This is a fabulous read! It felt somehow darker than " How to Get Away With Murder", but still with the hilarious quips I recognised and loved in Tam’s first book.

Dr Emy Rose works with convicted serial killers in an effort to convince them to disclose where they hid the bodies of their victims and provide closure to their families. Emy may be a clever and highly skilled psychologist, but these twisted psychopaths have plenty of their own mind games ready to play. What they don't know though, is that Emy has a personal connection to one of the victims and she won't rest until she has the truth.

Tam Barnett's writing style pulled me in straight away and I was totally absorbed. The plot is superb, the characters are well developed and feel totally real and the fast pace kept me gripped. I loved it!

5 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, Tam Barnett and Boldwood for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Although this was a darker read than I expected based on the cover art, it was very enjoyable. There are comic elements throughout, albeit a bit on the dark side. The comedy mostly works although seems forced at certain points.

The premise is that Dr Emy Rose is a psychologist in charge of an experimental program designed to get confessed serial killers to reveal where the bodies of their victims are. But Dr Rose has a bit of a secret which ultimately puts her at odds with the stated purpose of getting closure for victims' families in general.

Initially she is a harsh and somewhat unlikeable character but as we see her struggle with the conflict between doing what is right for the program and what is right for her personally, we see her character develop.

There are plot twists as well, some I saw coming and some I did not, and overall this is well plotted and tightly constructed without plot gaps or leaps. It is also pretty fast paced and easy to read. Overall a very enjoyable book and I would read more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this in advance. This book hits the shelves April 7 and is a definite recommended read!

This book will make you feel! Spine-tingling, goosebump-inducing, and gut-wrenching, it made my heart ache and my pulse race, and all in just the simplest and most unexpected moments, or changes of direction. Simply sublime.

How do you solve bone chilling murder mystery’s that serial killers stay silent on where they left the remains of their victims? In comes Emy Rose who has a talent for getting into serial killers minds and extracting the information she needs to get justice and closure for these victims families. What happens when Emy has to keep a secret not only from her colleagues but from the 3 notorious serial killers she has to interview to get the answers she needs before time runs out? This story felt like episodes of Mindhunter meets True Detective. This novel is an intense and WILD ride from start to finish! I could not put this book down and didn’t want this crazy rollercoaster of a story to end!

This book completely wrecked my sleep schedule—in the best way. The first 20% was a bit slow, but once it picked up, I was hooked and couldn’t put it down. Don’t let the cute cover fool you—this book gets dark, and honestly, it should come with some serious trigger warnings.

The main character, a psychologist trying to track down missing victims, is easy to root for, but she’s deeply flawed. You can imagine how tough it would be to work with her, especially when a gross, corrupt, sleazy politician constantly interferes with her research and threatening to shut down her trials. The tension in this book is unreal. Her best friend and coworker also kinda sucks.

One of the most unsettling parts is how the killers are written. At times, they almost seem to have redeeming qualities—but then you remember they’re complete sociopaths, and it messes with your head. Some scenes were so disturbing they will give me nightmares for weeks to come, which honestly just proves how effective the writing is.

If you love dark psychological thrillers that push boundaries, How to Read a Killer’s Mind is 100% worth reading. Five stars.

Thank you Boldwood Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review! I hope there’s a sequel!

This book is about Dr Emy Rose and how she is able to use psychology to get serial killers to reveal where they’ve hidden their victims bodies. There’s a particular reason Emy is so hell bent on success…

This book has a unique premise and lots of twists and turns. I really enjoyed reading this and trying to guess the ending (I was not successful!). I couldn’t put this book down and read it so quickly because I needed to know what was going to happen next.

I highly recommend picking this one up if you’re a psychological thriller fan.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for my copy!

Publication Date: April 7th, 2025
This was a unique concept for me. A psychologist interviewing serial killers to get them to reveal where they've hidden their victims bodies so their families may have closure. Things aren't exactly as they seem though and there's plenty of unexpected secrets, twists and turns. It was a slower start but it's worth it to get to the end. I'm hoping for another book as this ended on a huge cliffhanger!

If your a fan of psychological thrillers, unexpected twists, and a FMC unwilling to quit until she gets ALL her answers than this is for you!

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC

3.5⭐️. This book reminded me of the series Mindhunter. I enjoyed the plot but did find the start of the book quite slow and found Emy annoying at times. Overall a good read. Thank you to Netgalley and Boldwood books for ARC.

Loved loved loved this one! Kinda like “House” with all the bad habits, really entertaining and story is brilliant! Thank you NetGalley and publisher for arc of this book! I would definitely recommend this book

That title had me instantly intrigued, and the story inside did not disappoint. Darker and more sinister than I expected, this psychological thriller had me gripped from start to finish.

Dr Emy Rose is an expert at getting inside the minds of serial killers—her job is to find the victims they’ve hidden. But there’s one killer she’s fixated on breaking, and her relentless pursuit of the truth takes her (and us) on a twisted, tension-filled ride.

I loved the concept and execution. Emy’s hyperfixation on getting results, her methods, and the way everything unravels kept me completely hooked. The storytelling is sharp, unsettling, and even darkly comic at times. A diabolical, enthralling thriller that lingers in your mind long after the final page.

📌 Perfect for fans of Bella Mackie, Katy Brent, and The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides.

💌 Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

#HowToReadAKillersMind #TamBarnett #BookReview #ThrillerBooks #PsychologicalThriller #NetGalley #Bookstagram

I wanted to stop this book 20% in. It was just too graphic and put things into my head that I did not want to imagine. I came onto the reviews to see if I was alone in my opinions and it appears than I am in a huge minority. So give a go yourself, u may just love it!
I just wish books had trigger warnings, I cannot read about the rape and horrible death of a child, this isn't my form of entertainment.
I persisted because of the amazing reviews and the storyline did improve but I just can't get over how graphic some of the description were. Maybe I'm just too soft, who knows.
I think that I was hoping a humerous dark thriller but I got dark, disturbing lack of humour.
Thank u #NetGalley for this advanced read.

This book started off a bit slow but it did getting better.
This book is dark but with humour as well I loved the character of Emmy and Chi.
A twisty psychological thriller

Emys's character (such a strong female lead!), the dark themes, and the well-crafted twists really stood out to me. The suspense kept me guessing until the end. 👏🏻 The author's research and writing style made it a 5-star read! Thank you publisher and NetGalley!

This book kept me guessing throughout. Would she finally find out what happened to her brother? Where he was buried? Gradually she was learning where other bodies were buried, with that exception. The ending of the book was quite fast paced, with a twist from Joe that I never saw coming. I won't say what happens with Emys search, but this is a book I enjoyed reading

Unsurprisingly, it is the title that compelled me to join this blog tour and I am very pleased that I did! Tam Barnett is a very imaginative writer who is able to pull the reader into her stories from the beginning. The central character, Emy, is a large part of this. Her tone is colloquial and it often feels as though she is talking directly to the reader. This made me warm to her very quickly and I felt incredibly sympathetic towards her and her family, in light of her back story, which Tam Barnett has developed really well.

How To Read A Killer's Mind has quite short chapters and is fast pace. Despite the difficult subjects in some places, I found the novel easy to read and highly engaging the whole way through. I loved getting to know the prisoners with whom Emy works, and I was fascinated by their crimes and their motives for them.

As the novel reaches the end, the tension ratches up a notch and I really wanted to know how the different elements of the story would come together. I did not always expect the direction that the story took but I really enjoyed the journey.

This novel follows Emy, a psychologist who has opened a facility where 3 notorious inmates are held so she can try to uncover where they have buried their victims. To do that? She needs to get inside their minds.

Firstly, do not let this cover deceive you. This story was incredibly dark, but peppered immaculately with humour in the right places. It takes a true talent to be able to make my blood run cold and also make me laugh within a few sentences.

If you’ve read the book ‘Mind Hunter’, or watched the series on Netflix and enjoyed it, this book is definitely for you; likewise if you’re a Criminal Minds fan. Enthralling and unsettling, the involvement of the inmates in the plot really makes you question the depravity that the human mind is capable of.

Emy, the FMC, is a fabulous character; her wit and grittiness puts her up there as one of my favourite female protaganists in a thriller book. I had absolutely no qualms as to this being a five star read.

I really enjoyed this one. There were a lot of satisfying twists and small details that paid off. It’s a fast read that I didn’t want to put down. I found Emy to be a believable character with complex choices. While it’s a thriller none of the characters felt far fetched or unrealistic given the book an overall air of creepiness that had me excited to dive back in every time I picked it up.

Okay so this is the first book I have read by Tam Barnett.. can I just say this like frazzled my mind, the research that must have been done.. top notch!

From the title I was intrigued, slight slow pace to start then boom the tension picks up, keeps you hooked & chapter chasing.

I absolutely adore Emys role she quite the houmous character & was also written so well, I really enjoyed all the character development & relationships even with the inmates!! The research that must have went into this book is outstanding.

I enjoyed the darkish theme to this book, the twists really did shockingly twist! The insights in to criminals minds.. Just amazing. Tam written style is expository & narrative, this was an easy 5 star read & would highly recommend if you a fan of crime thrillers!!

I loved this! A unique twist on a psychological thriller - with an actual psychologist trying to get into the minds of infamous murderers. With a hidden motive, the main character pulls you in and makes you feel invested in the outcome of the story. There were a few plot areas that seemed underdeveloped and/or unnecessary to me, but overall I really enjoyed this read and look forward to reading more from this author.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

This was my first book by Tam Barnett, but I can say that now I'm going to go read her other book!

A bit of a slow start, however, once it picked up then it PICKED UP. I read this book in a day so I could see how it ended. I didn't want to put it down. It felt like watching Mindhunter, however, I wish it had more of the analysis aspect. You can tell that Tam Barnett did her research though! I loved the twists and the suspense.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.