Kitty Collins is an Instagram influencer curating the perfect feed and the "good girl" in her circle of friends. She also happens to be a serial killer, plucking heinous men from the earth one by one. This is a pretty in-your-face example of the common knowledge that a pristine photo-grid does not a saint make.

Considering this is Katy Brent's debut, it's a fantastic one. How to Kill Men and Get Away With It was a fast paced read, with a pretty layered main character. I will admit that at first I pre-judged Kitty just as other characters in the book did, based upon her status and her full time job as an influencer. However, as I read I felt as if I got to know Kitty more, and in turn I really came to understand her. As a reviewer that is pretty critical of side characters, I found them to be believable and I appreciated that the focus of Kitty's relationships was to propel the story forward. I'm also joining the chorus of reviewers who found the ending and the twist to be perfect.

This was definitely a darker shade of humor, which is always a hit with me. This is somewhat of a Dexter-inspired book, so it also has a lot of gore as well as vigilante themes. There are several depictions of sexual assault and mention of pregnancy loss, so I would not recommend this book to readers who are sensitive to that subject matter. As for me, it was a great book for the season and despite the content (or perhaps owing to the content?) I thought it was a fun read and absolutely recommend it to anyone who also loves a little acrimony with their comedy.

Thanks so much to HQ Digital as well as NetGalley for the opportunity to read an eGalley of this in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Free courtesy of Netgalley

Unfortunately this book just wasn't for me. I didn't get it and it just didn't make sense. I didn't finish it and perhaps it all comes together in the end but I didn't get how she went from accidentally killing someone, twice (not the same person), to being a full blown serial killer, actively looking for victims. The book seemed all over the place like when the man died in her car, and she was taking him back to her apartment, cause her knives were there and it's where she chopped them up ?? When did she take someone to her apartment to chop them up before ? And why suddenly did she have a "murder kit" ?? It just didn't make sense to me and I started to avoid reading it so it was time to stop as I wasn't enjoying it.

I really dislike giving negative feedback and I've looked at others for this book and they loved it, so give it a try, it just wasn't for me.

I feel very torn about this book. I enjoyed the writing style and the dark humour, but as the author herself acknowledges, she was influenced by killing eve, pretty young woman, the killers and other cultural depictions of predatory women and I could see this in a lot of her writing, making it perhaps less original than I would've liked. I guessed the stalker, which wasn't a problem, but I wasn't really convinced by their motive, but then I did enjoy the final twist! I would definitely read more from Ms Brent though.

Thank you to netgalley and HQ for an advance copy of this book.

This book is way too dark and gruesome for my taste. It features seriously unpleasant characters and truly awful crimes. The stuff of nightmares. Not for me, this one was a DNF, so I will not publish this review on retail sites.
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my advance copy of this book.

How to Kill Men and Get Away With It by Katy Brent is a fun, humorous novel that is a fast-paced and dark story about a woman who commits Dexter-type killings on men who are sexual predators. I always love a heavy dose of satire in my books and this one delivers. A bit gruesome, but you can easily skim past those parts.

Here’s the synopsis:

Meet Kitty Collins.FRIEND. LOVER. KILLER.

Have you ever walked home at night, keys in hand, ready to throw a punch in self-defense? That’s how it all started. The killing spree, I mean.

I sort of tripped into this role… Literally. The first one was following me. That guy from the nightclub who wouldn’t leave me alone. I pushed him, he stumbled and fell onto his own broken wine bottle. Oops. It was such a waste of a good house white.

But now I can’t seem to stop and nor do I want to… I’ve got a taste for revenge and quite frankly, I’m killing it.

What a book! Don’t miss it unless you are sensitive and squeamish. I need more like this one immediately!

Out on October 12!

I knew I just HAD to read How To Kill Men And Get Away With It as soon as I saw the title. I can not wait until this book comes out so I can purchase a copy for my shelf! I couldn’t put this down, I loved the fast pace and dark humor. It had such an interesting plot and fascinating characters.

This was a 5/5 for me, and one that I will highly recommend!

Thank you NetGalley and HQ for the opportunity to read and give my honest review.

From the title, I knew this was right up my street. With a similar feeling to a couple of other books by other authors it was definitely one I needed to get into. I was gripped with this from the first chapter. The characters were well presented without being too over the top or having too much details about every aspect of their lives which can be a bit of a bore. I love a female protagonist and stories that show a strong female lead.

Kitty Collins is a famous influencer. She lives in Chelsea, in a house bought for her by her mother when she left for France after her father disappeared.

Kitty however isn’t just the popular influencer around town, she’s also heir to the Collins Cuts abattoir company. A company which her father ran until his disappearance and which kitty has nothing to do with and is a strict vegan.

Kitty is many things, but the one thing that nobody knows is her secret. A secret that somehow her stalker has found out and is threatening to ruin everything. Can she keep her secret or will the creep out her?

TRIGGER WARNING
This book has rape and abuse in the storyline.

So, where do I start? This book deals with a lot in a kind of humorous way. It deals with revenge in a pretty brutally but in Kitty’s eyes it is fully justified. There is a lot of focus on how women feel unsafe alone not just at night but during the day too. It covers the fact that some men need to stop taking what they want and respect women. There is also a huge nod to the me too movement.

The book was enjoyable although I did find some parts uncomfortable but essentially that was the point I guess.

If you live dark humour, and aren’t squeamish, you will love this book. The basic premise is Kitty is a rich influencer who after accidentally killing a man who tried to rape her, realises she can murder and get away with it, so then goes on a campaign to rid the world of evil men. It funny in places, and doesn’t shy away from the ways she gets away with the crime (weapons and abattoirs are involved) and is just overall quite gripping. The stalker angle was surprising, and not at all how I pictured it’d turn out, but that added an extra mystery element. I found it to be a good read, and would recommend to those of a strong constitution, and lover of dark comedy

Loved this book - a completely different twist on a ‘murder’ book. Very likeable lead character, good humour and a tongue in cheek nod to the vacuousness that can be experienced on social media - nice twist at the end

I really liked the concept of this, but I didn't really like the execution. The writing was ok, but I thought the main character was an obnoxious snob and while I understood what her motivations were supposed to be, her thoughts about murdering men and the reasons were all over the place. She had a stalker, but that part of the plot felt like an afterthought.

Kitty Collins is an influencer and an heiress with a swanky flat in Chelsea. She is also a murderer. She murders to enact revenge on men: men who have raped, men who have abused and, because Kitty enjoys the kill, sometimes men who have shared vile thoughts about women on social media. Her sole aim is to remove the men she views as ‘scum’ from this earth to ensure that they never hurt a woman again.

Clearly, this is a book which is tongue in cheek. How can a young woman kill without a trace? But that’s not the point. Think Villanelle and you’ve got the measure of Kitty. It’s humorous, a page-turner and highly entertaining! It is also dark and twisty.

For me, one of the biggest surprises came from the author’s notes. The seed for the novel was planted while watching an episode of Made in Chelsea! Having never seen it myself, it’s now on my list of what to watch. Do people like Tor, Hen, Maisie and Kitty really exist? Clearly they do and Katy Brent’s novel has given a tantalising insight into what might happen if they begin to fight back on all the cheating men they are seemingly entangled with. The #MeToo movement also played a part in the inception of this novel so it is definitely a novel of its time involving social media, influencers and the like. Consider it a revenge story for women. Shocking but thought-provoking!

This is an entertaining read, fast-paced with sinister undertones. Highly recommended!

@currentlyreading__
Book 67 of 2022

Thank you to @NetGalley, @but_katy_did_it and @hqstories for the much-anticipated debut novel 'How to Kill Men and Get Away With It'. I often talk about the cover of a book, quite aware of how I shouldn't judge but it was divine! Featuring our (anti-)heroine, Kitty Collins, the cover depicts her in all of her stylish glory - elegant fine knit jumper, fashion forward heels and oh yes, the huge blood splashes advertising her role as serial killer extraordinaire; ridding the streets of London (and the Aegean Sea of Mykonos) of thoroughly detestable men.

Kitty is a socialite, an influencer and the heiress of Collins Cuts, a meat factory and abattoir in Hampshire. The Pork Princess is vegan, such is her dislike of animal cruelty. But cruelty against humans is where Kitty gets off. She is determined to make misogynists, rapists and other vile specimens pay for their crimes against the sisterhood. As Kitty sharpens her knives and hunts down her victims, that abattoir seems just the right location to stash them.

I hated 'Sweet Pea' so I was worried it would have the same vibes but a few pages in, I knew that Kitty was someone I was compelled to read about. With shades of Killing Eve's Villainelle, Brett Easton Ellis' Patrick Bateman, Oyinkan Braithwaite's Ayoola, the sociopathic Kitty just has us wanting more even when she vows to put her Japanese knife aside and live a life free of random killing sprees.

The book's genre is definitely an amalgamation of thriller, dark comedy and romance. Social commentary is strong, from the #MeToo movement, the vacuity of social media, the desperation of 'hangers-on' who want to see and be seen and just how utterly absorbent the pages of Vogue can be when chopping up a corpse.

Strong narrative voice and it's just killing to be made into a Netflix series. Out next week and I know it will be HUGE. 🔪 Pre-order now. 🌱



#bookstagram #bibliophile #bookworm #bookstagrammer #kindle #instabook #bookobsessed #instareads #currentlyreading #bookchat #howtokillmenandgetawaywithit #katybrent

Not what I'd normally pick up but I'm so glad I stuck with it. It's Dexter meets How To Get Away with Murder with a Made in Chelsea twist!

I struggled around the 30-40% mark as I couldn't feel any strong emotion, be they good or bad, towards Kitty and her actions. But the writing was so compelling I just had to keep going - and I'm so glad I did!

That twist at the end - utter brilliance! And the potential for a sequel? Yes please!!

This book has an average rating of 3.95 out of 1,243 ratings. I’ve given it four stars.
I’ll be honest, it had me at the title and cover ❤️

We follow Kitty, a beautiful influencer. Young girls want to be her, brands want use her, and - of course - bad men want to abuse her. Thus, we have a female Dexter.
I went into this expecting something like Finlay Donovan - who I love and am currently rereading. Don’t go into it with that expectation though. Finlay is lighthearted and not a brutal murderer, Kitty is. They are each wonderful in their own right, but comparing and expecting one isn’t going to bode well for the other. I hadn’t actually read much about a famous person who also such a double life and it was really fun. I don’t know if the writing style is exactly for everyone, I’m sure there’s people who wouldn’t adore it. I had a great time though. And of course, the cover 😍

Ideal for readers who like graphic serial killer stories written as chick lit. Dark humour. Unusual. With thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an early copy in exchange for an independent review.

I basically knew I wanted to read How To Kill Men And Get Away With It as soon as I saw the title and cover. Then I read the blurb, and I wanted to read it even more... This book gave me high Finlay Donovan vibes (a series I love), and I've been excited to read it ever since it appeared on my kindle. Now that I've had the chance to do so, I can say this story takes it a LOT further than Finlay Donovan: the main character is basically a female Dexter, and I loved every single twisted minute of this crazy ride. Finally a dark comedy that lives up to expectations again!

The premise of this story is fantastic and while I didn't expect things to get quite this dark and twisted, I think I enjoyed How To Kill Men And Get Away With It even more because of it. Instead of the main character accidently killing men, we basically get a sociopath serial killer trying to get rid of men who 'deserve it'. Oh yes, Kitty Collins isn't afraid to get her hands dirty and her knifes out: the comparison to a female Dexter is an accurate one. The humor itself was considerably dark and simply spot on for me. It's surprising just how hilarious this story is considering there is a lot of death and murder going on! I was a fan of the writing style and tone in general, and I will definitely be looking out for this author in the future.

The strange thing is that the main character Kitty Collins is considerably unlikeable, but in this case it only works in the favor of this story? There is just something about her that makes you want to keep reading to see just how far she will takes things and what she will do next... Sure, she is self-centered and quite disturbing, but it was intriguing to get a glimpse inside her head and see the world through her eyes. The cast of characters in general was well chosen, and I liked what they added to the plot. The stalker made for a great side mystery, and I definitely never guessed who it was!

What I also loved is that How To Kill Men And Get Away With It doesn't fit in a neat little genre box. You will find bits of dark comedy, serial killer thriller and romance all mixed together into one delicious bookish cocktail, and there are many different elements incorporated into the plot. There is a lot of focus on men treating women badly (both abuse and cheating), and the plot also includes themes as veganism, friendship and mental health. And we even get to travel to Mykonos for a bit as well!

All in all I ended up having an absolutely brilliant time with this story. If you don't mind your stories on the dark side and like the sound of a female Dexter, How To Kill Men And Get Away With It is probably a great fit for you as well!

Loved loved loved! 4 stars. This was a fun read and I look forward to buying a copy when it’s released.

Welcome to the world of Kitty Collins. Busy London socialite. Instagram influencer. Wholesale murderer.
She has her reasons, initially only slaying men, almost accidentally at first who she chances upon and who crucially behave very badly in the course of their everyday lives. You know the sort. The married man who sleazes over younger women on a drunken night out. The bastard who ghosts her friend after their their short relationship gets too serious for him. Or any number of the gropers, potential rapists or misogynists who walk our streets, dance in our nightclubs and work in our offices on a daily basis.
Author Katy Brent has created a marvellous anti-hero here in this wonderfully compelling first novel. Certain to be made into a TV series or film soon, this is a British American Psycho for the 2020s and a hell of a lot more fun.

This is very much chick-lit on the dark side. Inhabiting the world of Chelsea trust-fund heiresses and influencers, Kitty Collins has a compulsion to murder any man who threatens, stalks and abuses women and, thanks to being an heiress to a meat-processing business, the means to destroy the evidence. The humour is very dark but the characters’ motivations are well-crafted and the story flows well. I won’t be able to watch Made in Chelsea in the same way ever again! Entertaining but without much depth.