My favorite part of Ladykiller by Katherine Wood is the opening. I love the omniscient, slightly wry writing of the first chapter. I mean how can you go wrong beginning a novel of friendship and secrets and betrayal with a cheetah devouring a warthog? Plus, the opening of Ladykiller really reminded me of the opening of The Group by Mary McCarthy that I loved in my youth–both novels presenting gatherings (a funeral and a wedding, respectively) to launch the dramatic events that follow.

Following the funeral in Ladykiller, the novel shifts to back-to-back chapters from Gia, an impetuous heiress, and Abby, her childhood friend. (Abby is supposed to meet Gia in Greece to celebrate Gia's birthday, but Gia mysteriously disappears.) Gia's chapters are in the form of a salacious manuscript that offers clues to her whereabouts. Abby's chapters focus on Abby's search for her missing friend. The author does a good job of juxtaposing the viewpoints, ratcheting up the tension in both Gia's manuscript and Abby's attempts to find and rescue her friend, accompanied by Gia's brother-cum-Abby's secret crush.

Another strength of this book is the depiction of setting. Ladykiller is filled with lush descriptions of the sand, sky, and water of Greece as well as the interior of the opulent family home. It's not too big a leap to insert yourself into this idyllic locale: hors d'oeuvres and afternoon cocktails on the veranda overlooking the ocean outfitted in your favorite stylin' sundress. Where do I sign up?

However, I eventually grew weary of Gia's decadent lifestyle. She does little besides sunbathing nude; swilling alcohol; and engaging in provocative, sexualized behavior. She is, in essence, a caricature of pampered, self-absorbed rich girl. I found Abby a much more sympathetic character, as I'm sure I was meant to–classic poor but worthy housekeeper's child (okay, another stereotype) given a leg up by wealthy tycoon.

But to counteract predictability, Abby has her dark side, Gia has her enigmatic persona, and Ladykiller ultimately ends on an ambiguous note.

Ladykiller is an engaging read set amongst the backdrop of a Greek Island. Gia is an heiress who is used to the finer things in life, but since her father died and left his money to the family foundation, she is now fixing up their family Villa on a Greek isle in order to sell so she can keep up her lavish lifestyle. She is newly married to the charming Garrett even though she has only known him for a short while. Her brother Benny and best friend Abby were not happy about this and discouraged her from marrying him too soon.

To keep the peace, Gia arranges to meet Benny and Abby in Sweden to see the Northern Lights. But when they arrive, she isn't there. They are suspicious of her communication and immediately travel to Greece. Once there, they find the villa abandoned. Abby stumbles upon a remnant of a past summer when tragedy struck as well as a manuscript written by Gia. Once they read the manuscript they begin to panic as they realize that Garrett may not be who they think he is and Gia may be in trouble.

The story is told in the alternating viewpoints of Abby in the present and Gia's voice via her manuscript. We find out what happened in their teen years and how it is connected to now. Overall, a solid, but predictable read. Gia is insufferable and naive. Very slow burn with an ambiguous ending for me since I wasn't really sure what was true or not, so that took away from the story,

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

I was really impressed by this book and how the author kept the characters interesting the whole way through. Lots of suspense and drama throughout this novel. I thought the ending was interesting but overall great read!

Amazing book! A pair of unreliable narrators and a murder plot(s) - I was on the edge of my seat the whole time! 5/5 stars

I really enjoy a thriller set in Greece! Glad to have read this ARC. I just wish the ending wasn’t as rushed! Still a quality read and definitely kept me guessing throughout.

The premise of this book sounded really interesting. However, when I started reading, I didn't care for any of the characters and that is a red flag for me. I did read a bit more, but I didn't find it interesting enough to finish. It might be a good book for some, but it was not for me.

I loved the first 75% of this book! I really enjoyed all of the characters and could really visualize myself in Greece.
I thought the beginning was a little slow, but then it picked up and I couldn't put it down. Then....it ended. I did not like the ending and felt that there were too many questions that were left unanswered. As a reader I like the ending to have an end or at least questions answered, but this book did neither of those.

Ladykiller was an unexpected fun read.

In this story, Gia and Abby have been friends since childhood, forever bonded by the tragedy that unfolded in Greece when they were eighteen. Now thirty, heiress Gia is back in Greece with her shiny new husband, entertaining glamorous guests with champagne under the hot Mediterranean sun, while bookish Abby is working fourteen-hour days as an attorney. When Gia invites Abby on an all-expenses-paid trip to Sweden to celebrate her birthday, Abby’s thrilled to reconnect.

But on the day of her flight, Abby receives an ominous email that threatens to unearth the skeletons of her past, and when she and Gia’s brother, Benny, arrive in Sweden, Gia isn’t there.

A must read!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance readers copy of this book. My reviews never contain spoilers and are freely given.
Ladykiller is quite the ride. Murder, or was it? Blackmail, cheating spouses, a husband that can’t be trusted, decadence and excess. This story will keep you guessing; never quite sure who is telling the truth. It will leave one pondering how one person’s truth can often be someone else’s lie, and vice versa.

really fun thriller with interesting idea. tysm for the arc, would rec, was fun. lmao short review ik but yeah fun

Thank you to Netgalley and Bantam Books for providing me an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

First off this cover is really pretty. That's what made me interested in the first place. Now that we have that out of the way, I am sad to say that I have decided to DNF this book. For some reason, even though this book is multi-POV, I am not interested in ANY of these characters. I am very bored every time I go and pick up this book and I don't read many pages when I do read.

I don't read as many thrillers as I want to and I was excited for the prospect of diving into a new thriller. You win some and you lose some. The writing was pretty decent from what I did read. The characters and the plot were sadly the problem.

Ladykiller is a well-written book that is told from the perspectives of two friends- Abby, and her friend Gia’s manuscript. A key question in this book is who is really telling the truth, if anyone? There are quite a few adult scenes in this one, so I would only recommend it to adult readers.

3.0 stars
LUKEWARM recommend

I received a complimentary Kindle e-book in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own. Thank you to Katherine Wood, Bantam Dell, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

This book is supposed to be a mystery-thriller, but normally you will find out what really happened at the end of the book. This book left me with more questions than answers which just didn't work for me.

There’s nothing like a well done thriller with a narrators that may or may not unreliable. This book was a page turner that kept me guessing until the end, wondering who to believe. Thanks to the publisher for my ARC!

The cover and description of this book sounded intriguing so I had to read it. "Ladykiller" is fast-paced, full of drama, set at an exotic location. Although the characters were unlikable, the story was a fun, escapist read. I would recommended this for travel, beach, or poolside reading. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

So-so, having mixed feelings about this one. I finished and had to sit on it for a few days.

The premises of the novel drew me in and I was thrilled to start, until I got into it. It was captivating but at the same time it dragged little for me and the ending was a bit predictable. Maybe it's because I read a lot of thrillers but I needed it to have a bit more for it to gain a few more stars. The ending could have wrapped up nicer. Gave me Gone Girl vibes? Just placed in beautiful Greece.

Overall though, I enjoyed the story. I liked reading Abby's POV and Gia's manuscript. It was an easy read and fairly entertaining but didn't leave any lasting impressions.

Love love love the cover though.

Thank you NetGalley, Kathrine Wood, and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I liked the format that this was written in and I did like some of the tie ins in the end. I just felt I needed more a wrap up. I do think the author did an amazing job of painting the picture of Greece!

A destination thriller for those who love a high drama read. Gia and Abby have been friends forever, with a shared secret in their past. With Gia getting married, they’ve grown apart recently. The story is told partly in a manuscript written by Gia, and in the current timeframe with Abby traveling to see her.

These characters drove me crazy, if I’m being fully honest. Pretty unlikabke in my book. I decided on 4 stars for this one because it definitely kept me entertained, and I read it quickly. It was a unique story overall.

Thank you to the publisher for the gifted (free) ARC

So, again, this story was good, but it wasn't, so I'm stuck at three stars for now.

When I first saw this? ooooh the title and synopsis completely caught my attention and I had a little of high expectations with the story. I also LOVE LOVE LOVED Greece and even more than ever, want to visit and explore there one day. The first 50% felt like it dragged. Then we start getting into a little more mystery and suspense finally where I was booking it through until near the end, it crashed again.

I was also shocked to get Gia's manuscript so early on, but was not expecting how long of an impact it was in the book. Gia wasn't horrible, but Abby was more personable in a sense where we felt more connected to her, regardless if Gia was attacked etc. or not.

I also believed the story to take a darker, more gruesome twist especially with -killer- in the title, butttttt.....

Also, if you like having everything in questions more than answers, definitely your style of book!!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for a honest review.

This book reminded me of a modern Game of Thrones in that there was murder, sex, and not one character you can trust.

First of all, the cover is amazing (like the intro to GOT.) I was hooked early on with the mystery that took place twelve years prior. It occurred on a Greek Island where Gia and her brother, Benny, were raised. Also involved is Abby, whose mother worked for the family, and she was taken in by them. She and Gia are best friends.

The story goes back and forth between a manuscript written by Gia and the present-day POV of Abby. It is easy to follow as the actions of the past come to the surface when Gia gets married after a very short courtship and then goes missing. It’s always the husband (who is a first-class jerk), right? Or is it? Lots of twists that I didn’t see coming. There is a lot of misdirection. Although I read thrillers often, I fell for every rabbit hole in this one.

The author does a great job of creating a fast pace that keeps you intrigued. I enjoyed it very much, and it would have been five stars except for the ending. Still, I recommend it and will read more of her writing.

Thanks to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group/Ballantine, and the author for an ARC of this book.