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.

This story of rich people acting horribly is one of my favorite troupes to read and it was super easy to get lost in! I felt like all the characters were very unlikable including Abby. The twists were a bit predictable, and the ending was definitely frustrating with no real resolution. I felt like it was a bit unbelievable that Gia's brother chose Abby over Gia but it was an interesting element. There was a lot of unanswered questions at the end of this that it almost set it up for a sequel of sorts. Overall, a very solid read!

Title: Lady Killer
Author: Kathrine Wood
Publication Date: 7/9/24

A slow burn psychological thriller that had me questioning what the truth was, what are their motives and what is reality with every single page. Kathrine Wood’s descriptions of locations and people and his/her actions are so perfect that I could taste the salt and see the blue in ocean. I was completely immersed in this story.

‘She was always divisive, beautiful and brash..’
‘…watching as he tossed a bucket of sudsy water that splashed onto his chest, dripping down his six-pack before being absorbed by the waist of his shorts.’
‘…zigzagged through the maze cutting through mounds of gravel and around piles of concrete pipes..’

Two POV’s, Gia’s manuscript, and Abby’s present and past recollections, keep the reader engaged and unable to predict the outcome with teasers perfectly placed and questions remaining until the very end.

Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing for an early copy of this book by Katherine Wood in exchange for an honest review.
I absolutely loved this story. It was incredibly juicy with lots of moving parts. I completely ate up all the chapters from the perspective of Gia's manuscript. I love when books can take so many directions with the stories and Ladykiller really had plenty of angles to talk about with situations from the past resurfacing and new problems piling up in the present. I thought all the characters were interesting in their own way, too. I really enjoyed this one and any time I had to put it down, I will counting down until I could pick it back up. It would be the perfect summer read!

Ladykiller was RIVETING. I could not put this book down and it kept me guessing at every turn! I kept thinking I had “figured it out” only to have another twist thrown my way. I enjoyed all the characters and their unique personalities. Wood also did a great job with the little bits of sexy spice weaved throughout. I truly enjoyed every page, and the final line of Gia’s Manuscript in the epilogue was genius. Can’t wait to read more by this author!

*A sincere thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for providing the advance copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.*

I want to give a big thanks to NetGalley and the author for my honest review.

This story is about Abby, Gia and Benny and their chance to reconnect on a trip together. Unfortunately, Gia doesn’t show up to meet them.

The book switches back between reading Gia’s manuscript and Abby’s POV. It kept me engaged the whole time. I couldn’t wait to get to the end and find out what happened. Great read.

How could I turn down reading this book with a cover (and title) like that?! When I was offered a widget for this book I immediately accepted! The synopsis took my breath away. A rich heiress on a Greek island. Yes, please take me there! A longtime best friend coming to the rescue- what could possibly go wrong?

This story started off super intriguing with two very interesting characters. We have Gia, who is newly married into a hasty marriage to Garrett. Her best friend, Abby, tried to stop Gia from this marriage but to no avail. This story goes back and forth between Gia’s manuscript (what she started writing while in her marriage to Garrett), and Abby’s present and past day recollections.

Gia and Garrett lived in her family mansion in Greece to renovate it for its near future sale due to Gia losing some of her family fortune when her father passed away. They meet some new friends while out having dinner, and invite these new friends, Emelia and Timeo to come stay with them. That’s when things start to go downhill for Gia. Gia starts to question everyone around her, even her own husband. Is there anyone out there that she can trust?

Abby, on the other hand is worried about Gia when she doesn’t show up for their planned vacation together. Can Abby make it to Greece in time to find out what’s wrong? And are things what they appear to be?

While this story started off super strong, it unfortunately lost its way somewhere past the halfway mark. We are left to assume to know what happened towards the end, but for me I would have liked this story to be wrapped up in a nice pretty red bow. I am left with way more questions than answers, and rather unsatisfied with the ending. I also started off liking Gia and Abby pretty strongly, but by the end I didn’t care much for either one of them (although I definitely liked one more than the other).

This book might be a better read for those who don’t mind stories that take sudden twists and turns of action, and have an open ending.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group/Ballantine, and the author for an ARC of this book, which I had the pleasure of reading. Publication date: July 9, 2024.
Genre~ General Fiction (Adult), Mystery & Thrillers

𝑰𝒕'𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒖𝒕 𝒂 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝒂𝒔 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒌 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒚...𝒑𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒊𝒕, 𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒔 𝒂 𝒃𝒊𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒘𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏, 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍. 𝑴𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒍𝒚, 𝑰 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌, 𝑰 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒕𝒚.

I wasn't too sure about this one at first, but once I got hooked, I was invested. Gia and Abby have been friends since childhood even though Gia's family is insanely wealthy and Abby's mom was their cook. Despite the financial gap, the two grew up almost as sisters. However, when the girls are 18, a traumatic event involving the two occurs, and neither can make peace with is, so they separate with miles of ocean between them.

Many years later Gia reaches out to Abby as she is newly and impulsively married and is planning to celebrate her birthday with her best friend in a chalet in Sweden. Abby agrees to meet her, and then things get strange. Interspersed throughout the rest of the book are chapters from Gia's 'manuscript' revealing the trouble in her new marriage with her husband's temper and wandering eye and the money missing from her bank account. When Abby arrives in Sweden, Gia is nowhere to be found, and all calls go straight to voicemail. What follows is a dizzying plot that spans the globe and makes Abby question everything in her life that has happened since that fateful night when the girls were 18.

I really enjoyed this twisted tale of friendship and misguided actions. Many thanks to NetGalley and Bantam for this early read. This title will publish July 9, 2024.

Picked it up and didn't stop till I finished! This book kept me guessing from beginning to end! Book club material

The beginning of the book was extremely long winded and I had a hard time staying interested in it. The ending didn't give the closure I was hoping for I still have so many questions.

This book reminded me A LOT of Dangerous Girls and also a bit of We Were Never Here - two best friends, a death, maybe the narrator is unreliable or maybe not, maybe they're all involved in a big conspiracy or maybe not? This is complimentary, because I enjoyed both of those books a lot! What I found lacking in Ladykiller was the way that the manuscript piece is interwoven – we find out fairly early on that what's happening in the manuscript is taking place in the past (unspecified how far in the past a bit later) and then we're getting Abby's perspective which is happening in real-time. It's unclear throughout who is reliable here - can we trust Abby or Gia, or neither? Even finishing the book, I felt like there are still pieces left unclear (which is simultaneously good and bad!).

I do wish we had less time with the side characters and more time focused on Gia and Abby, maybe more of their bond (rather than just being told they're so close), or more time in the after of it all and an epilogue giving more clarity from Gia's POV.

Overall, I liked it, and I'm wavering between 3 and 4 stars. It's not clear if the questions at the end are intentional to leave readers guessing, or it's that there simply wasn't enough tying up of the plot. I really did read this one quickly though, and will likely recommend.

If there's a hyper specific genre I love most, it's rich people with rich people problems. Ladykiller does not disappointed - badly behaved but incredibly glamorous rich people abound. What admittedly did start as what could be a formulaic domestic story (oh no my rich friend married a bad guy!) quickly turned into a genuinely enjoyable, twisty-turny thriller.

At the risk of divulging spoilers, I will just say that the unreliable narrators will keep you guessing until the end, and while I sort of could figure out the main villains, the way the narrators told the story had me suspecting nearly every character of being duplicitous in some way.

I bet within a few years, we will see either a mini-series made of this starring whatever young hot actresses are currently big or maybe a Netflix movie. The story would translate beautifully to screen.