Member Reviews
I didn't know what I was really getting into when I started listening to this book, and I was quite surprised by it, however, I persevered, and by the end of the book I liked the main character of Rhiannon, who is literally a loveable psycho.
The whole book is crazy, nuts, quirky and unbelievable, but that is what makes it unique and special. Rhiannon is a serial killer, and throughout the book, we have her murders described to us in detail, but in a funny way. Throughout all the dark humour and craziness, Rhiannon is actually a loveable person with a heart of gold. She is ying and yang combined, and one minute I hated her and the next minute I loved her. Her adventures had me cringing and covering my eyes one minute and then the next minute I was laughing out loud. The whole book was like a big rumble in a tumble dryer, but it was very enjoyable.
The audiobook narrator was amazing, and she had a big job to do, but she did it very well. Bravo to her.
This is book 3 in a series, and I will now look into reading the first 2 books.
Thanks to the author/narrator, publisher and NetGalley for the craziness and madness of this book!
Unfortunately, I was unable to get into this audiobook. The description was very good and for that reason I’m going to get the paper back versions and read the other books in these series as I think the series looks like an awesome read
This third chapter in the Sweet pea series makes an excellent audio book. The narrator is superb, perfectly capturing Rhiannon's insouciance and often general contempt for those around her. Her famous lists really come to life and the accents both for Rhiannon's different identities and also for the international voices of those she encounters are the icing on the cake. We follow her on the run from her crimes and estranged from her new baby. Rhiannon should of course be an unsympathetic character as an abhorrent psychopath and serial killer but she charms us and has us cheering for her at every turn. She is a refreshing change and fully fleshed. Really hope for more from CJ Skuse please
I listened to the audiobook of Dead Head and the narration was fantastic. Before I began, I did not realise it was the third book in the series, but that did not matter at all. The story was easy to follow and captivating - I now want to read all the previous books! Despite such a sinister book, there were lighthearted moments and I found myself literally laughing out loud. I feel this was helped with it being an audiobook!
I highly recommend this book, especially as an audiobook. A dark but funny typical serial book, but told with emotion and urging you to continue.
Oh Sweetpea how I missed you! I listened to this on audio, a new venture for me, once I settled into accepting the voice wasn't the voice I had in my head for Rhiannon, I did enjoyed being reacquainted with the gutter mouthed murderer! There were some real laugh out loud moments that took me by surprise. I have two young children so I listened through headphones when doing mundane tasks it was fun. Obviously as this is the 3rd book in the series you can't be offended by Rhiannon's thoughts and phrases, at times she is refreshing in her reflections! On a slight negative note I did get a bit lost in some of the timings of certain events but I can't tell if this was the story or the audio element.
The story in a nutshell - Rhiannon has left the country on a cruise after giving birth to Ivy and confessing to a string of murders. It has been arranged that she will leave the cruise and restart her life with a new identity, she is just waiting to find out where. As she waits she makes a few friends and has a fair few murderous thoughts. The making of friends is a novelty, having murderous thoughts is not!
Despites some bumps in the road she finally arrives at the Hacienda and seemingly settles into something resembling a relaxed and happy life until....well to tell you anymore would ruin it. If you enjoyed Sweetpea and In Bloom you will love Deadhead.
Dead Head CJ Skuse
I was going to read this book, and had an advanced ebook version, then was lucky to get it on audio, and given my love for Georgia Maguire as narrator of this series, I just couldn't resist.
CJ Skuse, Georgia and the character Rhiannon will always be a winning combination for me.
I don't know if I could read this with the same level of sarcasm that Georgia manages to bring across. The character is everything I love in a book, although I wasn't sure about her at first, then fast forward to book 3 and I didn't want to finish the book and have my time with the character over.
Safe to say, if there is a book 4, I will be grabbing that on audio as soon as I can.
Loved every minute.
My favourite serial killer, Rhiannon Lewis, is back and this time she's on the run, having left baby Ivy behind. The action takes place around the globe and Rhiannon has a series of bonkers adventures and meets all kinds of people. I particularly liked her friendship with Caro, which was beautifully written. The kill lists are still there, as is the dark humour and crudity. We do see a different, softer side to Rhiannon this time though.
I enjoyed this book a lot, but not quite as much as Sweetpea and In Bloom (which I gave a 5* rating to) and I think it was a bit overlong. The book ends with a cliffhanger, so I'm sure this won't be the last we see of Rhiannon.
The narrator, Georgia Maguire, had quite a challenge in this book, with so many different voices and accents to perform, but she did it brilliantly. To me she IS Rhiannon.
Rhiannon Lewis is back, or is she? New name. New appearance. New life? New attitude?
I devoured the first two in the series so was giddy to get my hands on the audiobook and get a bit of sarky and twisted Rhiannon back in my life. As I initially started to listen I was a bit nervous Rhiannon had lost her edge and that this book was going to be the one that let me down. Thankfully Rhiannon's usual dark, sick and absolutely hilarious self makes a reappearance quite quickly. Without spoiling anything I had also been unsure as to whether there was going to be the same level of gore and excitement as the previous two. Again, Cj Skuse did not disappoint.
This is another whopper from Skuse which again is carried brilliantly by Georgia Maguire the narrator. The ending is left open enough for Rhiannon to return in whatever form she decides to take and I am so excited to see her return. Long live Rhiannon.
Wasn't sure about this book to start with but as the narrator progressed I got really into it
Think of a female "Dexter " and you have a serial killer with a sense of dark humour that you soon grow to like.
I didn't realise that this is number 3 in a series so will be looking out for the others although this worked as a stand alone
Rhiannon Lewis leaves a confession to all her murders she is now on the run giving up everything and everyone she knows.
She hides out on a cruise cooped up with all these people and people she does not like. but she needs to fit in at one point she actually finds a friend , Has she left the urge to kill behind her ? she thinks so but then Rhiannon generally only kills people that deserve it and there are always those.
Great audio book
With thanks to the publisher and Netgalley UK for the advance audio copy.
I first found the second book ‘Sweet Pea’ in a charity shop. I was really intrigued by the description “Bridget Jones meets phyco” and I am yet to be disappointed.
It was like someone had crawled into my subconscious or my brain; the language, the pop culture (that I actually understood without needing google), the idioms, the dark humour. I loved it all, it was a laugh, making me giggle out loud the whole way through.
I love how C.J Skuse approaches the issues of our killer leaving her baby behind and finding the will/ability to live on. I think this is a suburb analyse of ‘life goes on’. Not what I was expecting at all. Rihanna or Hillary or whoever, really impressed me in her self-searching in this book. The emphasis on being ones true self and who we want to be. Building ourselves up means tearing our old self down.
The cartel bit a little farfetched even for our serial killer world and I am glad she step away from it all in the end, leaving us in a more realistic place.
What a tantalizing ending indeed, not quite as sharp as a traditional cliff hanger as we are aware really of our protagonists next steps *new book incoming*.
The sort of voice that you can hear as our chunky but funky serial killer.
The way she says ‘blue’ was dreamy! I was really impressed with the rich and authentic accents that push you into the moment.
4/5
This is the first one of this series that I have listened to.
It was silly, gory, rude, crass, funny and I actually really liked it.
The narrator was good, except for the male voices.
There was a scene that reminded me of a scene in Kill Bill
This book was amazing, in that it was so different than anything I have read before in a way. A twist on your normal crime novel, this one is told from the serial killer’s point of view. She has a problem though, she’s really not enjoying it like she used to. Rhiannon is an extremely likeable character, despite her disturbing hobby. Her friendship with an old lady on board the cruise is beautiful, after a rocky start. She eventually heads to South America where she is sheltered by a drug cartel, the lead of which also becomes a special friend.... after another rocky start. I loved this book and see it’s part of a series. That makes me happy
So Rhiannon is back in another instalment. We quickly recap where we left off in In Bloom and the situation we find her in now. The kill list is back and more epic than before.
It is a turbulent time for our favourite serial killer, she is now on the run giving up everything and everyone she knows. Going on a cruise, we see her trying to adapt to life, with some hilarious outcomes.
After escaping the cruise, we are on a plane outta there and we meet a potential kindred spirit before being whisked off and locked away in a castle. I loved the story on the cruise because mainly it was fascinating to see how she would cope with being cooped up with all these people and people she does not like. I did feel bad for her because of one family, but generally, it was hilarious watching her trying to fit in and through the amazing audiobook hear all the crazy accents she tried to put on to throw people off the scent. Please Rhiannon don’t ever change!
It is a typical Rhiannon book, but things just got hotter and she got more sarcastic with the hilarious dark humour. The heat is on for the police to find her, sightings have been seen, but are they her? Plus there are dangers in her current situation, Paco anyone!! What an awful human being and I did wonder how long it would take to see our leading lady in action. I mean he is vile, and the things he says and does, god I wanted to stab him already!
I did enjoy catching up with Rhiannon again and I felt like this time she had grown up a bit, but still feisty as ever. We see her growing into what is basically deemed as “normal”, as her “urges” wane. But with that final chapter, well let us just say, it is going to hit that proverbial fan big time in the 4th book that I really hope gets written!! There is still so much to be said, and I hope the story is not over yet.
I'd really missed Rhiannon, having listened to the fantastic Georgia Maguire narrate Sweet Pea and In Bloom. I was eager to find out what had happened to Rhiannon and her baby, whether she'd escaped the police who were closing in on her. I very much enjoyed the third installment of her story. CJ Skuse has created a fantastic character who resonates and fascinates. There are so many dark moments quickly followed by laugh out loud observations. I was not disappointed where the story went and think all the Rhiannon fans will be satisfied with where she ends up. I certainly was.
Thank you so much for the audio-arc in exchange for an honest review!
Dead Head is the third book in the wonderfully dark, hysterically funny, outrageously shocking series about my favourite female serial killer EVER. Rhiannon Lewis is on the run, having fled the UK, leaving her new born baby behind and finds herself on a Mediterranean cruise trying to “lie low” until she can work out what to do next and avoid life in prison.
Rhiannon Lewis is the best serial killer character I’ve come across in all my years of reading. The books aren’t fast paced thrillers, it’s so hard to compare them to anything else out there because it’s that unique. I’ve seen it described as Bridget Jones meets American Psycho. It is some seriously dark comedy, so if you offend easily to crude talk & behavior (necrophilia for example), you might want to take a pass. If you do read this, I promise you will laugh your ass off.
I absolutely adore CJ Skuse's books, and have read all of her previous books, so I jumped at the chance of getting the latest book in the 'Sweet Pea' series. It's been a good few years now since the last book (In Bloom) so it did take a little while to get back into the swing of things of where we left off with Rhiannon.
This is definitely my least favourite of the trilogy, but I still enjoyed it nevertheless. I just cannot get enough of the character - I just didn't like the plot in this book, but the love of the character keeps me coming back! The book ends with the hope of another... fingers crossed!
Book 3 in a series. And rhiannon is back.. shes like a lunatic friend. Completely nuts but you cant help hoping for a fairytale ending for her... is she really psycho?? Enjoyed the rollercoaster ride... and the way we are left wanting more at the end.. read it... read the series.. for some shock and for some laugh out loud moments. I definitely recomend sweet pea to anyone looking for something different! Loved listening to this as an audiobook... excellent narration!!!
This is such a funny series. Rhiannon, the serial killer, is on the run. She's paid a guy £150,000 to help her 'disapear'. She's been told to travel by a cruise trip and he will sort things out when she docks. She's to tell the cruise staff that she's meeting her husband and will meet up with the further along the trip. But when she gets there, the man who is supposed to be fixing her up has died.
This is one of the funniest books I've listened to. It's one funny thing after another. Definitely like killing Eve but hilarious! The narrator was excellent she definitely added another level to the storytelling. Thoroughly enjoyed it.
Okay, this has to be the best audiobook I've ever listened to. I was approved for it before I realised it was the third in the series, but it didn't matter. Well, it did, in that I now want to read the previous books, and most definitely listen to the audiobooks of them!
I have never listened to an audiobook so quickly, and I found myself looking for activities round the house just so I could continue. Georgia Maguire came on to my radar with 'Behind Closed Doors' and I cite her as the reason I now have an audiobook constantly on the go! The character of Rhiannon Lewis has to be my favourite character in a long time, and Maguire is PERFECT for it. I have never laughed so hard and so often at a book, definitely not a thriller and certainly not one from the perspective of a serial killer. WAY too many quotes to list here, but Daniel Radcliffe, morning TV presenters (where I laughed out loud in the middle of a supermarket) have to be my highlights. I have thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish.
Hopefully there will be another book in the series, Rhiannon is way too good a character to stop at 3.
Skuse and Maguire are geniuses.
Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing a copy of this audiobook.
Hadn’t realised this was an audiobook and they’re not normally my thing but I’m glad I persevered because the narrator really brought the story to life for me.
I loved the first two books in the series and this was a brilliant continuation. Loved Caro and wish there had been more of her
Oh my goodness just finished the audible book - what a roller-coaster even though I have recently read the book, the narration added a whole different layer to the story. It just made it even better if that was possible.
Loved the ending such a cliff hanger.
I was given an advance copy by net galley but the review is my own.