The Girl's A Killer is a wild fast paced read that had me cheering for Cordelia Black who takes it upon herself to rid the world of bad guys.

A female Dexter if you will.

By day she is a pharmacy rep (that's not going well) and by night she avenges those males that are just plain bad and prey upon women or children.

Cordelia is also quick witted, has a best friend, a god daughter and a neighbourhood dog who prefers her home to that of her neighbour.

She had me lauging, she had me cringing, she had me telling her look out ( to no avail)

When things go bad for Cordelia they really go bad and quickly.

Emma C. Wells takes the reader on a graphic but fun ( sounds strange I know ) journey that has you wanting more at the end of the book .

I hated for the book to end.

I certainly hope there is a Book 2.

Thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the privilege of reading and reviewing The Girl's a Killer.

Thank you for the advanced copy!

This is 5 stars. If I could give more, I would.

It keeps you on edge and the way things are built up is *chef's kiss*. I found myself loving the main character, despite what she was doing. The plot and the descriptions were perfect too. 100% will be recommending this.

This Girls a Killer is an incredible debut novel - really a debut ?

I lovr Cordelia Black what a great character !
Female revenge at its best ! .

This book I was addicted to I could not put down !

I knew from the first paragraph, I was going to like this book. The author’s writing immediately pulled me in & happily kept me there. It’s hard to believe such a well written novel is a debut! Cordelia is a very intriguing character, essentially a female Dexter, who gets rid of evil men. Outside of that she is organized & controlled & loves her bff & goddaughter very much. When things start slipping out of her control, things get very interesting. She has depth & complexities & is a lot of fun to follow around, even though is technically bad. The author handles the dark subject matter very adeptly, with both sensitivity & some humour.

This is a must read thriller for this fall, one of the best books I’ve read this year & an author I will be watching out for in the future.

🔪

Read if you like:
* Henry Kimball/Lily Kintner series by Harlan Coben
* For Your Own Good by Samantha Downing
* Pretty Little Wife by Darby Kane

Hard to believe there’s a sub-genre of crime novels about women who kill bad men as an avocation, but I think this is the fourth or fifth that I’ve read in the last couple of years. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. There are plenty of men whose permanent absence would benefit the world, and here is Cordelia Black to contribute to the cause, when she’s not too busy with her pharmaceutical rep job and spending time with her best friend Diane and Diane’s daughter Samantha, who is also Cordelia’s goddaughter.

Right from the get-go, our main character, Cordelia, lets us know she spends her spare time killing bad men. It’s a little hard to believe, not because it’s hard to believe there would be a badass female avenger sort of person, but because Cordelia is always running late, running into problems, or just plain screwing up. In her interior monologue, she sees herself as the great Cordelia, the ultra-organized and planned-to-the-Nth-degree person, but that’s out of sync with her actual persona. Things go wrong in obvious ways—once several at the same time—and she somehow hasn’t anticipated the problems, so she runs around like a crazy person trying to keep everything from blowing up. Maybe the author intends for us to notice the divide between how Cordelia sees herself and how she really is, but it didn’t feel that way as I was reading.

I had a few other problems with the book. I think it would have helped if the book included Cordelia’s origin story more and not saved it for a little bit of info near the end. It also seemed a bit too much to me the way the book described Cordelia’s enjoyment of torturing her victims and then using their blood in paintings. (Also, it seems awfully stupid to keep victim DNA around.) Cordelia herself seems obsessive and overly possessive about her “found family” of Diane and Samantha; like to the point where I almost wondered if the book would have a big twist of Cordelia eliminating anybody else who tried to get close to them.

The book has some fun moments, but there was just too much inconsistency for me in the way Cordelia sees herself and the way the plot plays out.

I really enjoyed this book. Cordelia Black was just a great character. A dark story of murder and a serial killer mixed with humour. How can you go wrong. A strong female character who I found enjoyable. Come on who wouldn’t wanna be here.
I enjoyed the strong female lead who no matter what is going wrong in her life she keeps her head up and trudges forward. There were a few missing pieces that I wish they would have at least tied up but all in all good story.
I highly recommend this to someone who’s looking for a bit of a thriller with a lot of comedy mixed in.

Thank you to NetGalley, Emma C. Wells, Poisoned Pen Press, for this arc of This Girl’s A Killer, out October 29, 2024.

📜Quick Summary: Cordelia can be a sweetheart…to the right person. Cordelia loves her best friend and step daughter but despises people who prey on others. To those unlucky few, she hunts them down and kills them. During the day, she has everything put together… she always has a plan. As a pharmaceutical rep, she’s put together but at night, that’s when her other side comes out. When a string of events causes her to lose control, Cordelia finds herself spiraling (me too!) and she has to work quickly to keep her small knit world together.

❣️Initial Feels: Cordelia is a unique leading character! I love that her family is her best friend and goddaughter, and she is comfortable with that. She doesn’t “need” anything else. This is what makes her strong, but also weak as her goal is to keep them safe. I like the banter and the dark humor, even sprinkled in by her goddaughter “Sugar” herself.

👀Trigger Warnings: murder, dismemberment

🙋🏼‍♀️Moving Character: Although it seems clear that Cordelia should be the star of the show, I have to hand this off to Mango, the devil dog next door. Lots of nerves were around when it came to Mango’s well being!

📖Read if you want: fast paced thriller, ludacris situations, dark humor, strong female friendships

💡Final Sentiments: Overall this was a good thriller! I enjoyed Cordelia’s character, even though at times I didn’t know if she was a hero or a villain. The lines blended well, which I think was done by the author on purpose. I wish there were more flashbacks or stories given about her as a child and her upbringing. (It was mentioned quickly a few times, but to get to really know her and her motives, I think this would have been helpful in her development.) There were many moments where my heart was racing for her, and even though it was a thriller, I found it humorous at times. It was also left open ended, so maybe another book!?

🌟Overall Rating: 3.75 stars


This novel was provided by the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 stars! I am a sucker for an eye-catching cover and this one fit the bill. It started out so good but somewhere along the way, parts of the storyline got a little improbable and were hard to ignore. That being said, I still really enjoyed it! If a book about a female Dexter sounds intriguing, you’re not going to want to miss this one. Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review – pub day is 10/29/24!

Cordelia Black is a fashionable pharmacy rep and also a serial killer of very bad men. I thought her character was interesting and unique, not your typical serial killer. The storyline was somewhat predictable with some mild suspense. Overall a quick read.

A female serial killer, who kills creeps, what more can you say? I loved the concept, and the way Cordelia Black watched her prey and knew when to strike. Such a clever story! Thanks #netgalley for the opportunity to read this incredible thriller by #emmacwells

I read this book in a single sitting on a recent flight and it was a perfect, edge of my seat romp. We follow the exploits of Cordelia, a pharmaceutical sales rep by day, Dexter-style serial killer by night. She has a best friend and goddaughter and the new boyfriend in their lives makes things complicated, because of course he does. Add in a blind date with a cop, a dog who keeps escaping her owner to hideout in Cordelia's house, and a possible lawsuit looming over the drug Cordelia has been peddling (and using to knock out her victims)... and trouble is afoot. Cordelia's backstory and her motivations and rules for choosing her victims makes her as relatable as a serial killer as possible -- I mean I was definitely on her side. Plenty of twists and turns, this was a super satisfying debut that I would recommend to fans of They Never Learn and Dexter.

Cordelia Black is a bad ass! She has gone through a lot of childhood trauma and risen above it to become a successful pharmaceutical rep. She is fiercely loyal to her best friend Diane and her god daughter. Cordelia Black enjoys stalking, killing and seeking justice for female victims. She has an uncanny ability of finding monsters and taking care of the problem if you know what I mean.

I enjoyed this book and look forward to what will surely turn into a series. I can definitely see this as a great Netflix show as well. It has the vibe of Finlay Donovan meets the show Dead To Me. At times it’s funny and other times it borders on ridiculous. It’s for people that love a book about friendships, a strong female protagonist and don’t take serial killing too serious.

A huge thanks to netgalley for an early copy of this book.

This Girl’s a Killer is a story of Cordelia Black - a successful Pharma rep by day and a man killer by night. Both aspects of her life start spiralling when the drug she sells is being pulled from the market due to side effects and the growing number of missing men raises suspicion of a serial killer being in town. On top of that, her best friend Diane, who is basically her only family, starts dating a guy that sets off her alarm bells immediately. Is she going to have to kill him too?

One thing about me - I LOVE stories about unhinged women, women who kill and female rage in general. The premise for this book is great but in the end there were things I enjoyed and things I hated. I think if you go into this without expecting some deep and compelling thriller, but rather a quick and fun read, you can enjoy it.
It’s fast-paced and really does grip your attention, but it’s also completely predictable, and even a bit ridiculous at times. I liked the idea and the writing but in order to enjoy it, I had to shut off the part of my brain that was whispering “well now that’s just completely ridiculous”.

What annoyed me the most if the fact that Cordelia is supposed to be this smart, meticulous woman (and believe me, she says so herself in this book about 150 times), but she does the DUMBEST shit.
For instance, she’s in disguise on a “date” with a guy she’s planning to kill, yet she still wears her very recognisable friendship bracelet. She then runs into Simon (her best friends boyfriend), has a chat with him, he POINTS to the bracelet and says it looks familiar, so what does she do? HOPES he didn’t recognise her and goes on with the killing. THEN doesn’t even notice that he followed her and saw everything.. AND THEN on top of that, she’s SHOCKED that he recognised her, where all she did is some make up and hair change. Miss girl what in the Supergirl were you thinking?
On top of that - she never even takes off the bracelet while doing the killing and disposing of the body! What do you think happens next? Surprise, surprise, she ends up losing it. If only there was a way to avoid it!

There were hundreds of moments where I wanted to scream in frustration. She just kept making the stupidest mistakes, ona after another, all while going off about how she’s always scrupulous. I understand that her life was falling apart and she was supposed to be out of control, but with the way she was behaving she would’ve been caught after the first kill.

All in all, it's not some shocking, incredible thriller, but a fun little book about a girl who kills bad men, which is something I can always enjoy. Could be better but I can appreciate it for what it is.

Dexter meets The Devil Wears Prada, entertaining and clever. I enjoyed this one! It will be perfect for those who don't love heavy body horror and still want relationship elements in their thrillers. The ride or die friendship and loyalty between Cordelia and Diane is, honestly, enviable. I liked the Dexter-esque morality of Cordelia's pursuits and her protection of those she loves. This story managed to remain hopeful, light, and often humorous while embracing the female rage space.

I would give this 3.75 rounded up to 4 stars and think it would be a perfect read for those new to the thriller/horror space. The only thing that held me back from a higher rating on this one is that I didn't feel fully invested or connected to the characters in the story. But, I also think that is, in part, because we really only know them in a one or two dimensional way. It's hard to imagine this is a debut, it is just as if not more successful than many other far more seasoned author's offerings in this genre in recent months. I will look for more from Emma Wells in the future.

It’s rare for me to find a type of story like that doesn’t feel familiar to something else I’ve read and this was it! Had such a perfect ‘unreliable’ narrator.
This is about Cordelia Black, she’s my new ‘Dexter’ - if you are/were in to that series you’ll love this book!
She is a drug sales rep by day & then a whole other person by night…
I love that the female lead in this was wild and it’s good to have a female lead that’s a killer rather than the typical men killers I’ve read.
It’s definitely a page turner I couldn’t put it down!
4.5⭐️

thank you to NetGalley & poisoned press for this amazing opportunity to read this ARC for an honest review 🫶🏼

Original! I read a lot! So for something to come off as 100% original to me is rare. But this novel is just that! The found family of spending your life with your best friend while you try to clean up your next of the world to protect them, is awesome on its own. But when a man enters the picture, your day to day life that some say is a rut, is in peril. The age old tale of a man coming between friends is not original BUT this author did it so well. A great book I stumbled upon.

The dark, gripping psychological thriller fans of Gone Girl have been waiting for! Emma Wells has crafted the perfect unreliable narrator in This Girl's A Killer. Yes, Cordelia Black is a murder, nay a serial killer, that fact is not in dispute, but do some people need to be murdered? When a series of unfortunate accidents insert a flaw in Cordelia's perfect murder schemes, she must face the hard truths of her existence. What happens when a life of lies starts crumbling? The answer can be in this wickedly delicious book. Perfect for fans of Samantha Downing's My Lovely Wife and Vera Kurian's Never Saw Me Coming.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

For all the Dexter fans out there. We have a new morally gray-to-black female avenger. She's not a murderer, exactly. She just loves her job of balancing the scales of women done wrong, and men getting away with it. A drug sales rep by day, Lady Justice by night. Yes, it gets a bit bloody in description, however, the author even notes to the reader, the men's deeds against women are not detailed. The men paying the ultimate price for their misdeeds is a different story altogether.

Things that were problematic for me was a hazy background of our MC, Cordelia Black. Her upbringing was mentioned quite a bit without fleshing it out. And as the bodies piled up, it took on more of a humorous edge. As Cordelia became closer to being discovered, a slap stick style approach softened the thriller vibes.

All in all, This Girl's a Killer was an entertaining read.

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press for the uncorrected electronic copy via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

I fairly enjoyed this book. It was fast paced and I found the main character intriguing. When you hate someone with a passion in a novel, you know the author did a great job building that persons character. Dexter? But I enjoyed Dexter until they ruined the ending so... I have no complaints. This Girl's a Killer is a book that I would recommend to others.

This Girl’s a Killer?! More like THIS BOOK IS AMAZING✨❤️

I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again, GIVE A FEMALE RAGE THRILLER and watch me be ✨S A T🪑✨ and taking in every wonderful morsel of the story!

I absolutely loved every second of @emma.c.wells.books writing. Like, I literally could (and would) read a shopping list written by her! I was fully entertained the whole story and that’s honestly all I could ask for in a book!

The FMC in this book was a true ride or die character to those she loved and was pretty lovely (minus the whole killing men caveat😅) and flawed in only the best way. She’s someone you’d want by your side/on your team through life!!


4.5⭐️