I went into this thinking how the hell are they going to pull off 13 versions of the same character? But 240 pages later, I was pleasantly surprised, and somewhat impressed.

Set in a futuristic urbanisation called Bubble City, famous actress Lulabelle Rock has cloned herself into 13 Portraits, all of which are designated specific chores Lulabelle has no time for. The novel begins with the creation of the thirteenth clone, designed to assassinate all her predecessors as soon as possible. Straight out of something from Black Mirror, Woolf executes the distinctions between each Lulabelle well; almost all of them have a distinct character background and setting.

I found the witty, satirical moments woven within social commentary particularly interesting. Since Portraits seem to be something only the elite can resource and afford, it leads into debate surrounding social class and the upper-classes materialism. As I read, I was picturing celebrities we know nowadays creating their own army of Portraits to complete mindless tasks like brunch-hopping, partying, and running social media accounts. It was eerie to think that this could one day be a possibility.

My only problem was with the romance aspect, which I felt was almost unnecessary and came completely out of nowhere. The speed at which it developed was very confusing - I felt like I'd missed a few chapters. Background characters Lulabelle 13 met along her travels were much more compelling than the romance sub-plot, and I almost wished there had been more information regarding them than the relationship.

Overall, this was a unique read with an interesting plot and premise. This book got me out of a three month long reading slump, and for that reason I'd recommend to anyone looking for a fast-paced, unique and unpredictable read!

Thank you Angry Robots for the e-ARC!

A weird, compelling and futuristic tale of clones, redemption, consumption, self-destruction and self-discovery: where the lines between identity and morality blur. A short but satisfying sci-fi read. Reminds me a bit of Angela Carter.

This book came at the right time. I was looking for something lowkey and scifi-ey and this fell into my lap at the right time.

I appreciated that this book was very chill in its execution. Somehow even though the content is a little more violent in nature, it was still kind of cozy. Sort of low stakes, but still it being high stakes at the same time. The pacing was good, and the characters were varried enough for it being "Portraits" of the original.

It's a good time!

Thank you to Netgalley and Angry Robot for an e-copy.

An intriguing premise well explained and with great world-building. There's a lot of emotion and the way 'Thirteen' grows and evolves even over the three days of the book held my interest despite the repetition of the murders. Maud Woolf manages to make each 'Portrait' different despite their limitations, also there's a reasonable plot to add to the mix. A good, fast and easy read.

This book is different which is rare. The plot fits perfectly with the technologically modern world we live in. It’s one of those great dystopias which is both unsettling and feels like it’s close enough to our own reality to be possible.

The characterisation in this book is great, not easy when essentially they are all the same character! However Woolf does a great job of making them all different and distinct. You really go on a journey with our main protagonist. To start with you feel a bit dropped in with her which I can sometimes find off-putting but this worked. You are a bit disorientated as she is so you really get in her shoes.

The prose is great and easy to read, just the right touch without being too flowery or too boring. I also didn’t see the ending coming which is another thing that differentiated it for me. It’s set up nicely for a potential sequel but at the same time the ending isn’t annoying and too much of a cliffhanger if it doesn’t appear.

Hats off to Maud Woolf for an original and interesting book.

A fast-paced thriller with dark humour at it's heart. It asks questions about celebrity culture and what makes us human, as we join the thirteenth Portrait (replica) of Lulabelle Rock on her mission to kill the other twelve Portraits, This is a very quick read that asks some big questions whilst staying fun. After finishing i still don't know all the answers re recurring characters but i like when everything isn't blatantly explained and i've got a bit to think about afterwards.

Darkly comic, disturbing yet tender-hearted, and with a marvellous twist, this is the sort of fresh new voice that is a real pleasure to discover.

This novella explores themes of identity, celebrity culture, morality, and self-governance, but it never becomes heavy - the plot moves along at a rollicking pace, dragging the main character along behind it... until she puts her foot down and refuses to be dictated to anymore.

Thirteen Ways to Kill Lulabelle Rock is such an unusual read! It gives Black Mirror-esque vibes, where the rich and famous can make 'Portraits' of themselves: essentially a clone, created to essentially be a stand-in for them.

The catch? Only a Portrait, or the original, can kill another Portrait. So, when the thirteenth Portrait of Lullabelle Rock wakes, she is given one task: To kill the other twelve.

As she goes about her task, meeting more and 'taking out' the other Portraits, she begins to question the world she is in and why she was created, developing a unique personality, as she discovers many of the other Portraits have developed too.

I really enjoyed going on this ride with number 13 and trying to figure out the world and why Lulabelle wants her Portraits taken out. It is super fast-paced, with curious characters who explore what it means to be 'human' and the concept of self-awareness.

Thank you to Caroline at Angry Robot Books for an e-arc of this one! All opinions are my own.

Thirteen Ways to Kill Lulabelle Rock instantly became a favorite book for me. It was a fun and fast read that was hard to put down. I loved seeing different versions of the same person, how they functioned based on what instructions they’d been given. The whole book had a surreal feel without going overboard, and while it does have some introspection it never gets so bogged down in it that it slows the plot.

Note: arc provided by the publisher via netgalley in exchange for honest review

This was a fun, short read i enjoyed it a lot and loved the writing style. So good, such a fun fast paced read.

Great fun read, short novel involving man made human replicas and an action plot involving murder. I really enjoyed it. Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy

This short novel is set in a sci-fi near-future, where the rich and famous can make replicas of themselves, known as Portraits, and send them to deal with all the rich-and-famous things they don’t really want to do. Lulabelle Rock has thirteen Portraits – one that deals with the hassle of the paparazzi on Fashion Row, one that spends her time on the party circuit, even one she made on a whim because she didn’t feel like going to brunch with her friends that day. But the thirteenth is different. The thirteenth Portrait – our narrator and main character – is tasked with killing the other twelve.

This book reminded me of the Echo Wife, in that it deals with the questions of identity that arise when a copy of a person is made, the complexity of the relationship between the copy and the original (or in this case, also between two copies), and what it means when that copy starts to show individuality.

There were some recurring characters that, if their appearances were meant to be coincidences they strained credulity, if they were intentional they weren’t explained, and if they were meant to be symbolic it wasn’t obvious enough for me to get it. Though maybe it had something to do with the running Tarot theme – Tarot is not something I know much about. Anyway, I didn’t understand the ending, but it was still pretty good. 3 stars.

I requested this one because it might be an upcoming title I would like to review on my Youtube Channel. However, after reading the first several chapters I have determined that this book does not suit my tastes. So I decided to DNF this one.

This one is incredibly fun, well-paced, and full of strong twists. I had a great time reading it and highly recommend it to fans of noirish near-future romps.

I read an eARC of this book so thank you to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for this.

What a unique and fascinating premise this was! In this book the wealthy and famous have ‘portraits’ manufactured copies of themselves who cover functions/tasks roles for them that they either don’t want to or don’t have the time to do themselves. Lulabelle Rock has just woken up her 13th portrait. This one’s task is to assassinate all the other portraits as a publicity stunt. We see the world through her eyes as she learns more about her targets, their roles they fulfil for Lulabelle and the word around her.

This book is quite short, more novella than novel but it packed a lot of story into a short space. I didn’t feel anything was missing from the story, it’s fast paced and all takes place over just a few days.

I found this really compelling and I raced through it. You largely know what the plot will be from the first few pages, however there are still some surprises from the supporting characters. I found this genuinely quite fascinating. I really liked the tie in to the tarot cards and how Lulabelle saw each of her portraits and how they’d adapted to the roles she’d given them, developing their own quirks, personalities and preferences.

A fun, unusual and exciting read!

Thirteen Ways to Kill Lulabelle Rock is an absolute romp, but I perhaps wanted more from the world-building side of things. The wider world of the novel was really intriguing to me, but we never quite get to explore it, remaining in our more insular perspective. That said, this was a quick and hugely enjoyable read, which I found to be quietly touching towards the end. I enjoyed all of the characters - both the different Lulabelle's, and the supporting cast. I'm not sure how long the contents of this book will stay with me, but I had a wonderful time whilst I was in the throes of it.

I was captured from the first page and couldn't put this down. The setting is a futuristic Hollywood where the wealthy clone themselves to take on unwanted tasks.

The MC is a freshly made assassin clone of a famous actress As she goes about her assignment, it becomes a journey of slef discovery.

Thanks to Netgalley and Angry Robots for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC. My opinions are my own.

FOUR STARs for "Thirteen Ways to Kill Lulubelle.". This novela was a thoroughly enjoyable sci-fi noir detective novela. The novel hook being that the detective is the murderer. This is a world where you can clone a portrait in order to do the mundane or annoying tasks you dispise. Lulubelle has decanted one last replicant and ordered her to kill the other 13.

This book reminded me of a bit of Brave New World meets Do Androids Dream of Electric sheep.

The world is near ours in tech except for the ability to make living "Portrait" copies of people to give them tasks to do the unpleasant things in one's life.

I was given an advance release copy via NetGallery for this book.

I wasn’t sure what to expect with this book but from the moment I started I had a hard time putting it down. One portrait with a file to kill all the others had me glued. I kept waiting to figure out which one they fell in love with and how they all differed. I liked how tarot was woven in the story. Also liked the action and the strange twists. This is definitely the kind of movie I would want to watch. This is a book you will want to check out.

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for the arc.

Thank you to NetGalley and Angry Robot for the advance reader copy.

I had no expectations about this book and it was great. I read it quickly as the premise was unique and futuristic.

The chapters are based on tarot cards and relate to the characters we meet in that chapter.

I enjoyed how we don’t really know everything throughout the book and it’s revealed as the main character gains understanding.

I think I still have quite a lot of questions but also feel there’s some bits that could have been expanded on. As this was a uncorrected proof I think there would be some changes in the printed release.