*Chef's kiss*

Have loved Rhiannon since reading Sweetpea and I really think this is her best outing yet. I can't get over *that* ending. I know there is at least one more book left in this series and I can't wait to see what happens next. No spoilers but this girl will be GUNNING for certain people. I really like seeing Rhiannon's softer side too. Definitely recommend this book. Only downside (and it's so tiny) is that it's probably not the same experience if this is the first book in the series you pick up so 100% suggest reading the previous three first.

The review of "think Bridget Jones meets American Psycho" really piqued my interest and along with the eye catching cover I knew I had to read this. However, I didn't realise it was part of a series, and book number 4 in the series at that! Usually I can read books out of order, but I have to admit that I really struggled with this one. As soon as I started reading it it felt like it referred to events that I didn't know anything about and that's when I realised (after looking) that it was a series.

However, I really liked the characters and the idea of the book. It was dark and murderous, yet funny and witty at the same time. Whilst I was wildly confused at the beginning of the book, it did get easier to understand as I read, but I really think I needed to know the backstories better to fully enjoy it. Rhiannon/Ophelia/Sweetpea was a really likeable character and despite her being a serial killer I really hoped there was a good outcome for her! There was a major cliffhanger at the end however, which definitely lines it up for another book in the series - I really need to catch up with the previous 3 books before that one appears!

I started reading this book knowing absolutely nothing about it – if you know what a book’s about before you open it what’s the point of opening it? It was the knife on the cover that made me think ‘Hey up, this looks like one for me’! It was. I admit that at 10% I was a little bit confused (no change there then) but I soon got into it and then I couldn’t put it down. I read some reviews after I’d finished reading the book and one reviewer said you can’t read this as a standalone. Trust me (my daughter’s a doctor), you can. I had no idea it was part of a series. Halfway through I felt just a teeny bit ashamed and horrified at myself that I was rooting for Ophelia and thinking of giving this a 5 star review, but there you go. I absolutely loved it, and I loved her, and there were many things throughout the story that made me really chuckle. She didn’t like someone because ‘she’d wished death on my bee’, she’d put money aside for ‘a resin pirate ship I’d seen for the fish tank’, and ‘I didn’t want to kill her – she was the only one at that office who showed me how the photocopier worked’. Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. I hadn’t seen any of the previous books but, oh my goodness, I’ll be looking out for the next. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an amazing 24 hours! Highly recommended and definitely 5 stars.

Having loved the first three books in the Sweetpea series this was a very welcome return to Rhiannon Lewis’s life. I was immediately invested in this book and found it a real page turner.
This serial killer’s character is so well drawn that you cannot help but want her to succeed. I loved the plot and enjoyed the love angle.
As with the first three books I would highly recommend this one

This is one of my favourite series. Such clever, funny writing. The plot, as always, was original and kept me turning the pages. Cannot wait for the final instalment. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

Rating: 3.4/5

I have been singing the praises of anti-heroine, Rhiannon Lewis, ever since she first appeared in "Sweetpea" back in 2017. Rhiannon, the serial killer who is something of a cross between Bridget Jones and Villanelle from "Killing Eve" was like a breath of fresh air with a fragrance as sweet as the flowers that provide her nickname when she first came onto the scene. In the past few years a number of other writers have picked up on the theme of having a strong female character with a penchant for killing people. In fact, I would go as far as to suggest that it may now have actually reached the point where a darkly humorous thriller featuring a female serial killer has become a sub-genre in its own right. But Rhiannon - aka Sweetpea - can make strong claims to have been the original.

When Rhiannon appeared for the third time in "Dead Head", I thought it marked a suitably strong and appropriate end to the Sweetpea series. Author, C. J. Skuse clearly thought differently and her serial killer creation returns for a fourth outing in "Thorn In My Side" - but I kind of wish she hadn't.

Don't get me wrong - this is still a good book, although it can't really be read as a standalone, because it depends very heavily on the reader being familiar with events from the previous three books in the series. If you are about to read "Thorn In My Side" then you have almost certainly read and enjoyed the others in the series too. If so, you can still expect to find the same diary style format, with the wonderfully acerbic and darkly amusing kill lists - all delivered in fine narrative style by the author. Everything that you would expect to be there is present and correct - and that is, perhaps, part of the problem - the format simply isn't as fresh any more. I still love the character of Rhiannon and I still admire the ability of C. J. Skuse to create a well-plotted storyline peppered with darkly humorous observations. However, the impact is not as powerful any longer- partly because it has already been done in three previous books in this series, but also because other writers have now also waded into the arena.

Without wishing to hint at too much of a spoiler, the ending of this novel certainly leaves the door open for a fifth book in this series and - if that were to be the case - I would almost certainly read it ... but there is loud voice within me questioning whether it would be the wise thing to do.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for supplying an ARC in return for an honest review.

The Sweatpea series is one of my favourites so I was excited to read the new book Thorn in my side. Wow! Absolutely fantastic and the ending was brilliantly set up for the next book. Rhiannon’s humour is just brilliant and the character development in this story is amazing. I love the new relationships with her new found family. It sounds strange to say that a serial killer is one of the best characters I have ever encountered in a book series and you need to read the books to understand my point. I was halfway through a book when I received confirmation that I had been accepted to read the book from Netgalley so I left what I was reading and immediately started this one as I was overjoyed about it. I wish I could give it more than 5 stars! I recommend this series to everyone, it is amazing!!

I was lent the first book in the series, Sweet Pea, by a friend and absolutely loved it. I then bought the next two - In Bloom and Dead Head - and devoured them in as many days. So I was thrilled when Skuse said she was writing a fourth, and jumped at the chance to read it. It is thanks to this series that I have picked up more of Skuse's books.

It is a thriller, a violent and gory crime series, but I found it really funny; it has a very dark humour but it succeeds with making the reader laugh, but then feel quite disgusted at laughing. It is a fabulous series that I have recommended onwards to many people.

Rhiannon was, and still is, a fabulous creation. Serial killers shouldn't be our favourite characters. They should be the villains, we shouldn't want to be friends with them. But Rhiannon grabbed me in the first book and I'm still rooting for her in this one. Yes she's not a good character, yes she's a serial killer, a dangerous criminal, but she's also very human and you can see her reason for killing, and it's actually quite difficult to hate her for it. There are many other characters who are equally as well written, but for me, this is Rhiannon's show and she steals every single page.

This one felt more frantic than the other three. The others were more placed, Rhiannon knew what she was doing and she was organised and professional (if there is such a thing as a professional serial killer). But she's losing that control a bit in this one, so that was a different edge to her character which was interesting.

I spent the whole thing willing her to be caught out as I wanted to see how she'd react to that, but then I knew she was discovered, that would probably be the end of the series and I'm not sure I want that yet. This ends perfectly (I won't say how, but it works). I'm really hoping there's more. There's just something about this series that has stuck with me and I just want to keep reading it.

It's more wider reaching than the first three. I felt the others were about how her crimes affected her only. But this one, it's how it affects her friends and her family. There are repercussions which she's not had to factor in before. This gives us a different outlook on her and switches it up. When a series goes on for several books, there's a worry that it becomes stale. But by changing the impact slightly, Skuse has kept it fresh and fun.

It really got under my skin. I went to bed with this dread, this fear that it was me who had carried out these crimes and I was going to get caught out.

The first three books were fabulous, but I'd say this is my favourite by far. It just had something extra I can't really explain. An extra spark. It just felt bigger and bolder and more spectacular.

This book thrilled me and it broke my heart. All the stars!

I've grown really fond of Rhiannon throughout this series, and it was really nice to see her character development in this instalment. Her kill lists never fail to make me chuckle, and I just love spending time with her as a character.

My only complaint is that I absolutely can not wait for the next book after THAT ending.

I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher in return for an honest review. This review is based entirely on my own thoughts and feelings.

Overall rating : 5*
Writing skill : 5*
Plot: 4*
Pace: 4*
Characters: 5*
Cliffhanger: 10000*

Who the hell ends a book like that. You’re a monster Skuse!!!
Favourite of the series so far, Rhi has grown as a character so much. Of course you still get her crazy thought farts, and those one liners, and the lists!!
Raf is top of the book boyfriend list, you can’t have him he’s mine!!
If you’ve got this far in the series you know what you’re getting and this didn’t disappoint. The only question now is when the bloody hell is number 5?! Thanks for the laughs Bean Qween, it’s been a blast!

I've read the other books in the series so I was really excited for this one and it definitely did not disapoint!

Book four of this FANTASTIC series. Rhiannon has gone over 800 days without murdering anyone, She is in love and loved but life becomes difficult for her and the one's she loves.

As soon as i was offered this book to review i abandoned what i had been reading and although quite a long book i devoured it over 24 hours. Well written characters, plenty of humour mixed into the horror of murder. Its not for the faint hearted but i loved every moment. The ending left me speechless and has most definitely been left open for book five, i cannot wait for that.

My thanks to netgalley and the publisher for my copy. My best read of the year.