Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of The Killer Instinct by Kate Wiley.
This is the third book in the series and can certainly be read as a standalone, but I would highly recommend reading the first two books as you’ll get a better insight into the main characters back story. I really like how this book continues to follow the relationship between the main character Margot Phelan and her serial killer dad, and the disturbing murders in Muir woods. In this book we see Margot and her partner Wes tackle a new murder case which is solved at the end of the book, although I thought the conclusion ended a bit abruptly and felt a little rushed, that being said the book as a whole is well written and I would definitely recommend if you enjoy a good crime thriller, can’t wait for the next instalment.

Thank you NetGalley for this advance reader copy in exchange for my free and honest review. This is absolutely the best series I have read in quite some time. Margot is a phenomenally created character that makes you feel like you are right there with her. I can’t wait for more in this series. Every book has gotten better and better, and the twists and turns are also getting more intense. Kate Wiley is a genius.

KILLER INSTINCT - I did not know this is the third book of a series and it did not matter. There was little rehashing of the previous stories. Interesting and immersing, the story lines set a good pace with good characters and realistic dialog. The Detective and her partner have a good relationship and there is no silly drama or silly self-doubt. Of course, there is a bit of mental issues but Margot is normal. Source: Netgalley. 4*.

Yet another page turner in this serial killer saga. Each book has its own story. Really a thrilling read, but I can't wait for the mystery to be solved and everything to make sense. Please don't drag it out any longer - I need to know if my suspicion of who the copy cat killer is, is on the mark.

This was another great book in the Margot Phelan serial killer series. The homicide cases that she was working on simultaneously were very interesting and it kept me flipping pages hoping for a resolution.

Ed’s backstory of his childhood and other family secrets that came to light , made the book very intriguing and kept my interest.

Highly recommend !

This has got to be one of my all time favourite series's!
I'm completely hooked!!
Kate Wiley can do no wrong!!!
Just like the first two books in the Detective Margot Phalen series The Killer Instinct is a well written page turner.
Margot is again working with her partner in crime Wes to solve the latest homicide case that they have been assigned to, as well as continuing to help the FBI with numerous cold cases that may be related to her father infamous serial killer Ed Finch.
Bring on the next book in this brilliant series!!

Thank you to Netgallery, Storm publishing and Kate Wiley for the opportunity to read this ARC for my honest opinion..

If you like serial killer, true crime novels you will love this one. This is dark and twisty and sucks you in from the beginning. Det. Margot Phalen and her partner Wes are partner goals. They work perfectly together at work and out of work. Margot has a lot of dark in her past that has caused her to struggle at times with anxiety and Wes is there for her. I guess anyone with a serial killer father would have some issues right? One of the most prolific killers ever is still calling the shots and controlling his daughter from his prison cell and she is getting fed up with it. Margot’s past, her infamous father, and her current case all intertwine throughout the book and the ending is a bit of a shocker.

A good premise which caught my attention. A detective is investigating murders which seem oh so familiar because they’re reminiscent of the way her serial killer father operated. The problem with attributing the recent killings to him is that he’s safely incarcerated in prison, which begs the question is this a copy cat killer or is he somehow orchestrating them?
The start is a little too slow for me and I drifted in and out of engagement with the main body of the story. When it was good it was definitely worth sitting up and taking notice but overall it passed me by a bit, sorry.

Good, but not complete

I enjoyed this book. A San Francisco homicide detective works on the case of several woman who were murdered in a similar fashion. She is also the daughter of a serial killer and some of the murders are similar to the ones her father committed.

I sailed through the book until the very end. What I thought was the end of a chapter was the end of the book. It is set up for a sequel. Not all of the murders are solved. That kind of bugs me. I am looking forward to the next installment, but wish everything was resolved in the book, unlike real life.

This was a very chilling murder/mystery and with the involvement of children , made even more of an impact. Some good charactersand a non stop, high tension storyline.. Interesting conclusion.

Another fantastic case from Margot- who is a fantastically string female lead.
This would read as a standalone book but you would be missing out on the rich backstory of Margot and her Father from previous novels.
The police procedural aspect of the story is, as always, well told with jsut enough detail held back to allow armchair sleuths to try and solve the case before Margot and the family angle of Margot's FBI managed interactions with her Father the serial killer lend a unique twist to the normal browbeaten, downtrodden detective trope!
Cannot wait for book number 4!

📚 PRE-PUBLICATION BOOK REVIEW 📚

The Killer Instinct By Kate Wiley
Publication Date: October 28, 2024
Publisher: Storm Publishing

📚MY RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨
(Rounded Up To 5⭐)

📚MY REVIEW:

I swear, this series just gets more and more intense and my heart races even faster with every book! If you've not yet introduced yourself to Detective Margot Phelan, it's long past time for you to do so! Fans of strong female main characters and police procedurals are going to be just as obsessed with these books as I am!

Kate Wiley's upcoming third book in this series definitely did not disappoint when it came to the continuing story of Margot, a San Francisco detective who just happens to be the daughter of a notorious serial killer. The storyline in each book continues to create a masterful juxtaposition between the captivating cases of Margot's work as a homicide detective and her past trauma with her serial killer dad. The way the ongoing storyline continues to require Margot to visit and communicate with her dad, while he serves his life sentence behind bars, is just as thrilling as it was in the first book. Wiley continues to captivate as she creates new twists and turns to the dynamic of father and daughter relationship.

Every book brings greater depth to the characters in this series, and I somehow love them even more with each book that's written. This is a fast-paced and unputdownable book with non-stop mystery. You probably could read this as a stand-alone, but there are ongoing police cases that are parts of the first two books. And honestly, the first two books are so phenomenal, and include so much of the backstory about Margot's childhood with her serial killer dad, you don't want to skip them!

When I reached the cliffhanger end to this one (no spoilers here!) and saw there's another book to come in this series, I immediately signed up for Wiley's newsletter so I can get the latest updates.

I'm telling you, friends, this is one of my favorite thriller series and I cannot rave enough about these books. If you like thrillers with strong female main characters, police work, and fast-paced mysteries -- do yourself a favor and pick up these books. With this one coming out on October 28th, it's the perfect time to catch up with the first two books in the series! A huge thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for this advanced reader's copy in exchange for my honest review!

#TheKillerInstinct #KateWiley #NetGalley #NetGalleyReviews #ARC #bookreviews #bookrecommendations #bookrecs #thrillerbooks #thrilleraddict #thrillerlover #thrillerreads

I continue to be awed and intrigued by The Killer’s Daughter series by Kate Wiley. The Killer Instinct is Book 3– and if you haven’t looked at this well written series I suggest you do! It’s a fine blend of police procedural, serial killer episodes, and a unique family drama angle, the detective interacting with her serial killer father, incarcerated at San Quentin. Margot Phalen makes visits to her father Ed Finch at the request of the FBI in hopes Ed will reveal more about murders he has committed but not confessed to. It’s difficult, understandably, for Margot to meet with the man who committed heinous crimes for the first fifteen years of her life while posing as a normal family man. She strives to keep her new name and life details secret from him, as he plays mind games In efforts to still be involved.

The third book in the Detective Margot Phalen series, The Killer Instinct is a great thriller. As Margot’s past is brought to the forefront with a recent homicide, she will have to confront a history which she would rather lay to rest. After all, she knows her father best of all, incarcerated serial killer Ed Finch. Unfortunately for her, he seems to be getting closer to her new life as well. Great characters, a very interesting plot, and vivid descriptions bring this suspenseful thriller to life. It is a very tightly written story by someone who knows how to write a chilling, riveting tale. I look forward to the next novel in this brilliant series.

This is a very good series. I have read the previous 2 books in the series and again loved it. Was hooked from the first page.

Thank you for the opportunity to review

Wow. This book was amazing. The change in perspective throughout the book was immaculate and really kept each chapter going, I had to read this in two sittings because I could not put it down. I had to know chapter to chapter what was coming next because I genuinely could not put it together. I never expected the ending AT ALL. 10/10 read for me, I can't wait to read the others in the series and hope there is more to come for Detective Margot Phalen.

Loved it! I love this series of books, detective margot is a fabulous character and the developing relationship with wes just adds to the appeal. I have read the previous books in the series but could be read as a stand alone. Was nice to read about eds younger years and how he became the man he is today.
Fantastic!

I have loved this series and being granted an advance copy of the third book was such a thrill. I listened to the first two books on audio and read the digital version for the third. The narrator for this series brings to life the character of Margot and I urge the readers to check it out if you have the opportunity. There is a continuation of cases that has occurred in the first two books and it still has not been resolved so we shall see where that leads in future books.

The first half of this story moves at a slower speed and the last half goes so fast I almost missed some of the details that lead to the final conclusion.

We get flashback scenes of Eddie at 8-10 years old but I found those stories and recollections not matching an 8 year old mentality. We get a glimpse into his upbringing and what may have led to his monstrous behavior later in life.

The Wes/Margot friendship is building but would love to know what is in the mind of Wes when it comes to his feelings.

The cases are pretty gruesome but the mindset and emotional care that the detectives exude make these murders feel personal and more real.

Recommend starting with book one and reading them all.

Let me bring by saying that although this is the third book in this series, it can easily be read as a stand alone. In fact, I have not read either of the prior two novels and I had no trouble understanding the characters in this one and their relationships to one another.

Now before I get into my review, as this was an advanced reader copy, I am going to talk about the mistakes that I found while reading the novel. Please keep in mind that these mistakes may have been found and corrected prior to release, but I am reviewing the copy that I was given, hence I will be speaking on them.

The first comes in Chapter 19 when Ed refers to his daughter as Margot. This is not her birth name (that was Megan), but rather the name that she took after he was arrested so he would have no way of knowing that. Based on information that happens later on in the novel, at first I was inclined to believe maybe this hadn't been a mistake but when I went back to look I realized it must have been as neither Margot nor the other agent with her had any reaction to him calling her by that name.

Then in Chapter 22, Margot tells the FBI task force team (who supposedly know Ed better than anyone else except maybe her), about a man named Jim. She tells him that he was a friend of her father's from work, but that Ed spent so much time with him that she and her brother referred to him as "Uncle Jim". Only for some reason, these highly-trained FBI agents are suddenly incapable of understanding English because they ask her who Jim is considering she had no biological uncle (nor an uncle through marriage) named Jim. This causes Margot to once again repeat the information that his man was merely a friend of her fathers that she called Uncle Jim. It made me wonder how these agents could be tasked with solving anything if they did not understand her the first time around.

The final mistake I found came in Chapter 39 when Margot thinks back on a letter she read that had been sent (but marked as undelivered due to the content) to Ed wondering if he would have remembered it. Which led me to wonder how could he possibly remember a letter that he never received?

Now that I've spoken on those things (that again may be corrected before the final print), I can talk about the rest of this novel.

Let's start with the characters. Margot was a neurotic mess (but with good reason). And while I could completely understand why she never stuck to a routine of any kind (going so far as to take alternate routes home), it became tiring to hear about. Yes, I know you don't usually eat IN at restaurants preferring delivery (that she makes her doorman call in for her). Yes, I know that Sebastian the reporter, and her collogues at work (a few of them anyway) are some of the few people in her life. I got that message the first time it was delivered, so to have it constantly mentioned felt like a bit of a slap to my intelligence. I liked her partner Wes more, the way he seemed to be able to counter some of her moods made for a good balance against her intense personality. I harder a harder time with Andrew, the FBI Agent who was constantly pushing her to see her father in jail. He had to know the kind of toll it was taking on her, and while I understand his reasoning, when it was clear that Ed played games more than he gave them anything useful, if I were Andrew, I wouldn't have been so quick to jump when Ed demanded it.

But what really killed this one for me was the plot. Throughout this story we are treated to three different story-lines happening at once. First we have the dead women found in Muir Woods, then a brutal murder in Chinatown. And while Margot should be focused on these cases, she is also constantly being pulled off to either speak with Ed in prison, or go speak to the FBI team dedicated to him. Now I know a lot of authors who would be able to seamlessly weave these together without an issue, sadly, I did not find that to be the case here. For starters, the meetings with Ed contributed nothing to the current cases (which is both funny and disappointing considering how things eventually turn out), except put Margot off her game, distracting her with memories of Ed.

As for the investigations? Yes. One of them is solved. But the other? Is not. And while I suppose the author might be intending to use this as the main plot point in the next book, I'm not sure that I enjoyed this one enough to read another to find out.

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the publisher. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.

This is a standalone review of Canadian author Kate Wiley’s The Killer Instinct (2024), the third book of a police procedural crime series. San Fransico homicide Detective Margot Phalen attends Muir Woods, where a second woman’s body is discovered. The closeness in time and location suggests the work of a serial killer. Margot and her partner, Detective Fox then land another case, this time a body discovered in Chinatown. As they investigate this case, they are called to the woods once again as a third body has been dumped. Margot’s father, Ed is a notorious serial killer known as The Classified Killer and she is assisting an FBI task force looking into cold cases that may be further victims of her father. The narrative includes flashbacks to Eddie’s childhood and the lasting impact on Margot as she deals with panic attacks, neurosis and lack of friends, while solving murder cases. An enjoyable crime mystery unfolds with all too human characters and a substantive serial killer tale that is a four stars read rating. With thanks to Storm Publishing and the author, for an uncorrected advanced review copy for review purposes. As always, the opinions herein are totally my own, freely given and without any inducement.