How to kill a guy in ten ways is a dark humorous tale of Millie - a vigilante serial killer!
If you watched Dexter and his internal monologue irritated you a bit, then perhaps give this one a miss.
The plot revolves around Millie, who runs a helpline called M, where she helps individuals in threatening situations. However, ultimately she embarks on a path of vigilante justice and murder, using the helpline as a cover for her darker intentions.
A fun read however, I anticipate that this will be a marmite read

Think Janet Evanavich, but deliciously darker and way more twisted. Millie is one of my favorite characters, possibly EVER. I willnot soon forget her. I will be recommending this one for years to come. Can't wait to read whatever else Eve Kellman writes! Thank you to the Avon books and Netgalley for an early ARC

“Things are not going to plan, but I’m only a quitter when it comes to work, hobbies, relationships, diets, and most friendships. Not murder.”

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this eARC!

How to Kill a Guy in Ten Ways initially attracted me as a reader because of its quirky title and intriguing synopsis. Who doesn’t want to read a story about a helpline driver turned vigilante turned murder? However, the synopsis is a little misleading. This is not a story about the Message M helpline. It doesn’t even really start off that way. What I was hoping would be a fast-paced book filled with twists and turns was predictable and narrated by a rude and annoying FMC.

Millie herself was what I disliked most about this story. Her inner dialogue was strange and at times off-putting, specifically when describing people’s physical qualities (girl what do you have against people with gauges and girls who wear short dresses). She also admits almost immediately that she killed her father and then pretends like the reader doesn’t know until the very end (more on this later). She is rude to almost everyone else and doesn’t even really have sympathy for her sister, the most important person in her life (who she only visits like every other week). Her whole justification for starting Message M was to seek justice for what had happened to her sister and stop other situations like that from happening. However, it never really felt like that was the reason she started killing, and her reasons for murder were not compelling enough to justify what she was doing.

When I read about a female serial killer, I want to be rooting for her to outsmart everyone and get away with it. I just kept hoping Millie would get caught.

I didn’t love the writing which is not a dealbreaker for me, but I was confused who the narrator was talking to. Was it the confession tape or just in her head? This was especially true in the revelation with her father. Each time I started a new chapter the voice/way the story was written kinda restarted and then divulged into so many different subplots and unimportant details. The sentences were chunky and the humor fell flat.

The plot had potential and the book is readable, but not the female serial killer book I was looking for. Two Stars ⭐⭐

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Avon, for the opportunity to read this novel as a digital ARC before its publication.

Spunky, ruthless, and shocking, this book had me hooked and really reminded me of the Finlay Donovan series, but with more edge! This book has been described as "deliciously dark and hilariously twisted," and that sums it up perfectly.

Millie Masters is a main character unlike any others I have encountered before, you will either love her or hate her. I enjoyed then novel, so much so that several moments made me laugh aloud, my jaw dropped at her toughness and the ways she wrangled out of the most difficult of situations. The concept of the "Message M" hotline is also fantastic and was definitely unique.

Part thriller, part mystery, part women's fiction, I expect readers of all kinds to enjoy this book and support Eve Kellman for years to come. Can't say enough good things about this book's ending!

I loved reading this book. I always have so much fun reading 'morally grey' main characters, especially female MC's who gear towards vengeance. I think this was so incredibly well written, every moment was entertaining with some great twists. Although this may not be the book for everyone (check the trigger warnings) but if you like books with a darker plot and a bit of mystery I recommend this.

"How to Kill a Guy in Ten Ways" by Eve Kellman, is a page turner, with a very interesting female main character.

We follow Millie, who runs a phone message service called "Message M" for women who feel unsafe. The most important people in her life are her sister and her best friend, for whom she would do anything.
How far will she go to save women who need her help and can she get away with it?

I enjoyed reading this book. The MC is morally grey and someone I both like and dislike immensely. If you are interested in reading this book I can guarantee it does not get boring. But I would recommend reading the trigger warnings beforehand.

What a little hidden gem.

Don't be mislead by the playful cover, and punny title- this book covers some dark topics! After a her sister faces a horrible trauma, the MC is faced with exacting vengeance. Again- a playful plot, but there is a lot of grief and trauma. Please check the TWs for yourself.

How to Kill a Guy in Ten Ways is hilarious, messy, and completely unhinged... and I loved it!

The plot was unlike any other book I have read before. The book follows Millie, who morphs from a millennial in England, running a hotline to help women and girls in unsafe situations with men, into a budding serial killer. I don't think the character is meant to be fully likable, but Eve Kellman is able to pull it off perfectly. It was interesting getting to follow her descent into chaos as the list of murdered men grows.

There are some major trigger warnings for this story -- murder (obviously), death, domestic abuse, suicide attempts, rape, and incest, to name a few. While the book was overall pretty funny, it was also very dark.

This book was Kellman's debut novel, and I absolutely can not wait for her next book. Though this is only my 4th book read, I am already thinking this will be in my top 10 reads of 2024.

I really enjoyed Eve Kellman's debut novel, How to Kill a Guy in Ten Ways.

Millie runs a help line called Message M. Girls who are out on dates or otherwise and who feel threatened by a man can call or text this number and Millie (or M) will come to the rescue. Message M is Millie's way of dealing with her anger over what happened to her younger sister Katie, who was raped on New Year's Eve and has stopped eating or leaving her bed. Millie's ultimate goal is to take revenge on the man that did it.
Millie takes revenge into her own hands when she intentionally / accidentally kills a man when rescuing a girl. Suddenly she has a new tool to fight back with, murder.
This book was a lot of fun to read and I'm really looking forward to her next book!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this digital ARC.

Thanks to NetGalley for the arc!
I was curious after reading the description for this book, and it ended up being a fun, quick read! The main plot isn’t something totally new, but the way she goes about it is what makes it different. There really wasn’t any mystery or huge twists with this, but it still was very entertaining! I liked it a lot and would recommend for something that is a little more fun but still in the mystery type genre.

This book is amazing. I haven’t read a female serial killer genre before so this is my first and I am far from disappointed. My attention was captured while reading the first chapter.
A darkly funny novel that is WELL written. Very fast paced and super easy to read and get into. I was nervous at first that I wasn’t going to be able to get into this book but to my surprise the fast pace and descriptions of characters took me away. Such a strong female character who is easily lovable.
I loved this book. Thank you NetGalley and Avon Books UK for the arc read. Eve Kellman, keep up the good work.

This was so good! If you like the Finlay Donovan series, Dial A for aunties, or any other comedic murder stories then you’ll love this too.

I’ve got to say, this had a lot more emotional depth than I was expecting for what looks like a funny book. And it was funny! But it also handled some REALLY deep topics and was a bit surprisingly gruesome sometimes (the bathroom scene anyone?). I really, really loved the ending I was routing for Millie so much and I think it all wrapped up nicely.

One thing that distracted me a bit while reading this was that I actually spotted quite a few typos in this! Not sure if this is the finished book but I spotted quite a lot that distracted me (because I always have to double back and check if it is a typo or if I’m just reading too fast!).

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend! Millie stressed me out a bit because she was NOT a professional 😭 the opposite of a hired assassin! But it was funny and I had no idea where it was going or how it was going to be resolved, but I was happy with it.

Millie works in a picture framing shop by day, but by night runs "Message M" - a rescue service for women finding themselves out on dates from hell. They message M and Millie comes along to save them and get them away from whoever they're with. Millie has a sister who has recently been raped, which is why Millie is now like a knightess in shining armour to so many women, so they don't end up in the same position! However, when one rescue goes bad and Millie finds herself killing Guy number one, she gets the taste for revenge and sets out to find the man who raped her sister.

I thought this would be a little bit more light-hearted than it was, as are other similar books of its genre. It does have some humour in it though, but it is, for the majority, quite dark and intense! I like Millie's character but can't believe some of the situations she gets herself into. She's obviously a clever woman, but is reckless and naive in some of the things she does. The story is all about revenge, not just for her sister, but for all the women who have had bad experiences with men and for that perhaps you can applaud her! But, on her quest for justice, she gets so many things wrong and you are left wondering whether she really enjoys all this! I loved her relationship with her new boyfriend but I had to close my eyes at times as you could just see where it was all going!!

It was all, of course, a little far fetched, but still an enjoyable read! There are lots of trigger warnings for this book, so you may want to avoid if rape, assault, abuse, mental health and others triggers are not for you. It is a little violent but the title of the book gives this away! Strangely I did find myself rooting for Millie throughout as really you know what she's doing is the right thing...just doing it all the wrong way!

I got a review copy from NetGalley and this is my honest opinion of the book. This is one of the best books I’ve read in awhile and I couldn’t put it down. Millie is such a relatable character and by then end, regardless of the plot, you keep rooting for her. I’m trying to avoid spoilers, because this is a really gripping and fun story. The plot is unique, fast paced and unpredictable. There were several points in the story where I had no idea what was coming next or how it was going to end. What a fun read. I would love Millie to be a multiple novel character, but who knows? I can’t wait to see what the author has coming next.

It's not often that books about serial killers make you laugh, but How to Kill a Guy in Ten Ways had an element of comedy in it that created a unique balance that I liked a lot.

Millie is our main character in this story, and she lives in Bristol working at a picture frame shop. We know from the start that something bad has happened to her younger sister Katie, causing her to stop eating, quit university, and lie in bed all day. Millie also runs a bad-date-rescue service on the weekends called Message M. Guy creeping you out, stalking you, not respecting your 'no'? Message M and she'll come pick you up.

The way this book is written is such that Millie is narrating, and often times done so such that she is speaking to the reader, breaking that wall. I don't find this too often, so I appreciated the approach. The dry British humor is what made this book fun for me.

This was a page turner once I got into it. I didn't know how the story was going to end up, though I knew it must be setting up for a glorious bang at the end. It did not disappoint.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the chance to read an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I will definitely check out Eve Kellman's next book!

This was a fun and delicious dark revenge thriller. This almost gave me the same thrills as the Mindfuck series and I’m here for it. This book was quite the ride and I loved every bit of it.

3.74 stars rounded up to 4

Listen, I’m not against a vigilante serial killer. I loved Dexter.

But Millie just…wasn’t my favorite to say the least.

Nothing she did made any sense to me.

The plot had potential. A woman who helps other women finding themselves in precarious situations with sleazy men. That’s a promising premise.

But I just didn’t understand the decisions she was making. She seemed so careless. Not to mention, she likes to act like she’s some kind of champion for women, yet she seems to hate every single woman (and man) in her life or that she comes across.

She also doesn’t seem to understand how phone evidence works…you can’t just delete things and they disappear…things are rarely ACTUALLY gone when you delete them.

I did find myself invested though, because I had to see how her recklessness, which just seemed to get more and more unhinged as she went along, would end up. Would she get caught? Would she ever stop killing people? Would she start killing women eventually?

It’s not that it was a BAD book. It wasn’t. It was readable, slow occasionally, but overall kept me reading…It just perplexed me sometimes.

Judging from the other reviews, maybe it’s just my issue because it seems very well-loved by others.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for providing this book, with my honest review below*

I thought this would be a little lighter based on the cover, but it’s a very intense and very good thriller! The book description represents a very very high level overview of the book well, but Millie’s (MC) story is very intense and the whole book follows her deeper and deeper into the conflicts that her hotline, Message M, led to, along with her sister’s attack.

I enjoyed the tension build up and the twists at the end, but this book flirted with adding some more complexity and character studies that would really help connect to the characters and make it more fraught. Good writing, but in its genre I think it could either go lighter and meet the humour of the title or go darker to make it a fascinating study of what someone does in reaction to tragedy and trauma.

Reviewed for NetGalley:

Millie sets up a hotline for women feeling unsafe. However, the hotline soon turns into a murder hotline, with Millie helping women with the problematic men in their life.

Not sure how I feel about this overall. I wanted to empathize with Mille's revenge quest for women treated so badly, but I didn't connect with her or her actions.

Got bad vibes about the guy you are with? Your solution and hopefully rescue from a potentially bad situation is to Message M. That would be Millie Masters who sets up the message line after her much loved younger sister. Katie, is raped last New Year’s Eve. However, bear in mind that message M is remarkably close to Dial M for Murder… Revenge might just be on the cards.

As the title suggests this novel is not necessarily going to be pretty but it is darkly funny, and despite what she does, the author managers to make Millie likeable whilst your jaw thunders to the floor at some of what she does. It is like watching a car crash in slo-mo at times (apt), but you can’t lift your eyes from the pages as you are horribly “entertained”. Whilst I don’t advocate what Millie does, the anger at her sisters suffering and the weakness and lack of justice via the law drives this and creates a powerful message from the pages.

This is well written, it is full of darkly funny statements or a strong sense of irony or underplaying what has transpired. There are some good descriptions of creepy characters and with a few well chosen phrases the sleazebags are there in front of us. Millie, whilst she is full of anger and more, she can be reckless and there are several whoops moments (I’m the one underplaying here) but she is also perceptive and her love for her sister shines through it all. Her willingness to put herself on the line to help those in trouble via Message M is admirable. What you learn towards the end delivers a terrible shock and you understand her better and the obsession with her brand of justice.

The pace and delivery of the novel is fast, there is never a dull moment and it turns into a buckle up, twisty ride. There are multiple moments of suspense and tension, there are some jaw dropping light bulb moments and clues I should have picked up much earlier and I kick myself. The situation then becomes clearer as it escalates to a tense and very dramatic ending.

Despite the fact this is dark there are moments where your heart breaks at its core this is a story about love and ok, revenge. I love the fact that the author has created a strong female lead character who is taking back the streets, pubs, clubs and for that I cheer her on but it shouldn’t be necessary should it?

An entertaining read with a serious message beneath the darkly funny.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Avon Books for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.