Thank you NetGalley. This book was definitely different from others I’ve read. This was also my first audio book and it did not disappoint. I loved the narrator and thought she did a fantastic job, especially switching between characters. I was very invested in the lives of the characters

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! This book was a little crazy! I was not anticipating the book focusing on Jon and Saffy’s infatuation with him. I was thinking it would focus on Saffy murdering horrible men. But this actually worked very well and made the book very interesting because at times I questioned if Saffy was behind everything that happened to Jon. This was a wild ride.

I thoroughly enjoyed this audiobook! The narrator did a fantastic job. The storyline was intriguing and I couldn't stop listening to figure out what was going to happen next. I found the main characters to be relatable (even when some of them should not be) and everything was woven together nicely.

Wow - where to begin! Bad Men was a phenomenal action-packed, page-turner!

There was A LOT going on here, but since they were fairly few characters, it was very easy to follow. So many sub plots and stories within this story - I loved every minute of it.

We meet Saffy as a child in the beginning. She’s being sexually assaulted by her step father, and puts an end to things when he targets her little sister. The two are very close, even as we rejoin their story, as women. Saffy has a specific way of handling “bad men”, and it’s very illegal.

Jon is a true crime podcaster, whose career had taken a toll on his marriage. The day after his wife leaves him, he discovers a bag on his porch with a severed human foot. The MO of notorious serial killer The Bin Bag Killer. Jon appears to be the next target, and is also getting threatening calls and emails. The police are not fans of Jon because of his podcast, and soon he is a person of interest in the murder.

While all this is going on with Jon, Saffy is falling in love with him over his podcast. She orchestrates a meet-cute and weasels her way into his life.

It seems Jon is really good at attracting the wrong type of people — but is the biggest danger one he doesn’t see coming?

The ending gets a chef’s kiss from me🤌🏻

Thank you, RB Media for this advance copy in exchange for my review.

I liked this.
Saffy is an incredibly smart heiress who likes to murder bad men. Think Dexter but ultra rich lady Dexter.
I thought the concept was great and the twists were good.
What was a con for me was the narration.
I wasn’t a fan of the audiobook narrator and I found it may have made me like the book less than if it had been narrated by someone else.
3.5 ⭐️

I loved this audiobook so much! Saffy Huntley-Oliver is a socialite who also happens to be a serial killer. Now she has someone in her crosshairs but not to kill but instead to love. Jonathan Desrosiers is a podcaster of true crime with a way of solving old cases. With mishap after mishap and Jonathan being framed for crimes Saffy is on a mission to save him.
So clever, so fun, so creative. I highly recommend it.

Rating: 4/5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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Wow this book was fun! Bad Men follows the story of Saffy a socialite, who also happens to be a serial killer; and Jonathan, a retired podcaster, who is Saffy’s new love interest. What could go wrong, am I right?
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Bad Men is told in a dual POV through the eyes of Saffy and Jonathan. I absolutely loved having both characters POV as to what was happening throughout the story. This one starts off super addicting and fast paced and just maintains that momentum throughout the entire story.
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Im not usually the biggest fan of “reverse whodunits”, but this one was awesome. The story was great, there was the perfect amount of suspense, fantastic dark humor (god I love me some dark humor) and I was rooting for the bad gal the entire time. I love where Cohen went with this story and how it ended.
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I listened to this one via audiobook and Nathalie Buscombe was a great narrator for this one, though I do wish that there was dual narration. I felt like Saffy was more fleshed out than Jonathan because of the fact there was a female narrator. Overall the audiobook was still great and I highly recommend it.
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Bad Men will be released tomorrow 5/7. Highly recommend to all my thriller friends to pick this one up! Huge thank you to NetGalley, Julie Mae Cohen and Recorded Books for the ALC in exchange for my honest review.

As someone who loves morally gray characters who make decisions based off their own personal codes.

This was an enjoyable if not familiar twist on the female serial character. As someone who only targeted ‘bad men” she was quite easy to like and cheer for. This story perhaps felt a bit longer than necessary given the simplicity of the plot but overall I had a good time with it.

Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

I had to DNF this after listening to ~20% of the book. The premise was super promising and I wanted to have a good time really bad. But thr way this story is told just wasn't for me. Basically we follow a man's perspective when the book is supposed to be about a female serial killer.

I really enjoyed this book. It was like a dexter-meet-arrow but make her female story. Saffy is a sociopath and she knows it. She's charming, hot, rich, and vengeful. I would actually love to read more of her story, give me a book 2!
Loved the narrator for this. She came across as the perfect voice- frustrated and trying to be aloof.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for my advance copy of this audiobook

2024 has taught me that I REALLY enjoy a story from the POV of a female serial killer. (Not sure what that says about me…)

Saffy is sarcastic, intelligent, loyal, and… a serial killer of bad men. Saffy has high standards for people in her life and usually stays away from dating. But someone has caught her eye…

Johnathan is a successful true crime podcaster. He decides to stop podcasting after a body is delivered to his doorstep.

Saffy and Johnathan’s paths cross (not so coincidentally). While Saffy focuses on a budding romantic relationship with John, John is preoccupied by the life he ran away from. Saffy is willing to team up with him to solve the lingering murder mystery so his focus can be better spent on her.

This is a good read/listen if you are looking for dark content with light humorous tones, dual POV, quick read. I wouldn’t say it’s overly thrilling or twisty-so don’t go into it expecting a surprise ending, just enjoy the fun ride!

Wonderful narration by Nathalie Buscombe!

Thank you NetGalley and RB Media for this ARC!

Pub Date May 07 2024

I would have liked the book to contain more situations where the main character “handled” the bad men. But overall I enjoyed the storyline and the characters. I enjoyed the narrator, however would have preferred the male character to have been narrated by a male. Although I predicted the final twist, I did not immediately guess the initial twist, and I thought both played out well and made sense. I would read another book by this author in the future.

I loved this book! It was a bit predictable but I enjoyed going along for the ride to find out the who/what/when/where/why! Our main gal is a somewhat righteous serial killer who is trying to find her love. I really enjoyed the banter and learning about all the characters and their flaws. Great writing and a fun time. Thanks for the ARC RB Media and Julia Mae Cohen.

Saffy Huntley-Oliver, has the name an image to give her the entrance into the socialite life, not to mention the inherited money as well. However, she has an alter ego... one where she makes "Bad Men" pay for what they have done... "bad Men" that no longer deserve to live their lives. Beginning when she was just a child, Saffy became aware of how terrible Men could be... and she was in a situation where she was able to make them pay for their poor choices. By them time she is in her mid twenties, Saffy is a masterful serial killer. But life as a serial killer is lonely... so when she sets her sights on Jon... a "good Man" she works to keep her alter ego at bay in order to win him over.

Overall, this was an enjoyable audiobook, with plenty of action to keep you hooked. However, there are a few unanswered questions, like why Jon was so desirable to Saffy. There are also some pretty darkly humorous scenes to keep your attention. The audio quality was good, with well produced narration. I would recommend to anyone that was a fan of Dexter, but could appreciate a female Main Character.

Excuse me? How come it took me digging through NetGalley to find out about this book? I would say the premise was a little misleading. Makes it seem like we will be seeing a cold sociopath, and it would be dark tone especially with the introduction. This was far from the truth, while we see the main character being more of a vigilante and we can see why she seeks justice herself. When the romance aspect gets introduce into the plot, it changes the tone of the novel completely and it was great. I also liked how the romance interest how so much complexity to him. So this was a lot of different genres mixed into one. I enjoyed the audiobook, she seem believable and pleasant.

A glamorous female serial killer who only kills bad men. This sounded right up my alley. It's dubbed as "wicked fun" and "darkly comedic" and I did appreciate the sarcasm and wit in the book. Saffy is a serial killer looking for love. Dating can be hard enough, but try dating when you are not only trying to determine if this man is 'the one' or is he the next kill? But Saffy will not be deterred, she has her sights on a certain man......

Jonathan is a true crime podcaster who enjoys solving cold cases and bringing people to justice. When he becomes a suspect in a crime that he did not commit, he must clear his own name and Saffy is determined to help!

Readers are given both Saffy and Jonathan's POV. This book is a little bit of everything - romance, mystery, and thrills. It is not your usual book about serial killers. I listened to the audiobook and the narrator did a fabulous job bringing the book to life.

While I found this book to be enjoyable, it was just missing that little bit of something that would have elevated my rating. I wanted more of Saffy for starters. I also wanted a little more mystery as well. What I did enjoy is learning about Saffy's background and what was the catalyst of her killing bad men. I also enjoyed her struggles with dating and what happens when a man catches her attention.

If you are thinking of reading this book, I do recommend the audiobook as I thought the narrator did a fantastic job!

I loved the premise of this book, but it didn’t live up to my expectations. It seemed more like a school girl crush than a thriller.


Thanks to NetGalley and the author for an ARC of this book.

I was approved for this book and it caught my attention from the start. I love revenge plot books especially when it’s a female lead. This is an absolutely well written book and the story carries from start to finish. Definitely a must read if you enjoy thrillers and suspense books.

Bad Men
By Julie Mae Cohen

Saffy Huntley-Oliver has it all - she’s smart and has a glamorous life. But that’s not all, she also has a secret. A big secret. She is a serial killer who targets men who, in her estimation or based on the word of others, are bad men. This peculiarity of Saffy’s means that dating can be tough and Saffy is getting lonely. Then Jonathan Desrosiers enters her life. He’s a true crime podcaster. A decapitated body appears on his doorstep, instantly making him the prime suspect in the murder. Saffy arranges a “random” meeting with him, develops a crush and is determined to clear his name. Will she succeed? Will she get caught? Can she balance love, life, and murder?

I got an advance copy of the audiobook from NetGalley so here are my honest thoughts: I enjoyed this one. You just never know what’s going on behind closed doors or what people are really like. Saffy was a sympathetic character even as a murderer, and I wanted her to come out on top. Lots of dark humor, suspense, twists, and turns in this one. The narrator did a great job bringing the various characters to life.

The story was not just murder and mayhem. Saffy’s relationship with her sister, Susie, was also explored deeply. It painted a fuller picture of Saffy as a person. I thought the author was witty and clever, and had a great style of writing. I didn’t know what would happen next, and more than once I stayed in my car after reaching a destination to listen to just a little bit more. The story reminded me of the book/movie American Psycho in spirit. Saffy is a much more morally acceptable killer than Patrick Bateman, but both led an unsuspecting life with a totally hidden side to themselves. This is a good read/listen and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a high energy thriller with lots of action and some romance and a strong female lead character!

Thank you Julie Mae Cohen, NetGalley, and publisher The Overlook Press for allowing me to read Bad Men! The synopsis presents with a fun premise: a stunning female serial killer who hunts and rids the world of bad men. This is not her only secret: her other secret is she has fallen hard for a true crime podcaster who just so happens to interfere with her next murder. The lines between good and evil are blurred. Audiobook narrator Nathalie Buscombe really adds to the characters and does a good job keeping the reader engaged. I finished this in a day thanks to her reading!
Bad Men began as a clever book with Dexter-esque vibes. The plot is told from dual POV’s Saffy’s and Jonathan’s. Female protagonist Saffy Huntley-Oliver, a wealthy, glamorous, charming socialite who refers to herself as “beautiful and brilliant,” also happens to be a sociopathic serial killer. Her backstory will reveal her reasons. Deeply protective of her sister, for fifteen years Saffy has hunted down misognysts, murderers, domestic abusers, scum of the earth rapists,—each one clearly a bad man. Saffy’s double life is a bit too solitary for her preference, so she seeks a significant other that she can trust (and doesn’t end up on her hit list). It was difficult to decipher if Saffy was a strong feminist or an obsessed stalker trying to make a man love her. There is a great deal of inner monologue in Bad Men. Saffy thinks she’s finally found 'the one' in Jonathan Desrosiers, a popular true crime podcaster and author who’s amassed throngs of loyal followers that share his penchant for cracking cold cases and bringing justice to victims. Jon is recently single because his fed up wife, Amy, has decided to divorce him due to his workaholic ways. Amy is the rightful owner of the marital home, so Jon leaves his podcast and home for Scotland to lick his wounds. Saffy goes above and beyond to attract his attention. I will not spoil how Saffy connives a meeting with Jonathan, but...
The plot takes another turn when a body in a bin shows up on Jon's doorstep as payback for his podcast sleuthing ‘the bin bag killer.’ Someone is not a fan of Jon's episodes, and the police in London call Jon back. The true crime podcaster suddenly and stunningly finds himself the leading suspect of the murder, and Saffy decides to make it her mission to exonerate him and track down the real murderer. This is where the plot veers more romance than thriller, as Saffy’s obsession with Jon overwhelms any further inkling of feminist Dexter. Bad Men is supposed to focus on a feminist female serial killer, not a stalker obsession to date a man.
Jonathan’s POV is definitely more prevalent than Saffy’s. He wallows in the breakdown of his marriage much more than we hear from Saffy again. The plot wraps up in lightning speed, and the person framing Jon was indeed predictable with no element of surprise. At times there was decent suspense, however Bad Men is not the thriller I anticipated. 2.5/5