The concept of this book had me excited. A feminist thriller with a female lead that’s a serial killer? Sign me up. The beginning pulled me in, but after the beginning of the book, I was lost. The FMC started off as a character who would be strong and independent, but she quickly turned into a sappy, whiny, borderline obsessed character who needed a man. We heard more from her love interest Jon that we did from Saffy, who was supposed to be this strong, feminist lead. This book was also labeled as a thriller, and it did not give thriller vibes to me at all. I did enjoy the narrator! Overall, this book missed multiple marks for me.

Thank you NetGalley and RB Media for the ALC in exchange for my honest review.

"If I were going to kill someone I loved I would have to love them very deeply...killing changes you forever. Taking their life could be seen as the ultimate sacrifice on their part but also the ultimate dedication on yours."

"When you phrase it that way murder sounds more like marriage."

"It's a life long commitment."

What?! The hilarious irreverent Bad Men by clever devilish tongue in cheek author Julie Mae Cohen will have you laughing out loud while anticipating the next murder.

Saffy Huntley Oliver is a smart funny wealthy socialite and a very competent serial killer of bad men. Starting with her creepy stepfather and continuing with murderers, rapists, domestic abusers and pedophiles, Saffy has taken pride in ridding the world of the scum of the earth.

Unfortunately, her love life has suffered when she finds out the bad habits of a lover. When her celebrity crush, true crime podcaster Jonathan Desrosiers's wife leaves him, a decapitated body is left on his doorstep and he's the prime suspect, Saffy arranges a meet cute involving a doesn't need rescuing dog and a very unsuspecting down on his luck Jonathan.

With the perfect snarky tone voice actress Nathalie Buscombe has you rooting for Saffy and Jonathan to make it as a couple. But with clues pointing to Jonathan as a killer, Saffy avoiding the police, an angry ex wife, and a rambunctious dog they have quite a few obstacles in their way. But Saffy is nothing if not dedicated to her one good man.

The writer has created a feisty anti heroine and hopefully we'll get more Bad Men, a combination of Dexter and Mr. And Mrs. Smith, because it's a very good time with a romantic dark comedy thriller.

I received a free copy of this audiobook from RB Media via #NetGalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

❤️BOOK REVIEW❤️

Bad Men - Julie Mae Cohen
Rating: 4 ⭐️

“Saffy Huntley-Oliver is an intelligent and glamorous socialite; she also happens to be a proficient serial killer. For the past fifteen years, she’s hunted down and dispatched rapists, murderers, domestic abusers—bad men all. But leading a double life has left her lonely—dating’s tough when your boyfriend might turn out to be your next victim. Saffy thinks she’s finally found a truly good man in Jonathan Desrosiers, a true-crime podcaster who’s amassed legions of die-hard fans for cracking cold cases and bringing justice to victims.

When a decapitated body shows up on Jon’s doorstep the morning after his wife leaves him, he becomes the chief suspect for a murder he insists he didn’t commit. Saffy’s crush becomes an obsession as she orchestrates a meet-cute and volunteers to help Jon clear his name, using every trick up her sleeve to find the real killer and get her man—no matter the cost.

Darkly comic and addictively readable, Bad Men is a wild romp of a feminist thriller that asks if even a serial killer can have a happily ever after.”

I really enjoyed this one! It was a quick, fun read and had me laughing out loud in places. Saffy is a -terrible- person but I still enjoyed her. Jon was super uninteresting and bland and I couldn’t understand why she was so desperate and obsessed to be with him. Oh yeah, because she’s an unhinged sociopath! 😂 It worked for me.

Recommend it you like:
- Female serial killers
- Fast paced
- Feminist thrillers with romance
- True crime podcasts
- Dual POV

Thanks to @recordedbooks , @netgalley and the author for my copy. The narration by Nathalie Buscombe was amazing and added so much to the story!

Bad Men was a fun audiobook with a dark female protagonist! It had true crime vibes in London and some will they or won’t they. I was frantically trying to solve the crime while also loosing myself in the descriptions!

A feminist, sociopath serial killer/stalker and a true crime podcaster team up to solve a murder left on the podcaster's doorstep in this sexy, funny romantic thriller.

This book was so fast paced and fun, and thoroughly unique and unpredictable. Saffy reminds me a bit of Joe Goldberg from You. It feels wrong to like her, but more wrong not to. And the audiobook narrator did a great job of portraying her. My only complaint is that the ending felt a bit abrupt, so I think we need a sequel!

4.5 stars.

Bad Men by Julie Mae Cohen and narrated by Nathalie Buscombe is a thriller about Saffy Huntley-Oliver, a whole new type of serial killer anti-hero and it is absolutely brilliant

Nathalie Buscombe's performance is perfection. She captures Cohens character profiles beautifully and the pace and cadence is on point

Saffy is a triple heiress. Her father passed away when she was young, then her mother remarried and her mother passed away, leaving Saffy and her sister Susie with their stepfather, a man who had been SA-ing Saffy for as long as she could remember.

Their stepfathers modus operandi would be to ask Saffy to go swim with him, and the day he asked for Susie instead, something inside Saffy snaps. Saffy goes in Susies place, she will not let her step father touch her little sister and, part accident, part intent, Saffy despatches her step-father in the pool, the sisters inheriting his estate.

This starts Saffy's pasttime of despatching "Bad Men", even her baseball coach at a bowling alley. Each man has committed crimes of sa, da, and unaliving however, it is not so easy to find a man to fall in love with when most seem to have a dark past. That is until, a True-Crime writer, journalist and podcaster, Jon Desrosiers catches Saffy's eye and she is smitten (Seriously, the lengths she goes to in order to "bump into him" are tactical genius, if a little extreme) but this is who Saffy is, smart, popular, and loyal to a fault

The story is told from dual POV's and Jon's life is in a downward spiral. His wife Amy has left him and after a heavy nights drinking, he finds a foot in a binbag on his porch. Is this from the BBK? The BinBag Killer? The police think he is "a vulture" the same moniker his abusive father used for him. Jon escapes to his retreat in the Scottish Highlands where he meets the enigmatic Saffy, and he just keeps bumping into her

I absolutely loved this book and the twists are genius. Every part of the storyline slots into place and is so very intricate and very well thought out. Saffy is likable as an anti-hero, Susie is the sweetest, if excitable bean and Jon is grumpy and brooding, but ultimately a cinnamon roll in his noble endeavours. (Special shoutout to Girl/Doris the dog, a nice little side character who is well placed) The various acquaintances of Jon's are absolutely on point (I would never have guessed one, but called the other one) and Edie is a doll.

Julie Mae Cohen has created an exceptional thiller, full of a wry wit and dark humour along with a plot that makes spaghetti junction look like the M1. It is glorious and I cannot recommend it enough

Thank you to Netgalley, RB Media | Recorded Books, the author Julie Mae Cohen and narrator Nathalie Buscombe for this fantastic ALC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

I enjoyed this story! It was humorous and yet kept me engaged. I hope that there will be a continuation of the characters.

What a fun treat this audiobook is!! I honestly am not sure I would have stuck with this book if I didn’t do audio. But the narrators kept me so into this story and book, I loved listening! The premise was interesting and fresh, the characters were so messed up and I loved that, and the podcast element was fun! I wasn’t sure exactly where it was going but I really enjoyed listening and the ending was perfect for this one!!

Bad Men 🔪♥️

⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Thriller
Author: Julie Mae Cohen

“Of course, I was wrong, but again in my defense, I was only fifteen, and I’d already gotten away with murder once. I thought I was invincible.”

After being abused by her stepfather, Saffy becomes a serial killer of bad men. Her first murder is of her stepfather to protect herself and his little sister. As an adult, she becomes infatuated with Jonathan, a true-crime podcaster. Saffy stalks Jonathan in order to grow close to him. Will she win him over or will he become her next victim?

I love a woman serial killer! I listened to this book through NetGalley and couldn’t stop listening in the beginning. As I got to the middle of the book, it began to drag a bit. It also changed from a thriller plot line to more of a romance plot line. I would have liked to hear more about serial killer Saffy than her romantic relationship. I didn’t feel the tension and suspense that I like to feel when reading a thriller. There wasn’t a shocking plot twist in the end, and I really wanted something major to happen.

The narrator, Nathalie Buscombe, has a beautiful voice. She did a wonderful job reading this story. She is one of the main reasons that I kept listening to the end. I would love to listen to more book narrations by her.

The premise of "Bad Men" is absolutely fascinating! Julie Mae Cohen writes about a female serial killer who is seeking her own happily ever after, obsessing over a true-crime podcaster. The execution of this plot was not what I expected and, frankly, not as enjoyable.

The story is told from two perspectives: Seraphina "Saffy" Huntley-Oliver, a vigilante serial killer targeting bad men, and Jonathan Desrosiers, the target of her affection and a podcaster obsessed with murder. Should be the perfect fit, right?

I think what disappointed me the most was the time focused on Jonathan and his own life story and debacles. This book is marketed as a feminist thriller and yet, we spend more than half the time in Jonathan's world and POV instead of truly getting to delve into the mind of Saffy who is, arguably, the most entertaining and complex character. I wanted to hear more from the mind of a serial killer. Often throughout the book, I forgot that that's her defining feature, which should never happen with a character this interesting. There was so much more potential for Saffy to take over this book and truly re-write the feminist serial killer, especially since she has such pure motivations. However, Cohen didn't get to bring everything to light.

I listened to the audiobook version of this novel and I was impressed with the storytelling from the narrator. She switched between accents and voices for the characters, which helped me immensely in determining which chapter was from which character's POV.

A special thanks to NetGalley and Harry Abrams for the advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review!

To be honest, I didn't get this book. It's marketed in the vein of They Never Learn or Promising Young Woman - about a female serial killer who offs "bad men" in some vigilante fashion. But its execution was probably 80% focused on the MC's crush on a recently divorced true crime journalist, Jonathan, and her capers to try to get him to fall in love with her (despite him being highly resistant). It reads more like a romance for most of the book, with the mystery taking a backseat. The book also would have been more effective coming from only Saffy's perspective, rather than switching between Saffy and Jonathan - this further emphasizes that it feels like a romance! Overall, I thought the premise of this was good, and the execution was fine, but just wasn't what was advertised on the tin. Thank you to the publisher for the audio ARC via Netgalley.

I had the pleasure of listening to the audiobook of "Bad Men", a gripping novel by Julie Mae Cohen. At the center of the story is Saffy, a serial killer who targets those who mistreat women. The pace of the story starts slowly, but after a few chapters, the plot picks up speed and becomes a thrilling ride.

One of the key characters in the book is John, a podcaster who solves crime mysteries. When someone leaves a bag of body parts at his doorstep, he becomes the prime suspect in the crime. The police list him as the number one suspect, and he must prove his innocence. John also struggles to let go of his ex-wife, which is where Saffy comes in. She has feelings for John, but she is unsure if he is over his ex-wife. Saffy is possessive and wants John all to herself. Will John become Saffy's next victim? Can she make him forget about his ex-wife and love her instead?

The audiobook is narrated exceptionally well, and the performance by the narrator adds depth to the story, making it a pleasure to listen to. Despite the slow start, I found "Bad Men" to be a captivating read and rate it four stars.

A frothy book about a bad men-targeting serial killer who finds herself with a crush.

Saffy has family wealth and doesn't have to work, so her time is free to off bad men (rapists, murderers, domestic abusers). And that's her passion. But recently she's developed a fixation on Jonathan, a popular true-crime podcaster.

Bad Men by Julie Mae Cohen featured more of Jonathan and his perspective than I was expecting. It was less a juicy feminist revenge plot and more a story of a woman trying to get what she wants, other people be damned. To be sure, there are plenty of "women's wrongs" described, that was just less of the focus - a lot of the plot is driven by Jonathan and what's going on with him.

Still, I found this a fun read, especially the audio narrated by Nathalie Buscombe. She really brought Saffy to life.

Love a female serial killer story! I mostly loved this novel. I like how it all tied together, though I did see the twist, which always bums me out. Saph gave off so many red flags to John and he does what we all do, excuse it away to our own paranoia, which made it relatable. I would have liked to have seen more backstory on Saph’s other crimes. Her unwavering love for her sister was sweet though I wished she might tease the reader with some wavering or questioning her love when she did things Saph didn’t agree with. Overall an excellent story and would recommend to anyone who likes a twisty story.

Narrated by Nathalie Buscombe
Presented by RB Media

This was good fun!

A feminist novel about murder and mayhem - yes please!

The story sees serial killer Saffy taking a break to find love - and she'll do whatever it takes to bag him.

A truly intriguing premise, and I loved getting to know the characters. Saffy is smart and sassy, and makes some wise observations from the female viewpoint. Jon is an interesting fellow, and the two together make an interesting couple.

There are some clever, tongue-in-cheek moments, and a great blend of action, story and character development.

Narration was fantastic - Saffy's accent put me off at the start, but references to it in the text helped out a bit there. Otherwise it was lively and fun, and easy to differentiate between characters.

There's a fun crime story here, but the feminist stuff often caught me by surprise and actually boosted the story for me. It was quite subtle, but hit home when things came up. So bonus points there from me.

Delivery was excellent, and I think there'd be extra enjoyment in reading this one physically, just based on the structure at times. I really enjoyed the audio, but I think physical suits this book.

Highly recommend for crime fans looking for something a bit different!

With thanks to NetGalley for an audio ARC

This book was fun! The concept of a killer of bad men was interesting and different from acting I’ve ever read. It did drag on a little on the middle, but the end was satisfying without being too predictable. I always enjoy dual narrators and the audiobook reader did a great job differentiating between the two.

When you find yourself hearing the protagonist say that she likes to kill bad men, you are then intrigued enough to listen to the book in a jiffy!

Seraphine or Saffy for short has witnessed enough nonsense in her childhood and growing up years. She took up the responsibility to look after her little sister at all costs and keep her away from their pedophile step father. She was strong enough to handle him, but she was not going to let this man take away the innocence of a child. In a fit of anger, she ensures he would never raise his dirty eyes towards them again! Few other killings later, you are now probably rooting for her. Serves those bad fellas right for what they were doing.

We have now established that Saffy is a "robinhood" serial killer - finishing off people who just couldn't keep their hands off young girls. Definitely making the world a better place.

Alongside her various plans, she has this indomitable crush on a podcaster/author. Now John Jonathan Desrosiers has his own skeletons in the closet to deal with. A marriage that broke and a dead body thrown at his doorstep, life could not get messier. The police are hot on his heels
as the only suspect, which he vehemently denies.

Now Saffy has to do everything in her power to clear Jonathan's name. Does she get to do it without killing people along the way? Why did Jonathan find himself in the midst of this nonsensical police investigation, when he was happily leading his life?

Listen to Bad Men by Julie Mae Cohen when it releases. I enjoyed the narration on Netgalley. Saffy's character especially. A touch of sensuality, mixed with wit and anger brewing deep within, makes a fantastic audio experience. The storyline is an okay read. I kept thinking how stupid the reasons were as they unraveled towards the end, but don't they say, expect the unexpected? Haven't we witnessed the stupidest of people and stories leading to unimaginable crimes?

Well, there you have it!

I got the feeling this was supposed to be a mystery/thriller, but I found it to be lightly humorous and it was definitely a romance. Saffy is a psychopath who kills bad, mostly abusive, men. But she has a crush on a true crime podcaster and author, Johnathan. This kind of goes against the definition of psychopath, as they’re not supposed to have emotions, but it makes for a fun, albeit sometimes dark, love story, as she orchestrates their entire relationship.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC copy of Bad Men in exchange for an honest review.

Well-paced, fun read! The ending totally took me by surprise, which I loved. Not my favorite narration but enjoyed the dual POV and would recommend to friends who like psychological thrillers and romance alike!

If you’re looking for your typical murder mystery thriller, “Bad Men,” by Julie Mae Cohen, is probably not the book for you. And I mean that in the best way. It’s what I would call a murder mystery rom com. When I first read the synopsis of this book, I was intrigued by the thought of a female serial killer. It’s not something you read about all of the time and it definitely sounded like it could be entertaining. Well, it certainly was enjoyable. While there is certainly a whodunit element to the book, it felt very secondary to the crux of the novel which was ultimately a love story. A little twisted given the fact that you’re rooting for a serial killer, but the heart of the story is definitely love. I expected the book to be a little dark, however, it was the exact opposite. It was a palate cleanser for me and I even found myself laughing at many of the scenes.

I also really loved the narrator of the story. Natalie Buscombe did a great job voicing the different characters and I would certainly listen to another story that she narrates. Overall, I would definitely recommend this book to someone who is looking for a lighthearted read that has a little bit of dark comedy.