Member Reviews
The Made In Chelsea of Sweetpea - and I loved it!!
The audio book was amazing and had me completely immersed in the world of Kitty. It really helped to add that wow and WTF factor to the story!
It got stuck straight into the action and did not let up. It was fast paced, exciting and complete bingeable - I didn’t want to put it down. It took a lot of twists and turns throughout, some outrageous, some quite sad and others just outright shocking. It was a clever plot and really took you on a ride.
Kitty’s character definitely one of those you love and hate and the team of ‘influencer’ friends just added to it, each with their own parts to play but giving the subtle snobby, rich kid vibes - which made aspects even funnier.
Granted some bits were a little graphic and grim. But the dark humour and sarcasm narrated throughout kept it light and bloody hilarious in parts. Whilst being humorous it also managed to shed light on a lot of important and relevant topics - without being preachy or overbearing. All these factors made for a really interesting and seemingly realistic.
For any lovers of the Sweetpea series, morally grey main characters, dark humour or generally books with a badass, sarcastic female lead - this one is definitely for you! It was a great read and I’ll definitely be looking out for more from Katy Brent! (Hopefully a sequel after the way the epilogue ended 🤞🏻).
Kitty Collins is killing it - quite literally. A social media influencer turned murderer. It all started when she was walking home one night, keys in hand, ready to defend herself from a guy following her after a night out. She pushed him, he stumbled and fell onto his own broken bottle of wine. Now Kitty can’t seem to stop nor does she want to… she has a taste for revenge. She is killing it!
I loved this debut - One of my favourite reads this year. It was hilariously entertaining and addictive. Set in London, this is a dark and juicy story about friendship, romance and revenge. Kitty was fascinating, I loved her sarcasm and was engrossed in what she would get up to next.
This book is sadly very relevant with its exploration of violence, harassment and assault towards women. The sadness that women do not feel safe in society and the harmful nature of social media and society who blame the victims.
#notaskingforit #nomeansno #myoutfitisnotaninvitiation
This is a must read! Especially if you love a psychological thriller.
On the face of it, you might not expect to find a book with a rich and somewhat entitled social media influencer as the protagonist, going about her party-filled lifestyle to deal with such a serious topic as violence against women. But this book is very much not what I expected.
Although I can’t say I ever really got to like any of the characters and their lifestyles were about as far removed from mine as you could get, I did find myself empathising with them at times. As we found more about Kitty’s history and what led her to the point she was at, we saw a lot more depth of character than might have been expected.
I found the way the book addressed violence towards women to be quite unique and an interesting take on it. A particularly dark comedy, it was also an interesting take on vigilantism and how quickly things get out of control when someone appointed themselves judge, jury and executioner.
I listened to the audiobook kindly provided by the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed listening to the book in this format and thought the narrator did a great job and was a good choice.
Oh my God. I got the chills so many times toward the end of this book. It completely blew my mind. It managed to surpass my high expectations AND be nothing at all like I expected
Funny and very scary in many ways 😳
Rating: 3
Hmmm…this one was okay and I think I mostly didn’t vibe with it because of the expectations I put on it. When I first saw the cover and title I assumed it would be like Finlay Donovan but sadly it wasn’t. I absolutely loved Finlay Donovan even if it was over the top at times. I started reading the ebook and struggled with understanding the tone so I quickly switched to the audiobook. In my opinion, the writing style could have been interpreted in several ways so the audiobook was my only hope. While the narrator did a good job capturing the characters and emotion, the story still wasn’t working for me. I know the main character is meant to be unlikable but it became too much to the point where I was losing interest in anything she did. I also feel like certain topics and issues were becoming a little too pushy to the reader. I read to escape and don’t constantly want to be reminded about certain political issues.
Profanity doesn’t typically bother me unless it feels forced which is how this felt. A lot of that had me rolling my eyes while other parts had me cringing. I don’t think this book was bad, I just think it wasn’t for me. I do think others will enjoy it so I will recommend it. But I will say, if you're looking for something with more humor but is similar to this one then I would recommend Finlay Donovan more.
Thank you so much to @harperaudio for the gifted copy on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
This book was sent to me electronically by Netgalley for review. Thanks to the publisher for the copy. I was drawn to this book by the front cover and it didn't disappont. It is well written with a compelling storyline and well developed characters that I loved. I really enjoyed it.
Fantastic read, just my cuppa tea, sweet pea and how to kill your family vibes. Have reccomended to all of the book club girls. AMAZING!!!
How to Kill Men and Get Away With It by Katy Brent.
Thank you to Netgalley, HarperCollins UK Audio and Katy Brent for an ARC in return for an honest review.
"Meet Kitty Collins. FRIEND. LOVER. KILLER".
There's a new serial killer on the block and she is fabulous. Kitty Collins is a social media influencer with a deadly hobby.
I adored this book - it is quirky, witty and unique. It makes you laugh out loud and cringe at the same time.
A dark comedy which is fabulously written. I can't wait to read more by Katy Brent.
Outrageously funny, wicked and addictive!
Kitty Collins is a social media influencer; totally loaded and with a lifestyle and friends that show it but when she is followed home by a creep that won't take no for an answer and he accidently ends up dead and then it happens again when all she wanted was an apology, Kitty finds herself a new calling ... getting rid of similar despicable men and so begins a riotous journey into the life of Kitty Collins.
I'm not going to pretend that this is a believable story but it is fun and I enjoyed the ride. I found myself giggling like a school girl at totally inappropriate moments and holding my breath with anticipation at others.
The characters are great - not all of them particularly likeable but then I think that's the point; the pace is perfect and the major twist, whilst I half guessed it, was a surprise and that ending ... very satisfying and leaves me wondering if there is more to come from Kitty Collins?
The narrator, Victoria Morrison, was brilliant and captured Kitty's voice as I imagined it perfectly along with all the other characters; she did an excellent job.
Highly entertaining and I thoroughly enjoyed it; I was even hoping for a traffic jam so I could keep listening for longer and so I must give a thank you to HarperCollins UK Audio, HQ Digital and NetGalley for enabling me to listen to and share my thoughts of How to Kill Men and Get Away With It.
This book had humour whilst highlighting serious issues women face and obviously murder ( gruesome at times ).
This should tick all the boxes for me but unfortunately it didn’t , I liked the main character Kitty initially but as the book progressed my interest in her began to wane .
The narration was excellent and the story moves at a fair pace and the short chapters helped to keep my interest .
I wanted to like it so much more than I did , however I look forward to reading more from Katy Brent.
Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK Audio.
This was such a cool premise and the narrator's voice was on point! I enjoyed it overall, but was a bit more disappointing than what I thought as there were some things that didn't feel truly right or believable.
OM actual G as the self entitled Chelsea socialite would post on her Insta. I loved this book right from the first word. Read in the first person from Kitty's point of view. Her sense of humour is second to none, her ability to kill those she feels deserve it, also second to none. It was like listening to an episode of Made in Chelsea with a rather super amount of splendid murder thrown in. There are plenty of laugh out loud moments. I loved Kitty's idea of an entrepreneur , I'll leave you to come across that little gem. The darkness of this book slowly grows. It is both hilarious and accidently violent all at the same time. Kitty murders with a certain amount of Jodi Comer esq indifference as in Killing Eve. She murders without emotion, it is a necessity that these lowlife men die for the wicked deeds they have done. From ghosting to violent acts. In Kitty's mind they all deserve the end the meet.
Victoria Morrison narrates this book wonderfully. She embodies the spirit of Kitty beautifully. She captures the dark side of her superbly well and drops in the humour exactly how and where it is needed. This books deserves to be heard. Its unique, funny, dark and suspenseful. LOVED IT.
Okaaaay, I can’t go as in depth with this review as I’d like given that I have to type it on my phone, but here we go!
I really wanted to like this one, the humour was on point and the narrator did a fantastic job throughout the entire book, it’s what kept me reading honestly as well as the desire to find out who the stalker was and how it would wrap up.
However, for the most part I just didn’t vibe with Kitty. I loved her motivation for the murders and honestly so many parts of this book spoke to me as a woman, given there were a few incidents that I’m sure many women are familiar with, however I just didn’t connect with Kitty all that much. She complains about being an influencer but is happy to use the money and clout and while I get that it’s funny she’s vegan when she’s going around murdering people it did feel kind of preachy at points.
While I was initially hooked, the more the book went on the more my attention started to wander. Some serious issues are tackled but others are used as lies to propel the story which made me a little uncomfortable and some things just seemed a bit ridiculous towards the end.
This book was so funny, gruesome, outrageous and thoroughly entertaining. Loved it. Look forward to seeing what Katy Brent does next.
So, this var quite different and interesting... almost like a female literary version of Dexter.
At some point I found myself wondering if killing somebody really is as easy as this book makes it sound... hmmm.... (God, I hope not)!
I enjoyed listening to this well-produced audiobook, and I would recommend it for those of you, who enjoy a different version of the now classic influencer-stories...
This is one influencer you wouldn't want to piss off!
I thought that this book had a.very strong start - a 'Dexter' type killer with dry, tongue in cheek humour is right up my street, but unfortunately I ended up thinking this was all a bit of a letdown.
There was far too much suspension of disbelief- Kitty arranging dates with victims using her own phone and Tinder account, ignoring APNR near victim's houses etc, and also not seeming to care about her stalker knowing exactly.eho she'd killed or why. Kitty was also far too inconsistent in her values etc, and the twist was.very nothingy.
Not bad, but it could have been a lot better.
Well this book was a surprise. It starts off as a basic chic lit, not my usual sort of read, but somehow it gets very interesting. I was given this book from NetGalley as an audio book and at the first few chapters I didn’t think I was going to like it. However the narrator is strangely engaging and I couldn’t stop listening. The main premise is that one women is on a mission to kill all the men she meets who mistreat women - the way she does it isn’t very believable, but somehow I couldn’t help but love the revenge side of it.
It’s grim at times, but not in a horror way, more of a smug revenge way. I think every women at some point will have been treated like meat by a man, this book is a little glimpse of how cool it would be to readdress the balance.
Thanks NetGalley, I may not have read this without your kind freebie. Now I will recommend other women read this.
Now this was an audio book to sink your teeth into. I do love tales of revenge and this one had that general theme throughout.
In the similar vein to CJ Skuse's Sweetpea series, Kitty Collins is a rich influencer with a penchant for delivering justice in the same manner as Dexter! I loved that the book was dedicated to every woman who has walked along holding her keys in her hand just in case. I have been that woman. I am that woman and this book really struck a chord with me.
The tale is told, deliciously with a lot of comedy throughout. What starts as a ploy to get a man who ghosted her friend to admit to being a shit, ends up in violence. Kitty then gets a taste for delivering justice and more men are pursued. Her back story is revealed slowly as the plot plays out but never feels dull or forced.
I really enjoyed this debut and can't wait to read more from Katy Brent. Thanks to the author and Harper Collins for the opportunity of an advanced copy.
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Strap in for a rollercoaster ride with How to Kill Men and Get Away With It by Katy Brent. It’s an incredibly dark, over-the top, very tongue-in-cheek and peppered with some absolute laugh out loud moments. Victoria Morrison, as a narrator, really embodied Kitty and brought the book to life.
Kitty inhabits a world which is a cross between the TV shows ‘Made in Chelsea’ and ‘Dexter’. She is many things: milionairess, who has turned her back on the family business, a massively popular social media influencer, a vegan and oops I nearly forgot - a vigilante serial-killer with a code!
I was very much on Team Kitty because I know what it’s like to walk home with my flat key between my fingers and only feeling safe by the time I’m back home in my flat. It shouldn’t be dangerous for women to walk home after a night out, but that is unfortunately the world we live in.
Huge thanks to the publishers, HarperCollins UK Audio,and NetGalley for making this ARC available to me for a fair and honest review.
My thanks to HarperCollins U.K. Audio for a review copy via NetGalley of the unabridged audiobook edition of ‘How to Kill Men and Get Away With It’ by Katy Brent. The audiobook is narrated by Victoria Morrison.
Being a lover of crime fiction, how could I resist a novel with such a title? This extremely dark revenge comedy-drama is award winning journalist Katy Brent’s debut.
Kitty Collins is a child of privilege, living in a posh Chelsea flat. She is an Instagram Influencer with millions of followers who takes great care in curating her image. She is also on a killing spree, though as she explains it - she tripped into the role.
One night on her way home from a nightclub she was followed by a man who had been pestering her at the club. When he escalated to assault, she pushes him away and he stumbles and falls onto a broken wine bottle. Oops.
Now she can’t seem to stop as she has acquired a taste for revenge though has strict rules about her targets that she names Kitty’s Code. One rule she admits that she stole directly from ‘Dexter’, “7. Killing must serve a purpose or it’s just plain murder.”
Kitty, named for the femme fatale in the 1946 film noir, ‘The Killers’, was a delightfully unreliable narrator. In her Letter to Readers, Katy Brent also references Patrick Bateman, so clearly knows her literary serial killers.
There were a few times when I had to suspend my disbelief with respect to Kitty’s disposal techniques. Yet, I was rooting for her to fulfil Rule 6: don’t get caught.
With respect to the audiobook, this appears to be Victoria Morrison’s first outing as a narrator. I felt that she brought a great deal of energy to her reading and was a pleasure to listen to.
Overall, a tongue-in-cheek revenge comedy-drama that was definitely over-the-top and so very entertaining.