I loved this book!!! Yes there were some minor plot holes, but so far this is the closest thing I've found to one of my favourite books "Sweetpea" (by CJ Skuse)! Loved the dark humour, the sarcasm, the title (obviously, ha!). Definitely going to have to buy a physical copy for my collection! ( )

2.5 stars

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review

The colour palette of death is really rather pretty.

With a little bit of Dexter and Promising Young Woman, How to Kill Men and Get Away with It was a pop culture filled fictional tale of an Instagram influencer murdering men who sexually assault women as a cathartic release. Kitty Collins is the heiress of her family's slaughterhouse business but shuns that legacy as she makes money from posting about her brunches, traveling, and vegan lifestyle on Instagram. The beginning has her commenting on brands and how many followers her friends have, setting her up to appear vacuous. Told all from her point-of-view, there's a definite tint of cynicism and bubbling anger and hurt underneath it all and when a creep follows her home from the bar and winds up dead, her reaction makes it obvious the title isn't just click bait.

Perfect boobs. Perfect life. I guess that's my 'brand'.

The beginning of this kept me locked in as I was trying to figure Kitty out, was she a Dexter like character that had been warped and shaped by her trauma, an unreliable narrator, or a simple sociopath that reveled in their means and opportunity? The story leads you a couple ways and used certain characters, like a love interest named Charlie that comes in around midway and not revealing an obvious more to the story about Kitty's missing father, to keep the reader never quite certain about some things. It was a little after the halfway mark and ending that I thought the wheels kind of came off and I thought the story lost the plot of what it might have been trying.

He cannot know that I'm the hunter here. He needs to believe he's in control.

Bringing Charlie in, did bring out a different layer of Kitty and I think probably humanized her to readers that were less willing to go along with the macabre farce of Kitty's extracurricular activities but I think he ultimately ended up falling flat after a couple late ending reveals. There was also a later sexual scene that had him questioning if they got hot over some sexual assault stories that didn't land right for me, not hitting the mark of early dark humor that worked. I also thought the stalker messaging Kitty throughout the story had a very wheels fell off reveal and ending. Sexual assault is a tough one to approach with dark humor and while I thought the beginning got it, the ending went south (what was with having a late, quick, oh the character lied about her assault??).

There's an unspoken rule between us that we don't talk about The Thing. Talking could crack the veneer.

This took place in London and had a ton of pop culture references, as an American I still understood the majority but there were a few that went on by me; the contemporary additives feel like this story is going to get dated very quickly. You'll also have to go along with the supposed to be dark humor and not question how things like cellphone GPS doesn't apparently exist in this world and Kitty has been able to get away with her side gig. I liked the first half with it's ghoulish poking humor but the second half's tone didn't land right and some of the reveals had the plot's wheels falling off. ( )

A very readable thriller. The plotting was not as tight as I would have liked, and it felt at points that the story was on the verge of getting out of hand...but it held on to the end. I liked its dark humor.

But then it gets dark...really dark. So dark that it hurt to read. Trigger warnings for gore, mental health issues, and violence against women. The hardest part is knowing that this fiction is rooted in reality. Women all over the world, of all ages, have lived, is living, these nightmares.

There are no words. ( )

How to Kill Men and Get Away With It is Katy Brent's debut novel.

The title of the book gives you a pretty good idea of what the plot might entail. And this short quote from the publisher says it all...

"He was following me. That guy from the nightclub who wouldn’t leave me alone. I hadn’t intended to kill him of course. But I wasn’t displeased when I did and, despite the mess I made, I appeared to get away with it.

That’s where my addiction started…I’ve got a taste for revenge and quite frankly, I’m killing it.” Uh huh, this isn't a one time thing.

Kitty is our protagonist. She’s an influencer with a wealth of followers. Her inner dialogue is sharp and biting and darkly humorous at times. Her cadre consists of other wealthy influencers - with fewer followers, of course.

Kitty forms her own sense of justice and revenge, making herself judge and jury. Until she makes a mistake. But it’s hard to not see why she’s doing what she does. Lots of food for thought.

I think I went into this book expecting more of a lighter Finley Donovan vibe. This one instead got a little bit too dark for me. Closer to Dexter instead. Kitty delights in killing and her disposal methods. Kitty has some issues herself beyond her penchant for killing.

I'm not sure if the author was going for dark humour, satire or a blend? I finished the book, but felt it was too much in a number of ways for me.

See for yourself - read an excerpt of How To Kill Men and Get Away With It. There will be some triggers for gentle readers. ( )

I was lucky enough to get an ARC of this via NetGalley.

I had to think a little bit about this book after finishing it. To be honest it is a little bit outside my preferred genre, but the cover and synopsis made it seem like a quirky read. While I did enjoy it I felt it was lacking a bit of the quirkyness that the cover seems to imply.

I'll start with the negatives. I had a little trouble rooting for Kitty at first as she's presented as a rather shallow and vain influences that'll promote anything just for the likes. There's also an interaction at the start of the book that makes it seem like she doesn't care much for her fans.
Since this was an ARC I hope the texts and insta posts are presented a bit more stylized in the finished book, especially with regards to the emojis which were kind of jarring.
I could also have done without the brand name-dropping as it also kept pulling me out of the story.

On to the positives. This was an easy read, while at times a little stressful. Kitty did grow on me, though you'd think she'd be a little smarter about how she does some things since she's familiar with Dexter.
It was weirdly cathartic to read about abusers being taken down.
There are some parallel storylines that gives this book more to grab onto than just a hack-and-slash story, and I appreciated that. The mystery of the stalker was an engaging part.
The chapters were short, which made it easier to both stop when needed, and keep going when I wanted to.

All in all a fun read, would def recommend for those who enjoy this genre. 3.5 stars. ( )