Claire goes to a group grief counseling session. She is trying to be a better person and deal with the loss of her dad, but it's hard when you're a serial killer. When she finds out that someone is on to her, she must protect herself and just stop killing. Maybe.

I loved this satirical, witty book. Claire's humor is very dry, and I really enjoyed her anti-hero character and its strong voice. This turned out to be a little mystery, which I thought was clever, and I liked how it unfolded. This one is fans for An Elderly Women is Up to No Good or books by Fredrik Backman. I liked how different this book was and really enjoyed the killer with a heart of gold.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advance copy for review.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC! Really enjoyed this one. I found the characters interesting and different from a lot I’ve read recently. Excited to buy a copy when it’s out.

I’m always a fan of a snarky female killer, and Claire is a new fave. She has patience for exactly no one and is quite handy with a hammer. Things have gotten quite stressful for Claire because her dad has just died, someone is blackmailing her, and the bodies are piling up.

This would be a great pick for fans of books like The Change (Miller), Jane Doe (Stone), and They Never Learn (Fargo). You’d Look Better As A Ghost was a super impressive debut, and I can’t wait to read more books by Wallace!

I didn't enjoy this book as much as I thought I would. Claire's backstory with her hardworking father and disturbed mother was intriguing, Claire is obviously very emotionally intelligent despite her need to whack people upside the head with hammers, and it shows in the way she is sympathetic to her father and grieves. She also knows just what to say in her grief support group to keep from seeming creepy. That said, I didn't particularly enjoy her character arc. This just wasn't the read for me.

Mein Leseerlebnis

Da das Buch als comic thriller beschrieben wird, habe ich eine besondere Geschichte um eine Serienmörderin erwartet, die mit einem Augenzwinkern, viel Humor und einem gewissen Charme erzählt wird. Auf diese Mischung habe ich mich vor dem Lesen wirklich gefreut. Denn auch wenn ich primär Liebesromane lesen, bin ich für solche Bücher durchaus offen.

Leider konnte ich beim Lesen wenig von dem, worauf ich mich gefreut hatte, in dem Roman wiederfinden.

Der Humor ist komplett an mir vorbeigelaufen bzw. konnte ich ihn beim Lesen nicht wahrnehmen.

Die Art und Weise wie die Hauptfigur und das Morden dargestellt wurden, sprachen mich überhaupt nicht an. Es fehlte mir ein wenig an Raffinesse in der Geschichte und Feingefühl bei der Darstellung der Charaktere.

Ich habe mich durch die ersten gut zehn Kapitel gekämpft, ohne dass mein Eindruck von dem Buch besser wurde. Mich haben die Geschehnisse leider überhaupt nicht unterhalten können, stattdessen habe ich mich mit ihnen leicht unwohl gefühlt. Da machte das Beenden des Romans keinen Sinn.

Ich war sicherlich nicht die richtige Leser:in für diese außergewöhnliche Geschichte.

- keine Bewertung, da abgebrochen –

Für wen?

Wer Romane mag, in denen die Heldin mit dem Morden beginnt und nicht mehr damit aufhören kann, für den lohnt sich sicherlich ein Blick in die Leseprobe.

Erwartet einen eher speziellen Humor und achtet beim Lesen der Leseprobe darauf, ob ihr diesen auch wirklich amüsant findet.

As with a few of the books I've been reading lately, this one was a title grab for me. Honestly, I would wear a T-shirt with the phrase "You'd look better as a ghost" on it. Joanna Wallace, if you want some free advertising, hook me up. I'll be happy to tell everyone about the Serial Killer in a Grief Support Group book.

This one started a little slower than I would've liked. I actually got nervous I wasn't going to like it, then I wouldn't be able to happily use the phrase. What a disappointment that would've been.

Claire is a serial killer. At the start of our story, her father has just died, and after the funeral, she takes out her grief on a stupid man who doesn't know how to send a proper e-mail. Most unfortunately, this doesn't help her process her grief. Instead, she listens to her GP and joins a grief support group.

And while going through the stages of grief, she also has to deal with the stages of being blackmailed. Talk about a serious downer.

The humor is good. It's sharp, subtle, and delicious. It's, quite frankly, even better than I expected.

The twisty turniness of the story reminds me of your run-of-the-mill thriller, or murder mystery, but so much better because our protagonist is, you know. A psychopath. So her view on everything is removed and clinical.

I did not see the ending coming. I've been out of the thriller game for some time now, so maybe I'm rusty. Or maybe the author is just that good. Either way, I appreciate it.

Claire's backstory is also given, through fantastic flashbacks. It escalates quicker than expected, but it's a real window into her grief and has a very satisfying ending.

Super, super enjoyable.

I really would like a T-shirt.

Who knew a story about murder could be so much fun to read?! This story is told from the POV of Claire, a young adult whose hobby is killing people who she feels the world would be better without. Through her thought process and flashbacks of her past, you can piece together how she got to this point. She is rational, straight-forward, and witty, but unfortunately about to be caught. This is a great commentary on what abuse and grief can do to the mind, while managing to be humorous.

I thought this book was well written, but it just wasn't for me. I was expecting more humor since it is listed in that category, but it was more dark than I usually like.

This was fantastic. Sarcastic, dark comedy with a hell of a lot of humanity thrown in. I can't believe this is a first novel!
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC which was given in exchange for an honest review.

I liked this for the same reasons I liked Motherthing by Ainslie Hogarth. The woman haunted by a traumatic relationship with her mom, hearing the remnants of that into adulthood, spurring her to do horrible things. This, however, had less…sympathy for everyone in it. The elderly, the children, the nurses, and the grieving were all cast in a cruel shadow. The nice were portrayed to be annoying, the annoying insufferable, the caring cruel. Everyone was always carrying a secret in their pocket - blackmail, abuse, murder. This is not the day I didn’t like it, I did, and I was interested in what came next, but I sort of missed a source of light to turn my face to in this book of shadows.

This was pretty dark, but ultimately I dug it, (although it is a bit hard to get into.)

The characters are all pretty unlikeable in this story (except for the Heron), but over time you get used to how Claire thinks and learn more about her backstory. You don't come to love her or root for her, but she becomes more interesting as the book progresses.

I liked the mystery of someone monitoring Claire and her "hobby." I also liked that the story included the idea of elder abuse and the way the author wove her dad's experience with dementia into the plot line. There is a twist I did not see coming.

True, Clarie is unapologetically happy killing people. She's not a hero, and at the beginning of the book, you may be thinking, "yes, she's a killer...and?" But as the book proceeds and you learn how she processes the world around her, which is fascinating. (I LOLd at this line. "The image repulses me. It is never OK for a grown woman to wear a headband.") I loved the idea of a sociopath in a grief support group, both trying to deal with her deep feelings AND wanting to kill annoying people.

This book certainly won't be for everyone, but I found it to be an engaging, quick read. Thank you to the author and NetGalley for granting me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Joanna Wallace’s You’d Look Better As A Ghost follows “part-time” serial killer Claire. Certain people appear almost transparent to Claire, as if they are a ghost, which acts as a sort of litmus test for choosing the next victim. Claire’s observations of the people around her are hilariously blunt, paired with an endearing, quirky personality. She’s an incredibly likable character, which is something I never thought I’d say about a serial killer.

The story is fast-paced with twists and turns you won’t see coming. The writing is witty and fun, a stark contrast to the plot. My one criticism is that the ending came and went too quickly. I would’ve liked to have been caught up in the suspense of the climax a little bit longer. Overall, though, this comedy thriller had me hooked from the very beginning and was a fantastic debut novel! Many thanks to Joanna Wallace, Penguin Books, and NetGalley for the review copy!

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: Mar. 26, 2024
Fans of “Dexter” will devour “You’d Look Better as A Ghost”, the debut novel by author Joanna Wallace. Sharp, creative and deliciously twisted, this five-star read introduced me to another great protagonist!
After the death of Clare’s father, she finds solace in one thing- the knowledge that she has been shortlisted in an exclusive art competition. But she soon finds out that the was shortlisted in error, and she did not truly earn a spot, as a judge had sent her an acceptance email in error. Determined to make it right, Clare meets Lucas in a bar and they quickly hit it off, and Clare seeks revenge with the help of her trusty hammer. Now, Lucas won’t be able to crush some other aspiring artist’s dreams. Although Clare has gone throughout her entire life without being caught, it seems someone saw what she did, and is willing to talk about it. In order to save her reputation and her freedom, Clare needs to find out who knows the truth, and stop them.
Perhaps this says something about me, but I adored Clare as a character. A serial killer from an early age, she kills as a means of vigilante justice, seeking revenge and retaliation, her targets appearing to her as almost “ghost-like” entities, indicating that they will be next to die. Clare tells the story entirely from her perspective and my favourite parts were the snippets from Clare’s past, when she was being raised by an emotionally absent mother and a devoted father. It was fascinating learning about Clare’s motivations, and these facts helped me ally with the deeply strange and dark main character.
There are many twists and turns in Wallace’s novel, and although some of the connections between the characters toward the end seemed rather forced and loose, I thoroughly enjoyed every single page. As the story unfolds, there is constant tension as to whether or not Clare will be caught and, against my moral judgment, I did not want her to!
I thoroughly hope Wallace will bring Clare back again, and soon. “You’d Look Better as a Ghost” is a dark and engaging read that is easily going to make my top-reads list!

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of You'd Look Better as a Ghost.

If the premise wasn't available for review, I still would have requested this based on the title alone.

This is right up my alley; a female serial killer doing serial killer-y things.

Claire is a serial killer, but like most serial killers in novels, she's not a true serial killer.

She's mourning the loss of her father, the only person she's ever cared about, and the only person who ever loved her. She even contemplates taking her own life, not something a sociopath would ever think about.

Sociopaths don't work like that.

Claire is an unlikable serial killer, and that's not a joke. Not every character is likable in a book. But Dexter, the most famous literary serial killer was likable, maybe because he only killed bad people. Or it's the way the author wrote Dexter Morgan, the tone and inherent empathy in describing Dexter.

Claire puts people on her hit list simply because...they cut in front of her on line. They're annoying. They have no fashion sense. They irritate her.

She's constantly monologuing about how irritating people are, how she's fed up with them, how it would be kind of her to put them out of their misery.

I think the author wanted these monologues to sound amusing, darkly comedic, but instead the tone was off and Claire sounded...rude? Self centered? Snotty?

When a murder puts her in the crosshairs of the wrong people, Claire must figure out how to extricate herself from a mess she's created for herself and get back to her solitary life of serial killing.

There's plenty of violence, physical abuse involving children and the elderly, and some readers may find these themes very triggering.

Despite Claire being in trouble, there's very little urgency and suspense in the narrative; there's plenty of monologuing about the support group, which I find tiresome and tedious.

There's plenty of background about Claire visiting the care home, which factors into the story but even these scenes were boring.

The narrative features a serial killer, a hammer and plenty of murder, blood and violence, but it's not thrilling or exciting.

There's a couple of revelations at the end, but even those come off as anti-climatic because readers are forced to suspend disbelief, and I was already having trouble at this point because I was having difficulty believing Claire was a serial killer.

Dexter Morgan isn't a true sociopath, but you liked him and believed in him because of the way he was written.

Claire just sounds like a spoiled child who kills because she has nothing else to do with her life; no friends, no family, no ambitions or career.

She's a nobody and killing makes her feel like a somebody.

You'd Look Better as a Ghost is a bit You, a bit Dexter, a bit Hannibal, and a bit Fight Club - but not the Fight Club part of Fight Club. Claire is a serial killer with a dark sense of humor and her own personal code, and when we first meet her she's reeling from the death of her father and trying to cope in the way it seems only she can. Her bereavement support group doesn't seem to be helping ... and might actually end up hurting as it throws her together with people she'd otherwise never have met.

Claire's an engaging narrator obsessed with observing "ordinary people" and doing her best to fit in just enough so that her hobby - no, not her art; her other hobby - isn't recognized. For the most part she keeps to herself, which makes the bereavement group such a challenge, since she has to figure out how, exactly, "ordinary people" act in that situation. She makes some insightful comments about the other characters while at times missing the obvious about both them and herself, making you turn the page to see when - or if - she'll realize it, or if she's just set herself up for a fall.

If you like the narration of Joe Goldberg, Dexter Morgan, or the unnamed man in Fight Club, then you need to pick up You'd Look Better as a Ghost. Part comedy, part thriller, and guaranteed to keep you up until the last page is turned, this book kept me laughing - and guessing - to the end.

Books like this are so hard to explain! Quirky books lead to quirky reviews, so with this book, I’m just going to tell you a few facts. We know from the synopsis that Claire is a “part time” serial killer; here are a few other things that are in the book:

Claire met Lucas in a bar, and Lucas was annoying. Claire didn’t like that, so she rectified the situation.

Claire’s father had dementia and recently died in a memory care facility. After killing Lucas she began visiting his mother, Kathleen, at the same facility.

Claire found out some of the caregivers in this facility do everything BUT care. The things they’ve done are unacceptable to Claire.

Claire starts going to a group for the grieving, and meets Jemma, who has just lost her mother. Claire immediately can’t stand Jemma.

Claire can see some people look like ghosts, as if they can almost be seen through. Those people need to die.

This was odd, discordant, and rumors of a lot of dark humor are greatly exaggerated. It was more funny the more I got to know Claire, but it took awhile to get there. The ending was the best part - I was blindsided by who knew Claire’s secrets and how everything ended. Overall, this was darkly cute, engaging and creative. 3.5 stars, rounded up for being a debut!

(Thank you to Viper Books, Joanna Wallace and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review.)

Joanna Wallace’s comic thriller You’d Look Better as a Ghost is the unholy baby of Dexter and Fleabag, featuring a sarcastic, short-tempered protagonist whose nightly hobby happens to be smashing in the head of anyone who crosses her. (I’ve heard knitting is also fun, but to each their own.) As far as darkly funny, part-time serial killers go, Claire is one of my favorites — the trials and tribulations of her gruesome, blood-soaked exploits would honestly make a great series. But I’m getting a little ahead of myself! Here’s a little more about You’d Look Better as a Ghost’s plot, courtesy of the publisher:

“The night after her father's funeral, Claire meets Lucas in a bar. Lucas doesn't know it, but it's not a chance meeting. One thoughtless mistyped email has put him in the crosshairs of an extremely put-out serial killer. But before they make eye contact, before Claire lets him buy her a drink — even before she takes him home and carves him up into little pieces — something about that night is very wrong. Because someone is watching Claire. Someone who is about to discover her murderous little hobby. The thing is, it's not sensible to tangle with a part-time serial killer, even one who is distracted by attending a weekly bereavement support group and trying to get her art career off the ground. Will Claire finish off her blackmailer before her pursuer reveals all?”

If you’re at all intrigued by ‘nature vs. nurture’ cases, Claire is an interesting example. As loving as her doting father is, her mother is an abusive wretch who takes all of her aggression and resentments out on her young daughter. It makes you wonder if she’d have still grown up to be so adept at swinging hammers into human skulls if it weren’t for such a hellacious childhood. The few flashback scenes we get to what Claire endures at the hands of her mother are rough, engendering more and more sympathy for our murderous narrator, even as we see her pulling off heinous crimes in the present day. Obviously I was rooting for Claire to evade her blackmailers (and by extension, the police), and you know what? I’m at peace with whatever that says about my moral compass. (Unless my assigned FBI agent is reading this, in which case jk!!!!! Promise!!!!! Lol!!!!) It’s so fun to watch Claire unravel the mystery behind the cat and mouse game she unwittingly finds herself in the middle of.

Wallace’s writing is often funny, especially when it comes to her wry, biting observations about all the annoying ticks and irritating traits of the eclectic members of Claire’s bereavement group. I also loved the brief throwaway lines nodding to murders Claire had committed for ridiculous reasons — a bad haircut, someone cutting her in line, etc. She’s pure id. She’s the corporeal form of that brief flash of rage you feel when some guy slams into you on the sidewalk and doesn’t say sorry, or when you discover your roommate ate the leftovers you’d been looking forward to all day. In a world where people seem to have increasingly awful manners, the pettiest part of me can see where she’s coming from. (Again, I promise I’m jk!!!!! Mostly!!!! Maybe!!!!! Ha ha ha . . . ha.)

I only had one real issue with this novel, which is that I thought the convoluted blackmail plot would’ve benefited from being streamlined just a bit. That being said there are some great twists and turns as Claire works to uncover who’s on her tail. So, all in all, I really loved this one! Funny and brutal and dark and as sharp as the knife someone may or may not be meeting the wrong end of if they so much as look at Claire wrong.

Thank you to Penguin Books for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Dark, dark, dark. I'm not sure what I think of it still. It wasn't my cup of tea, but I've already sent a screen-shot of the book cover to several friends who will devour it whole.

good book! character was similar to me in ways. had growth to do and confident in themselves. able to overcome

This was dark but very engaging. I didn’t expect to enjoy this book this much. I highly recommend this for an unexpectedly great dark read! This is far from my typical read and I really liked it. I highly recommend this book!