As a fan of John Marrs’ books, I can confidently say that “You Killed Me First” is hands down my favorite of all his works! Marrs truly outdid himself with this one, blending his signature fast-paced storytelling with such a clever and twisted plot that it kept me on edge from start to finish. The characters are brilliantly developed, each with secrets that unravel in the most shocking ways. Every chapter left me wanting more, and just when I thought I had everything figured out, Marrs threw in another jaw-dropping twist.

The psychological depth and moral dilemmas are brilliantly woven into the narrative, making you question everything about trust and relationships. I’ve read all of Marrs’ books, but You Killed Me First takes the top spot—it’s thrilling, chilling, and utterly unputdownable. A masterpiece in the genre! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you #NetGalley for the #ARC #YouKilledMeFirst #JohnMarrs

No one writes a psychotic character quite like John Marrs! This was a great read, with three lead characters, Margot, Anna and Liv; each despicable in different ways and each hiding a secret or two.

The book starts with an unknown character trapped underneath a bonfire - the action swings into the past as we discover the events leading up to Bonfire night and then the future.

Packed with excellent twists and turns, this is an excellent thriller. Four stars for me as I got slightly confused with some of the ‘ghost’ chapters and this distracted me from the main story.

Thank you to Thomas and Mercer for my review copy

This was my first time reading a book by John Marrs, and he did not disappoint. The story was well-crafted and thoughtfully explored the complexities of female relationships, highlighting how competitive and sometimes harsh they can be. My only critique is that the chapters featuring the ‘dead’ character felt somewhat disconnected from the main narrative at the beginning. However, they did tie up nicely by the end

No notes, everything you could ever want from a thriller. Cremate me with this (no pun intended).

Amazing twists throughout, and fantastic characters who were super well developed and intricately connected. John Marrs villainised every character at some point leaving me literally clueless on who to root for

Massive John Marrs fan right here! I love books that have so many twists and turns, this one did not disappoint and kept me hooked from the start. Completely original and not predictable. Quite possibly my new favourite John Marrs book!

🔥𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗞𝗜𝗟𝗟𝗘𝗗 𝗠𝗘 𝗙𝗜𝗥𝗦𝗧
🔪𝔱𝔥𝔯𝔦𝔩𝔩𝔢𝔯
𝙿𝚞𝚋🗓️: 𝙼𝚊𝚛𝚌𝚑 𝟺, 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟻(𝚂𝙰𝚅𝙴 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙳𝙰𝚃𝙴🚨)
🤩𝕄𝕪 𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘: 𝟝 𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕣𝕤! ★★★★★

🤏𝚃𝚎𝚎𝚗𝚢 𝚝𝚒𝚍𝚋𝚒𝚝...Three women..all with their own secrets that they may even kill to protect them.

🔥𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝙸 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚊𝚢...The TBR had to wait once I got ahold of this ARC because omg, it’s John Marrs! 🎉 And, damnnnn..he totally nailed this one! 💯How he is able to write three women so well, I will never know. 🤨The cattiness was off the charts at times in the best of ways. I mean these ladies were ruthless, but also picture perfect too 💁‍♀️. If you follow Marrs he seems to be the most gentlest of guys, but yet he writes these perfectly wicked novels. 😈🙌🤔It’s always the quiet ones, am I right?!? 😆 His accent & all he shares is just the best & I chapter 39n’(IYKYK) love it!! 💜 There is another cameo of Chapter 39 too so make sure you don’t miss it & the authors note was the best! 🤩This one def has some disturbing shit so if you need to check TW then make sure you do, but I went in blind & loved every second of it. 🤸I will remind yall closer to pub date again on this one because this is a must read! 🔥

This is my 2nd ARC from John Marrs and he never disappoints. He has quickly become one of my favorite authors and I feel so lucky when I get selected for an ARC of his.

This book has so many twists and unexpected surprises. I enjoyed Liv, Margo and Anna so much. Wanting to see where their friendship would go and who would side with who was such a great read. There was no way I would have guessed the ending.

Thank you NetGalley and John Marrs for this early copy. I can’t wait to add a physical copy to my library.

Thank you Netgalley, Thomas & Mercer and John Marrs for the eArc of You killed Me First.

Having read a few of John Marrs' books, I have enjoyed his writing style and especially his speculative thrillers. You killed me first grabbed me and kept hold of me to which I sat and read this one in one sitting! We start off with an opening prologue of someone trapped underneath a bonfire pyre. They have a phone and it rings, to which someone then tells this person..... You killed me first.

Rewind 11 months and we have Liv, who with her family have just moved into a new area and she befriends, Anna and Margot. Most of the book is from these 3 POV as first person. We also have the thoughts of another and so the mystery begins. Not only are you trying to suss out who was in the prologue and why. You are also trying to suss out who these thoughts belong to.

As the story progresses, Johns writing and clever foreshadowing, will keep you guessing and as soon as you think you have sussed it. Something else will come along to undo it all! The plot line is medium paced and holds that until the last 100 pages of the book. It then speeds up as everything unravels . I didn't see the last little twist coming and this is what I enjoy about John Marrs' books. It's like one final kick!

I loved the dynamics between the 3 main characters, Liv, Margot and Anna. The character flaws, secrets and characteristics makes them believable and to be honest, we probably know someone similar off the pages of this book.

Will be looking forward to listening to this on audiobook !

4..75 stars for Storygraph, 5 stars on Netgalley, Amazon and Goodreads

Well, after having read all of Marr's previous books I don't know why I'm so shocked!

My head will be spinning for days....just when you think you've got to the twist you're spun another 180 degrees. This happens over and over and now I need a sit down from being so dizzy.

Marrs style of writing is effortless.

I would highly recommend this to all readers...but block out a few days from your diary as you'll not want to put this down.

Thank so you much to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC.

Thank you to John Marrs, NetGalley and Thomas&Mercer for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC and leave a review.

So, I’m going to start by saying that I have read every single book by John Marrs and have completely devoured all of them. His speculative fiction is some of my favourite books and I loved this slightly tongue-in-cheek story. It’s Desperate Housewives if they were based in the UK and drank tea instead of champagne. Oh, and they all had very traumatic events in their lives and were very slightly psychotic. There were plenty of twists to keep you guessing and the chapters written by the victims was a brilliant addition. You can’t trust anyone in this book, and you never know who is out to get you.

I’ve given it four stars because although I love John Marrs writing style, and his very unique voices I did find I enjoyed previous books a little more

Receiving an ARC (advanced reading copy) of a John Marrs book is like winning the lottery. Today I hit the jackpot, which how I find myself reading You Killed Me First, 6 months prior to its publication date.

When I start a John Marrs book, I am completely engrossed. I eagerly read from dedication to acknowledgements quickly. When I finish a John Marrs book, I find myself staring at the wall in silence, trying to process everything I have just read. You Killed Me First was no different.

The book starts on Bonfire Night, with a chilling first chapter. A woman is trapped, bound and gagged, whilst literally everyone around her enjoys the fireworks. We then backtrack by 11 months, to understand all that has happened, and there is a lot, trust me.

We have two seemingly separate storylines. The first finds three women, I wouldn’t call them friends. Existing and competing in their social circle, air kissing and showing their alleged best selves, for public consumption.
The second strand is intriguing, and quite bewildering initially. As the pages turn, all becomes clear.

The characters are very well developed, completely believable, and in some instances, morally repugnant; exactly as you would want and expect from this author. These characters don’t leave you sitting on the fence, they invoke strong reactions in readers.

I adore the Chapter 39 reference, within Chapter 39. I guarantee all John Marrs’ fans will lap this up, Chapter 39 has now reached cult status. (Personally, I don’t have the tattoo) If you have no idea what I’m talking about, you need to read Keep It In the Family.

This book is everything you want from a John Marrs book. It’s gripping, thrilling, eyebrow raising, and so Chapter 39ing good! My favourite line in the book is: “Christ, she’s skinny. It’s like comforting a chopstick”

5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ from me.

Another amazing book by John Marrs! So many twists! You think you know where it's going and then bam, you're taken a different route.!Loved it!

So good! Kept me guessing the whole time with unpredictable twists and turns. I finished this in 2 days, could not put it down!
This review was also posted on Goodreads.

John Marrs is back with a BANG!

So fortunate to obtain an ARC of his new thriller, 'You Killed Me First', from NetGalley, with its release due in March 2025.

Marrs manages to encapsulate multiple POVs in this slow burn masterpiece. Liv, Margot and Anna all have their secrets and in typical Marrs fashion the reader is kept wondering WTF as the story develops until it's final page where your brain, soul, heart will be blown to shreds.

Fuck I love John Marrs!

A new John Marrs book will always skip the TBR line and this one did not disappoint. Just when you think you have it figured out, the twists keep twisting. The character development is masterful, the plot is compelling, John Marrs is brilliant.

Margot is the woman you love to hate. She is vain, manipulative, selfish...everything you would expect from a defamed pop star. Anna is timid and people pleasing. She clearly isn't happy in her marriage, and she is internally dealing with childhood trauma. They make an unlikely pair, but they have a routine. Anna needs Margot, Margot needs to be needed.

Enter Liv, new to the neighborhood. She knows what she wants and she does what she has to do to get it. She sees right through Margot, she genuinely befriends Anna. She threatens the dynamic.

But everyone is hiding something, because...of course they are. When everything starts coming to light, there's mutually assured destruction games on the horizon. You won't see the end coming.

Thank you John Marrs, Thomas and Mercer, and Netgalley for the advanced copy!

This book starts off on fire. Literally. Well, not the actual book, but one of the characters seems to be the main course at the community bonfire.
We then go back and meet Margo, Anna, and Liv. Each of them has secrets, and wow, they are mind blowing, life altering, no way, she did not just do that, secrets.
Margo’s motto is: What Margo wants, Margo should get. But what does she really deserve?
Liv just wants her new business to succeed. But how did she find the necessary funds to make her dream become reality?
Anna is the nice one. Unassuming without a mean thing to say about anyone. They do say, though, look out for the quiet ones.
Which one of these women is the main course on the bonfire menu? You will have to read this book to find out.
When everything comes together, and I thought I had gasped my last, ‘what’, the author pulled the rug out from under me with the ending. Holy smokes, I would not have been surprised if my Kindle caught on fire. I was flipping the pages so fast, that my hand got a Charlie horse. I did not even know that could happen.
Characters that do the most awful things, but somehow I still rooted for each of them at different times. Well, except for one woman who shall remain nameless. Another great read by John Marrs.

Well, not all is as it seems in this one. I buddy read it with 2 others that managed to get a copy too and we all felt the same throughout which was good. A really good gripping read, though a car crash waiting to happen! I guessed that Drew was Anna’s brother quite early on. None of the characters were particularly likeable nor trustable but I think that was the aim. By the end I figured someone would kill them all. Very far fetched reading but enjoyable. From early on it gave me vibes of Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough. I think I’d have found this one more striking had I not read that one years ago. I did find it a bit confusing as to who I was reading at times, I had to flick back to see whether it was Anna, Liv or Margot. I found they all read (sounded) similarly.

'𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐈 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮?'
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐝𝐞.
'𝐈'𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐢𝐝. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭.'

OH. MY. GOD.

No one, and I mean NO ONE can write catty, b*tchy women like John Marrs! When I wasn't cackling like a witch at some of this dialogue, I was on the verge of hyperventilating because I was so tense!

The prologue opens with a woman trapped inside a bonfire. As she regains consciousness, she has no recollection of how she got there and how she will get out. Then the flames close in around here, and the story begins.

This thriller centers around three women, each with a very distinct personality. There's Margot, still desperately trying to live in the fading shadows of the fame she knew years before; there's Anna, who is on the receiving end of all the passive-aggressive comments from Margot; and there's Liv, the stylish, flawless newcomer to the neighborhood who drops some of the BEST one-liners I've ever heard.

When the differing personalities of these three women converge, you would expect there to be sparks, but it's when you understand how they're all connected that the real explosion materializes. Because it's John Marrs, it's going to be dark, but this was a different kind of thriller. It was fun; dare I say 𝒈𝒍𝒆𝒆𝒇𝒖𝒍 in some parts, but the pièce de résistance was that he pulled off something that other thriller writers have attempted and failed at miserably. It was clever and brilliantly executed. This one had me under a spell from the first sentence, and it kept me guessing until the very end. Many thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer Publishing for the early copy. At the time this review was written, this book was expected to publish March 11, 2025.

All the stars from me! Another twisty and unpredictable ride from John Marrs. Margot and Anna are neighbours when the glamorous Liv moves into their street; but they all have some dark secrets which slowly unfold

Such a fantastic unique thriller. The three strong female leads are brilliantly portrayed each with distinct voices and personalties.

Liv and Anna are multilayered and equally engaging but Margot is the star of the show. Sarcastic, bitchy and funny- she's the perfect person to enjoy hating but Marr's skillfull writing also draws empathy fro.m the reader despite her personality and misdeeds.

The plotting is meticulous and results in twist after twist making the reading experience breathless and exciting. I laughed and gasped throughout and found it highly entertaining.