Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Ladykiller.

To call this a thriller is a disservice to the word.

Ladykiller is not a thriller; rather, it's a story about two unreliable characters, Gia and Abby, and the secrets they share.

If you love descriptions about Greek isles and boating and swimming and rich people being rich and drinking, drugging, sleeping around and being terrible people, then this is the book for you.

If you enjoy stereotypes and cliches pulled from every thriller and mystery, this is the book for you.

Gia is the poor little rich girl whose daddy has died and left most of his fortune to charity.

Naturally, because Gia has not a lick of sense (in these books, the main characters rarely do no matter how much money they do or don't have) not long after the funeral, she marries a man she barely knows (cue descriptions of sweaty sex) who turns out not to be Prince Charming.

More con artists are involved, Gia has no street smarts, blah blah blah, and the reader eventually learns the con ties back to the secrets the BFFs share, but it takes a long, tedious slog through the narrative before you get to that point.

I mean, you need to get through the verbose, wordy descriptions of Gia's manuscript, Abby worrying about being stalked, and trying not to moon over Benny, Gia's younger brother, who I did like because he was the only nice guy, at least the only nice guy who was still alive.

The mystery, if you can call it that (I don't call it that) happens at the end:

Where are Gia's husband and the sister of the man she killed years ago?

Is Gia a killer? Is Abby next? Does anyone care about these people? No.

Look at that cover! Gorgeous. I loved the setting and descriptive beaches. The story was mysterious, and it moved fast for me. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

I loved it! A thriller, yes, but somehow the gorgeous beaches and good-hearted best friends tone down the anxiety level of the horrific events both past and present. The story unfolds from the perspective of one friend then the other until you're not certain who is to blame. Excellent novel!

Enticing plot that calls you right away with a locale and descriptions so vividly alive
that you can see yourself right there with Gia and Abby.
The ladies are friends since teen years = from very different backgrounds. Gia is the daughter of a\
millionaire while Abby's mom worked hard to provide a living for her and her daughter until they came in to Gia's family circle with Abby's mom taking a job with the family.
Gia and Abby became fast friends with a deadly experience tying them to each other forever when Gia is forced to kill a man who had been stalking her when she finds him raping Abby.
After Gia's father dies, their friendship remains steadfast and when Gia puts out a call to Abby to come visit her and her new husband at the family's Greece estate before she sells it, Abby goes but with a sense of trepidation.
The story takes off and the twist, chills and mysteries spread out all around them where nothing is what it seems to be. Much of it is told through Abby's eyes and Gia's manuscript for a book she is writing.
Gia's marriage is not what it appears and people that she has invited to stay there with her and her husband while their boat is being repaired in town are not who they appear to be.
Just when you think you might have it all figured out- ha - nope.
You don't.
Not by a long shot.
Well defined characters and extremely good locale descriptions but just a little bit much at times, with the back and forth.

Incredible thriller book by Katherine Wood #ladykillerbook that reminds me of “Gossip Girl” & “Revenge” tv shows, and “Talented Mr Ripley” movie all in one! Truly suspenseful and well done for an unreliable narrator pov. There’s a twist in the ending that I predicted but it’s enjoyable and definitely keeps you intrigued. The characters were compelling and interesting. I liked the pov change and the characters presenting different scenarios and opinions of the storylines and determining who is telling the truth. I could see this as a film and like Big Little Lies on HBO.
Thanks to @netgalley and @penguinrandomhouse for the ARC.. #netgalley

I really enjoyed reading Ladykiller by Katherine Wood, it was filled with lots of twists and a great mystery to solve. I thought the characters were all well written and the plot was interesting. I recommend this book if you like a good mystery. Thanks to Netgalley for this arc.

Review of Advance Reader’s Copy

Five months after the passing of Hugo Torres, his daughter, Gia, has invited her best friend, Abby to her thirtieth birthday celebration . . . in Sweden. Gia, in the process of selling the family home, tells Abby that she has taken up writing again and is working on a manuscript.

Abby and Gia, best friends since they were thirteen, have not seen much of each other. Gia, hastily married to Garrett after knowing him for only a month, is in Greece while lawyer Abby is an associate in a law firm in Atlanta.

But when Abby arrives in Sweden, Gia is not there to meet her. After some mystifying text messages, Abby sets out to find her friend.

What happened to Gia? And did her new manuscript have something to do with her disappearance?

=========

A strong sense of place and captivating, well-drawn characters pull the reader into the telling of this twisty tale from the outset. The unfolding story, told from Abby’s viewpoint as well as from Gia’s manuscript, slowly reveals its secrets and lies, keeping the intrigue and suspense building throughout the story as some truths finally emerge.

The story moves right along, a mystery in need of solving. Nothing is as it seems and readers may find it difficult to distinguish between the “good guys” and the “bad guys” but the story will have them turning pages as fast as possible.

Readers will find it virtually impossible to predict the outcome of this absorbing tale, but those who enjoy psychological thrillers will find much to appreciate here as the story reaches a denouement that may leave readers with more questions than answers.

Highly recommended.

I received a free copy of this book from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Bantam and NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.
#Ladykiller #NetGalley

This is the type of book that leaves a lot up to interpretation & that’ll be very good for a book discussion. I’d totally recommend this is a book of the month read in a book group because the possibilities are endless. Gia & Abby are very likable characters until…Thanks Netgalley for the advanced copy.

Things aren’t always as they appear. The twists and turns of this book are delightful, and the descriptions of the Greek islands will give you brilliant visuals. The addition of the manuscript makes this a mystery as well. Unputdownable!

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.