4.75. Thank you to Bantam Books, Katherine Wood and NetGalley for the ARC. Absolutely loved the cover of this book and it immediately caught my attention and I wanted to see what the book was all about.

The book opens with a funeral of a very rich man and you learn he had 3 wives, several children and a huge fortune he left to a Foundation that he and his second wife started, a wife currently in a sanatorium in Switzerland. Yep, this book sucked me right in.

I absolutely devoured this deviant and deliriously insane book which quotes The Talented Mr Ripley and totally does it justice. I didn’t know who to believe and I kept second guessing myself. This book had it all, a Greek island, salacious sex scenes, way too much money, murder, mystery and so much fun.

I loved the somewhat ambiguous ending as it stayed with me for some time as I kept turning things over in my head.

If you love a good head game book then this is for you! I loved it.

First off, thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballentine for my early digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Ladykiller is a slow burn psychological thriller that keeps you engaged and guessing till the very end. I really enjoy thrillers where I dont trust any of the characters and this was definitely one of those......but, usually with those stories you eventually get answers, not the case here.

Overall, fun read that held my interest throughout and had interesting characters - would recommend to those who like psychological thrillers.

Thank you so much to Bantam books and Netgalley for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.
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Synopsis:
Abby and Gia have been best friends since childhood. An unlikely pair with Abby coming from humble beginnings and Gia is an heiress. Years later when Gia suddenly gets married to an unexpected suitor, things take a turn for Gia and Abby. When things go awry Abby and Gia’s brother (Benny) go searching for Gia secrets start to unfold.
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This was fun and fast paced. Told through the multiple POVs of Abby and then Gia’s manuscript this was a clever read. I was engrossed and enjoyed the detail and atmospheric writing. I enjoyed the book up until about 80%. For me the ending felt a bit rushed and unfortunately there wasn’t enough resolution. Still a fun summer read that I know many will enjoy. Thank you again for the early copy.

I enjoyed following these incredibly unreliable narrators and several of the twists were pretty fun. But the ending felt too much like it was trying to be Gone Girl. And let's face it, nothing is going to be as perfectly plotted as Gone Girl.

Ladykiller by Katherine Wood is a captivating slow-burning mystery set on a beautiful Greek island. The story revolves around the complex relationship between Gia, an heiress, and Abby, the daughter of Gia's family chef who has been treated as part of the family. As adults, Gia marries Garrett after a whirlwind courtship, despite Abby's strong warnings against it.

The narrative unfolds through Abby's perspective, both in the past and present, as well as through excerpts from Gia's manuscript for her own book. This multi-layered storytelling adds depth and intrigue to the plot, keeping readers engaged and guessing.

Wood's descriptive writing skillfully brings the island to life, allowing readers to immerse themselves in the stunning setting. The gorgeous cover further enhances the overall reading experience.

The characters in Ladykiller are well-developed, and the author leaves it up to the readers to decide who the reliable characters are or if any are reliable at all. This adds an element of suspense and keeps readers questioning the motives and actions of each character.

While the story delves into both the past and present, there may be some unanswered questions by the end. The ambiguous ending leaves room for interpretation, allowing readers to form their own conclusions about what actually transpired. It will be interesting to see the thoughts of other readers once the book is published.

Overall, Ladykiller is a compelling mystery with a richly described setting and complex characters. Katherine Wood's storytelling keeps readers engaged throughout, even if the exact answers may remain elusive.

Whew. This was the holy grail of unreliable narrators.

Abby and Gia are best friends who’ve let financial class, secrets, and men come between them.
But are willing to put it behind for a birthday trip to Sweden that reveals all their past deeds.

This was a trip to read. I have complete whiplash from both narratives of the two women. And am left scratching my head at the overall ending. Definitely fun, finished it in one sitting.

Thank you to Bantam and NetGalley for this digital arc in exchange for an honest review.

An absorbing story, that i think my older, more patient students will enjoy Relationships are at the heart of this story about a missing heiress and the questions that arise about what kind of person she is and do the people closest to her even know her.

This is a slow moving but very interesting story about the relationship between two friends and the brother of one of them. Unreliable narrators, con artists and the blurriness of truth is mixed in with beautiful locations and deliberate writing. The ending is left open to interpretation , which might be hard for some people but it is also truer to life that things aren't always wrapped up cleanly. I loved it. I will be thinking about this book for a long time

Love, friendship, drama, betrayal, murder. All of the ingredients that come together for a great story. Ladykiller has all of that and then some.

Gia, an heiress, falls in love with what she thinks is the man of her dreams. Met and married within a couple of months. When her best friend tells her not to marry him, Gia doesn’t listen. She should have. Gia begins to realize that he may not be the man she fell in love with.

Thank you Random House and Netgalley for an ARC of Ladykiller in exchange for my honest opinion. It had plenty of twists and turns to it and kept me very interested. I look forward to reading more from Katherine Wood.

LadyKiller is a super exciting book set in Greece 😍. The story is full of suspense, the characters are …{you decide;)}, and the setting is so vivid. If you like thrilling mysteries, this book is a must-read!

I stayed up past my bedtime to finish this one! 😂 I couldn’t put it down. I love thrillers that include *rich people problems* and unreliable narrators. Ladykiller will have you wondering which (if any) of the characters can be trusted. As long as you don’t mind a thriller that doesn’t end with everything wrapped up in a pretty bow, you’ll love this new summer read.

Abby takes a trip to Sweden to celebrate her best friend’s birthday, but the friend, Gia, never shows up. Interspersed with the current day story are the chapters from the manuscript Gia is writing that tell the story of her marriage with Garrett and guests at their Greek home in recent months. Nothing is what it seems but the truth slowly reveals itself along the way.
This felt like slow burn for about 75% of the book, and as the characters come together to piece together the clues the truth is revealed.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bantam Books for the arc.

What immediately drew me in was the title and cover. Then I read the synopsis and was like Greece?? Let’s go! I’m down!

So this book is told in dual POV, one is a manuscript and another is a person’s POV. I was immediately intrigued and finished this book in two days, not necessarily a page turner but I wanted to figure out more, I needed some answers! Which is why I gave this book 3 stars because the ending is ambiguous and you are left with questions still. Sometimes I’m okay with that with certain stories but I felt like this particular story merited answers.

My feelings are ambiguous toward this book: i liked it enough to keep reading and finish it but also didn’t like how I felt like I wasted my time since there’s no real resolution.

Read if you want to be entertained, but don’t go in expecting to find any answers. Just go along for the wild ride!

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine and Netgalley for sharing this advanced copy with me in exchange for my honest review!

Ladykiller is expected to be released July 9, 2024.

The blub for this novel says it is about a young woman searching for her mysteriously vanished friend. It is nothing like that.

The young woman, Abby, tells her story in the first person. Her 'vanished' friend, Gia, tells her story in the form of a journal/novel she is writing. And she doesn't vanish until approximately two thirds of the way into the story. The action revolves mainly around Gia and her recent marriage to a man she slowly realizes isn't who he says he is. Then another couple joins Gia and her husband at Gia's estate, only they aren't who they say they are. Then we come back every so often to Abby, who is a lawyer in D.C. but is unfortunately written as wimpy, wishy-washy and rather uninteresting. There are several graphic and totally unnecessary sex scenes. All in all, there is not one character in this novel to root for. They are all, as it turns out, rather nasty folks who, in the end, I cared nothing about.

And the ending, oh don't get me started on the ending. I forced myself to keep going until all the dangling strings tied together into the truth, only to be left with the most ambiguous, sloppy finale I've read in a long time. Three stars is being overly generous.

Ladykiller, by Katherine Wood: Abby and Gia are best friends who grew up in very different circumstances – Gia, a rich heiress, and Abby, the daughter of Gia’s family chef. When they were 18, they spent a summer at Gia’s family house in Greece, and a tragedy occurred; however, what exactly that tragedy was is kept a mystery for more than half the book. Meanwhile, the plot is told in present day (through Abby’s POV) and one month earlier, through a book manuscript Gia has been writing about her current time in Greece at the mansion, with her new husband that Abby warned her not to marry. I loved the back and forth between the two POVs, and the opulent setting made me yearn for a vacation to the Greek isles myself. Although this was a page turner, I found the ending somewhat disappointing, but I still thoroughly enjoyed this book.

I enjoyed this Greek Island thriller. It has a bit of a slow burn but has a major twist. I would reccommend this book to my friends.

“Ladykiller” is a gripping novel of mystery and suspense, set against the backdrop of a stunning Greek island. It's a tale of rich folks behaving badly and those looking to exploit them. What's not to love?

This atmospheric, slow-burn, psychological thriller had me questioning reality and the motivations of the characters on every page. The multiple perspectives, flashbacks, and use of the manuscript kept me engaged, yet unable to predict the outcome. It's quite the cast of characters, some rich and powerful, some charming, some parasites - few are likeable, much less admirable. I'm always impressed when an author can write unlikeable characters, yet make for an enjoyable book.

Whether you'll be satisfied in the end depends on your taste for mysteries that leave a few questions unanswered. But I encourage you to buckle up for this fabulous, sexy, escapism read.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC

This book was just ok. It's 3/4 smutty, unnecessary sex and 1/4 story which tries to be a mystery but doesn't quite hit the mark. If you're into "steamy" sex books this mught be your thing, although the steamy stuff was just porn disguised as sexiness that had absolutely nothing to do with the story. If you deleted all that you'd have the exact same story in about 75 pages.

The mystery itself was fine. Not great and not with a satisfactory conclusion. I almost put the book down unfinished twice but I read reviews and people said there was a story at the end. It was there but barely. I'm sure there's a market for this kind of thing, it's just not me.

1 and 1/2 stars. It's definitely not the worst thing I've ever read.

The blurb touts "a young woman's disappearance" as a key focus of this book, but it actually feels like something sompletely separate from the rest of the story.

There was a lot going on in Ladykiller, not in the best way. Unfortunately, the timeline was confusing for too long in the book. Parts of the story felt unnecessary to the overall narrative. Finally, the ending was left somewhat ambiguous but in a way that felt kind of lazy rather than thought-provoking.

This book was full of vapor, rich people. There was plenty of spice, most of it was not really needed for the plotline but it did help show what kind of people the rich characters were. Overall the book was good but definitely for a more specific audience and would be careful who i would recommend the book to