How to Get Away with Murder by Tam Barnett is a fast-paced, suspenseful thriller that keeps readers on the edge of their seats. With clever twists and a gripping plot, the story explores dark secrets, deception, and the lengths people will go to escape the consequences of their actions. The unpredictable narrative and engaging characters make this a must-read for fans of crime fiction.

How To Get Away With Murder begins with a psychopath test, and as someone who loves the crime genre, this really piqued my interest, both in the plot and in Kelli as a central character. Kelli is a first person narrator and she uses a colloquial tone, which made me feel as though she was talking to me and involving me in the story. She has a colourful background which really adds to the development of her character and I really hoped she would find the answers she needed. Her narrative is easy to read and I love how the author uses humour alongside much more serious issues to draw the reader in.

Kelli is surrounded by an interesting group of family and friends who provide the reader with an intriguing list of suspects. There were several developments in this story that I did not see coming even though they were right in front of my nose, and this kept me hooked the whole way through.

However, it's the ending where all the author's groundwork really pays off and the story bursts into life. It's really cleverly written and my jaw hit the floor as all the revelations came out.

I believe How To Get Away With Murder is Tam Barnett's debut novel and her writing is already accomplished! I can't wait to see what she does next!

Thanks so much for letting me borrow an arc copy of this book.

I enjoyed the book as a whole, although it was on the shorter side of books I would normally read. This is the kind of genre I enjoy and I loved the unexpected twists and turns.

Would definitely read books by this author again

This was an engaging and exciting read that I devoured in just under two days. Hooked from the start I was invested in Kelli’s story and desperate to see how the story unfolded. I loved that I was familiar with the setting of this book as there are few books based in the area so it added a level of familiarity that I appreciate read. The characters were well written and I had a few guesses throughout and despite suspicions I was still shocked at the reveal. I liked that the book had twists and turns until the very end and how easy it was to read!

I received this book for free and I am writing this review voluntarily.

Readers should know before they pick up this book that there are many triggers in the book and it can upset readers. Please check the trigger warnings.

How to Get Away With Murder is for mystery/thriller lovers who want to read a fast paced novel that could be finished in one day.

There is single point of view in the novel. We get to learn her life, her strange addiction to true crime and her relationships from Kelli. Kelli is a crime journalist, and it is safe to conclude that she has an obsession, true crime. She lives with her boyfriend Ben, has two good friends and her mother lives close to her. She also has an enemy, Grayson, which we almost immediately meet at the beginning of the novel.

Kelli has found one serial killer and hopes this is not her last. When killings start in the forest next to her house, she is thrilled (yes, I know it sounds weird). She wants to get the killer first. But things get complicated as the circle around the killer gets smaller.

Did I like this book? Yes. Would I recommend this novel? If you are fine with the triggers and like mysteries, then yes. It is a fast paced novel and everything eventually adds up. It is like a whirlpool with many things are revealed mostly towards the end but if you follow the clues then you might be able to find out before.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of How to Get Away with Murder in exchange for an honest review.

I liked the twist and turns of the story as you don't expect the end. I didn't like the relationship that the main character has with the psychopath and her obsession with murders as it was a bit unhealthy. Overall enjoyed the story.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this arc.
I was so excited to dive into this book. At time it was good but overall it just fell flat. It was just written in a way that seemed more like a work in progress vs a completed story. The plot was all over the place and it was very mysterious to me. It was a struggle to complete.

4.5

one of the best books this year. all my attention was focused on the plot, the whole time, and when I was already relaxed and just waiting for the end of the story, the unexpectedness of the plot twist hit me in the face, leaving me speechless, but with an incredible amount of emotions.

as for the plot, it's classic here - if you want to hide something, put it in the most visible place. and how does it work in this book, because I didn't guess the killer, but then, when everything falls into place, how obvious it was, but beautifully hidden. and the ending, which is simple: you can never relax when you read such books.

I'm obsessed with true crime. All the podcasts, the documentaries... I can't get enough.

And now there's a murderer on the loose where I live. What a rush!

Of course, some people might wonder if it's me. Am I an innocent soul with an unhealthy fascination, or a deadly psychopath?

It's the killer question. After all, I would love to know how to get away with murder…

My thoughts:

The story was told from the pov of Kelli, a journalist who is obsessed with true crime documentaries. When a series of murders happen near where she lives, Kelli is drawn into investigating them…..

The story was really clever. There are stacks of clues throughout the story, and it was interesting to see the story play out.

I really enjoyed reading this. Thanks to Netgalley and Boldwood books for an advance egalley of this story. Thoughts expressed here are my own.

digital ARC was provided by Netgalley and Boldwood Books

OK, so, it started out very promising and quite intriguing. But then, it evolved into a mess, and not even a hot one. We got a protagonist closing in to a serial killer ala Silence of the Lambs, but it just didn't work and I don't know where to begin. The protagonist was unlikeable (which, fair, they don't have to be) that I didn't care for her or when bad things happened to her (+people around her). The mystery (?) wasn't mystery-ing. The plot was all over the place that I wasn't sure what went wrong in the book. Skimread to get to the ending.

I read this over the course of 24 hours, I couldn't put it down! No spoilers...but at first it all seems glaringly obvious, however, the twists and turns throughout actually do keep you guessing. There's some dark humour, and what I will say is, you'll need to pay attention to keep track after the half way mark as there's a lot going on! Kelli is a likeable mess, the story is told entirely from her POV and takes place on one timeline. There are a good few true crime references throughout, there's been some good research and it's not overdone in my opinion. Overall, I enjoyed this and would definitely recommend! Thanks to Netgalley and Boldwood Books for the opportunity to read this ARC!

This true crime-inspired thriller dives headfirst into the obsession with murder, weaving an unreliable narrator with a dark fascination for how far someone might go to truly get away with it.

The book while attention-grabbing, left much to be desired stylistically. The characters, particularly Kelli, are deeply flawed, often unsympathetic, yet undeniably compelling. Their actions and decisions kept me curious, even if I found the protagonist a bit grating at times. Her relationship with a serial killer and her father’s criminal past added intriguing layers to the story. However, the frequent references to pop culture were distracting and felt unnecessary, pulling me out of the narrative.

The author’s occasional witty observations and dark humor shone in moments, like when the protagonist compares shared birthdays to a serial killer instead of a celebrity—a touch that’s disturbingly funny. Unfortunately, the plot eventually lost its way, bogged down by an unreliable narrator and an increasingly implausible storyline.

While there are moments of brilliance, this book ultimately wasn’t for me. The messy plot and unlikable cast overshadowed its potential.

Kelli is a true crime journalist who is intrigued with serial killers and still involved with one she helped bring to justice. It was easy to become involved in this story and questioning everyone and everything. How to Get Away With Murder is a great read and I highly recommend it.

Thank you for the arc.

It was an easy, quick, fast-paced read and contains all the framework of a classic mystery thriller: unreliable narrator, unhinged twists, almost no morally good characters and the likes
The twists has me verbally saying 'What.' and my jaw was constantly dropping. It has me on the edge of my seat, and has me staying up to finish it even though I was extremely sleepy.
It did not go where I expected it to - it always dropped another twist and veered off into a different direction and I enjoyed almost every second of it.

However it felt like the part of the plot about the note on Kelli's car wasn't really wrapped up, and it wasn't fully explained to us why she did that.

Other than that, it was a good, quick read and I would absolutely recommnd it.

A soldid 4/5 stars.

3.75 stars*

This book was so fun. The first part of the book did drag on a bit but once the main plot started to unravel it became so addictive. Kelli’s relationship with serial killer Dick Monroe was very reminiscent on Clarice Sterling’s relationship with Hannibal Lector from Silence of the Lambs, seemingly paying homage to a classic in the crime/thriller genre. I unfortunately was able to uncover the twists before they were revealed, but this did not limit my reading experience and instead made it a more exciting read for me, waiting to see how it would all transpire

4/5


This was A ride let me you that. For the first half of the book I started out feeling kinda iffy about kelli she was super obsessed with true crime, not even obsessed, absorbed with it. Reading her thoughts and how- why she made decisions was confusing, fascinating and ngl a lil disturbing for me she was fully into murder and serial killers it weirdly enough provided comfort for her while also terrifying her, but I couldn’t stop reading it’s like I was glued to the television needing to see how it all ended.

Then the 2nd/3rd part of the book hit me. And I finally understood her. I understood why she was the way she was. Some of her action and thoughts confused I wanted to know why she was like this and I finally got my answers. Now I’m just left feeling.. sad. Bittersweet.

I liked the murder-mystery. I’m happy I was able to figure out who it was albeit almost last minute, but I still have my tingly senses kicking in!

The cast of characters was great. I liked that we didn’t go to 50 locations at once and just stuck to the place that were previously mentioned. It helped keep my mind focused on on the mystery and my list of suspects narrow.

I liked this book thought it was fun and little chaotic with a lot of characters you were never sure how you were supposed to feel about them. It was a quick read and kept me entertained throughout and never totally sure where it was heading. I would give this one 3/3.5 stars and would recommend. I want to thank NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Obviously we’re all intrigued by this title right??? I’m giving this one a 3.5 because I liked it but didn’t love it. It was a bit chaotic and even after I finished I still don’t really know how I feel about the main character 😂 was she good? Bad? I have no idea really.
I also thought I knew where the book was headed and who the bad guy was gonna be but NOPE I was wrong and actually surprised whenever it was reveled. So I did appreciate that plot twist.

I saw this on a roadshow and thought it sounded great so requested a copy.

As interesting as the premise was, I was a bit disappointed with the execution of it.

I have been reading an astounding amount of crime/ thriller fiction this past year... unfortunately this book was among the weaker ones. Normally I like an unreliable narrator but this girl was NOT it.
These twists were not twisting and turning the way they should have been but instead were super messy....and I hated every single character in this book, they were all insufferable and had no redeemable characteristics in the slightest.

I am thankful to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy in exchange for my honest review.