With a title like, Lady Killer, and a cover like this one, who wouldn’t want to read this book!

I loved the book is told in two unique ways. One is in present day, and the other through the writings of Gia, an heiress. I was so hooked by Gia’s storyline that I couldn’t put this book down. I also loved the wild twist at the end!

This one is out tomorrow, so order it now!

Omg this book was 10/10!!
I will read absolutely anything and everything by Kat and couldn’t get enough of this one. All of her books are so fun, sexy and such an adventure!

Can’t wait to read more!!
Couldn’t recommend this enough!

Ladykiller is the new book from Katherine Wood (who previously used the pen-name, Katherine St. John)

"Abby gets an invite to meet her best friend, Gia, in Sweden - to reconnect and spend time with her and her new husband. Before she leaves Abby gets threatening emails. At the hotel, she gets an abrupt visit from a stranger that scares her. Gia's brother, Benny, was also invited to Sweden and helps Abby feel safe. When neither of them can get in touch with Gia, they head to the old family house on a Greek island. There they find a manuscript written by Gia full of things that scared her. Is Gia still alive? Can they find her?"

This is an unreliable narrator-mystery-suspense-domestic thriller. There are secrets - everybody has secrets. And you're never sure who is responsible for certain events. There's one big event in the past. You can probably guess what really happened but KW doesn't give it away. Gia is an impulsive character, used to getting her way - and one you don't want to cross. Abby was the poor kid invited to play with the rich girl and struggles to push back.

KW leaves us with a little bit of an open ending - not everything gets resolved. Characters talk about it but that's all. It works for this story. I love the setting. Good story from Wood.

Hello obsession, secrets, lies, deception, steam, and drama! This book had lots of elements I loved but took me a hot minute to get invested. The setting was amazing…Greece. I loved the rich vibes…this book gives “The White Lotus”! So yes, very entertaining! I also loved how the characters were hard to trust. There were bits of information and it definitely made me think..who is lying and who is telling the truth! That was the biggest thing that kept me engaged! Now, from a thriller/suspense view point, it definitely fell flat. I didn’t feel the tension I was craving and the ending didn’t satisfy me completely. But overall a fun beach read!

2.5/5

I was very into this one right from the start, the setting in Greece, the possible toxic friendship between Gia and Abby, the secrets and lies, so much to enjoy. I also loved the structure here, you get Abby’s perspective in the present day and Gia’s via her manuscript as she details the events leading up to her disappearance. It was a very immersive read with a steady pacing that kept me engaged and I assumed it would be a four or maybe even a five star read for me most of the time. But then the ending was just sooo disappointing for me, I hate when things are ambiguous and that’s what happened here. I don’t want to have questions about what really happened, I want answers and I don’t want to come to my own conclusions. So overall this one wasn’t for me, no matter how good the rest of the book was a weak ending will ruin it for me.

This cover screams summer, and has all the necessary elements for a read in a day book. Rich people behaving badly, tropical local (island in Greece), a few con-artists, and a decade old secret. It's fun and not scary, which is always fun for me. I guessed the twist early on but still enjoyed it.

3.5 stars but rounding up to 4.

Thanks Netgalley & Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Bantam for the advanced reader copy.

Abby has not spoken to Gia much since Gia's marriage to Garret just a few months after meeting. But when Gia invites Abby to Sweden to celebrater her 30th birthday with just the two of them and her brother, Benny (who Abby has always had a thing for), Abby can not say no. But when Abby and Benny arrive, there is no one there. Wellness checks to her home in Greece are unsuccessful so they two fly over only to find her missing and Gia's unfinished manuscript waiting. Where has she gone? Has someone done something to her? Could this have anything to do with the tragedy that took place here 12 years ago leaving one man dead and teenagers Gia and Abby changed forever?

I enjoyed this book a lot! I thought the Noah storyline was super predictable but that did not take away from the story. Usually I hate open ended endings on books, but I felt like we had a enough information to come to conclusions on our own. I would definitely read more from this author!

Thank you NetGalley for an arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I don’t mind stories with different POVs but I really did not like the way this one was set up. We have Abby and Gia’s manuscript thrown in between, that it was hard to keep up with exactly what is happening in the present. And it takes a while for the manuscript to catch up with the present. I almost did not finish this book. The ending was also unsatisfying because I don’t like books that just leave a cliffhanger for interpretation. I like for it to be buttoned up in some way. I did love the Greek setting and overall terrible demeanor of rich people.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bantam Publishing for this advanced copy to read and review.

I really liked the premise of this book. I love con stories as well as an unreliable narrator, however the back half of the book lost me. Gia was a little too unreliable as the narrator. The story also got confusing and it was hard to keep the characters and how they were related straight. The ending of the book felt very abrupt and some of the similes (specifically about the bookcase) I found very taxing. However, Wood does have a way with words and describes the scenery and feelings of the characters beautifully. I look forward to reading more of her writing in the future.

Ladykiller is not the classic tale of the "haves" and the "have nots." Gia, one of the "haves" is starting to struggle financially, and she decides to sell her beloved summer home in Greece. Her estranged best friend is to meet her in Sweden to celebrate her birthday; only Gia does not show up. When Gia does not show up, revelations come out about that fated summer in their teens when their relationship began to become strained. Abby, along with Gia's brother, Benny, rush to Greece to unravel the mystery of her whereabouts.

The story is told from Abby and Gia's point of view. Gia is writing a manuscript, so the reader is unsure if it is a minute-by-minute account of true events or if she has embellished her story. This makes the mystery even more intriguing. Everyone seems suspicious so you are left wondering just who really did what!

I was able to read this quickly because I did not want to put it down. Ladykiller is a good mystery and keeps you asking for more.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and NetGalley for the ARC. The opinions expressed are my own.

A mystery with a wealthy heiress in a beautiful location? Say no more. I was hooked by the description and cover. I feel like the publisher's blurb gave away too much, so I recommend going in somewhat blind. All you need to know is childhood friends make plans for an exotic vacation, but one of them never shows up. There are a lot of twists and turns that keep you guessing. I did find the ending slightly unsatisfying, which is why I give it 3 stars instead of 4.

Ladykiller was unlike a lot of other books I read - in a good way! It started out slowly, setting the scene and getting the reader acquainted with the characters and the setting. Gia is the rich heiress, raised by wealthy parents and sent from boarding school to boarding school, and spending summers at her father’s villa on a small island in Greece, who is now married to a man she barely knows and mostly estranged from her best friend Abby. Abby was the daughter of Gia’s parents’ chef, and was inseparable as a child from Gia, who she was sent with to boarding school with by Gia’s parents. Until the summer they turned 18 and there was a tragedy on the island, when they began to drift apart. Now on the eve of their thirtieth birthdays, Gia invited Abby to join her and her brother Benny in Sweden to reconnect. The morning she’s set to leave, Abby receives an mysterious email hinting at the incident years ago, which she tries to ignore as a random prank and continues to look forward to seeing Benny and Gia. But when she arrives in Sweden with Benny, Gia is nowhere to be seen and they’re unable to get in touch with her. When she continues to receives messages, Abby grows more concerned about Gia and coupled with their inability to get in touch with her, they fly to Greece, only to find the villa vacant except a recently-written memoir. As they race to find Gia, we learn more and more about the past and what may have driven them apart. Told in alternating timelines - Abby in the present and Gia via chapters of her memoir going back a few months, the tension continues to build and build until the end and readers are still left in disbelief. I found it a little slow to start as the scene and characters were being set, but once everything starts to click, I found it so compelling that I raced through the rest of the book quickly. This is a great sexy, sultry thriller perfect for summer, especially if unreliable narrators are your jam! I’ll be looking forward to Katherine Wood’s next book.

I really enjoyed the alternating POVs in this book, especially how they are done. One being a manuscript and the other being a direct POV. It had me guessing the whole time. I also love a good twist, and this book was full of them. I usually don't like ambiguous endings, but this one worked. 4 stars because the description gives away major plot points and it did get a little convoluted towards the end.

I absolutely devoured this book, it’s just so good. The dual POV was fantastic, with one of them being a manuscript of the events leading up to Gia’s disappearance. You never quite know what’s real or who to trust. So many fun, crazy, suspicious characters. The perfect summer thriller.

When I go into reading a thriller, there are always a few aspects of a story that I am kind of expecting. One of those things is that when the "AHA" moment(s) happens at the end, there is some form of realization as to why the person who did certain things, did them in the first place. In this book, I felt a little out of sorts with how much misdirection was in the story and then also with the ending.

Firstly, I was sucked right into the story. It's filled with intrigue, mystery, danger and a whole lot of "what in the world is happening" moments. I especially was interested in Gia's manuscript perspective which was a past tense retelling of her own events leading up to her disappearance. But once the dual timelines came together and the truths were spilling out the sides, I felt slightly left wanting and filled with a whole lot of questions.

There are times when I want to be left with open ended conclusions in the story, much like this one was, but this book left me with a feeling of not really being sure of what actually did happen and what was fabricated. Maybe that's a good thing because I spent many hours after I finished it, going back through all the pieces in my head trying to better understand what actually did happen.

Which is why I gave it a 4 out of 5 stars; it left me with a psychological imprint and was continuously running through my head. Even though I was disappointed not to have all the pieces laid out for me with a full conclusion of "this person did that" and here is your moment of truth, the story certainly stuck with me. It's a well written thriller filled with most of the pieces I want in a good book, but I was left without a clear cut finality.

Want a sneak peek into the jet-set, exotic lifestyle for your next summer read? Katherine Wood’s LADYKILLER has us flying off to Sweden and the gorgeous Greek Isles. And what a trip. WOW.

This is a psychological thriller with dual POV’s, both past and present, that follows two main characters; -Childhood friends Gia, the heiress and Abby, the daughter of their chef.
With secondary characters; -Benny, Gia’s brother and Garrett, Gia’s new husband.

Then—As teenagers the girls were involved in a tragedy while vacationing in Greece that is now directly tied to the present, twelve years later.

Present, one month before—Gia has inherited her late father’s villa in Greece that she has been readying to sell. Staying with her at the villa is her new husband Garrett and other guests. Gia, Abby and Benny have planned to meet the next month at a Swedish resort for Gia’s birthday.

Now—Abby and Benny arrive in Sweden, but Gia has disappeared. They fly to Greece where Abby finds Gia’s unfinished manuscript, in it, is a juicy tell-all describing the last few weeks with her new husband, Bennys actress girlfriend, and these strangers she calls houseguests. Abby feels it will have clues into Gia’s disappearance. As Abby and Benny search for Gia, they realize everyone is hiding something.. their lies being revealed as the story plays out. This keeps the books momentum flowing, doubling the suspense. All these characters are extremely unlikeable.. not a nice one in the bunch, and there’s nothing better than how Wood describes the picturesque Grecian setting and the obnoxious wealth that accompanies it. Wood takes you down this path of crazy with even wilder twists and turns, red herrings.. and the level of greed insatiable. Finding out the truth was near impossible leaving you to question what’s really going on. Short chaptered, a suspensive edge-of-your-seat mystery thriller with an unreliable narrator.. this checked all the boxes for me. Katherine Wood previously wrote under the pseudonym Katherine St. John.
4 stars — Pub. 7/9/24

I received an advanced review copy from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I enjoyed this book. It kept me engaged, the characters were interesting and the location was perfect. I did not trust or really even like any of the characters, but they were so dimensional and untrustworthy that I could not stop reading. The book very much gave those "I can't look away, even though I probably should" vibes. The book was written in two perspectives, Abby's point of view and Gia's Manuscript. The stories are very much intertwined, as Abby and Gia are best friends from childhood. Gia grew up in ultra wealth and her family took care of Abby financially as a child. Now that they are adults, they live very different lives. Their perspectives, although similar, are not the same, which leaves you wondering what really happened, all the way past the final page. This book takes place in Greece - where Gia lives with her new husband. When she does not show up to celebrate her birthday with Abby and Benny, they find themselves digging up the past to find her. What really happened then and now? And who can be trusted?
Thank you Netgalley for my advanced reader copy.

📚: Ladykiller by Katherine Wood
⭐️: 3.5/5 (rounding down on #goodreads)

The gist: Gia and Abby - childhood best friends, forever tied together after a tragic scandal when they were 18. Now, 12 years later, Abby starts to receive threatening emails as she boards a plane to meet Gia in Europe. Worst yet? Gia’s gone missing.

The good: The last 30% of this read was tension-filled, page-turning suspense. As the past and present timelines converge, this comes to a dizzying conclusion.

The eh: A sloooooooow burn read here, where by 40% in, I was wondering when we’d be really getting to the plot that’s given in the synopsis. I forced this as a one-day read, wanting to finish it as I was afraid that I’d let it drag out for days on end otherwise.

Thank you to @randomhouse Ballantine via @netgalley for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. Ladykiller is out this Tuesday 7/9.

This book had me all the way through. Suspense, drama, mystery, a little spice... I really enjoyed it!

Then the last 4% happened. I'm just lost. I was expecting another twist, which didn't really happen. But, I would've settled for just a clear explanation of what really happened to these characters! Is there going to be a sequel? Is that why the ending just dropped off like that? Is that why everything was so vague? The important questions just weren't answered, at least not in my opinion.

I really would've given this a 4.5 or 5 star rating if it didn't end like that. I'm frustrated.
But, because 96% of the book was so good, I'll give it 3⭐️.

As always, thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to have an advanced ebook copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the advanced copy. Ladykiller is written by Katherine Wood who previously wrote under the name of Katherine St. James. Ladykiller follows Gia an heiress as she works to sell the Greek estate her father left her. Gia ends up going missing and her newlywed husband is the main suspect. Gia’s best friend Abby and Gia’s brother Benny go to Greece to search for Gia. There are many twists and turns along the way. Wood did a great job at casting doubt to each of the characters. The ending left me conflicted on what actually happened and which story was the truth.