This book was hit and miss for me. The hits were:
1. easy to read, strong narrators -- both Abby and Gia's POVs made for pleasant reading. Gia's was a little more pretentious (which was the point) while Abby's was more down to earth. It made reading this very easy and immersive the entire time.
2. juicy, scandalous relationships that kept the pacing from feeling slow (even when it was slow) -- A lot of Gia's chapters are just set up; but even when they were, they were still diving deep into the relationship with her and her husband or the other characters they were interacting with.
3. the setting and the set up -- the rich heiress on a Greek island, the fancy hotel at the top of the world in Norway, the beaches and boats and food and booze; there was a lot of great and sensual setting details that made the story feel very real.

The misses:
1. the ending was ambiguous -- generally ambiguous endings aren't my fave, but this one felt more jarring because the set up led me to believe the secrets would be revealed much more clearly. It felt like a let down after the bunch of reveals packed into the later half of the book.
2. the secrets and reveals -- some were pretty obvious, some fell flat because the story felt like it was building to something bigger. To that end, I actually think the title set up my expectations incorrectly. I thought there was going to be a man at the center who was "killing" women, but that...was not the case.

This was a great summer read for me - great for travel. I love plots about rich people plus there's a little mystery and romance/spice. It has some good twists and definitely kept me reading. This was just the book I needed right now.

Gia and Abby are best friends since childhood, further connected by a tragedy they experienced at eighteen they are forever bonded.
Years later, Gia invites Abby and her brother to celebrate her birthday at a Swedish Resort but when they arrive at the resort, Gia isn’t there. Worried, the two head to Greece to find her, but Gia is nowhere to be found. Finding a manuscript written by Gia, things in her new marriage are brought to light and Gia is no longer comfortable in her own home, but where is she now? Will Abby and Benny find her before it’s too late? Told in two view points, this one was a bit ambiguous leaving more questions than answers in the end. Thank you to Bantam and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

This book had me hooked! I definitely recommend going in blind. If you like a twisty thriller/mystery with a mix of rich people acting salaciously and with deception, some spice, all the lies and drama, and twists that keep guessing what actually happened then this is the book for you! Thoroughly enjoyed this and look forward to more from this author.

Ladykiller by Katherine Wood weaves a gripping tale of friendship, secrets, and suspense. The story follows two best friends, Gia and Abby, whose lives diverge dramatically after a traumatic event in Greece during their youth. When Abby receives an ominous email on the day of a planned trip to celebrate Gia’s birthday, she discovers Gia has mysteriously disappeared, leaving only her provocative manuscript behind. The narrative shifts between the opulent present and Gia's scandalous past, creating a captivating blend of intrigue and tension that keeps readers on the edge of their seats, though some may find the conclusion leaves lingering questions about the resolution.

Oh man, this was a WILD ride. Once I saw the cover, I knew I had to read this one. And once I got going...I was absolutely sucked in. This is the story of Gia and Abby, with alternating chapters going back and forth between their point of view. What's real and what we believe to be real are huge themes in this book. and the reader is kept on their toes the entire time.

My one complaint was the ending and how much was left open. But otherwise, A+ FANTASTIC book!

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I was engaged right away in Ladykiller. Setting the scene with two friends, Gia and Abby, already on opposite ends of the socioeconomic spectrum adds the base of suspense when they are forever bonded by a tragic accident.

When Gia goes missing, the search is on, and pages are turning fast! The description of Greece is worthy of an armchair vacation. I was swallowed up in distant locales and the mystery of Gia's whereabouts.

The ending is interpretated by the reader, which is why I recommend this as a book group read!

Thank you NetGalley and Bantam for early access.

A good thriller/mystery. I had no clue who to believe or trust. I enjoyed this book more than I expected to. Was hard to put down towards the end when the story was unraveling.

An absolutely STUNNING beach read from Katherine Wood! Stayed up late into the night finishing this gem - the pages to the finish are something straight out of a Hollywood movie!

What would you do if your best friend went missing halfway around the world? What if it happened after you had a falling-out & she was last seen in Greece?

They questions & more will be answered for you in “Ladykiller.” Run, don’t walk, to get your copy!

I am so angry with this book. It really should have been a DNF on my end, but I kept holding out because I loved her other books. To the best of my knowledge, she writes under a different name and has amazing novels. The plot was THERE, the characters were a bit under-developed, and the pacing was off. It became really muddy and the end and many loose ends. Did not love.

Ladykiller by Katherine Wood
There’s enough content to keep you intrigued and wanting to read more. Lots of twists and turns where it’s hard to tell who’s telling the truth. Which always makes things interesting. To me Gia was a unlikeable character. I looked forward to reading Abby’s chapters a lot more. The setting and story was good but the ending was a disappointment for me. There were a lot of loose ends.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for the arc provided in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the opportunity to read and review.

The premise and initial plot was great! Pacing was perfect and kept me intrigued. I loved the setting and the two friends, Gia and Abby. I also am a sucker for a "book within a book" concept.

Somewhere along the 80% mark, I started getting antsy. The open-ended ending was so frustrating after all of that build-up in the manuscript's past POV...

Is there supposed to be a book 2?? I left this with a let-down feeling because the potential was so high.

4.5/5

From what I can tell, Ladykiller is Katherine Wood's debut, and it is just the kind of salacious and drama-filled book I love to read. The viewpoints rotate between Abby and Gia’s manuscript, and if you don’t like the unreliable narrator trope this will not be for you. I loved the way the manuscript and Abby’s viewpoint ended up tying together, and I definitely spent the entire book wondering how true Gia’s story was. The pacing is on the slower side but still steady, and I just completely fell into this world of sex, money, and bad behavior with a dash of mystery.

I listened to the audiobook which is narrated by Marcella Black & Hallie Ricardo and thought they both did a bang-up job. I did like whoever narrated Gia’s manuscript slightly better, but honestly, they were both rockstars and I LOVED the audio even on a (slow for me) 2x speed. Ladykiller was super close to being a 5-star ⭐ read for me had it not been for the rather ambiguous ending. I typically prefer more closure than what I got here, and I literally shook my fist at the end. 🤣 A couple of parts of the novel made my jaw drop, and others made me insanely angry, but all the while I was invested despite the not-so-likeable characters. I can’t wait to see what Wood writes next!

Ladykiller by Katherine Wood was a fun suspense thriller. It had a few twists I predicted and a few I didn’t see coming. I definitely didn’t expect the book to end like it did!

This is one of those books where I didn’t like ANY of the characters. Some were outright awful, but some were quietly, slyly circumventing the truth and giving me lots of reasons to trust nobody.

Usually I can’t get into a book like that but it worked for this one. All the drama, secrets, and unreliable narratives made for a fast-paced, juicy book.

The luxurious, mysterious, and beautiful Greek setting was almost a character by itself. Definitely had me bumping Greece up my travel bucket list!

Gorgeous cover, rich heiress, taking place in Greece? I was sold! Ladykiller is the story of two friends, Gia, a rich heiress and Abby. the daughter of the family's chef. Flash forward 12 years later, and the girls and Gia's brother are supposed to meet in Sweden to celebrate Gia's birthday...but she never shows. They race back to Greece to look for Gia and find an alarming manuscript and Gia is nowhere to be found. On top of this, Abby starts receiving threatening emails. Does someone know their secret?

I loved how the story took place both in present day and flashbacks and I always enjoy a multiple POV book. The pacing on this was ROUGH for the first half, but when things pick up, they really pick up! The book takes you down a few twists and turns, and then ends on a pretty vague/ambiguous ending, which isn't what I typically prefer. I would recommend for someone in search of a more slower burn mystery.

Well, it had potential but fell short for me. Couldn't connect with the characters and the story got muddled and inplausible.

Let me start by saying, that this book did not turn out to be what I was expecting. It was a suspenseful mystery, but it had a very slow start. There are alot of sex scenes or sexual references, that I just really don't think added to the story. At about the 30% mark, I almost DNF'd, but at about the 40% mark, there was a bit of a plot twist. That was when the book piqued my interest enough to continue, secrets from the past that could be causing suspicious current events. I have discovered that whether I like the story’s characters do effect my opinion of a book, and I truly did not like any of these characters. If I have no one to root for, it's hard for me to feel invested in the book. Rich people behaving badly pretty, with a mystery thrown in, and some open-door spicy sex scenes pretty much sums up this book. The later part of the book moved faster and the plot twists kept me guessing, I just wish that it was a bit more consistent throughout the book.

I tried to like this one a lot but unfortunately he just wasn't for me. I think it was just the writing style that kind of threw me off. I really want to enjoy it because the plot sounded really good but I just couldn't get into it

Pacing and storyline to this book was great but I felt like I was left at the end needing more. Also had more questions than answered. I felt like I was grabbed so much in the beginning but left not so invested at the end.

Ladykiller is a thrilling, suspense-filled novel that weaves friendship, secrets, and deception against the backdrop of glittering Mediterranean wealth and intrigue. At the center of the story are two childhood friends, Gia and Abby, whose bond was cemented by a tragic event in Greece when they were eighteen. Now in their thirties, their lives have taken different paths- Gia is a wealthy heiress with a glamorous life, while Abby has buried herself law.

The book starts with Gia inviting Abby on a luxurious birthday trip to Sweden, offering a chance to reconnect. Before Abby departs, an ominous email arrives, hitting at dark secrets from their dark past. When Abby arrives in Sweden with Gia's brother, Benny, they find Gia missing. Abby and Benny fly back to Greece in search of Gia. What they discover is Gia's empty estate and an unfinished manuscript which is a tell-all that exposes the lives of Gia, her new husband, and their wealthy, seductive guests.

The book is a fast paced mystery that keeps the readers guessing at every turn. As Abby and Benny work to decipher the truth, they confront questions that prove the very nature of trust: How reliable is Gia's version of the events? Could her writing be a red herring? And, most importantly, what really happened to her?

The book is well written and Katherine Wood makes you feel that you are on the warm beaches in Greece and the chilly mountain trip to Sweden. She builds suspense through the story lines. This book is for fans of psychological thrillers and stories of dark friendships. It ends with unexpected twists that keeps the readers hooked until the very last page.

I would like to thank NetGalley for an advanced copy of Ladykiller. #NetGalley #Ladykiller #KatherineWood