Member Reviews
I loved it. The tone, the thrill. Everything i was looking for in a dark drama like this one. I almost felt like i wanted to write a book just like this one.
After having read another female serial killer boom where the killings were kind of random, I was looking forward to a revenge thriller. So I liked the general background idea but it kind of went off the rails the further you got into it and I'm not sure I enjoyed as much as the book went on.
There are many redeeming qualities about this book, for instance while I can't say I particularly "liked" our main protagonist, Kitty Collins was amusing. She is the right mix between Villanelle's apathetic psychoticness and Dexter's "I'm only going to kill the bad ones" that had me gripped from the start. While she does indeed, kill men and get away with it, as the book goes on you do start to see a more human side the Kitty that leads our unredeemable protagonist on the road to something resembling redemption,
While I enjoyed the witty narration and disconnect from reality that Kitty bought to the table I did struggle with the mismatch of tropes towards the end. When every bad thing you can imagine has happened to one person they stop feeling relatable. Sure, one or two monstrous things to make you a serial killer but throwing the whole kitchen sink (and the fridge and the cooker and the mouse living in the back of the crips cupboard) at it was over kill. Sometimes less is more and I think there was a reception plot within there somewhere but it got lost in the jumble.
Overall, however How to Kill Men and Get Away With It is an entertaining black comedy that mirrors the polarising perceptions of social media today. While it is not the best title to be reading when you start dating someone new (really awkward when your new boyfriend asks what you're reading!), it is a good book and I would recommend. Even if I wasn't 100% sold on the ending.
(link will be added at a later date)
This was a fun read. While I enjoyed the humor and overall story here, it became a bit much for me Kitty’s influencer lifestyle. It was so overly expressed as well as her dislike for her lifestyle that it became tedious. I understand the satire undertone but if Kitty was a more likable character, I think this story would have been more enjoyable.
Kitty Collins is a bored online influencer, life is full of parties, brand launches, posting perfect photos of her 'perfect life'
Kitty accidentally finds a new hobby after a man decides that after buying Kitty a drink entitles him to something more, fighting him off, he falls onto his own broken wine bottle and dies....
Kitty is suppose to feel guilty right all she feels is satisfaction in the knowledge this man can not hurt another woman.
Is it wrong to admit ai laughed out loud to this one, it was a deliciously dark, and empowering read but Katy hits on the serious topic of womens safely and mental health.
I was really looking forward to this read; it sounded like it was going to be a fun little satirical novel which would have been lighter than some of my normal crime reads. However, it was just so disappointing.
Kitty is a rich popular influencer who decides that when she accidently kills someone, she has found her true calling in life, murdering men that she feels are not fit for this world. But someone knows what Kitty is up to, will she figure it out before her life implodes?
How to Kill Men and Get Away with It has been billed as a female Dexter, however, Kitty lacks the personality and character depth found in Jeff Lindsay’s novel. She’s vapid, inconsistent and actually really annoying. There are so many plot holes and inconsistencies that it just became frustrating that someone hadn’t figured out what was going on. This in turn made the plot drag…and drag. It reached a point where I just wanted the whole thing over.
I feel like Brent was trying to echo the success of Sweetpea by C.J.Skuse, but Skuse does it better and with more bite. The main issue is that Kitty is so unlikeable, you want her to get caught so she can stop thinking she has the right to judge who she thinks is such a toxic person they should be killed. Her reasonings are just not substantial enough and she makes snap decisions without any real thought, and her superiority complex is almost laughable. She’s written as a complete hypocrite, but we’re still supposed to route for her? Absolutely not happening. I just can’t stand reading from her POV.
There was also the author trying to ram veganism down our throats at any available opportunity coupled with uncomfortable and out of place sex scenes… definitely not for me, thanks.
If I you want an entertaining read about a female killer, don’t look here.
How to Kill Men and Get Away With It is a dark, twisted but absolutely funny, laugh out loud type of read that you will recommending to all your friends.Totally original, it doesn't disappoint at all.
Kitty Collins is a social media influencer by day and accidental serial killer by night. She didn't intend to kill the guy who followed her from the nightclub. It just...happened. That's how her murderous streak begins. From then on, Kitty takes on the role of women's saviour and goes on a rampage, killing other terrible men that come her way.
Kitty's social life and influencer career are so ridiculous that they come across as satirical. For example, the way Kitty so blithely mentions that her girlfriends each have different types of eating disorders, as if this is all quite normal for rich women. Veganism is also proselytized, but it's done in an ironic way because Kitty cares more about the lives of animals than the lives of men. What's even funnier is the real reason why Kitty is vegan LOL (iykyk).
If you enjoy dark humour/black comedy like me, then this book is right up your alley. It's a quick, funny, and dark read with satirical elements that made me snort with laughter. There is also some interesting social commentary weaved into Kitty's vigilantism, but I wouldn't take that too seriously. Just enjoy the black comedy for what it is.
Did I want to read this book because of the title and the wonderful cover? Yes. Witty humour, realistic at times, and outragous at others. Twisty and great for a reader that is a fan of true crime and mystery stories but wants to read something on the lighter end.
For sure the title is going to draw you in! It definitely has it's appeal. Unfortunately I couldn't get invested in any of the characters and whilst I appreciate there are some main characters created for you to hate even this wasn't really the problem, I mean I definitely hated Kitty but she was ridiculous and pathetic. There is no way she would have got away with her murders and she had no real beliefs or something to stand by, the premise was there for it to be about these awful men and certainly could have united the readers in her plight but ultimately she was vapid, immature and shallow.
The ending, which I am surprised I got to was chaotic and probably the most unbelievable element, however was fast paced and left it open for a sequel... I am not sure I could go through another one like this though even if it does have the potential to be a female version of Dexter.
I received this for free as an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Unable to review at this time. Will review at a later date. I'm cleaning up my netgalley in order to review 2023 books. This book sounds delightful and will read once fully caught up on my account. Thank you for this opportunity! I look forward to reading this book!
Absolutely loved this sharply funny and astute novel - have already recommended to colleagues and friends alike.
DNF @ 14%
I love bad characters. Grey characters. Complex people who make you wonder about the binary manner in which one tends to bracket people. Katy Brent's novel does not, sadly, deal with such a protagonist. Instead, we get an annoying influencer who stands up for the right thing. Much as the latter part is interesting, and the basic premise too, the former takes over Kitty Collins' whole existence very early on and nothing can get it to even pare back a little.
As you know I am partial to a female serial killer with a dash of dark humour so How To Kill Men and Get Away With It sounded right up my alley and I started to read it along with my TBC buddy readers.
From the moment I started the book I was immediately comparing it to Sweetpea by CJ Skuse – one of my all time favourite female psychopaths. The humour is dark, the main character Kitty Collins is fabulous and I was very excited to read on.
Kitty is a wonderful character. She’s young and beautiful, a successful influencer with millions of followers, she’s rich and popular, a fiercely loyal friend and a lifelong vegan. She’s also an accidental murderer who discovers she has a taste for killing and begins to hunt for her next victim.
With a nod to Dexter, Kitty justifies her killings as ridding the world of male scum, she targets only men who have abused women and got away with it and begins her rather violent crusade one man at a time.
The humour is spot on and I absolutely loved following Kitty as she starts her killing campaign. Her narrative is compelling and once the reader begins to uncover the person behind the filter, you see how vulnerable Kitty really is.
I don’t want to go into much more detail, because I think you need to read this and judge for yourself. However, this book may be triggering as there are scenes of rape and violence which are disturbing.
There are quite a lot of books out there currently with similar themes, My Sister the Serial Killer, How to Kill Your Family and Killing Eve but for me personally How To Kill Men and Get Away With It initially was a 5 star read, but towards the last third of the story dropped to a 4 star because I felt the author was trying too hard to bring in some important social issues which whilst relevant and topical didn’t sit well in this amusing, tongue-in-cheek story.
Overall, an enjoyable, dark and disturbing tale with some fabulous characters and the potential to turn many readers into vegans.
Browsing through Netgalley to see a title as crazy as this, who wouldnt want to read it!! Full of dark humour and a very original storyline, this book has been recommended to all of my book club! It highlights some dark issues is a light and humourous way. I can't wait to read more from this author.
The title was what hooked me because....who wouldn't want to kill sleazy, handsy, rapey, entitled men in gruesome ways AND get away with it?!?!
Enter Kitty Collins, our very own avenging not-so-angel who accidently kills a man who refused to take no for an answer after buying her drinks at a bar. A very "oops, how did this happen" situation that she handles suspiciously like a pro. Hmmmmnnn
This book is fast paced with dark humor to help pull you along for the ride. These men are a scourge on society so she's basically doing the world a favor, keeping women and girls safe so it's not reaaallyy murder....is it?
Until....the unexpected happens and Kitty begins to spiral. Having a stalker who knows her every single move isn't helping either. How will she handle the fix she's in while also keeping up appearances with her millions of online followers, family and friends?
Definitely worth a read and #Katybrent is totally worth keeping an eye on.
Thanks to #NetGalley and team HQ for this ARC in exchange for an honest review
This is the first book by Katy Brent and, as a debut, it has some merits. It is pacy and engaging read about a female serial killer who believes she is making the world a better place. There are enough twists and turns to confuse the reader as to who might be her "stalker" and how her crimes can go unnoticed. However there were so many times that I thought the tenets of dsibelief stretched to incredulity. It was all too easy. There were also some terrible editing faux pas "envelope" instead of envelop; "bath" instead of bathe for example that made me cringe. Even in pre publication proofs such mistakes should be noticed. The end leaves open the potential for a follow up book - I am not sure I would read it.
This one was a wild one.
As the title suggest, <I>How to Kill Men and Get Away With It by Katy Brent </I> follows a woman who kills men. We follow Kitty, a social media influencer, who has taken it upon herself to right the wrongs by going after the bad men– with a knife and then some.
Readers will need to have some level of suspension of disbelief when they read this as there is a slim chance that a woman starts killing all these men without having the police trailing her after the first or second kill. Not only is our main character killing these people, but she's also cleaning up mess and disposing the body all on her own. It's a bit unrealistic to have her get away with all the murders for as long as she was able to. However, this is fiction and readers should expect a level of silliness.
I love Kitty as our main character. She's got such a twisted yet reasonable (to an extent!) mind. As you read on, you begin to understand her thinking and you start to root for her wholeheartedly. I enjoyed how bold she is in her decisions, murder related or not, and I think she is the embodiment of feminine rage– she witnesses something that she feels is unjust, so she takes action.
I also think the book does such a good job at mixing in humour with the serious and raw topics that the book explores. At the centre of this book, Kitty kills for a reason– one that I would stand behind her for. It's dark, gory at times, and makes for great entertainment on a dull Saturday evening. It's ridiculous at times, but you have to love it for that reason alone.
If you enjoyed the likes of Killing Eve, or female main characters who do crazy things, then this book is definitely for you.
(I would also advise new readers to check content warnings: mentions of abuse, rape, and drugs)
4 stars
Thank you to NetGalley and HQ Digital for sending me an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest book review.
Parts of this book about a sociopathic socialite were funny but mostly I found it disturbing. Definitely not my kind of book.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed as in this review are completely my own.
I just loved this one, I knew from the cover and the blurb I would and it didn’t let me down!
It’s surprisingly funny even though it deals with some tough subjects which I imagine can be rough for others to deal with but overall I really enjoyed this. I think it was different and also really empowered the main female character. Really enjoyed so definitely recommend!