Cordelia Black is a murderess who only targets bad, bad men. Pharma sales by day and vigilante by night, all while spending time with her best friend Diane and her goddaughter.

I loved Dexter and Promising Young Woman but this book did not resonate in the same way. I empathized with Dexter. I didn’t agree with it but I understood it. In this one, I really struggled to connect with the main character on a deeper level, but if you enjoy a murdery mystery this one may be for you.

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this novel by Emma C. Wells about a serial killer who has a code. Cordelia only kills men who violate women and children in some way. She has a legitimate profession as a pharmaceutical rep by day and a method to rid the world of bad men by night. Quietly and carefully, Cordelia knows she's saving women and children from abuse.

She's closely watching a new guy who comes into her best friend's life. He seems to her friend like a great guy. But, Cordelia and her goddaughter Sugar aren't so sure.

The pace of this one is pretty fast and I generally felt as though this novel was relevant and well developed. The writing is really solid. I almost immediately felt as though Cordelia was a female Dexter, ridding the world of terrible people. But the novel stands on its own apart from that show, and I enjoyed it very much. I can say that the ending blew me away as it was surprising and very well done.

This novel has strong content warnings for sexual abuse, child sexual abuse, and some pretty gruesome scenes sprinkled throughout. For myself as a victim of child sexual abuse, I was not affected or triggered. However, that will not be the case for everyone, so Reader, take good care. And let me just say I think Emma Wells created a piece of work that surprised me very much. That was mighty clever and shows the world just how brave this author truly is.

A can't think of a better title for this book. I really enjoyed it and had a hard time putting it down. This is going to be a big hit.
Thank you for my gifted copy.

Wow what a debut! I loved Cordelia Black, such a strong female lead. She was funny, sassy and totally a loose cannon. Perfectly paced with engaging characters.
Thank you NetGalley, Emma Wells and Poisoned Pen Press for the opportunity to read and review this book

This was a dark, twisty and propulsive thriller that had me staying up late just to finish. I loved the Dexter in Louboutins and lace vibes. I can't believe this is a debut novel. There were a few story lines that felt as though they weren't totally thought out, but it was easy to ignore them because the rest of the book was so good. Cordelia is such a strong character and Samantha's 6th grade angst and attitude was so relatable.

A thriller about a female serial killer?! That was all I needed to know before deciding I had to read This Girl’s a Killer.

The book started off strong for me. The FMC, Cordelia Black, seemed like a total powerhouse and I was totally here for it. She reminded me a bit of Evie Porter from First Lie Wins, whom I loved!

However, my feelings changed as the story progressed, especially when it came to Cordelia. Honestly, I didn’t love her character arc 🫣😓. Without giving too much away, her behaviour/decisions weren’t in alignment with how she was initially presented at the beginning. There were points in the book where I even found myself getting annoyed with her.

Additionally, I felt like the pace was on the slower side. It was a bit on the longer side at 432 pages, so perhaps I would’ve felt differently if it were shorter.

While I didn’t love this one as much as I’d hoped, I’d still recommend checking it out. A few of my book besties loved this one, so mine may be an unpopular opinion 🤷🏻‍♀️. [2.5 rounded up to 3 stars].

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the opportunity to read this e-ARC.

Read if you like:

✨Found family
✨Female rage
✨Morally grey FMC’s

A thoroughly enjoyable serial killer story. Pharma rep by day, killer of despicable men at night, Cordelia Black exceeds in both professions. This book grabs you from the start and keeps you enthralled throughout. Great supporting characters, too.

I absolutely loved the main character Cordelia - she was complex, well-developed and just fun to root for despite being a female Dexter. I flew through this and was super invested in how all of the loose ends would be tied up. Best of all, I really loved the ending of this - it surprised me in the best way! My only minor complaint was I found some of the background information about her past to be hard to follow, and that sometimes took me out of the story a bit. Looking forward to more adventures with Cordelia!

This Girl’s A Killer by Emma C. Wells is a fantastic crime thriller.

Cordelia Black loves designer clothes and always looks her best. She and her best friend, Diane, met in college and are always there for each other. Her relationship with her goddaughter, Samantha, is super sweet. Cordelia is a successful rep for a pharma company but she lives a secret life at night.

Cordelia is very smart and well-disciplined. She has a code when picking her victims and she is very careful to hide her crimes. Cordelia gets a very bad feeling about Diane’s new boyfriend but she harbors a few doubts about whether or not he meets her stringent code.

Cordelia’s life soon becomes quite messy as one thing after another comically goes wrong. With the police looking for a possible serial killer, she knows she needs to be very careful as she goes about her nightly business. But a very unexpected visitor quickly upends her well-ordered life.

This Girl’s A Killer is an outstanding crime thriller with a wonderful protagonist. Cordelia is not your average woman and despite her proclivities, she is a likable character. The storyline is clever and unfolds at a fast pace. With shocking twists and turns, Emma C. Wells brings this darkly humorous thriller to a very unanticipated conclusion.

After pushing through 25% of this book, I've decided romanticized serial killers are just not for me.

This gives me similar vibe to Butcher and Blackbird - of course only Blackbird’s story. Can’t imagine what I would do myself if I was out in that situation.

The first novel is expertly constructed, akin to a gourmet Michelin-starred dish. I anticipated being able to foresee the storyline and conclusion, but this one proved to be too challenging - I was deceived and relished being proven wrong.

I love a good bad guy gets what he deserves book! This was such a good book. The characters were great and interesting, I enjoyed it from beginning to end. For a first time author, I was impressed. Look forward to reading more from her. Thank you to Netgalley for the reading experience.

This book fell a little flat for me. There wasn't enough of the thriller aspect that I was hoping for. I loved the premise of the book being a female serial killer who rids the world of bad men. It didn't have me determined to read it all in one sitting or desperately waiting to get back to it to read more.

One aspect that I really didn't enjoy was how many times the main character referred to herself in the third person.

Overall it was an enjoyable read but didn't meet my expectations.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Overall this was a pretty solid read. I was obsessed with the MindFuck series and I have read a lot of books that are pretty similar. This was definitely similar, but I felt myself getting annoyed with the FMC throughout the book. It almost felt YA to me (which I love), but I wasn’t expected it to be with the FMC being in her 30’s. Although this wasn’t a five star read for me, it totally could be for someone else. Thanks to NetGalley for the early copy ♡

Sometimes there are books that make you think things that are totally antithetical to your own thinking.

Enter Cordelia - she is a totally together pharmaceutical salesperson. On the outside, that is. Pretty quickly we see her flaws and her insecurities. And we also see how she spends her spare time - killing people that are suspected of sexual indiscretions. This novel forces the reader to think about ideas of vigilante justice, no matter how distasteful the people or the things they did. Because I found myself liking Cordelia.

I also felt for her - in order to move away from her many childhood traumas, she has totally reinvented herself and that puts so much pressure on her every minute of the day.

This book is troubling, funny, sweet, sad and utterly compelling. For a good read with all the feels, read on!

Cordelia Black is a successful pharmaceutical rep with a taste for designer clothes and a fierce love for her best friend Diane and her goddaughter Sugar. But Cordelia has a secret: by night, she stalks and murders the "monsters" of Louisiana, men whose crimes against women and children have gone undetected. But when Diane starts dating Simon White, a man Cordelia suspects of being a monster himself, her carefully planned life starts to unravel.

A really interesting premise with an intriguing protagonist and lots of dark humor. Overall this was a really engaging read with a unique premise and Cordelia's narration was really interesting--it was fascinating to hear her logic and justification for her actions. I will say that the writing didn't feel very polished (maybe because this is a debut novel?), but the book was engaging for the most part nonetheless. I felt like the book dragged a little bit in the middle and at the end it did feel like there were a few plot threads left a bit unresolved, which was a little unsatisfying. But this was still an entertaining read and I would definitely recommend to fans of strong female leads, antiheros, and the TV show "Dexter." Looking forward to seeing what this author comes out with next.

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

SYNOPSIS
- Cordelia Black is a pharmaceutical rep by day and a serial killer/vigilante by night.
- She loves her best friend, her god daughter, expensive brands, and killing bad men.

MY THOUGHTS
- I enjoyed some of the characters, and I love a woman MC with lots of rage.
- Overall, I was disappointed by the book. It fell flat for me. The beginning was slow, and the writing was VERY repetitive. The ending was mehh.
- Cordelia never stops talking about how amazing she is & what brands she wears. If she referred to herself in third person one more time, I was going to LOSE IT! She always talks about how amazing & in control she is, but is constantly doing dumb shit.
- Honestly, the writing felt juvenile, or maybe it is the way the MC is written. It felt very YA.

TL;DR: ⭐️⭐️⭐️mehhh - this was not for me.

Thanks to Poisoned Pen Press & Netgalley for this digital ARC in exchanges for an honest review. This book will be published on October 29, 2024.

I wanted to love this one but I just didn’t. I was very bored and struggled to make it through. Thank you for the chance to read.

Cordelia is a pharmaceutical sales rep by day and a serial killer by night. She has a code, though. She only goes after those who have harmed others. But things get messy when a kill doesn't go as planned. Will her carefully crafted life of blending in finally fall apart?

Thoughts 💭
If you're a fan of Dexter, you'll love this. Instead of a male lead, though, we have Cordelia, who is also carefully curating a "normal" life in order to fit in. While there was a backstory of how she came to be this way, and the author made a note saying she obviously doesn't think this behavior is ok, I still found it hard to root for Cordelia. Something about her just didn't draw me in. It could be that I found a female serial killer doing this to be a little unbelievable? I can't exactly put my finger on it. I expected more of a dark thriller, but this came off as comical in certain situations and was a quick read. It really wasn't what I was expecting. I did love the found family aspect of the book and enjoyed Diane and Samantha. Mango, the dog was also fun.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.