This book kept me engaged the whole time. I loved the dark humor and enjoyed the story. There were some parts of the book that fell a little flat to me, but that might just be personal preference. Overall it was a good book.

There’s no two ways about it: Claire is a serial killer. She tries to keep her victim list confined to those she deems worthy of killing, but when worthiness generally correlates to how much her victim has personally annoyed her, it’s not hard to see that she’s not being at all altruistic with her murders.

At least she’s a careful killer, in the ordinary run of things. That changes after her beloved father dies. Unmoored by grief, the budding artist is further discombobulated when she discovers that she hasn’t been shortlisted for a prestigious art prize after all. This recognition of her talent had sustained her emotionally as she mourned her father, so she’s crushed when the person in charge of sending out notices of congratulations writes to her again, admitting that he’d mistakenly emailed the wrong Claire.

Hellbent on vengeance, she tracks down the careless email writer, one Lucas Kane, to the pub. Usually, she’d have a better plan than to get him drunk and lure him back to her place before cutting him up into bits, but her heightened state of aggravation demands immediate satisfaction. At least, she realizes, killing again has brought her out of her depressive funk and back to a sense of gory normalcy:

QUOTE
Loosening the restraints on his wrists, I stare deep into his eyes, so excited to see it. That beautiful dying flicker of hope. And that’s when I retighten the restraints and plunge the knife deeper. Not deep enough to end his life yet, just enough to extinguish that hope. Lucas screams and closes his eyes. Opens them immediately upon my command, and I smile, enjoying my favorite part of the process. The part when I know one of my victims is going to die soon. The part when I can anticipate every moment of their deaths. The part when I already see them as ghosts.
END QUOTE

Unfortunately for Claire, Lucas wasn’t the only person to follow her home from the pub. Someone else was watching their little tryst, and is unafraid enough to try to blackmail Claire in the aftermath. This is about the last thing Claire needs, even as she attempts to salvage her art career while attending a weekly bereavement group that has her thinking uncomfortably about her own past. Killing Lucas made her feel better but opened up a whole new world of complications. What lengths will our antiheroine have to go to in order to find peace of mind once more?

You’d Look Better As A Ghost is a fascinating, often funny, sometimes gruesome look into the making and ongoing moves of a serial killer. Claire manages to be ghastly but also sympathetic as she attempts to engage with the world on its terms instead of just her own – she can’t kill <i>everybody</i> after all. Being a psychopath often makes normal human interactions feel unbearable for her, in a way that’s directly relatable even for those of us without homicidal impulses. When asked by a grieving relative to go out for a coffee, for example, she’s promised that their conversation will only take twenty minutes, which sets her off to ruminating over what that actually means:

QUOTE
Twenty minutes. That’s an interesting figure. Must be an ordinary person’s estimation of how long it takes to fathom the unfathomable. Seems a highly unrealistic estimation to me, especially factoring in all the unknowns. Where are we going to have this coffee? Are we going to walk there? Drive? Does the clock start ticking as soon as we head off? Or only after the first sip of coffee? And what happens once the twenty minutes are up? Can I leave straightaway regardless of how much coffee is drunk or do I have to wait until the mugs are empty?
END QUOTE

The twists in this book are as well-crafted as the psychological insights, making this the perfect read for anyone who’s ever enjoyed Caroline Kepnes’ You series and thought how fun it would be if the protagonist were a woman instead. Claire isn’t as obsessed with romantic love as You’s Joe Goldberg, but she’s a compelling antiheroine in her own right, trying to grieve and make her own way in the world despite the people around her who are just begging, in her opinion, for her to kill them. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if this novel wasn’t the start of a highly entertaining series too.

Claire is a part time serial killer. One that helps to rid the world of horrible people … or people she’s unhappy with. An interesting hobby for sure, but one she’s completely fine with. Always cautious, the night after her father’s funeral, she makes a hasty choice. One that might just come back to haunt her. Someone knows, but who? Entering a grief group, things only get more confusing as black mail soon follows. Claire isn’t interested in the blackmailers terms. Why bow down when you have a hammer 🔨? With each death, there’s another puzzle piece and soon Claire doesn’t know who to trust, including herself. Is it all about to go south for Claire? This was a fun read. All of the characters were unlikable, but that only added to the fun. Would love to see more of Claire in the future! Thank you to Penguin and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

Darkly funny and oddly endearing, You’d Look Better as a Ghost follows Claire who has recently lost her father. Claire also happens to be a serial killer. Claire doesn’t kill just anybody, but following her father’s death and having a prestigious opportunity snatched away from her, Claire isn’t acting like herself. One random death leads to another and soon Claire realizes she’s being watched - but by who? And why?

I really enjoyed this book! I loved being in Claire’s head and thought she was really funny. Parts of the book were a little screwy and far fetched, but I had fun nevertheless. I really grew to care for Claire, even though we aren’t meant to, and was fully invested in her story. I didn’t see the ending coming.

I was a big fan of this author’s writing and look forward to reading more from her in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin for a review copy.

If you run with the story that is farfetched and filled with dark humor and irony, you will enjoy it. Twist and turns monopolize this story about a serial killer who gets a little careless after the death of her father. There are some deeper themes here amongst the hijinks. Nursing home care, dementia and disease, child abuse, budding friendship, ethics are peppered throughout the killings. A fast, fun read.

Copy provided by the publisher and Netgalley

<i>I received a copy of this story from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</i>

Intriguing cover? An anti-hero? A promise of dark humor? SIGN ME UP!

Unfortunately, this fell short of my expectations. I finished it and couldn't really get a handle on how I felt about it. It's well-written and interesting. The plot and pacing held my attention. The mystery of it kept me guessing. I wasn't able to predict the twists this story took!

I loved that it was told first-person from Claire's PoV. She's a hot mess of a person and seems to be neurodivergently-coded. The rest of the characters annoyed the crap out of me. And I think that's a good thing because they annoyed <i>Claire</i> and this was all told from her PoV. Major props for immersing us in Claire's thoughts and feelings.

This book tackles some really heavy topics, including grief, child and elder abuse, and dementia. There's very little of the promised dark humor to balance everything out. And what is there is dry as a desert. If the balance was better, I would've really enjoyed this book.

I'd recommend this to friends but probably more selectively than other books. This needs to be your cup of tea if you're going to like it.

Joanna Wallace's debut is a whip smart story sure to have you furiously reading until the last page.

Our MC, Claire, is a young woman who has just lost her father. She's also a serial killer. After taking exception to an email mistakenly awarding her as a finalist in an art contest, Claire decides to meet the man who sent the email. When he seems exactly as Claire expected, she takes him home and murders him. Unfortunately, despite years of careful planning when it comes to her murders, someone sees Claire take the man home and decides to blackmail Claire.

Things get out of hand rather quickly and Claire must find a way out of the mess she's made. Full of dark humor and sharp observations, You'd Look Better as Ghost is an exciting read, guaranteed to draw you in.

Claire is an absolutely hilarious and complex character. She is undeniably herself and her self awareness only adds to the humor. I loved every second of reading this and was sad for my time with Claire to end.

I really enjoy books with an antihero as the main character, particularly from that character's first-person point-of-view, so I thought You'd Look Better as a Ghost would be right up my alley. Maeve Fly was one of my most memorable reads of last year, after all. But something about the tone of the book just didn't work for me. It wasn't funny enough to be a truly comic thriller, and some of the more serious topics (child abuse and elder abuse in particular) were handled in a way that felt too lighthearted. It felt like a book with a bit of an identity crisis.

Our narrator, Claire, definitely doesn't have an identity crisis, though: She knows she's a killer, and she has no worries about it. That is, until she's captured on film at the location of her latest murder and finds herself being blackmailed to avoid the risk of exposure.

I liked how Joanna Wallace integrated the grief process into the novel, as Claire is dealing with the recent loss of her beloved father on top of the blackmail situation. Her inner monologue is at turns sarcastic, apathetic, and thoughtful, which made being in her head darkly entertaining at times, pretty bleak at others. Other reviewers have called Claire a "vigilante" serial killer a la Dexter Morgan, but I'm not sure I necessarily agree. Claire seems to kill for more selfish reasons.

I found the plot to be a bit unnecessarily convoluted, meandering down random paths until it found its way to the conclusion (which I did find to be surprising and well-executed). It took me forever to get through, because the narrative just didn't hook me the way I had hoped it would. There are some superfluous characters and a few too many red herrings. I did enjoy the flashbacks from Claire's childhood, although I found the portrayal of her mother to be unsubtle and lacking in nuance. The flashbacks made me understand the motivations for Claire's behavior, but just raised more questions about her mother's.

Overall, You'd Look Better as a Ghost reads like a quirky-but-also-kind-of-sad violent serial killer cozy mystery, but without the charm of a cozy mystery. Definitely ambitious, but it missed the mark for me in the execution.

Claire is an artist who moonlights as a serial killer and is dealing with the recent loss of her beloved father. Someone has been watching her and she must discover the mystery of her blackmailer before her secrets are revealed while attending a weekly bereavement support group filled with quirky characters. In the story, she has flashbacks to her childhood touching on her abusive mother, which gives more meaning to her psychotic persona. Still, Claire is the anti-hero you will be rooting for to not get caught. The plot twists will keep you guessing until the end!

If you are a fan of Dexter, then this is right up your alley! The story is very unhinged and murderous, but still humorous and an entertaining read. It was very well written, fast-paced, and engaging. Claire's story would be a killer start to a series! I look forward to reading more stories by the talented Joanna Wallace.

This was book was completely unhinged. I was expecting it to be a lot lighter than it was but the seriousness in tone, really worked and made me scared of what Claire would do next. I was satisfied by the conclusion and would love to see where Claire goes next.

My first Joanna Wallace book but definitely not my last. This was fresh and funny. Perfect mixture of serial killer vibes and laugh out loud humor. Enjoyed this one cover to cover.
Thank you NetGalley, Joanna Wallace and Penguin Books for the opportunity to read and review this book.

YOU’D LOOK BETTER AS A GHOST
Joanna Wallace

Are you looking for a new take on the female serial killer trope? I’ve got a book for you with one of the most interesting characters I’ve read recently. Her name is Claire. Let’s talk about her and the book- YOU’D LOOK BETTER AS A GHOST.

Claire is a prolific serial killer and an accomplished artist. She was just shortlisted for an award for one of her latest creations, and she just killed a man for reasons of her own.

I like Claire. She sounds like my kind of serial killer.

She creates amazing art during the day and in her spare time kills people she deems worthy. When she is not creating art or killing people she attends a grief support group. One day or night rather, Claire kills someone while someone else is watching unbeknownst to her.

That’s where things kick off in Joanna Wallace’s comedic thriller, YOU’D LOOK BETTER AS A GHOST.

The strength of YOU’D LOOK BETTER AS A GHOST is its character construction. The weakness is its ability to keep me intrigued. Although we are here to have fun, I still expect certain things from my reading sessions and unfortunately, these elements were missing from the material.

Claire reminded me of Rhiannon from Sweet Pea by C. J. Skuse, an all-time favorite character of mine after many years. If Claire sounds like your kind of serial killer be sure to check out, YOU’D LOOK BETTER AS A GHOST by Joanna Wallace, out now!

Thanks to Netgalley, PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Books | Penguin Books for the advanced copy!

YOU’D LOOK BETTER AS A GHOST…⭐⭐⭐

This was an inventive and fun mystery, and Claire as a main character has depth, nuance, and charm despite her flaws.

What a unique and hilarious rollercoaster of a story. It was unpredictable and refreshing and you can’t help but root for charming, sarcastic Claire. If you enjoy dark comedy, this is one debut you don’t want to miss!

Okay, well this book was delightful (and I realize how weird that is to say about a book where the MC is a serial killer.) Claire was a hoot and so hard not to root for even though she had some serious issues. I liked the blackmail mystery and was totally wrong as to who the culprit was. Claire’s backstory was fascinating and added an extra layer to her character. The ending was so fitting and I hope I get to see more of Claire in a second installment.

A serial killer walks into a bar…

After the death of her father, Claire takes on a few targets that didn’t meet her usual standard of cleanliness and in-depth research. The struggle of juggling grief and meeting your own needs, am I right? Claire journeys thru her grief and all of the twists and turns that follow her murder all with dark humor to make you giggle inappropriately!

this was a brilliant debut. not a perfect one, but still it was solid

for the entire length of the story I didn’t really know where the story was going, it felt very unsure and as a result got made me lose focus in the story more often than I wanted

the writing it was exceptional, in a very singular way, where you feel the talent behind the words. not everybody is capable to write such captivating, singular main character. and I applaud it

claire was such an interesting psychological profile, she was the center and most intriguing thing about this book. I honestly could have read more about her bc of how much she was fascinating me

the plot itself was captivating and I was very focus for the first and last 30%. the in between kinda made me lose interest. the unraveling tho? amazing!!! didn’t see it coming and too me by surprised for sure

my favourite part beside navigating claire’s psyche was for sure the flashbacks. I LOVED THEM. they were delightful in their content

a solid debut but unfortunately the gap in the middle of the story lowered my enjoyment

rating: 3.5⭐️

A quick and entertaining read!

I love finding new books to read that include female serial killers. Claire was definitely a very complex individual, but she also had some heart and wasn’t just a “psycho killer”. I found myself justifying her actions multiple times throughout the book. Maybe not something I should be stating publicly but OH WELL. She seemed to be annoyed by most things that “normal” people do and it was funny and relatable.

This book had a pretty quirky plot and overall just felt silly and unserious. In the best of ways of course.

Claire + her hammer = you better run

4.5 Stars
Genre - mystery with thriller elements
Tone - introspective, sardonic, witty
Tropes & devices - multiple murders (lol), blackmail, (view spoiler)
Reps - FMC appears to have ASPD (antisocial personality disorder), migraines, claustrophobia, panic disorder; minor characters with dementia
CW - A LOT OF THEM: child abuse (forced confinement, emotional/verbal, neglect), suicidal ideation, drinking, sexual content, death of a parent, involuntary psychiatric hospitalization, explicit language, drug addiction (and some demonization of drug users).

Claire's clearly been killing for a while when we first meet her, emotionally wrecked by her father's death after a long period of devastating dementia. But grief clouds judgement, and Claire isn't as carefully as she's always been - someone's blackmailing her after her latest impulse kill got her tangled up into someone else's scheme. Could it be someone from her grief support group, where she's been learning to meditate and avoid her impulsive urges? Or someone from the dementia ward she's been visiting? Will the killer - the MC - strike again, or will she be able to keep her cool, despite her constant frustration with the boring, nonsensical nature of "ordinary people" and their stock phrases and niceties?

I almost DNF'd this book in the first few chapters because it was pretty gruesome. I'm really glad I kept reading, because Claire (this will sound literally insane) is very relatable. A lot of her observations about people made me laugh out loud. Even if I didn't agree with all her opinions on "ordinary people", or her decision to uh, kill people, I still liked her and wanted her to succeed. I don't know if that's a testament to the writing or my mental state (or both), but I found the character endearing by the ending and was sad to see it all over. I was told the storyline sounded a bit like Dexter, and I couldn't help to see that throughout. But I struggle to make comparisons to other books I've read - maybe Bored Gay Werewolf for a morally grey MC with a lot of snarky cultural criticism.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.