This really reminded me of how to kill your family! It’s the story of seasoned serial killer Clare and events surrounding Clare processing the death of her father. The story was complex enough to be interesting and silly enough to not bog down the plot.
I really liked the story. The characters (especially Clare) were likeable and the book easy to read and follow.
The chapters about her childhood are difficult reading but otherwise, this was a good Sunday afternoon read! Brilliant for the coming dark autumn winter nights!
Read through netgalley for an honest opinion.

Claire is a psychopath serial killer whose dad has just died. She is advised to go to a bereavement group and she meets a few people who have suffered similar grief. But when she witnesses her dad being abused in his care home before he died and when someone emails her by mistake to say she has won an art competition, she sets about killing those men that she believes deserve it.

This is bitingly funny and dark and there are many cutting swipes and laughs but the plot got a bit lost amongst the character of Claire. It picked up a little near the end and I enjoyed the flashbacks to her childhood with her hideous mother. It made me think about the notion of nature versus nurture and who is ultimately to blame for a character like Claire.

This would be great for fans of How to Kill your Family but I think The First Day of Spring by Nancy Tucker does an excellent job of exploring that psychology of a killer, so check that out too.

‘I have a gift. I see people as ghosts before they die. Of course, it helps that I'm the one killing them.’

My thanks to Serpent’s Tail Viper for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘You’d Look Better as a Ghost’ by Joanna Wallace.

The combination of the above teaser, its provocative title and the bright cover art of this dark comic crime thriller certainly caught my attention. Added to this, I was pleased to find that it delivered on the high praise given by authors whose works I enjoy.

We are introduced to Claire on the day of her father’s funeral, the event. While there she receives an email with the good news that she’s been shortlisted for a prestigious art award. The next day a second email arrives stating that the previous email was sent in error and had been meant for another applicant named Claire. She is rather put out, which given her homicidal tendencies doesn’t bode well for the sender.

The emails were signed by a Lucas Kane, who expressed how ‘terribly, terribly sorry’ he was. Claire decides to determine if Lucas is really ‘terribly, terribly sorry’. She engineers a chance meeting with him at a bar and after a few drinks, takes him home. She decides that “Lucas Kane isn’t sorry. I’ve known that from the moment I read his email. So terribly, terribly insincere.” As a result, Lucas joins others buried in Claire’s garden!

Since her father’s death Claire has been having migraines and her GP suggests that she attend a bereavement support group. While she is initially dismissive, ten minutes into the first meeting Claire finds that she is quite enjoying herself deciding that “grief makes ordinary people infinitely more interesting”. As a result she becomes increasingly involved in their lives.

Unfortunately someone is about to stumble across Claire’s murderous little hobby. No further details in order to avoid spoilers.

Despite her ‘little hobby’, Claire proved a likeable protagonist, who via her internal monologue entertains throughout with her wry observations.

Overall, I found ‘You’d Look Better as a Ghost’ an entertaining black comedy that also addressed with sensitivity serious issues associated with dementia, scandals linked to elder care, along with loss and bereavement. As a result of this positive experience, I have been recommending it enthusiastically to my friends.

Take a walk on the dark side and meet the new serial killer on the block, Claire.
Told with dark humour running through it, this book makes a refreshing change to the usual crime/thriller genre.
With several laugh out loud moments I thoroughly enjoyed this book and totally recommend it to everyone who enjoys witty and dark comedy.

What a book!

Thanks to Anne Cater from Random Things Blog Tours and Netgalley for the advance copy. I thoroughly enjoyed this one!

The premise of this book reminded me somewhat of My Sister The Serial Killer, but this is wittier, more brutal yet, dare I say it, more charming! I loved Claire - as protagonists go, she's quirky, funny: I'd definitely want her on my side, though! She's perhaps just a little too handy with her hammer!

The reader can't help but empathise with Claire - she really has had a dreadful childhood, details of which unfold alongside the main storyline. However, she is a serial killer. Nevertheless, she has the same adorable characteristics of, say, Dexter as opposed to Hannibal Lecter - she's kind of a vigilante serial killer, and you can't really blame someone for that, can you? Ok, maybe you can...

I urge anyone to read this book. It was great! I will certainly be looking for more by this author.

Well written, witty, engaging.

I found delving in the mind of Claire, a serial killer with a some how warped sense of morality and justice, deeply fascinating. It is not easy to write such a character in a way that makes it almost endearing, yet Wallace did just that, and she did it extremely well too. The discrepancy between her internal dialogue (completely lacking of empathy and warmth) and her external behaviour (completely 'normal' to the ones around her) perfectly pinned down what being a psychopath means.

The chapters set in the past work very well in explaining the reasons she became the way she is - her family situation was far from good, with both her parents betraying her needs, although in very different ways.

There are some very good twists that I wasn't expecting and they kept me interested up until the very end.

If you like dark, sarcastic reads, this one is for you!

Thank you Netgalley and Viper for a review copy of the book.

I was drawn to You’d Look Better as A Ghost by both the synopsis and by its colourful cover. The story grabbed me with its suddenly shocking prologue and the darkly humorous first chapter. It reminded me of Sweetpea, which I absolutely loved.

Claire is a serial killer at a difficult point in her life, having just lost her beloved dad, and a rash decision one evening leads to the start of her cosy – albeit peculiar – existence unravelling. We are privy to all of Claire’s thoughts and misdeeds, and I was guilty of a voyeuristic curiosity as to what she would do next or how far she would go to get out of the situations she finds herself in.

The book is engaging throughout, with twists and turns and more dark humour, and some interesting things to say about grief and life in general on the way. I’d be interested to read more from Joanna Wallace.

What an unusual, fast-paced and entertaining read! I loved the anarchic but matter-of-fact tone of this book. Dead-pan made it funny, and the build-up of bodies in the wake of our rather damaged heroine, Claire, piled on the sense of altered reality and justification, bearing in mind her reasoning for the murders. We began to empathise with Claire, especially in the face of such irritating or obnoxious characters she meets. By the end I was really rooting for her to succeed. Dark, amusing and such good fun!

As soon as I read the synopsis, I thought of one of my literary heroes – Will Carver. Dark and funny, You’d Look Better As A Ghost reminded me a bit of Psychopaths Anonymous. And this certainly was dark, and very funny if you love that kind of humour.

Claire is a serial killer. There’s no other way of putting it. Sometimes she just can’t help murdering those who annoy her. She clearly sees them as ghosts and that’s when she knows exactly what she must do. And it’s often going to be gory and gruesome. No subtle poison and body dumped in a lake somewhere. She quite likes to carve them up and bury the body parts.

Of course they have to REALLY upset her, though that’s not difficult. Like Lucas when he emails her to say she’s been shortlisted in an art competition and then informs her that he made a mistake, and it’s another Claire. Not even an apology, after lifting up her spirits and then shattering her dreams.

Not helped by the fact that her beloved father has just died, having spent the last years of his life in a dementia ward. Claire is distraught. So she attends a bereavement support group, where she meets some VERY annoying people, so no prizes where I’m going with this.

At intervals, we see Claire as a child, on her fifth, sixth and seventh birthdays. Her mother is one of the nastiest, most selfish and horrible people you will ever meet in a book. In fact the passages about Claire’s childhood are amongst my favourite, dark but not remotely funny. What a brilliant and unusual book – you might even find yourself rooting for Claire.

Many thanks to @annecater for inviting me to be part of #RandomThingsTours and to NetGalley for an ARC

I thought ‘You’d Look Better as a Ghost’ had a good balance of humour and seriousness. The humour comes from the main protagonist Claire. The seriousness comes from the different themes threaded through the story of abuse, grief, parenting, and trauma.

Would likely appeal to listeners/readers of My Sister the Serial Killer, How to Kill Your Family, How to Kill Men and Get Away With It.

Back in 2017 CJ Skuse kicked off the most gripping female serial killer series and what followed was a glut of books which all seemed to be trying yet failing to recreate that similar mind messing page turner (side eye at How To Kill Your Family and A Certain Hunger). So when I saw You’d Look Better As A Ghost, the blurb and cover had me very curious but honestly not very optimistic. Well I’m happy to admit I was wrong and I flew through this gritty and surprising novel in two days.

The story follows the morally grey yet somehow charming Claire down a very messy path of lies, abuse and murder as she struggles to deal with the death of her father. What we get is a brilliantly funny yet lavishly inappropriate dark story which keeps you gripped right until the very last page.

While the book on the surface may just seem like a fun and easy read, Wallace also examines themes of elder abuse, grief and abuse of power in a very clever and emotive way.

A surprisingly enjoyable, dark yet humorous read with a story to match that fabulous cover.

Read If You Like
🔨Female Serial Killers
🔨Dark Humour

For Fans Of
🔨CJ Skuse
🔨Bella MacKenzie

Favourite Line
“They live here, in this world - playing the hand they’ve been dealt. Isn’t that what we all do?”

If you enjoyed this review come follow me on instagram @TravelsEatsReads for more

Thank you to @viper.books and @randomthingstours for an advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review!

These quirky, serial killer dark comedies are having a bit of a heyday at the moment. To be honest, I don’t think they are my thing. I really liked the blurb of You’d Look Better As A Ghost and wanted it to change my mind, but, sadly, it wasn’t the case.

For me, the story went a bit around in circles and, while the ending did clear everything up, it wasn’t satisfactory for me. Saying that, I didn’t see the ending coming.

I enjoyed Claire as a character. A little stereotypical but she had a bit more empathy than other sociopaths. Granted, she isn’t really a likeable character but her thought process and sarcasm added something extra for me. Some of the supporting characters were also interesting due to their eccentricity, but they weren’t developed enough to really make an impact.

If you're looking for a blast of gallows humour in your next read, look no further - Joanna Wallace has got you covered in her debut novel You'd Look Better As A Ghost published last week by Viper.

Clare comes across as a quiet amateur artist, reeling from the death of her father. When she finds out she's been shortlisted for an exhibition, things are starting to look up. But a follow up email reveals this to be a mistake, with the email meant for another Clare. Ouch.

Our Clare resolves to go & meet Lucas, who sent the emails, to see if he can understand the impact his error has made - but when he doesn't show any remorse, the meet-up ends up in Clare brutally murdering Lucas. There are some pretty graphic scenes, just be warned.

And it soon emerges that this isn't the first time she's taken matters into her own hands in this way. Check out the fish-tank for example. But someone has been paying Clare more attention than she realised - and they're not going to keep quiet without a fight.

The whole story is a fantastic read, with such witty catty asides thrown in that you have to stop and appreciate the genius level of putdown casually dropped into the conversation.

The main storyline is interspersed with heart breaking chapters flashing back to Clare's childhood; its such sad reading and certainly explains a lot about who she is as an adult.

Clare is obviously a murderer but you can't help but cheer her on as she clears some of the obstacles in her way, human or otherwise. She's a hugely likeable woman as long as you don't cross her!

The whole story is original and captivating and an excellently paced read. The unexpected twists come thick and fast. There's a dementia storyline in there too which is handled very tenderly and with great humour.

I am looking forward to seeing what Joanna Wallace conjures up for us next; whatever it is, its going to be something totally unexpected and brilliant.

You’d Look Better As A Ghost by Joanna Wallace is an entertaining story about a women who sees people as ghosts before they die. Unfortunately Claire is the person who will kill them. She is a serial killer and Lucas is the unfortunate person who thoughtlessly mistypes Claire’s name in an email and she isn’t then shortlisted for an art award.
Lucas isn’t the only person who has to be killed by Claire, there are those people running and working in the care home that could be next.
A light hearted and entertaining story about a female serial killer.
Recommended

“I have a gift. I see people as ghosts before they die.
Of course, it helps that I'm the one killing them.”

Have you ever heard a better tagline? I don’t think I have. And that title is probably my favourite of all time. Whoever came up with it deserves a raise as even without reading the synopsis I was desperate to read it. Add the striking purple and red cover, sinister tagline, and a hammer-wielding murderess, and I was all in. But be warned; this isn’t for the faint of heart.

I’ve been in a very murdery mood lately, and this darkly funny, deliciously unhinged, and devilishly addictive debut was just what I was craving. The storytelling is scalpel-sharp, funny, and compelling, and the plot is mysterious, vengeful and macabre. It’s my idea of book heaven and I couldn't get enough of Claire’s deadly deeds. I haven’t loved a serial killer so much since Rhiannon and the Sweetpea series and never wanted the book to end.

"... I smile, enjoying my favourite part of the process. The part when I know they're going to die soon. The part when I can anticipate every moment of their deaths. The part when I already see them as ghosts."

I love an anti-hero, and with her murderous rage, bloody hammer, and body parts hidden in her garden, Claire certainly fits that bill. She’s feisty, sassy, sarcastic, witty, intelligent, doesn’t take anyone’s crap, and I loved her. Murder is her coping mechanism. Her way of chasing away the pain and finding peace among the chaos. And she’s totally blase about it. Unapologetically herself as she revels in being a predator and feeding on the fear of her victims as she slowly tortures and kills them. Wallace has written her brilliantly, refusing to create a caricature of a killer, instead writing a morally complex, nuanced and deeply human character you won’t be able to forget. The flashbacks are a vital part of this as they give us a glimpse into how she became the killer she is today. We learn that her father was her only real parent and that her mother should never have had children. I loathed that woman and really wanted to slap her! Another aspect I liked was the humanity we see in her grief after her father’s death. After all, we expect serial killers to be emotionless psychopaths not struggling to focus and attending bereavement groups.

Dark, chilling, gruesome, and laugh-out-loud funny, You’d Look Better As A Ghost is easily one of my favourite books of the year. Perfect for fans of books such as Sweetpea, My Lovely Wife, and Death of a Bookseller, this is an absolute must read.

Rating: ✮✮✮✮.5

When Claire struggles after the death of her father, her doctor suggests a grief support group. However, for Claire this just highlights the inane lives of the other attendees and the fact that breathing techniques just aren’t going to cut it. Claire has a more proactive solution - Murder. Firstly anyone who generally irritates her, then anyone who gets in her way and finally she plans revenge on the types of people who took advantage of her father in the lead up to his death.

I have to say, the tone of the writing and the story is perfectly pitched. I reached the end of chapter 2 and just laughed because it’s SO dark but in a hilarious way - events occur which in your head you know you probably shouldn’t be enjoying, but you’re secretly loving it. I just knew from that point on that this was going to be a brilliant book.

In all seriousness though, there are some topical and hugely important elements to the story. The fact that elderly people in the care system are forgotten, overlooked and can be taken advantage of. It explores grief, abuse, trauma, suicide and invisibility, but despite this it never feels depressing. It’s more of a rallying call, making the reader take note and think about what is happening in the story and how these issues should be tackled in real life.

Basically, what begins as a novelty, dark comedy about a serial killer quickly turns into something much more poignant. It takes the helplessness that many people feel regarding the care system and propels the main character Claire in there all guns blazing to take back some of that control. It’s still a dark and twisted revenge thriller, just not in the way it initially presents itself.

The most interesting part for me was the way that my impression of Claire kept changing. I switched between seeing her as a complete psychopath but then by the next scene, thinking she might actually be the sanest person in the room. I guess the moral of the story is that if you ever consider doing something cruel, something unfair or anything that might upset another person - read this book and you might have second thoughts!

I really enjoyed this debut probably more than I should! It feels all kinds of wrong when I am rooting for a serial killer but Joanna has created the character of Claire so well, that I wanted her to succeed in her endeavours and not get caught.

Claire is a quirky but likeable character; the story is told almost entirely by her and from her point of view which makes for some interesting and her dark but sometimes amusing perspectives. I particularly enjoyed the sections dedicated to her childhood which shed some light on the beginnings of her 'unusual' life choices.

Written at a good pace with some great twists and turns, excellent characters and great story line, You'd Look Better as a Ghost is a must read for those of you who enjoy reading books with strong female protagonists who lead unconventional lives.

Thank you to the author, Serpent's Tail / Viper / Profile Books and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of You'd Look Better as a Ghost.

This tale is an insightful, intriguing, irreverent peak into the life of Claire, a serial killer. Claire's killing instincts seem to start with her father's death, but the flashback chapters into her past show it began much earlier. A dark, humorous thread defines this story, which is well-written and gives the serial killer protagonist understandable traits, like 'Eve' In 'Killing Eve.' It's addictive reading, with a twisty mystery and an enigmatic female protagonist. I like the balance of heartbreak, horror and humour.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

This book was a breath of fresh air. I loved it. I don't think I can remember laughing so much reading a seriel killer book before. Highly recommend.

This is so funny but the dark humour and the problematic protagonist will make you feel a bit guilty for laughing as hard as you surely will. Much like Dexter and You, it’s an odd feeling to find the protagonist so engaging but there is no denying Joanna Wallace has created something amazing in this character and this book.