Bad Men was a quick read that kept me waiting to see what would happen next. Saffy has taken it upon herself to kill bad men. The first time it wasn’t planned - but after that she realized she had an aptitude.

But now Saffy is interested in Jon, a podcaster who helped catch a serial killer. I’ve seen some reviews that felt it was too much about this relationship and not enough about Saffy - may be better to go in with those expectations. I didn’t have any expectations and was very much along for the ride.

I listened to this audiobook in just a couple sittings and thought it was the perfect way to read it - the narrator did a great job bringing Saffy to life for me. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the free audiobook and ebook to review.

Thank you to @netgalley and @overlookpress @abramsbooks for the ARC book and to NetGalley and @recordedbooks for the ALC.

This was a really crazy and twisty book. I really enjoyed this one! It was recommended that I request it from NetGalley from a fellow bookstagrammer and I’m so glad I did. The story follows Saffy a gorgeous socialite woman who doesn’t like men who do really bad things. She finds herself mixed up with Jon a true crime podcaster and a wild and crazy story ensues. I would rather not say too much about this book as this book is so exciting it’s better to go in blind. With that being said, please Check the trigger warnings before diving in to this book.

I am so glad that I was able to read and listen to this book because I think the audiobook made the book much more enjoyable and definitely helped to dial up the suspense in the novel. Nathalie Buscombe does a really good job and I really like how she did both American and British (Trans-Atlantic) accents. Her voice kind of reminded me of Miranda Raison’s who has narrated books such as Lessons in Chemistry and The Husbands. I would definitely listen to another book narrated by her in the future.

As far as my rating, I decided to give this book 4 ⭐️, due to the fact that some of the content was a little darker than I was expecting, and also I thought it would’ve been better if Jon’s part of the story had been narrated by a male audiobook narrator. However, some people might not care about this.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would definitely consider reading another book by Julie Mae Cohen in the future! ✨

𝗥𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗘 𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘 - May 7, 2024

𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗 𝗜𝗙 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗟𝗜𝗞𝗘 - Trume Crime podcasts, Finlay Donovan series

𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗞 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗧𝗢 𝗡𝗘𝗧𝗚𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗘𝗬 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗨𝗕𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗛𝗘𝗥 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗩𝗜𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗠𝗘 𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗛 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗕𝗢𝗢𝗞 𝗜𝗡 𝗘𝗫𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗚𝗘 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗠𝗬 𝗛𝗢𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪!

Our heroine/narrator Saffy is not your typical serial killer! She hunts and kills Bad Men similar to Dexter (she even mentions this) and is perfectly content in doing so. That is, until she becomes enamored with a popular podcaster, Jonathan, whose specialty is none other than murder. When Jonathan finds himself the suspect of a murder when a body part shows up on his doorstep, he is unknowingly in great hands with his new girlfriend, Saffy.

I enjoyed this very much and highly recommend reading this book. Saffy is a believable and likeable serial killer and Jonathan is kind of dopey and loveable. Dual points of view give the reader an opportunity to hear from both of them. We get a glimpse into Saffy as a serial killer and a girl in love. We learn about Jonathan's personal life and how his life is affected after becoming infamous.

Without giving too much away, this is a fun ride with an open ending...maybe we will get more of Saffy and Jonathan?

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Bad Men is a dark and bloody rom-com of a novel, where a serial killer falls in love with someone who writes about serial killers.

The title Bad Men refers to two types of bad men in this book: those who prey on women and those who are serial killers. Why is it, asks the sociopathic narrator, that only the latter are hunted down and punished? Taking matters into her own hands, this wealthy narcissist manages to look good whilst delivering her own brand of justice.

In short, twisted absurd fun with excellent audiobook narration.

My thanks to the author, publisher, and #NetGalley for an advance copy of the audiobook for review purposes.

You know that saying, "Behind every great man is a great woman"? What it really means is this: Behind every man, no matter what his merit, there is a perfectly normal woman working her ass off to make sure that everything works out the way it's supposed to.

I love any book about psychotic women, but this one was especially good. Bad Men follows Saffy Huntley-Oliver, a young, female socialite who just happens to be a serial killer of misogynistic men, and Jonathan Desrosiers, a true-crime podcaster who is framed for a murder he didn't commit.

This book is thrilling and twisty with just the right amount of levity to make the reader laugh. I stayed past my bedtime (9 pm - don't judge me) because I couldn't put it down and literally had to check under my bed before I could sleep (no murderers - just hair ties and socks). I highly recommend it if it sounds like your thing!

<b><i>"My name is Saffy Huntley Oliver and I kill bad men."</i></b>

<u>What I thought I was getting:</u>
Bad ass female vigilante serial killer who would be irresistible because of how bad ass and awesome she is.

<u>What I actually got:</u>
A mentally unstable woman who does some absolutely bat shit things to make a mediocre man fall in love with her.

This book is described as a <i>feminist thriller</i>. And all I kept thinking was, <i>"Is the feminism in the room with us?"</i> I did get a good chuckle here and there, but overall was a bit disappointed with this book.

⭐⭐.5 rounding up because the narrator did a great job.

<i>Shout-out to my homies at NetGally for the audio ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review</i>

I have a lot to say about this book. I enjoyed the story quite a bit. If you are a fan or Dexter or Butcher & Blackbird (but dont want all the smut) this book is for you. The FMC is a serial killer that is scheming to get a host of a true crime podcast to fall in love with her.
What I did not like about this book is the way it switches from 1st to 3rd person mid chapter, mid paragraph really. I found the POV changes to be odd and sometimes took me out of the story because I had to figure out who was telling the story.
Overall I liked the story just not the execution.

I’m not really sure what to make of this book. I really liked the premise, and I enjoyed reading it, but it fell short for me for a bunch of reasons.

Spoilers ahead: I found the MC’s half American/half British accent to be kind of grating. I wish we got more of her history (and present!) of being a serial killer instead of just hearing a few examples and then having it be vaguely referred to. Her obsession with John doesn’t feel like it was ever adequately explained and it felt like he just magically got over his concerns about her stalking him. It also felt like it ended abruptly and without any real conclusion or resolution.

From her childhood Saffy has learned that there are bad men out there. When all else fails .. accidents happen. This book held my attention with the story but I felt the narrator did an excellent job. Thank you to NetGalley for this free advanced copy in exchange for my review

“It’s time to make love not corpses.”

This one was decent. It was fine to listen to, but I wouldn’t say it was a page turner until towards the second half of the book.

The characters weren’t all that memorable, but I did like Saffy’s character. Having a strong female lead who is a serial killer was definitely unique and a nice change.

Initially, I had a really hard time getting into this book I didn’t hate it. It just wasn’t all that intriguing for me at first and the pacing seemed a bit slow to me. I’m glad I stuck with it though because the ending was fun.

I sort of wish the author would’ve delved more into Saffy’s serial killer antics though. Like there was the cat suit thing and while that was fun I felt like the book lacked more kills by Saffy…and wasn’t that sort of the point?

While the book was predicable it was also enjoyable. I’d probably read another of this author’s books in the future.

This was fine. It wasn't great but it wasn't awful. It's a very forgettable plot full of very forgettable characters. I don't think there's much more to say about it. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this audiobook.

This was such a fun thriller to read! It really reminded me of the book Sweet Pea by C J Skuse, and if you loved that, you will definitely enjoy Bad Men. You have the added bonus of a male POV which gives an interesting perspective.

Saffy's internal monologue really made me laugh at times! Her dark thoughts were such a juxtaposition to the delicate little rich girl image that others viewed her as being. I also really liked the contrast between the female killer and the male killers who tended to be a lot messier and less discreet.

I would have loved to have heard more about Saffy's past and her previous murder victims (is that too dark?!). The story built her up to be an experienced serial killer but did not give too much detail on her past crimes.

Definitely a book I would recommend!

This was my first book by this author. Thank you for the preview arc copy. I listened to the audiobook and first let me say I loved the British narrator! As an American, it really transported me and brought the gripping story to life. The main character was witty, smart and ruthless. We follow her journey along with a podcaster / journalist as they work to solve crimes and a find serial killer. I loved how funny and unhinged this was and I was guessing right up until the end. My only critique would be I would have loved to get into Saffy’s background a bit more and understand her motivations more. Honestly I would read a followup novel if Julie writes one!

Thank you netgalley for an advanced audiobook of this book.

Bad Men

Author :- Julie Mae Cohen

Narrator:- Nathalie Buscombe

Audiobook:- 9 Hours & 56 Minutes

Book:- 314 Pages

Saffy has a secret. A secret that she is deeply ashamed of. It's not the fact that she's a serial killer in her free time. In fact, she's quite proud of that. After all she's only killing the bad men. She is making the world a better place.

No, her secret is far worse than that. Saffy has a messy, inexplicable, uncontrollable crush. So while she's busy plotting her next murder, she also has the much harder task of figuring out how to get a boyfriend.

But if there's one thing Saffy knows, it's how to get her man . . .

Review...

I want to say a huge thank you to NetGalley & Zaffre for the Advanced Arc of this book as an Audiobook.

Within the first 10 minutes of listening to the audiobook I was hooked & I know I am going to love this book, the writing is very engaging but as more time has gone on I have not loved the book as much as I started too but I do think its funny and a interesting read but I was expecting a little more on the killing aspects of the boo from the female serial killer. This book was more romance heavy with killer thoughts rather then action but was a read that kept me engaged till the end

3 star

To start, who doesn’t love a female serial unaliver going after despicable men? This book was a win for me based on that alone. The plot was fairly fast paced to keep your attention, but it does slow down in the middle. I could easily see this being a binge read. Although, I expected more of Saffy’s unaliving than what we experienced alongside her helping Jon, there were enough twists to keep your attention. I was particularly shocked and surprised by the lengths Saffy went to in order to get her meet cute with Jon. It’s worth noting, though, that while I expected this to be a thriller, it felt more focused on the romance story. While that’s not bad, I was really interested in the thriller aspect and Saffy going after bad men. The narration was done by Nathalie Buscombe. I thought she did a solid job of differentiating between the POVs. She also brought plenty of emotion to the role. It was definitely an enjoyable listen. I particularly liked how she pulled in some of Saffy’s dry humor. I would recommend picking this up on audiobook.

4.5 rounded up
There’s nothing I love more than a female sociopath - hello Saffy! As an ARC reader (advance reader's copy) you never really know what you’re getting and boy oh boy was this a fun surprise!

The writing flows, there’s nothing unreliable or obnoxiously cryptic - in fact Saffy tells you exactly how it is - I love her!

The other POV (point of view) is told by Jonathan, a true crime podcaster who Saffy is obsessed with

The audiobook narrator @nattiebuscombe is excellent with voices and I definitely recommend listening if you can

I loved the ending - it just made me so happy. I rarely want a sequel or even prequel but 💯 want more from Saffy - she was just wonderful

The only reason this wasn’t a 5 star was because there weren’t more mini twists and reveals throughout - but this was such a joyous read, I highly recommend

Thanks to Netgalley and RB Media for access to this audiobook ARC in exchange for my honest review

ARC audiobook provided in exchange for an honest review.

Nathalie Buscombe does a fantastic job with the narration on this book! It would’ve been fun to have a male narrator to voice the other main character but I felt she still handled it well. I really liked how this story felt different than many I read, as the majority of the time, the man is the serial killer, not the woman. (Not a spoiler- practically what the entire book is about.) I also enjoyed how at the end there’s a big twist and then a little untwist to fit the characters narrative! I would definitely recommend to anyone who likes psychological thrillers and mysteries!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. Very cheeky. This book was a wild ride and interesting none the less. Wish they gave us a little less of the romance, but all in all a solid listen.

Thank you to NetGalley and RB for this ARC!

This book was such a fun read! I found Saffy to be extremely charismatic and likeable despite her being a literal vigilante. I support women's rights and their wrongs so I was fully rooting for Saffy to get away with it. I also adored the love story that was sprinkled in throughout the book (I am a friends to lovers stan)!

I don't know what it says about me but I LOVED this twisted book! Why is there something so interesting about a female sociopath that kills bad men that you just wanna root for! AND THEN there is a romantic (twisted a bit 🫣😂) element that I was all about. I was so entertained and invested in this. Like I didn't wanna stop listening! There was only one little thing that I struggled with (no spoilers and really she redeems herself a bit for it but still come on girl) but other than that it was just perfectly twisted and different! But I got to give it to her, she was trying for a meet cute. I just love her persistence!

If you like a Dexter meets You meets Jane Does, you'll love this! The audio was FANTASTIC!!! I just love books like this. 🫣😂

There were a couple gruesome parts that I was like 🫣🥴 at, one I had to do a 10 second skip ahead cause I was eating lunch 😂 but other than that it's not toooo gruesome. Just dark with a little odd humor.