all which interested me. I also found them and the story very predictable. That being said, there was still something that kept me reading. The sisters interactions and the intensity of their plan is pretty extreme.

Need a good tale with murder ever present in the characters’ minds…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

Special thanks to Netgalley and Berkeley Publishing for the ARC of this book.

This is My Sister, the Serial Killer times3. Nah just kidding, although it is about sister's killing their boyfriends and the sister who cleans up. Their is Moody, Iris, and Sissy. Triplets. Two of them deadly and cunning. They make men fall in love with them, then kill them and now it's Sissy's turn.

But Sissy falls in love with a widower, Edmond. He is quiet and Sissy is supposed to make Edmond fall in love and then kill him.

As Sissy is the narrator, we get her view on her feelings about her sisters,, how she's the one who cleans up after her sisters, and how they are pressuring her to kill a man she loves. They often work 2gether so nobody knows there are 3 of them. They often pretend they grew up as a single child, and often pretend they are the other sister!

Will Sissy kill Edmond?

This book was pure fun and the storytelling was really great! I highly recommend this book. It just came out in mid (ish) March! 4 stars!

Thank you to the publisher for the gifted copy.

To be completely honest, I wasn't sure about this book when I started, and I'll tell you why. It reads a bit like a romance, but then there will be something thrown in that is like "WHOA, what?! Oh yea, this is a thriller".

And also, to be completely honest? I kind of loved that.

Sissy, Moody, and Iris are identical triplets with a deadly pact. They take turns finding men, establishing a romantic relationship with them, and then kill them. It's now Sissy's turn for her first kill, and she finds the perfect man. She reels him in, but the more she gets to know - and love - him, the more she ( and her sisters) start questioning if she will really be able to kill him as intended.

The whole time I read this I a) wondered the same thing and b) thought there was more to the story than the author was letting on. The end got very twisty and by the time I finished I was both disturbed and relieved.

I will definitely read more from this author. Well done.

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Pub for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was one unique thriller. Truly unlike any other thriller I've EVER read! Sissy, Iris, and Moody had very interesting (and creepy!) personalities. The plot --- perfection! This book was so addictive and couldn't put it down. Very impressive debut! Can't wait to see what Ren DeStefano comes up with next!

So I’m in the middle of reading this novel now and it’s crazy twisted and I’m having a hard time putting it down!! It’s well-written and fast-moving, but it’s also one of those books that once you start reading it, you just can’t stop thinking about it!

A big thanks to Berkeley Books for sending this my way!


ABOUT THE BOOK

Your next stay-up-all-night thriller, about identical triplets who have a nasty habit of killing their boyfriends, and what happens when the youngest commits their worst crime yet: falling in love with her mark.

Make him want you.
Make him love you.
Make him dead.

Sissy has an…interesting family. Always the careful one, always the cautious one, she has handled the cleanup while her serial killer sisters have carved a path of carnage across the U.S. Now, as they arrive in the Arizona heat, Sissy must step up and embrace the family pastime of making a man fall in love and then murdering him. Her first target? A young widower named Edison—and their mutual attraction is instant. While their relationship progresses, and most couples would be thinking about picking out china patterns and moving in together, Sissy’s family is reminding her to think about picking out burial sites and moving on.

But then something happens that Sissy never anticipated: She begins to feel protective of Edison, and then, before she can help it, she’s fallen in love. But the clock is ticking, and her sisters are growing restless. It becomes clear that the gravesite she chooses will hide a body no matter what happens; but if she betrays her family, will it be hers?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ren DeStefano lives in Connecticut, where she was born and raised. When she’s not writing thrillers, she’s listening to true crime podcasts and crocheting way too many blankets. Learn more at: https://laurendestefano.com.

In this psychological thriller, three identical sisters engage in some rather disturbing crimes -- they stalk men for sex and killing. It's quite disturbing and yet I found myself going back for more. There were times that I didn't want to read any more and times I was compelled to take a look inside these serial killers heads.

Sissy tells their story. it gets complicated when she falls for her first kill. The look inside her head is just fascinating and was the thing that kept me coming back to this rather disturbing book. No doubt about it, this is not a story for everyone.

In spite of the interesting characterizations, I did find the pace a bit slow and the content disturbing which kept me from devouring the pages. I could only read a bit at a time. But the writing was terrific and I would definitely check out another time from this first-time-to-me author.