This book is a right twisted one, I tell ya! Julie Tudor, 49, has a fantastic job (spreadsheets are her life!), a beautiful house (no questions asked, mind you), and the man of her dreams, Sean, who’s only 25, the young fella.
She's convinced Sean is her true love, even though he's head over heels for someone else. And Julie? Well, she's definitely, definitely not a stalker. Or a serial killer. At least, that's what she keeps telling herself.
There are some mad happenings, absolutely mad, and you're left wondering just how far she'll go for love. It's a dark comedy, a bit of a psychological thriller, and a whole lot of bonkers.
It's a wild ride, and while I enjoyed the sheer strangeness of it, there were moments where it felt a bit repetitive. Julie's inner monologue can get a bit circular, but I suppose that's part of the point.
If you're looking for something out of the ordinary, this is it.

Julie Tudor is most definitely a psychopath lol!
Really enjoyed this book, narrator was perfect for the part and really helped me great a picture of Julie in my mind. The inner monologue throughout the book has aspects that I’m sure many can relate to, although Julie Tudor is definitely more unhinged than the average person!
It’s definitely not on the Sweetpea level but it’s a great read! Definitely recommended. 3.5 stars rounded up.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Julie Tudor Is Not a Psychopath follows Julie—a mentally ill woman who, across multiple timelines in her life, develops delusional obsessions with men. As her fixation deepens, so does her willingness to eliminate the women she sees as competition.

The blurb immediately intrigued me. I’m drawn to dark humor and find fictional portrayals of psychopathy and sociopathy fascinating—especially when done with wit and intelligence. Unfortunately, this novel didn’t live up to the sharp, hilarious promise of its premise.

Julie lacks the qualities often associated with fictional psychopaths—there’s no charm, charisma, cunning, or even compelling manipulation. Instead, the narrative leans heavily on her delusions, which read more as pitiable than darkly humorous. The tone often feels like the joke is on her rather than coming from her, which made staying in her first-person perspective feel uncomfortable—not because she’s a psychopath, but because she’s consistently mocked by the narrative.

The book’s structure spans different timelines in Julie’s life, yet the storylines feel repetitive and blur together without adding depth or development. Julie is a middle-aged woman and a clear psychopath, so her delusions make sense within the context of her character. However, the way those delusions are handled feels lazy and often mean-spirited. The fact that she’s a middle-aged woman is part of the issue. Unfortunately, media and pop culture have long relied on harmful stereotypes that depict older women as senile, obsessive, or unstable.

In fact, studies show that middle-aged women in film are more likely to be portrayed as feeble or homebound compared to their male counterparts. These representations influence how society perceives women of that age. As noted in the article Rewriting the Narrative: How Ageism Persists in Today’s Media by Carter Jones: “A study by the Centre for Ageing Better found that ageist stereotypes in media often depict older adults as frail, technologically inept, or resistant to change. Such portrayals not only misrepresent the reality of ageing but also shape societal attitudes, embedding age bias in both cultural consciousness and individual behaviours.”

None of the characters were particularly likable or engaging—Julie included. There was no one to root for, and the plot was predictable, leaving little to hold my interest or surprise me.

I wanted to like this, but ultimately, it didn’t deliver.

Julie Tudor Is Not A Psychopath takes readers right inside the mind of a very mentally unwell woman. Julie is a middle aged woman who works in an office but she is far from average, because Julie is also a stalker and an immensely dangerous one at that. Yes, the plot and the characters were unique and mostly fun but there were times where I felt sorry for Julie. It was both fascinating and sad the way her mind worked and how she interpreted other people's behaviour, and how that then impacted on her decision making and rationalising of some extreme and dangerous acts.
I was absolutely hooked on this book and just couldn't put it down. I love an unhinged and unintentionally funny main character with a dry sense of humour.
I listened to the audiobook and really liked the narrator. I felt that her voice matched how I saw Julie in my mind, along with the other characters.
Highly recommend this book but TW for stalking/mental illness/animal cruelty

I was granted access to the audiobook for review.

Julie Tudor Is Not A Psychopath is written from Julie's point of view, and follows her middle aged life. Julie is very clearly a psychopath, but she does not see anything wrong with how she lives her life. The story follows Julie and her unrequited loves.

Unfortunately, this book was definitely not for me. Julie was extremely unlikeable, and I found her highly disturbing - particularly the animal sections. As the book is written from Julie's point of view, the reader doesn't get to know the other characters well enough to care about them either. It wasn't what I was hoping for from the blurb, and I found it very repetitive. However, I will say that the audiobook narrator was fabulous, she made it very listenable, and although the story itself was not for me, the writing did flow well.

Oh my, I loved #JulieTudorisnotaPsychopath so much!

Laugh out loud funny with one of the best characters ever, this book is up there as one of my favourite reads.

It was expertly plotted, revealing Julie’s story perfectly. She is such a fantastic character who does the most horrendous things, but I still found myself rooting for her!

I’d also like to do a shout out to the narrator of the audiobook Clare Corbett, who really brought Julie Tudor to life.

This really is a must read and I think it is going to be hugely popular. I’ve already recommended it to everyone I know!

If you love Eleanor Oliphant & Sweetpea then you will love Julie Tudor.

Publication date is the 5th of June! Thank you for my ARC 😊

4.75 stars

This was dark, hilarious, and completely unhinged, I couldn’t stop listening. Julie Tudor is 49, socially awkward, obsessively organised, and convinced she’s not a psychopath. But when Sean,her 25-year-old coworker and the so called love of her life falls for someone else, Julie’s delusions spiral. After all, she’s been here before… and she knows exactly how to remove the competition.

What I loved most was how consistent Julie’s delusions were throughout, they weren’t new or reactionary. This is just who she is. The story flips between past and present, showing how Julie’s warped view of love, relationships, and social cues has shaped her entire life. Her inability to see reality for what it is made this both hilarious and terrifying.

There were so many moments I laughed out loud or rolled my eyes at how ridiculous, but fully believable her thought process was. Julie genuinely thinks murder is a reasonable solution to her problems, and the scariest part is how logical it all sounds in her head. You can’t look away, no matter how wild it gets.

The audiobook was brilliant! It perfectly captured Julie’s deadpan, matter-of-fact delivery. It made her delusions hit even harder because she truly believes she’s the victim here.

Overall, this is such a clever debut! It’s sharp, addictive, and so entertaining in that dark, twisted way I love. If you enjoy thrillers with unreliable narrators, social misfits, and women so deluded it’s almost funny… definitely pick this one up.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Hodder and Stoughton for the audiobook!

This book made me smile much more than it really should. I adored the whole thing and even knowing everything Julie Tudor has done, you still like her, because this story brilliantly helps you to relate to the unbalanced workings of her mind and her motivations.,

Julie has such deep mental health issues and a social disorder that would fear you! It was funny and entertaining and shocking to see what the deluded mind of a phsycopath has!
Thank you NetGalley for letting me listen and review. It’s well written and a good listen.

An incredible debut that is as hilarious as it is dark!

A couple of years ago I read for a novel prize and the first few chapters of this book landed on my lap. It intrigued and entertained me back then and I am so happy to see that it has found a home at Hodder Books and is being published this June. This really is an incredibly accomplished debut and I LOVED it! Holdich has created a truly brilliant antagonist in Julie Tudor. She’s delusional, hilarious, and slightly tragic in the very best ways. She repulses and garners sympathy in equal measure. I was lucky enough to be given early access to the audiobook as well, which really brought this story to life in such an entertaining way. Clare Corbett’s narration perfectly captures Julie’s completely irrational thoughts, serving the comedy and tragedy of this narrative so well. This book is definitely in the vain of other popular comedy thrillers that have been very successful over the past few years, but it’s honestly better than some of those. Told from Julie’s perspective only, it’s an incredibly deep dive into her troubled mind. I loved seeing the world from her warped viewpoint and how incorrectly she could read situations, actions and emotions. I was totally hooked on her story and didn’t want it to end!

Whilst this is definitely a very humorous story that will have readers in stitches in places, it’s also a very human story. Julie has a dark and complex backstory, which was really fascinating to uncover. She’s certainly got mental health issues, but she is also a victim of male cruelty. Holdich has constructed Julie in such a clever way, as I genuinely felt compassion for her whilst also being horrified by her wholehearted delusions. As events in her life spiral out of control I found myself hoping she would escape repercussions and find happiness with Frank, a neighbour who seemed to have genuine feelings for her. This really is a fantastic debut that just hits all the right spots. Definitely one to pre-order if you like your crime with a healthy slice of black humour!

Great premise, but for me, the execution didn’t live up to what I was hoping for.

So, what I liked about Julie T…
I quite liked the writing style.
The narration was spot on.

What I didn’t like:
The storylines were too similar which lead to too much repetition.
I kept looking for some understanding of why Julie was the way she was but that wasn’t really touched on.
Because I didn’t ‘get’ Julie and none of the other characters were fleshed out (the book is written purely from Julie’s perspective) there was no one I could get behind and root for.

I know I’m in the minority but this just wasn’t my ‘cup of tea’.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing an advanced audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

One word to describe Julie Tudor?

Delusional.

That's her character. That's this book. And I really enjoyed listening to it.

The narrator Clare Corbett does an amazing job with all the different characters and accents. Even when we see Julie in her earlier years, Clare Corbett offers a younger voice. The attention to detail was great, and she made the listening experience really enjoyable. Props to her!

Normally I love these type of humour/crime novels. I think it's the relatability and setting of them, and Julie Tudor is no different. Julie's not relatable by any means, but I found her character to be really funny. I struggled with her at the beginning. She was living this humdrum life, and her pitiful patheticness in the first few chapters made me wonder when the humour was going to come in. But then we see Julie in her younger years, and her character starts to unravel. We see these instances of where she convinces herself what she wants to believe, and she was definitely someone to laugh at, not with.

I do see a lot of comparisons to Sweetpea, but what made Julie different is that she was definitely no vigilante. She has no softness for animals or kids, and she was delulu when it came to men. Do not wear lippy around her guy. Julie will not take it lightly.

Some parts seemed a little unrealistic, but it didn't even bother me. This book absolutely delivered in what I expected and wanted from it!

Thank you to NetGalley for this ALC.

The title and cover drew me into this books but unfortunately this wasn’t for me. Julie was as delusional as you would expect and that made her inner dialogue truly insane. Where this book fell short for me was the lack of any intrigue, there was no plot to keep you entertained since everything was plain and easy to guess.

This has been one of my favourite books of the year. I absolutely loved Julie. It really shows how differently things can be seen from a different perspective. And despite everything she does, there is still something quite likeable about her. I found it funny and witty.
I also really liked listening to this narrator.

I would honestly give this a 5 star jut for the narrators accent. I really enjoyed this and would definitely recommend

I really enjoyed listening to this audio; it follows Julie Tudor, a 49 year old woman in her pursuit of love, switching from present day events to her past experiences. I found her dry and naive narrative entertaining and at some points humerous. The character is so delusioinal and that has left her with a rather unhinged trail of romances. The outcomes of which are not her fault of course, she's just looking for love.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a copy of this book.
[Please note: I don't review with star ratings so I give each author and book 5 stars for the creativity, effort and energy alone, that goes into writing and publishing each book. Stars are a commendation of art]

What a fun yet terror filled listen. This was such a unique approach to take to such tabboo This was a high quality audio with spot on narration that told the story of Julie Tudor from her eyes only. The unique style and perspective made this much more enjoyable and the ott and omg moments much more perfect. The plot itself was ott in places but that was the magic of this tale. This is a light heart take which makes it an enjoyable fast for me perfect to distract you as you cant take it seriously. I actually liked the character of Julie but found her annoying and terrifying. . The only downside to me was I craved a different ending and for more of the side characters to grow backbone. However I would recommend this is a solid 4 star listen perfect to give you distraction from the modern world.. Thank you netgallery, publisher, author and narrator.

I chose this book solely based on the cover and title and I’m glad I did. I found the first quarter a little uncomfortable as we got to know Julie. Her first person narrative gave the impression of a slightly quirky but ultimately misunderstood middle aged woman who was the victim of office bullying. It was only as the story progressed and I began to realise how unreliable Julie was as a narrator that I could fully enjoy the story.

It’s cleverly written with several flashback episodes which allow us to get to know Julie better and to realise how truly unhinged she really is. What I loved about this is how matter of fact Julie is in her narration. You are sucked into her twisted world and it’s hard to separate her version of reality from the truth. I almost found myself rooting for her at the end.

I listened to the audiobook and this definitely contributed to my enjoyment. The narrator has such a soft gentle voice it contributes even more to the feeling that Julie is just a confused innocent. Also, her Welsh accents are brilliant and she did a great job of giving all the characters their own identity.

I highly recommend this especially on audio and I’d look out for other books from this author and narrator too.

Oh I devoured this audiobook in one day!

Meet Julie, a 49 year old lady who is completely delusional and unhinged. Her 25 year old co-worker Sean is in love with her, but why hasn't he turned up for dinner? Why has he been hanging round with the new girl?

It's similar to a previous situation some years back, another colleague loved her but his wife kept getting in the way.

Both men were great at hiding their relationships with Julie, you'd think they weren't even aware of one...

Expect murder, humour, tension and as I said previously, utter delusion.

What a great, fun story with a 'what on earth is she going to do next?' edge.

Thanks Netgalley for this wonderful ARC

4⭐️

Publish date - 8/7/2025

Can I just start by saying that Julie girl, you are a psycho 😂😭

What a debut this is by Jennifer Holdich! I love listening to audiobooks when it’s mainly internal dialogue & I believe this would also read very well as a physical / ebook!
It was giving Baby Reindeer but in the best way! I couldn’t stop listening because I needed to know what Julie was up to next! 🤯

We follow Julie 49, with her basic excel job - but you best believe no one could possibly take her place, her lovely home - albeit filled with some very obscure art 👀🐈😬 & the love of her life, well her current one anyway. Only one thing stands in her way, the love of his life 👀! The story jumps back & forth through Julie’s life & we meet some of her previous loves also, I mean they clearly did love her right?!

I gasped & I giggled throughout 🙌🏻

I would recommend this if you enjoy unhinged women & don’t wanna think too hard about what’s going on!