Socialite by day, serial killer of BAD MEN by night. This is the premise of Julie Mae Cohen.’s latest thrill ride.

Seraphina ‘Saffy’ Huntley-Oliver has the glamorous life of a socialite with too much money and too much time on her hands. She also has a side job of killing predators who abuse women and children. Her first kill was at the age of 12 and she did it to protect the only person in the world who she truly loves; her younger sister, Suzie. When she orchestrate a ‘cute meet’ with an author/true crime podcaster who catches her fancy, she is unaware of his involvement in some recent gruesome murders. She thought she knew the story, but there was more to it than publicly available.

Jonathan Desrosiers is contacted by the serial killer he helped put behind bars who asks him to find out who killed the sixth victim he is being linked to. While Cyril Walker admits to the five slain men whose body parts Jonathan found in his apartment, he is adamant that this man was not one of his kills. Jonathan, who recently lost his wife due to his true crime obsession is struggling to put his life back together but agrees that he will try to clear Cyril (of THAT one, at least) and learn the identity of that killer.

Jonathan and Saffy eventually join forces trying to navigate the clues and threats thrown their way. Can they form a lasting relationship under such circumstances? Is Jonathan really ready to move on from his marriage? What should Saffy do about Suzie‘s no good boyfriend, Finlay? And how will she continue on her mission if she is working with an investigative podcaster?

I really enjoyed this one. It had me entertained and curious as to what would happen next. The author’s writing style is clear and concise and I could feel my tension mounting in certain spots. I believe this will be an author to watch.

Thank you too NetGalley and Overlook Press for this ARC opportunity. All opinions are my own and given voluntarily..

Thank you to @netgalley and @overlookpress @abramsbooks for the ARC book and to NetGalley and @recordedbooks for the ALC.

This was a really crazy and twisty book. I really enjoyed this one! It was recommended that I request it from NetGalley from a fellow bookstagrammer and I’m so glad I did. The story follows Saffy a gorgeous socialite woman who doesn’t like men who do really bad things. She finds herself mixed up with Jon a true crime podcaster and a wild and crazy story ensues. I would rather not say too much about this book as this book is so exciting it’s better to go in blind. With that being said, please Check the trigger warnings before diving in to this book.

I am so glad that I was able to read and listen to this book because I think the audiobook made the book much more enjoyable and definitely helped to dial up the suspense in the novel. Nathalie Buscombe does a really good job and I really like how she did both American and British (Trans-Atlantic) accents. Her voice kind of reminded me of Miranda Raison’s who has narrated books such as Lessons in Chemistry and The Husbands. I would definitely listen to another book narrated by her in the future.

As far as my rating, I decided to give this book 4 ⭐️, due to the fact that some of the content was a little darker than I was expecting, and also I thought it would’ve been better if Jon’s part of the story had been narrated by a male audiobook narrator. However, some people might not care about this.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would definitely consider reading another book by Julie Mae Cohen in the future! ✨

𝗥𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗘 𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘 - May 7, 2024

𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗 𝗜𝗙 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗟𝗜𝗞𝗘 - Trume Crime podcasts, Finlay Donovan series

𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗞 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗧𝗢 𝗡𝗘𝗧𝗚𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗘𝗬 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗨𝗕𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗛𝗘𝗥 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗩𝗜𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗠𝗘 𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗛 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗕𝗢𝗢𝗞 𝗜𝗡 𝗘𝗫𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗚𝗘 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗠𝗬 𝗛𝗢𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪!

So fun! I love the femal serial killer trope so this did not disappoint. The cover is so great as well. I sped through this one, it's gonna be a great summer thriller read.

I really enjoyed this book!!! I thought the concept was fun and awesome! The main character was likable and kind of unlikable at the same time. I did guess the final outcome but it was still super entertaining! I’m so happy I randomly requested this one! There’s a little gore, plenty of mystery, and a lot of murder. This one definitely kept my attention the whole time and if I wasn’t quite busy while reading it, it would have been a binge read! Gotta love some female rage!!!

📚: Bad Men by Julie Mae Cohen
⭐️: 3.5/5 (rounding up on #goodreads)

Meet Saffy — a socialite, devoted big sister, and a former model. Oh, and she murdered her first bad man at age 12.

Fast forward decades later to today. Jon, a true crime podcaster turned recent murder suspect, becomes Saffy’s obsession of the more normal, non-serial killing kind. She goes to absolutely unhinged lengths to manipulate the perfect meet-cute so she can have a good guy in her life, for once.

After a jaw dropping prologue, this becomes an incredibly fun read that feels like page-turning brain candy. To enjoy this one, yes, you need to suspend a lot of reality and know how to laugh in fun from the POV of a serial killer that finds herself falling in love.

A rounded up score for overall enjoyment, but a 3.5 rating with the high predictability level of the story’s direction. (There’s also a fairly big plot hole that left me scratching my head at the end.)

Big thanks to @abramsbooks via @netgalley for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. Bad Men is out on May 7th!

I unfortunately DNFd this about 20% in. The premise is one that's fun, when it's done right-- and I LOVED Saffy's segments. Unfortunately, I felt like Jonathan's POV was hard to dredge through. Though I understand he is objectively a bad person, and we're not supposed to like him, I was skimming through his pages because they read as cliche and clunky.
I appreciate the exchange of an early copy for a review, and I do hope it finds its readers!

A woman who only kills bad men? Sign me up. How very Dexter of her. Except...not really. We don't really get to hear many of Saffy's exploits as a female vigilante. It's more of a love/obsession story. Saffy has decided that she's infatuated with a true crime author and podcaster and will apparently go to all kinds of lengths to get him to love her. Which is what the book is really about. Crazy Saffy and sad John. It was actually kind of boring if I'm being honest.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book. The idea of a serial killer trying to create a relationship, let alone a romantic one with someone who tries to expose serial killers, is just delightful. Saffy is just a super fun character. She is dynamic and jumps off the page. Jonathan I just feel bad for. He draws in killers like a bee to honey. Sadly, even though his whole goal in life is to expose them, he seems to be surprised when people he knows expose themselves to be killers. Even though I feel bad for him. I still quite liked him. I feel bad for all he goes through, but I would love to hear what happens to him and Saffy. I think readers are just going to fall in love with this book and I can’t wait to recommend it.
Thank you to Abrams, The Overlook Press, and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this lovely book.

An entertaining story about a female serial killer who only kills men who fully deserve their fate, starting at a young age when Saffy takes out her abusive stepfather. In her 20s, Saffy leads a socialite's life while hiding her secret passion project of murder. When Saffy develops an obsessive crush on Jon, a true crime podcaster, life starts to get a bit out of hand. This thriller was fun, funny, and fast-paced, and will be a great summer beach read. Thank you to NetGalley and ABRAMS | The Overlook Press for a digital review copy.

Saffy Huntley-Oliver is a socialite/former model, on the boards of charities and just living her best life being glamourous and fabulous. She is also a prolific serial killer of really terrible men. Saffy becomes enamored with Jonathan Desrosiers, a best-selling author and podcaster, who puts away terrible people. However, Jon discovers a body on his doorstep the day after his wife leaves him and he becomes the chief suspect in the murder investigation. Saffy becomes a bit obsessed with Jon and clearing his name and orchestrates an over-the-top meet-cute. SHe volunteers to help him and find the real killer, at any cost.
You will never route so hard for a serial killer in your life! Saffy is better than Dexter. And her victims really do have it coming. ;)

*Special thanks to NetGalley and The Overlook Press for this e-arc.*

Bad Men by Julie Mae Cohen #thirtyfirstbookof2024 #arc

CW: gore, death, murder, animal abuse, serial killers, dismemberment

Saffy is a socialite and secret serial killer, murdering men who are a scourge to society. She meets Jon, a podcaster and true crime investigator who’s just solved another cold case when someone dumps a body on his doorstep. How will Saffy negotiate her double life while trying to win over Jon?

This sounds like a rom com, but it’s not. The author calls it a feminist thriller and I can get on board with that description. To me, it’s more horroresque comedy than anything else, and the developing relationship between Saffy and Jon is just a bonus. This book is a super fun read.

I enjoyed the underlying mystery quite a bit, and Saffy is an entertaining character to get to know. The reveal in the epilogue was fantastic, and I would happily read another novel from this author.

Thank you to @abramsbooks #overlookpress and @netgalley for the advance copy. (pub date was 5/7/24)

#badmen

After a murder, two people's lives intertwine - a serial killer (Dexter style - only kills bad people) - and a man who runs a true crime podcast. There were some new elements I haven't seen before, but the ending was one of the guesses I suspected. It was good, but you don't need to go out of your way to seek it out.

DNF @ 25%

I ended up putting this one down, and then got swept up in other reads. It's hard to say how much this DNF was because of mood reading, or the book itself, or a combination.

I think you'll like it if you're looking for a fun thriller about a feminist serial killer and the true crime podcaster she's obsessed with. I say that because I went into this one expecting just Saffy's POV, but we actually spend an equal page time with Jon, as well. And I just never got interested enough in Jon to justify the 50% of the book he's the main character for.

Jon's chapters just had this quality of the cliché (an oblivious man consumed by his work comes home to find his wife standing with her luggage), and being oddly paced for me. When a crazy thing happens to Jon, I sort of thought the mystery of it was going to actually be the plot of the story, but that doesn't end up being the case. Which led to me being about a quarter of the way into the book and still asking myself what it's actually going to be about.

Saffy's POV chapters were interesting and compelling because being in the mind of a serial killer who only kills "bad men" is intriguing. You want to root for her, but can't, and it's a fun mix.

Unfortunately, the pacing just wasn't working for me and I lost interest. But I do think most people will like it, and I recommend giving it a shot.

Saffy is a beautiful, smart, and glamorous socialite. She happens to also be a serial killer so it makes it hard to date. Until she lets true crime podcaster, Jonathan.

I love books with a strong female protagonist that you want to root for, except for her one frowned upon habit of murder. At least the men she murders are evil. I loved her character so much. There were a few humorous laugh out loud moments in this story; I would have loved even more of those moments. It was a great read and I was happy with every chapter I read.

“I don’t know what it’s like for anyone else but for me the third murder was when it stopped being expedience or self-defense, and started being a lifestyle option.”

Bad Men comes out 5/7.

I DNFd at around 50%. I had high hopes for this and it seemed promising at first but began to get disappointed as the story morphed into a story of a wealthy woman who sometimes kills men but becomes obsessed with a recently divorced podcaster with psychological baggage who really isn't that interested in her. I had to stop due to boredom and not liking the plot.

Glamorous, rich, and affluent Saffy Huntley-Oliver is a philanthopist. Anyone who knows her finds her to be kind, generous, and good. And what is more philanthropic and good than finding bad men and making them disappear?

Prior to reading this book I saw it descibed as "wickedly funny" and before I completed this book I had to agree. Darkly humorous and twisted, but with a mystery and suspense that will make you read faster than your fingers can flip pages. That was me. Furiously pressing the screen to flip to the next page because I could not pull myself away from this book.

Do you ever read a book and find yourself grinning or smirking like a fool? I always try to imagine someone seeing me and wonder what is going through my head that is making me smile that way. Perhaps it is something sweet, charming, or comical that is making me smile that way, something wholesome perhaps. No. What was making me grin like that was murderer falling in love with a true crime murder podcaster and thinking "what could possibly go wrong?"

Bad Men is a murder mystery romantic comedy with nail biting suspense and situational comedy to leave you questioning your sanity and your reading choices. At one point I was simultaneously rooting for the murderer to find love, wanting to see that same murderer get away with murder, wanting that same murderer to commit another murder (what's one more), and wanting a different murderer to get caught for murdering.

I quite liked this book and while it is a four star book right now, I might change my mind and make it a five start book if it continues to stick with me.

Interesting premise and set up with the dual POV between vigilante female serial killer and the target of her affection rather than her kills: who happens to be a serial crime podcaster! A fun read with a few predictable twists but fast paced and enjoyable!

Huge thank you to NetGalley and Abrams for allowing me to read this early!

This has so much promise but isn’t fully executed well. For a book that is supposed to be about a woman serial killer that goes after men who harm women (a la Promising Young Women) this book’s point of view is mainly from the other leading character, a man…I enjoyed the overall story and think this could potentially be great if the POV was mainly from our FMC.

I DNF'd. It wasn't bad by any means. I was interested in see the dynamic of a true-crime podcaster and a serial killer. I saw some saying they were hoping that the killer would have more focus on her, but it's more so through the perspective of the podcaster. It was a quick read to the portion that I stopped at, but I then made the mistake of putting it down for a while and I just haven't been able to convince myself to pick it back up. I feel like that wouldn't have happened if I was enjoying it.

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book ahead of publication! My review will appear on my blog on 5/2/24. I will also feature the review on Instagram that same day and post my review to Goodreads, The Storygraph, Fable, and retail sites.

Review:

As soon as I read the synopsis for this book on NetGalley, I knew I had to read it. For some reason, it gave me "Maeve Fly" vibes, and that was one of my top books of 2023. While this one was much different from "Maeve Fly," it was still wickedly entertaining.

At the top of the book, we meet a young Seraphina "Saffy" Huntley-Oliver. Her mother died, and she and her younger sister Susie live with their a-hole of a stepfather in his mansion. Within the first few pages, we learn that stepdad has sexually abused Saffy and has recently set his sights on Susie. Saffy isn't about to let that happen, so she does what any overprotective big sister would do - she kills him. Years later, Saffy is a charming and charismatic socialite living in London. Oh, and she is a serial killer by night. But don't worry, she only targets the bad guys - rapists, murderers, domestic abusers. You know, the real scum of the earth. However, her double life has left her feeling a bit lonely in the dating department. I mean, it's hard to find love when you're hyper-aware of a man's behavior - especially if you decide you need to off him when he shows signs of being a bad egg.

Enter Jonathan Desrosiers, a true-crime podcaster with a heart of gold and an ex-wife who left him because she didn't understand his obsession with solving crimes. When a headless body inexplicably shows up on Jon's doorstep, he naturally becomes the prime suspect in a murder he swears he knows nothing about. And who better to help clear his name than Saffy, Jon's number-one fan? The only problem is that Jon has no idea who Saffy is, but when Saffy wants something, she gets it. All it takes is a perfectly orchestrated meet-cute, and it's not long before she convinces him that he needs her help.

As Saffy dives headfirst into the investigation to find who left the body on Jon's doorstep, chaos, hilarity, and a few dead bodies ensue - some at the hands of Saffy, but hey - she refuses to change who she is simply because she's in love. But as Saffy and Jon close in on the culprit, and Saffy falls harder for Jon, we can't help but wonder how safe her secret is. With a mix of dark comedy and heart-pounding suspense, this book kept me turning pages well past my bedtime while rooting for a serial killer.

The characters in "Bad Men" are quirky, eccentric, and downright lovable in their own twisted ways. I loved how easily Saffy moved through the world. She was clever, loyal to those she loves, always one step ahead, always dressed to the nines - and to balance it all out, she's just a little psycho (hey - nobody's perfect!) Jon, on the other hand, was a genuinely good guy with good intentions who just couldn't seem to catch a break. I thought it was funny how he finally let his guard down and accepted his feelings for Saffy because she convinced him he was safe with her (yeah, right!). I honestly rooted for this ragtag couple to end up together, hoping they could somehow find their happily ever after in a situation that seemed less and less likely as the book progressed.

While I loved the characters and the concept, and I thought the story was fun, I really wished it had focused more on Saffy and her murders, but as it was, the book focuses more on Jon trying to clear his name and catch a different serial killer. When I started the book, I was under the impression that Jon would be looking into the murders that Saffy had committed, but that wasn't the case. My other gripe was that the epilogue seemed rushed. A few surprises are revealed in the final pages, but they were casually thrown at us and didn't hold the impact they could have. I was honestly left with more questions than answers and would have liked a little more explanation. My only hope is that this book is the first in a series. I would love to see Jon and Saffy eventually have to go head to head.

While this didn't end up being the book I'd imagined it would be, it was still a lot of fun, and I would recommend it to those who like a dark comedy thriller. Who said murder and mayhem couldn't be this much fun? Trust me, you won't be disappointed.