Ladykiller is a riveting thriller that masterfully intertwines setting, atmosphere, drama, and murder into a compelling story. A well-crafted thriller that hits all the right notes. Katherine Wood's talent for building atmosphere, creating drama, and delivering a gripping murder mystery makes this book a must-read for fans of the genre. The seamless integration of these elements, along with the delicious twists and turns, results in a story that is both captivating and unforgettable. I enjoyed this so much!

Thank you to Bantam books for allowing me to read Ladykiller by Katherine Wood. This book was a little boring but, I am glad that I stayed with it to enjoy the twisty ride.

#hurricanereading

"Time is like water; some of it is clear and some of it is murky, but the more that stands between you and the past you’ve buried, the less you can see it."

This a fun yet pretty basic and formulaic thriller. It kept me occupied when I didn't have electricity and I tore through it

Thank you netgalley and Random House Publishing Group Ballantine.

Thank you @netgalley for my advance copy. I am OBSESSED with this cover. I swear its the cover of the summer. This is my first time reading Wood and it will definitely not be my last. Her writing is so well done. This novel was a bit on the "soapy" side and I did not expect it. I would call it "thriller light" however, the drama was engaging and I found myself wanting to see what happened next. This was a perfect popcorn thriller.

It’s incredibly difficult to assign value to a book like this, which is essentially a conscious ripoff of an older, classic book. It’s a Ripley rip-off, undoubtedly, but what was the goal in publishing this? Is it an update to a familiar tale? Did the author actually think they were producing something novel? Or is the purpose to consciously revive a previously successful plot writ large by another author and simply say “hey, I know this is a great premise for a story and I’m just here to entertain?”

If it’s the last of those then I have little issue with this book, which keeps your turning the pages, successfully mimics the air of Highsmith’s work, and is, in the end, at least satisfactorily entertaining.

Tougher if the book was meant to stand on its own as an original or even semi-original narrative. Even as a “new spin” on an old trope, there isn’t much to go on here. And like most imitations, it fails to capture the sense of place, the depth of story, and (in this specific case) the sense of menace that made the original so compelling.

There have been many Ripley-derivative novels over the years that have succeeded in doing something new with the concept. This is fine as a way to divert your attention for a few hours, but I didn’t see anything original or uniquely compelling here.

I love an unreliable narrator and honestly, Gia is definitely on par with the best of them. This book reminded me a little bit of Gone Girl with the book vs diary in this one. I am thinking we might see Gia pop up again in another novel because she’s just that good.

This was such a fun sexy thriller! You get the pov of gias manuscript and real time ! A summer in Greece with spice, murder, and money lots and lots of money! And you know how that makes people act! The drama and people you just get sucked into the fun of what’s happening! Toward the end it got a little more fast paced. I thought the end was a little predictable, it’s felt a little yea I saw that coming. But that didn’t make it any less fun!
3.5⭐️
Thank you to Bantam, Penguin Random House and Netgalley for my gifted copy.

The last 50% of this book was probably 4-5 stars for me but the first half just dragged for me. I know the author was trying to set the scene but I wasn’t getting enough nuggets of information to keep me wanting to flip the pages. I think if Abby’s POV had went just a little quicker with the manuscript POV the intrigue would have been higher. I did love all the twists and how they were all connected in the last half of the book. The author did a great job with the setting and character development. I don’t mind an ambiguous ending but I know a lot of people aren’t fans of those. It didn’t bother me here. I’m looking forward to more books from this author.

When a woman vanishes from her remote Greek island estate, her best friend from childhood races to find her thanks to clues in the manuscript she left behind. Katherine loads up the suspense with the sun-soaked backdrop of gorgeous Greece and the glamorously decadent world of the uber-rich. This is a story that will have you longing for a vacation under the hot Mediterranean sun…but maybe with a little less murder.

When do we stop believing the truth we're told versus the truth we see or intuitively feel? For Abby, she feels like something isn't right with Gia's life. As she and Benny dig deeper into the truth versus Gia's version of reality, they're left with too many questions and not enough answers. until suddenly the truth is there. But do they want to know it? And will their lives be changed if the truth comes out? This one will keep you guessing!

When her lifelong friend invites her to an island birthday party, Abby is happy to accept. But when her friend disappears before Abby arrives on island, Abby looks to an unfinished manuscript for clues. Katherine Wood reveals glimpses of Gia's fabulous....or is it.....through an unfinished manuscript. Abby must decide how much is truth and how much is fiction. The backstory and the setting is skillfully written but the story leaves readers to reach their own conclusions at the end.

Gia and Abby have been best friends since they were teens. Gia is a very rich heiress and Abby is the daughter of the chef for Gia’s family. A tragedy occurred when they were eighteen, right before Abby was heading off to college. This has kept them hiding a secret all these years. Now, Abby is a lawyer and Gia is currently in love with someone new, Garrett. Gia wants Abby to travel to Greece for her wedding, but Abby declines. Abby also tries to convince Gia not to marry so quickly.
Gia is finally able to convince Abby to take time off of work to reunite in Sweden to celebrate Gia’s birthday and see the Northern Lights. Benny will be joining them so it will just be those three. When Abby and Benny arrive, Gia is nowhere to be found. Text messages relate that she is too ill to travel and she hopes they have a good time. Suspicion grows for Abby and Benny and they decide to travel to Greece to locate her. What they find at the estate in Greece is a manuscript that Gia has been writing, with no ending. And Gia is missing.
This story is told from Abby’s perspective as well as the perspective of Gia in her unfinished manuscript. The time line is before and after Gia goes missing.
This story is filled with lies, deceptions, sex, alcohol, and killings. Who is telling the truth? Who is lying? The story has so many twists and turns, that the reader will not be able to tell who to believe. I was totally engrossed as I was reading. I also was wishing I was in Greece as the authors description of the islands and the surrounding waters was so inviting. I loved her style of writing!
If you love a good mystery with many twists and turns, filled with good wine, some sex, lies, maybe some truths, you will love this book.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for allowing me to read the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. Published on July 9, 2024.

I really liked this book! It was a mystery that was super addicting! The characters were intricate enough to draw you in and make want to know all their secrets! The setting was amazing, definitely gives you those vacation vibes with the Greece setting and the jet setting the characters did. It was also one of those stories that just keeps you guessing and wondering what was actually the truth with so many unreliable narrators and the back and forth with the facts of the story. Definitely a great Summer thriller that begs to be read poolside!

I gave this book 4 stars. I liked the story line and characters! I wish the ending gave more information.

I liked what this was trying to do, but I never got super invested in the mystery. Not as much of a page-turning thriller as the type of thrillers I usually prefer. This was closer to mystery than thriller on the mystery thriller scale, and even then, I spent most of the book unsure of the mystery I was supposed to be trying to solve.

So not for me, but I can see others liking it!

Thank you Random House and NetGalley for an early copy of Ladykiller. COVER IS GORGEOUS. This was a FANTASTIC READ!!!! So, so, so goooooooooood! The characters were great and the writing left you wanting more each chapter. I Loved Gia’s manuscript part the Best. If you can get past alllllllllllll the sex scenes, you will thoroughly Enjoy this book. I still don’t know what is the truth at the end, I have an inkling but it left me pondering. Great novel, cannot wait to read more by her.

Abby has been friends with Gia since she was 13, when her mom got a job as Gia's family's personal chef. She and Gia attended the same schools, but when they were 18 an ex boyfriend of Gia's attacks Abby.
Now, 13 years later, Gia's and Abby have fallen out over Gia's hasty marriage, so trying to patch things up, Gia invites her brother and Abby to celebrate her 30th birthday in Sweden...but Gia doesn't show up and is acting weird. Where is GIa? What happened to her?

This was one of my favorite niche genre books--rich people behaving badly. Gia's rich and has barely worked a day in her life, but is now experiencing money trouble since her father died and left all of his cash to charity. She has to sell her beloved Greek vacation home, otherwise she's going to be out of money in just a few years. But something strange is going on--her husband needs money to bail out his struggling business, and the house guests they invited to stay with them after meeting at a restaurant may not be who they've said they are, and then brother Ben brings his actress girlfriend to join them and things just go absolutely sideways.

The characters are just what you want them to be--rich, jet setting, but struggling to hide money issues and troubles they've gotten into while throwing away daddy's cash on business ventures and extravagant lifestyles. And then you have Abby, focused on not falling into the same place her mother, making sure she has money. Her job as a lawyer leaves little time for fun, especially the impulsive kind that Gia favors. She almost turns Gia down for the bithday trip, but manages to secure the time off...only to get stood up.

There is a lot to enjoy about this book, from the secrets and lies to the gorgeous settings, but then you have...the well. Gia is obsessed about filling it in, but will we ever find out exactly why she's so adamant it gets filled in? The book is kind of messy in both good (messy rich people are a guilty pleasure of mine) and bad, there are a few things that probably should have been either edited out or given a good explanation, but overall, this was a fun read, great for a beach read.

"Secrets are like bodies. They need to be buried."

I just finished reading "Ladykiller," and was utterly hooked on the first page! The book's stunning cover initially caught my eye, and I couldn't help but wonder if the story inside would live up to it. Well, let me tell you, it absolutely did! I was so engrossed in the thrilling plot that I devoured the book in one day!

The setting was so incredible that I found myself wishing I could join the characters for drinks by the pool. As the story unfolded, I couldn't believe how oblivious Gia was to the true intentions of the people she had welcomed into her home. The suspense and plot twists had me on the edge of my seat, and I was utterly engrossed in the story until the end.

However, when the book concluded, I was left with so many questions. While I don't mind a bit of vagueness, there were too many loose ends. I hope there will be a sequel because I need answers from this talented author!

Thanks to Random House Publishing for sending me an ARC of this book through NetGalley. All opinions are my own and left voluntarily.

#KatherineWood #Ladykiller #randomhousepublishing #PengiunRandomHouse #GreekIsland #manuscript

The first half or so of this book was decidedly not for me. I found Gia’s manuscript to be annoying at best and repugnant at worst. It reminded me of a late night Cinemax movie. The tone was creepy and gross. I enjoyed the scenes with Abby and Benny, but they were so limited that I felt like I didn’t get to know those two characters very well. Once we were through Gia’s manuscript, I started enjoying the book more. After seeing how the book ended, I realized there were layers to Gia’s manuscript and the role it played in the story, but I don’t know whether that cleverness outweighed the unpleasantness of reading it.

Thank you to the publisher - I received a complimentary eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I didn't like the characters in this one, but that's what the author meant to do. Poor little rich kids. How could they be so daft?! But then you get toward the end and "ohhhhhh". Because of that, though, some of the book was kind of a drudgery. It made sense in the end for the most part. If you like books that are tied up in a neat little bow at the end, you'll be a bit disappointed. Still a decent read. This one took a lot of forethought and planning to write. Not entirely sure how the title fits the book as it is written as one word. Two words makes more sense.