Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for an early release copy of Kill Yours, Kill Mine by Katherine Kovacic.

Kill Yours, Kill Mine had me hooked from the prologue, the story is definitely an interesting one, the writing is done well and it really is a thrilling read, however I did find it to be a little on the slower side despite things still happening. The prologue had me hoping for some more bloody/personal kills and while I understand how things played out I think I was just expecting something a little more with kills/revenge plans.

I wasn’t fond of the characters but I still found them to be likable, I was routing for them the entire time. The second half of the book is what really drew me into the story, I liked that we got flipped perspectives in the book but I’m a little disappointed with Ulbricks perspective, while it does add another thrilling element to the story it doesn't feel necessary, I would have liked some more scenes of her investigation or she should have stayed more of a side character seen from another characters pov. The nickname that Lew kept calling her “F U” ( Fiona Ulbrick) kept taking me out of the story, it ruins the seriousness of the situations.

The ending of the book is interesting, it makes me wonder if this book will be turned into a series! I would definitely read more from this author, Kill Yours, Kill Mine was a quick read.

First of all, I want to thank Katherine Kovacic , Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for this eARC. Here is my honest opinion.

A therapist reunites six women whose sisters have been killed by their violent partners. No one of them have really paid for what they have done. Now, it’s time for justice…

Do you know Strangers on a train? If you haven’t read the book by Patricia Highsmith, maybe you have watched the movie by Alfred Hitchcock. Kill yours, kill mine is inspired by the same idea: if I kill someone you want dead, I have no connection with, while you have a strong alibi, and then you do the same for me, we’ll have the perfect murder. That’s always a great starting point for a thriller, but in this one the result is not as gripping as I wished. It’s quite good, but it’s also forgettable.Too slow with the first killing, and too rushed as the story goes on. Without detective Ulbrick’s doubts, we would have not experienced any suspense. I can recommend it if you take your expectations not too high.

Not my favorite. I struggled to finish and found the plot wasn’t that good and just too many characters to keep up and overall just not an engaging read
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review book

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

Katherine Kovacic’s Kill Yours, Kill Mine is a gripping and thought-provoking thriller that delves into the moral complexities of justice and revenge. This novel excels with the bold narrative and the emotional depth of its characters, making for a RIVETING read for crime novel and police procedural fans.

The story revolves around six women, each consumed by rage and grief over injustices they have suffered. They form an unlikely alliance, as they decide to directly act to balance the scales of crime and punishment, leading to a series of harrowing and heart-stopping suspenseful events. 

Kovacic excels in creating complex, multi-dimensional characters. Each of the six women has a distinct backstory and personality, making their motivations and actions relatable and compelling.  

Kill Yours, Kill Mine explores themes of vengeance, justice, and the moral ambiguities that arise when the legal system fails. Kovacic’s writing is sharp and evocative, with relentless pacing that. Her ability to weave together multiple perspectives and timelines adds depth to the narrative, making it a richly layered story.

Katherine Kovacic’s Kill Yours, Kill Mine is a standout thriller that challenges readers to think deeply about the nature of justice and the lengths to which people will go to achieve it. It’s a fast-paced, emotionally charged novel that leaves you questioning the boundaries of right and wrong. 

Over the years (and even several times within the past few months) I have numerous works of crime fiction that is either parenthetically similar in theme to Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train premise; however this is the very BEST of the bunch, and I read this captivating novel in one long sitting.

I devoured the pages of this book like a velociraptor at a carnivore picnic devours food. This story compelled me to revisit the tattered state of the "Justice" system in the US (a system far too often riddled with cruel injustice).

Check out this EXCITING read, and mark my words, this author is "one to watch" as she climbs her way up the rungs of the ladder to the top of modern mystery authors.

Six dead women; six sisters out for revenge on the men who did it.

We start with Naomi, a broken woman trying her hardest to move on after her sister's murder, yet not able to let it go, as the man who did it got away with it. When her counselor, Mia, suggests group therapy, she isn't initially a big fan. She is surprised when she finally goes to group therapy, to find that it's nothing like she imagined. Instead of crying women, she's met with furious sisters, equally appalled at the justice system as herself. The catch? They want to take justice into their own hands and need Naomi to be part of it.

Katherine did an excellent job of telling the six different stories and it was easy to immerse myself in the different women. I was heartbroken and appalled and felt very much satisfied when justice was done every time. Still, the book sadly didn't catch me as much as I hoped it would. I found the character development to be a bit lacking and the plans to run too smoothly in the end. Even when things didn't go according to plan, all the women had luck on their side. The story has a slow start to it, building over the first 25% until it finally starts to pick up, which I personally found rather hard.
The POV switches between all the women, and at some point, we even get the backstory on Mia, who opened her practice and arms for these women specifically. Yet, it never really felt like I was reading as many different women. Maybe their grief made them too similar, but each chapter I needed to check repeatedly to make sure who I was currently reading.

The plans are initially well thought out, presenting as accidents and yet, I always waited for the other shoe to drop. It just didn't feel right, for it to be so easy, to murder six men in the span of a year. Though the book does end in suspense, I am pretty sure where Katherine wanted to go with this story in the end.

All in all, it's a good story. It highlights pretty well just how hard abusive partners are to leave and how the justice system doesn't support women in these situations as it should. It's a very realistic and far too common occurrence and the theme did not land on deaf ears. I feel like, the story was both rushed and too slow at times and feel like, and I would've enjoyed it more if it had been paced better.

Still, for the sake of the topic, I definitely recommend it to everyone who can't say no to thrillers.

This is my first book by this author and I flew through it!

A modern take on strangers on a train, six women who have had sisters pass away from domestic abuse, meet in a therapy group that quickly turns into a murder society. They all want justice for their sister’s killers- yet the only way to get away with it is to have an iron clad alibi, so they hatch a plan to distribute the murders and make them look like accidents.

It took me a bit to remember who was who, but it was well written and I read it really quickly. I’ll definitely recommend to give this one a read!

Thanks so much to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for my ARC!

Pub date 11.05.24

Seven dead women. Seven sisters bent on revenge.

Kill Yours, Kill Mine is a revenge story, a redemption story and a story about how far a sister will go for her sister.

There's a lot to say about this book, but I think leaving it alone, with just my first line of this review is enough. This is a book that will burn UP book clubs.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Fantastic book.
It’s not often you find a good book where you are cheering on the murderer, or in this case, murderers. From the beginning, I was hooked and looked forward to coming back to reading every chance I had.
I really loved the Detective Ulbrick’s point of view as well.

𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐧𝐨 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨.

In Greek mythology, Atlas was forced to hold up the sky for eternity, and was therefore unable to protect his seven daughters. To save the girls from being brutalized by the hunter Orion, Zeus transformed them into stars. So it was quite fitting that Mia's grief counseling practice is named after these mythological women known as The Pleiades.

I love any thriller about revenge, but I was a little worried that this one would be a copy and paste of the same plot device...a stranger taking out another stranger's enemy. I was pleasantly surprised to find myself being drawn in to this story right away, and while there were familiar elements, this one had a rawness about it that I haven't encountered before--all of the women in Mia's circle had sisters who were murdered by their domestic partners, and in each case, the attacker went unpunished. The grief the women feel is all-consuming, and mixed with rage and helplessness, it's the perfect recipe for revenge.

My heart was in my throat wondering if they would pull off their elaborate, intricately plotted plan, especially when a female detective with a keen eye for details and patterns starts asking questions. The ending was brilliantly done. Many thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this early read. At the time this review was written, this book was expected to publish November 5, 2024.

What a trip! This book has such a unique premise that I questioned if it would play out well. It did. Well done, you killed it, Katherine Kovavic.

Naomi, with the grief over the death of her sister, seeing a therapist, Mia. Mia also suggests her to join her women support group led by her. 
This is not an usual support group, this is a group of women who shared the same trauma of losing their beloved sisters killed through domestic violence.
Mia  brought them together in one support group as she thinks that they can help each other move forward as all those women have the same energy balance, ANGER.

When the criminal justice system had failed, they took their own way to get their triumph. A story of injustice, revenge, that hooked me from the start! Definitely #recommendedreading

Loved this book! Loved the plot and it kept me hooked highly recommended. Was a quick read for me and hoping to read more from this author.

SYNOPSIS
- Seven women meet via group therapy. They are all there to cope with the death of their respective sisters, who were killed due to escalating domestic violence. The killers, aka the male partners of each of the sisters, all either faced no consequences or minimal consequences, and the surviving sisters are having trouble coping with the lack of justice.
- Right away, it is set up as a Strangers on a Train story, where strangers make a murder pact.

MY THOUGHTS
- Not original idea, which is fine if you execute it well. Execution is lacking here.
- Too many characters & no real character development.
- I struggled to get through this one.
- Not a lot happens here. It’s very straightforward & predictable.
- The writing style was rather boring to me. Not very skillful in terms of plotting, flushing out characters, etc.
- I did like the idea of highlighting injustice that is so often seen when domestic violence is involved.

TL;DR: ⭐️⭐️Somehow, I was bored while reading this take of the common Strangers on a Train trope.

Thanks to Poisoned Pen Press and Netgalley for this digital ARC in exchanges for an honest review. This book will be published on November 5, 2024.

Kill Yours, Kill Mine is a dark and gripping story that pulls you into the intense emotions of each character. It's a powerful read about revenge, grief, and healing that keeps you on edge from start to finish.

KILL YOURS, KILL MINE (aka SEVEN SISTERS) is a standalone novel from Katherine Kovacic, a beautifully written, powerful, provocative take on the concept of justice and vengeance, coming from a place of grief, guilt and the failure of the justice system. It's based around the deaths of women at the hands of domestic partners, and their sisters, left behind to pick up the pieces and make sense of the past.

Mia is a psychologist with a practice specialising in grief counselling. It's called "The Pleiades", named for the seven sisters of Greek mythology, companions of the Goddess of the Hunt. (As a sidebar I've always found it fascinating that the Australian First nations have their own Seven Sisters story, based on the star cluster in Taurus, about the Napaljarri sisters from one skin group, fleeing an interloper man from the wrong skin group who is forbidden to take one of the sisters as his wife. But I digress as that story is relevant in that many of the perpetrators in this story should definitely have been forbidden from being near any woman).

Back to the book, and Mia is treating a relatively new patient, Naomi, who she invites to join a group therapy session. Despite her reluctance Naomi does participate, making the group 7 in total, at which point the true reason for its existence is revealed. These women have all lost sisters to awful men who "got away with it", either through light sentencing, claims of accidents, or whatever other reason that the justice system opted to use to go easy on them. Each of these women is suffering awfully - from grief and the guilt that's associated with not stepping in to help, not recognising the signs, not doing enough to get their sister out from under the control of these monsters. So each member, with one other as aide, has agreed to kill another woman's nemesis. There's no overt connection between these women and the intended victim, the member of the group with the obvious connection having enough time to ensure their own alibi. Member's of the group keep their distance from each other, all communication goes through Mia (except for the allies and the intended perpetrator), most of the deaths are planned to look like accidents.

It's cleverly done - the women aren't always committing great feats of daring, sometimes the deaths of these men are opportunistic, sometimes they are designed through preparation and understanding of the environments in which they live and work, sometimes it's a bit of a fluke - right time / right place / right intention. Whether or not you agree with the murders, there's something very satisfying about this group taking back control over the perpetrators - many of whom have gone out of their way to intimidate and control their victim's extended families, and are repeat and ongoing offenders.

There's suspense aplenty for the reader in this scenario. The background stories of all these women, Gabrielle, Brooke, Katy, Olivia, Amy, Naomi and Mia are revealed as the action progresses. Pace is never sacrificed however, the interweaving of the past and the present cleverly done, ensuring that the reader is fully invested in each of these women's lives and their dangerous undertaking. You're never allowed to forget that danger - from the perpetrator and, eventually from the law, with one policewoman just as interested in the stories of these DV perpetrators as the women and acutely aware that something, even though she's not sure what, is going on.

It was absolutely impossible not to be on the side of the sisters in this equation. Right now, with the appalling numbers of domestic violence incidents, the deaths, injuries, the damage, and the frequent token slaps on the wrists for the perpetrators, it was easy to sympathise with the idea of squads of sisters... But more than KILL YOURS, KILL MINE playing into any wish fulfilment you might have, it's cleverly constructed, fast paced, bravely plotted crime fiction with twists and turns, and a kicker ending. Utterly compelling reading.

If you love thrillers you are absolutely going to devour this book! Kill Yours, Kill Mine by Katherine Kovacic is an intense story that follows 7 individuals who all have 1 thing in common. All of their Sisters were tragically murdered by their partners and got away with it. So what is the solution to this you might ask yourself, revenge.

I overall really did enjoy this story though at times it was a little difficult to follow with so many characters. The character development wasn't there for everyone just for some but I don't think it took too much away from the plot. It was fast paced and enjoyable and overall a definite add to your tbr.

(Nothing will be shared on social media until closer to the release date)

"Besides, in every horror movie she had ever seen, the monster was never dead when you thought it was. In her experience, a human monster could be like that too - and when he returned, the consequences were devastating."

The Pleaides:
A support group specifically for the sisters of domestic violence murder victims.
Each of them is a sister of a murdered woman - a woman killed by her partner. Meanwhile those POS**ts got away and still out there - where they can still victimize other women.
And its eating them alive.
Will their therapy group really make the final decision to become a murder club? Will they step up where the criminal justice system has failed and will they triumph?
Their plan is inspired by the Hitchock film 'Strangers on a Train' - where they have to buddy up and swap murders so there's no connection..will all of them succeed?

I enjoyed this one and can't put it down. I was invested on what they had planned for each revenge and how they are going to execute it without being caught or traced back to each other. Since there are multiple povs, you'd have to go back and review the 'group assignment list' with who is buddied up with who and who is assigned to kill which POS if that makes sense.

Thanks to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press publishing for the arc 🖤

While this novel had an interesting premise and overall decent storyline, it just fell a bit flat for me. I didn't feel like we had enough time to get to know characters before their major plot points were happening and I don't even know what that ending was supposed to be. A decent read, but nothing exceptional for me.

Here’s a thriller I read in ONE DAY! Thank you Poisoned Pen Press and Netgalley for the e-Arc of this book. Based in Sydney, we watch seven women who lost their sisters to domestic violence come together for therapy which then becomes a revenge unaliving group by swapping their targets. Revolving around these seven women, this was such an impactful and clever thriller that definitely served karma on a silver platter. It was easy to follow and I had such a good time getting marveled by the execution. I just wished there were more distinctions between the various women though. I also loved that open-ended ending like WHAT!

Wow what a story. I couldn’t put this book down…group of young women all with similar stories of domestic violence get together to get revenge on those who hurt their loved ones. Great story line. Really shines a light on how many people get away with domestic violence too. Thank you poisoned pen press for the ARC. This book comes out November 5, 2024. Definitely should be in your TBR list.