Meet Cordelia Black. She is a top pharma rep, dresses in designer clothes, has a sassy attitude and she kills people. The local news station reported a number of missing men and questioned whether there is a serial killer in their midst. What an insult! She is no serial killer. She just seeks out those men who really deserve killing, like those who prey on women or children. She has a workshop and a plan that has been successful in disposing of the evidence. Her best friend is Diane, a single mother with a daughter who adores Cordelia. Diane has a habit of dating men that Cordelia considers less than desirable. Her latest boyfriend is Simon. From the moment Cordelia meets Simon she sees him as a potential threat in Diane’s life. This is someone she may have to take care of.

As a pharma rep, Cordelia has access to drug samples for her clients. She has been fudging the required reports on their distribution, using some of them to subdue her victims. When one of the drugs that she uses is recalled due to its’ side effects it threatens her position and income, as well as a part of her plan’s routine. Diane also signed her up on a dating site. Her first date turns out to be a police investigator working on the case of the missing men. Cordelia is hoping that he might keep her informed on their progress, but what if it leads to her discovery? Emma Wells’ story grabbed me from the first page and never let go. This is a book that will often have you siding with a murderer. Just don’t call her a serial killer! I would like to thank NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for providing this book.

This Girl’s a Killer by Emma C. Wells was an exhilarating ride from start to finish. The novel introduces us to Cordelia Black, a successful pharmaceutical rep by day and a vigilante serial killer by night, targeting men who have evaded justice. Her meticulously controlled life begins to unravel when her best friend, Diane, starts dating a man who raises all of Cordelia’s red flags.

Wells masterfully crafts Cordelia’s character, making her both relatable and morally complex. Her fierce loyalty to her chosen family contrasts sharply with her nocturnal activities, creating a protagonist who is as compelling as she is unorthodox. The dark humor woven throughout the narrative adds a layer of wit that kept me engaged and often amused.

The pacing is brisk, with tension escalating as Cordelia’s dual lives collide. The author’s vivid descriptions of South Louisiana provide a rich backdrop that enhances the story’s atmospheric quality. I particularly appreciated the exploration of themes like justice, morality, and the complexities of female friendships.

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

I found this book to be quite humorous and very entertaining. I love the female serial killer trope, especially when it involves her protecting her loved ones or taking out bad men. This is an impressive debut novel and I look forward to Wells' future projects. This was one of the most fun books I read this year.

Love a female serial killer. Cordelia Black is ridding the world of bad men and I'm here for it. I also love that she's a little bit nuts. Women protagonists can be imperfect and still deeply likable.

Things I liked: the deeply satisfying female rage and revenge, the bad b*tch-ness of Cordelia, the doofus characterization of the cop, the fact that there was no love story that softened her edges except for that of her platonic love for her female best friend and her god daughter

Things I didn't love: her unwavering materialism. I get that it sprang from her childhood of poverty, but I just had a hard time relating to the importance placed on designers and labels. I also was a little annoyed with how silly Cordelias best friend sometimes seemed. I also felt like there were some ends that didn't get tied up and were just ignored, like the whole pharmaceutical recall thing.

Overall, a really fun and satisfying book, if maybe lacking a little nuance. 3.75 stars rounded up to 4.

Thanks to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced review. Unfortunately I couldn’t really relate to the immaturity of this character. I struggled to stay engaged or suspended in what I was hoping would be a thrilling ride. Perhaps for some, the comedic aspect and sardonic cool girl vibe would work, but it wasn’t for me.

WOW! This is one of the best thrillers I've read all year. I absolutely LOVED it.

I love a good serial killer thriller, especially when the killer is targeting criminals. This Girl's A Killer did not disappoint. It's definitely up there with my favourites. (Sweetpea by C.J. Skuse, How to Kill Men and Get Away With It by Katy Brent, Mindf*** by S.T. Abby and They Never Learn by Layne Fargo)

Cordelia Black is a fantastic main character. She's fierce, strong, determined, loyal, yet flawed and troubled.
Emma has an addictive writing style, she just draws you in immediately and doesn't let go. I binged the whole book in one sitting, I honestly couldn't put it down.

This is the first book I've read from this amazingly talented author, and I can't wait for her next book. I'm hopeful there will be a sequel to This Girl's A Killer. 🤞

I very highly recommend.

5 well deserved stars from me. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks to Netgalley, Poisoned Pen Press, and Emma C. Wells for the chance to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book has me a little bit mind blown. I could not put it down, and when I had to tear myself away from it to be productive this weekend, I found myself thinking about how badly I wanted to get back to it. I honestly cannot say that I’ve had a book with THAT kind of hold over me in a while, and lucky for you it releases TODAY!

Cordelia Black has curated her life to perfection – perfect hair, perfect wardrobe, perfect pharmaceutical sales career, perfect best friend, perfect goddaughter, perfect streak as a serial killer. Wait… what? While she’s peddling prescriptions by day, she’s taking down bad guys by night, stalking her prey and luring them to their ultimate demise. But she’s not immoral for it. No way. These men have committed heinous crimes and deserve to be off the street, she’s sure of it. She knows it only takes one misstep for this all to come crashing down, but she’s a good person, and she’s well prepared. She’s too planned for this spool to unravel, until one thread comes loose.

I was expecting a dark humor Finlay Donovan-esque read based on the cover and description, but this exceeded every single expectation that I had for it. This a serial killer novel where you actually find yourself rooting for the killer not to get caught. Cordelia Black is the perfect immoral character who you want to see win.

Alongside dark humor, there is plenty of suspense. I NEEDED to know how everything would come together at the end of this book, and the cliff hanger we left on has me on the edge of my seat. I am going to be stalking GoodReads forever until we have a sequel release date, that’s how good this was!

Thank you to NetGalley and for the advanced copy of this read in exchange for my honest review!

This book was really interesting about how a woman named CO.RDELA.
Killer of men because they hurt other people. This was a really interesting book.How things worked out. Friend name d I n e a was a nurse at mercy hospital and Had a child named sugar. Her friend was very close to her child and she always helped her out. Her friend had a new boyfriend who worked at the hospital.But she did not like him. There was a very interesting story because it was like cat and mouse back and forth. She was very.
Good at doing the murdering and she had a Guy disposed the bodies for money. As the book progresses, her friend's boyfriend plays a very key part.In this book.Is very interesting when you find out what really happens to him at the end of the book.

This book had me hooked from the very first page! Cordelia Black is not your typical heroine—she’s a sharp, savvy pharmaceutical rep by day and a fierce vigilante by night. (Honestly, goals?) Wells does an incredible job blending dark humor with edge-of-your-seat suspense. Cordelia’s dry wit and unapologetic approach to justice make her such a unique and unforgettable character.

The plot? Twisty and unpredictable, with just the right amount of chaos. There’s never a dull moment as Cordelia walks the fine line between keeping her double life a secret and dealing with the shady world she’s infiltrating. I loved the clever commentary on morality—can we really root for someone like Cordelia? Turns out, yes. Yes, we can.

My only gripe? Some of the side characters felt a little one-dimensional, especially compared to how vibrant and layered Cordelia is. But honestly, she’s such a strong lead that it’s easy to overlook. If you’re a fan of thrillers with complex antiheroes and a touch of dark humor (hello, Dexter fans!), you’ll love this one.

This Girl’s a Killer by Emma C Wells
.
By day Cordelia Black is a pharmaceutical rep and best friend to Diane and her precocious daughter, Sugar. But by night she is culling Louisiana of bad men, monsters who seem to evade justice.
.
What I liked:
-This book took a little longer to hook me but when it did, boy, did it have one heck of a hook.
-Cordelia took some time to grow on me but by about 30% of the way into the story I was really rooting for her to come out ok.
-I wouldn’t really say this was a suspenseful book but I was still on edge for a large portion of it!
-I enjoyed what we learned about Cordelia and why she chose the path she did. I could easily see this becoming a smaller series with more books about her. I felt like we could dig even more into her back story.
.
4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I really liked this book! I would enjoy more Cordelia books if the author were to write more.

Dark, twisty and deliciously funny. This book is a masterpiece in having a villainous protagonist who you relate to and are rooting for. From her perspective the killings are justified because Cordelia, the protagonist, only kills men who are monsters, keeping society safer.

Cordelia Black is a pharmaceutical salesperson, friend, and godmother by day, and a meticulous serial killer at night. She finds herself in an increasingly difficult situation, however, when her latest kill doesn’t go as planned.

Thank you Netgalley, Poisoned Pen Press and Emma C Wells for the eArc of This Girl's a Killer.

This is the first book by Emma C Wells and Pretty much binged read it in a day. I found it a fun read from beginning to the end. Cordella Black has two jobs, Parma by day and killer by night. A vigilante or a psychopath ? You choose. Even though the premise has been done before, I alway like a good old revenge story. Emma has a great paced style of writing which builds tension, direction and characters. All fairly evenly throughout the whole narrative, I loved Cordella and her thought processes which lead to the finale which has a nice little twist I didn't see coming.

4 stars

This read was a toss up.
On some levels I liked Cordelia’s methods and her sense of vigilante justice.
On other levels she turned me cold and I thought she was getting sloppy and complacent as well as rather self righteous.
It was an interesting read.

This was such a fun read! Cordelia Black is a successful pharmaceutical rep with a side gig…as a serial killer. Or is she a vigilante? Cordelia targets the worst in our society, the ones who snaked through the broken system.

There is amazing women/transgender/nonbinary rep that was done so beautifully. At her core, Cordelia is full of love and kindness. She protects the innocents, and loves her found family fiercely. You can’t help but root for her!

If I you’re a fan of Finlay Donovan and Dexter, found family, this book is for you! I can’t wait to read more by Emma C. Wells.

Big thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the eARC (I loved this so much that I had to buy a physical copy!)

You gotta love it when the main character feels like the villain in her own story. That was Cordelia, zipping through her perfect life, willing to do anything to keep it that way. Particularly delivering her own vigilante justice towards men. If you’re looking for the answer for a female Dexter, this could be it. Maybe a little too on the nose for a copycat Dexter.

Sometimes what gets me with these “holier than thou” protagonist as they’re still picking and choosing retribution, as the main character is still not holding everyone to the same standards. But maybe that’s the point? Not being able to get past our own selfishness? This is a very coded unreliable narrator story.

It was a good choice to make this fast paced, really kept the story moving. It started off pretty strong but got muddied in the middle with repetitive internal Cordelia thoughts. I would have liked some flashbacks, like why Cordelia became who she was, to break up the repetition. But it was alright; an easy read.

Thanks Netgalley for an ARC of this novel. It was enjoyable however you really had to suspend disbelief for this one. It’s the story of Cordelia Black, a woman who is similar to Dexter. She kills men, but only those she has decided deserve to die. This novel follows Cordelia as she goes about her hobby and things intensify when she thinks that her BFF’s new boyfriend isn’t the best guy. It kept my attention but some parts are a bit much.

I loved this suspenseful thriller about a female serial killer who kills evil men. I loved the writing style and the snarky sense of humour in the narration. Cordelia’s character was a standout - determined, and unapologetic. The pacing was great, and the fast-paced plot kept me hooked - I couldn’t put it down.

However, there were moments where the story felt slightly repetitive, which slightly disrupted the otherwise gripping narrative.

Ultimately, a great thriller that I would highly recommend to fans of the genre.

This was by far one of my favorite books I’ve read this year - and I’ve read a lot of books this year. The concept was enticing - a female Dexter plus trauma and chosen family. The execution of the concept was phenomenal. The writing was excellent and you could really feel the highs and lows the FMC experienced. The author also did a great show of showing how she thought, which was a ton of fun to read. I loved the characters, especially the FMC and her besties. The story with McSmiley felt a bit like a throw away and he didn’t seem to add a ton? But that also felt authentic to the FMC who would have only viewed him as useful if he was the means to an end. Such a great read and I truly cannot believe this is the author’s debut! Thrilled to see what she writes next!

This Girl's a Killer is the debut novel from Emma C. Wells. It's another book with the "kill the bad men" trope.

"By day, Cordelia Black is a drug rep, but nighttime is different. When she's not hanging out with her favorite people - Diane and Samantha - Cordelia is hunting men who deserve to be taken out - men with smoke behind their eyes - men who hurt women and kids. She wonders if she needs to intervene with Diane's new boyfriend, but then several things go wrong with her system. Are the police coming to her door? What will she do about the body in the tub?"

This book felt like a "Stephanie Plum becomes a serial killer" story. Cordelia has her reasons and you see them a little at a time. I liked the friendship bewteen Cordelia and Diane and Samantha, especially when Cordelia thinks it's threatened.
There'a a lot of tension when Cordelia is trying to hide things from her police officer date and handyman and obnoxious neighbor - Some hilarious moments.

Nice debut from Wells.

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for this eARC. This book was a fun read. Cordelia was a complex and interesting character, though at times a little one-dimensional. I think the tension in this book was great - as is characteristic of most serial-killer fiction - the essential question is will she get caught? It was fun and fast-paced. A thrilling weekend read.