4.5

Gia and Abby have been best friends since they first met when they were 13 years old. Gia is the gorgeous, life-of-the-party, rich girl who has been made less rich when her father left almost all his fortune to charity when he passed. Abby is now an attorney thanks to the generosity of Gia's father in paying for her education. As they have grown up and pursued different tracks in life they have not seen each other as much, but Gia has invited Abby and Benny, Gia's younger brother, to Sweden to celebrate her 30th birthday. Gia and Abby have not been as warm to each other since Abby disapproved and refused to attend Gia's wedding to Garret, a man she had known for about a month.

As Abby, with slight reluctance, leaves for Sweden, she gets a strange email about a secret from 12 years ago. When Gia doesn't show up in Sweden, with only concerning text messages to explain her absence, Abby and Benny realize something is wrong and start to look for Gia. Gia's manuscript provides us with the story of what may have happened to Gia, but is she to be trusted?

Ladykiller was an extremely enjoyable read. I loved Gia's manuscript and trying to decipher what is the truth. The secrets and the reveals were all surprising and intriguing. The story is racy enough to get the whole picture, but it does not feel overly graphic for shock value. The truth about what happened 12 years ago with Gia and Abby was a great reveal. There were also details throughout the story that would come back and tie into the story without being too obvious.

Gia's manuscript was so very interesting and in the beginning, I did not love going back to Abby's view as I wanted to stay with Gia. However, of course, as the book goes on they are both intriguing. Overall, I loved this book and I would love to see it become a popular 2024 thriller/adult fiction book!

Descriptive but Not Compelling

All dressed up and nowhere to go.

Katherine Wood’s 2024 suspense novel, “Ladykiller”, with locations from the Greek Isles to the Scandinavian Northern Lights area, with super-rich people who do things impulsively and jet set around the world seems like a glimpse inro lifestyles that could make for an intriguing for a mystery such as Hitchcock’s “To Catch a Thief” film.

And one of the non-working members, Gia Torres, daughter of the deceased Hugo Torres, has discovered her meal ticket to enduring luxury has been clipped short by her father Hugo’s inheritance has been left to charity. Despite having successfully penned a memoir-style novel a few years earlier but without a sequel.

A few other notes: Gia is selling her only major possession, a house on a Greek Island. And following a short romance and despite all cautions, she has married Garret who has some murky occupation with the shipping industry Lost of sex and more impulsive behavior.

Her immediate sibling, Benuecio, aka Benny, has made his own way on his own through writing screen plays. Other siblings by other marriages do no play any role.

Seeking to reunite with her estranged best friend, Gia invites Abby, a self-supporting attorney, and her brother to join her on a trip to Scandinavia – all expenses paid. Abby and Benny seem to have had a mutual attraction in the past but never consummated.

That’s the first roughly quarter of the book. I rapidly lost interest in the elaborate details of houses, clothes, meals but no real engaging plot development.

So, I cheated and went to the end. As near as I can make out, there was some change from the opening but not a lot that sounded interesting enough to read the intervening sections. I just could not get drawn into the characters or what seemed to be the premise.

If you want something set in a similar location but far more involving with dazzling twists, I suggest revisit and watch the 1960 film, “Purple Noon, with Alain Delon.

Even though it did take me a while to get into this story, once in..I couldn't put it down! What a thrill ride! Who to believe? Who to still believe after finishing the book? Katherine Wood puts gas on the fire in this book, and there are truly many ways to look at one incident. A true thriller in every sense of the word, I predict this to be the next number 1 bestseller...top of the list!

Ladykiller by Katherine Wood was my favorite thriller of the year. Wood expertly used the dual point of view of two best friends to tell the story of enduring friendship, loyalty and shared trauma set primarily on a Greek island with a healthy dose of rich people behaving badly. The ending had me guessing and reevaluating everything that I had read up to that point as identities and reality shifted. I couldn't put this fast-paced book down and the pace was propulsive. I think it will be a huge hit and appeal to a wide variety of readers.

Thank you for the opportunity to preview Ladykiller.
Welcome to the world of the rich and famous.
A powerful man dies. A man with millions who has a wealth he donated to his charity. A man with several wives and children gave it to charity.
Gia, his daughter, is one of those women who does her own thing in a manner of over the top escapades. She was his oldest child.
She is friends with a young woman, Abby, who was born with very little money but they are friends anyway. They are childhood friends.
When Gia invites her to see the Northern Lights Abby is excited to be with her. But things change when she gets there and Gia is not there and no where to be found.
Abby and Gia’s brother follow clues but they may be too late. And they may be in danger because they are looking at the Gia’s world and it is not safe for them to ask questions they may not want answered.
3 stars. Fast paced.

If you are looking for a book that sends you on a rollercoaster ride this is it!
Gia and her brother Benny have lived a life of wealth, until their father dies that is and now Gia has to find a way to start making her own money to support her lifestyle. While Benny has become a successful writer in the Hollywood scene, Gia has only written one book and has not done much else with her life.
When their father died each of his children (which he had many of with his three wives) got one of his properties, Gia's being their house in Greece. Her fathers third wife, Melody, has agreed to buy the property from Gia for $15 million dollars which would help support Gia and her lifestyle while she works on her next book.
After meeting Garrett at a charity event, Gia decides to marry him after only three months but what does she really know about her new husband? Her good friend Abby advised her not to rush into the marriage but the only thing that did was put a strain on their friendship.
When Gia reaches out and plans a trip for her birthday, Abby agrees to go and work on fixing their friendship as well as trying to get over her feelings for Gia's brother Benny. When Abby and Benny arrive at their hotel they are waiting for Gia to arrive but she never does and they can't get in touch with her.
As the two start to worry what has happened to Gia they return to Greece where events from the past start to haunt them and truths about what happened the summer Gia and Abby were 18 come to light.
Just when you think you have things figured out a new twist comes into play and keeps you guessing right up to the end.

I really enjoyed this. I liked the development of the characters. I did not expect the multiple twists , however they were enjoyable. i honestly wish it did not end when it did.

A twisty tale of secrets and lies and how the truth will come to the surface. Two best friends Gia and Abby and what happened twelve years ago comes back for true answers. Set on a remote greek island full of great imagery and Talented Mr. Ripley vibes, this book leaves you wondering was she a ladykiller.
Thanks Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

What a story. There are so many different ways that I could go with this review, but I will leave it as this one make me think and then think some more. I enjoyed the story and the pacing seemed fitting. It also gave me wanderlust--just a smidge to be in such a magical place. Thank you for the opportunity to review this one!

Thank you @netgalley for my ARC of LadyKiller by Katherine Wood. The writing was good and I really enjoyed the story and likes the dual POV. It was part drama and part thriller. My lower rating is because I feel like the story has been done before and wasn’t fresh.

Abby and Gia have been friends since childhood. Gia is now a rich newlywed living in Greece. Abby receives an eerie email referring to an even in her past and Gia is nowhere to be found. She goes to Gia’s home in Greece along with Gia’s brother. The story alternates between Abby and Gia’s manuscript which is found in her home.

I read this book on my plane ride to my in-laws. It was just the kind of brain teaser I need before dealing with the winter dread of midwest. Plus, the beautiful description of exotic locations also took me to a peaceful head space. Wood wrote a good time.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Bantam, and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

Abby and Gia have been best friends for years. Abby was the daughter of Gia's family's chef. After her father's death, Gia marries a man who she only met for a few months. Her father left her home in Greece that Gia decides to renovate to sell to get money now that she doesn't have her father. Abby gets a message from Gia to spend her birthday in Sweden with her brother Benny. Abby arrives in Sweden meets with Benny but no Gia. They get suspicious messages from Gia that worries them. They go to Greece when Gia never arrives to find she is missing and all that is left behind is a manuscript that may shed light on what has happened.

The main story is told from Abby's point of view with Gia's being told through her manuscript. They are both unreliable narrators. You never know who to believe. This is a mystery with a touch of thriller. It is a fast paced read and very hard to put down. The writing is very beautiful, it felt like I was in the places that the characters were. The story started off strong with talking about Abby going to Sweden and then the parts with Gia in Greece. Then we get to the part where the mystery starts and things become very unbelievable to me. I know this is a mystery and sometimes things become crazy but we never find out what happens. I like my mysteries to end with answers not more questions. Abby was a flawed but likable character but Gia was a unlikable narcissist from the start. I was not satisfied with this ending.

The writing is beautiful and is an okay mystery. If you like a book with an open ending then this is for you.

Thank you to Netgalley, Random House Publishing Group/Ballantine for an ARC of Ladykiller.

3.5 rounded up. This moved faster than I expected and I liked the dual POV perspective. I appreciate a book that leaves me still questioning at the end - I wish we had gotten more of Abby and Gia’s friendship to build off of, though.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

With an exotic locale, kinky (but not graphic) sex, duplicity, intrigue, and lust, Ladykiller reads like an episode of the HBO series The White Lotus. As the plot progresses there's an ill advised marriage, financial woes, long lost love, and murder (just like The White Lotus!). The cleverest thing about Ladykiller is deciphering the meaning of the title...does it refer to a killer of ladies or a lady who kills? With this cast of characters anything is possible. Nobody is who they seem, and everybody has an agenda or two. Figuring out the good guys (and girls) from the bad is half the fun. Drink in the scenery and enjoy the ride!

Heiress Gia, and Abby, lifelong childhood friends forever bonded together by one fateful night one summer when they were eighteen. Gia now lives on a small Grecian island with her new husband, while Abby works herself to the bone as an up and coming attorney. It’s been a while since the two connected, and when Abby receives an invite to an all expenses paid trip with Gia to Sweden, she’s thrilled at the opportunity to see her old friend. Unfortunately, Gia is not there when Abby arrives and Abby starts to receive mysterious messages threatening to reveal what really happened that night so many years ago.

Katherine Wood’s “Ladykiller” is an excellent thriller switching back and forth between the first person perspective of Abby, starting from the time she begins to trip to Sweden, and Gia’s newest memoir recounting her time in Greece with her new husband. As the stories converge, readers are left on the edge of their seats waiting desperately to find out what happens next. 4/5 - a thrilling page turner sure to keep you entertained to the final twist on the final page.

The book starts out slowly with very descriptive details. I finally was able to get into the story line and plot about half way through. In the end I kinda have a love/hate relationship with this book.

Author is very descriptive in their writing. When I first started reading, I wasn't sure I was going to like this book but the more I read the more I had to keep going. If you don't like twisty murder mysteries with lots of sex, drugs/alcohol, more sex, more drugs/alcohol then this is not a book for you.

Is this about a sexy, sailor mouthed heroine or a dangerously narcissistic antihero.? Well like me keep reading and you may figure it out. Must say the ending had me going humm??

Abby and Gia have been friends ever since they were kids. Gia is newly married much to Abby’s dismay. Gia invites Abby and her brother to a mountain retreat and doesn’t show. Abby and Gias brother leave to look for Gia and find her house abandoned and they suspect foul play. This was a twisty thrilling read and I hope to read more by this author. Thanks NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for this ARC that will be released July 9, 2024!

Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Publisher: Random House
Pub. Date: July 9, 2024

A good vacay read since most of the location is in the exotic Greek Islands. The protagonists, wealthy Gia and middle-class Abby are best friends who spent their childhood together because Abby's mother worked for Gia's family as a cook. Gia's father paid for Abby's education so she could go to the same prestigious schools as Gia. The author gives us a clear look into a world of wealth and privilege, which is often unflattering. Gia's manuscript is presented to Abby so the reader understands Gia's points of view. However, I found this type of narrative challenging to comprehend. In the book, there is a death, but the identity of the murderer is never revealed because of the novel's ambiguous ending. I can only recommend this novel if you are okay with the ending.

3.5 Stars!!!

Katherine Wood delivers a captivating mystery with "Ladykiller." It's a tale of friendship, betrayal, and the shadows that lurk beneath the surface of seemingly perfect lives. Readers who enjoy psychological thrillers with a touch of glamour and a richly detailed setting will find this book to be a satisfying and immersive read. I found the first 75% intriguing and the last 25% predictable.

Thank you to @Netgalley and @RandomHouse for the ARC.