Book Reviews, Find Your Next Read

A Serial Killer’s Guide to Marriage by Asia Mackay: Domestic bliss, but make it murderous

What happens when the thing that bonded you as a couple is the one thing you’re no longer allowed to do? A Serial Killer’s Guide to Marriage by Asia Mackay takes that question and runs with it—through marriage, parenthood, suburbia, and the quiet, suffocating boredom that sets in when two people stop working as a team. Readers who enjoyed This Girl’s a Killer will feel immediately at home here, thanks to the same blend of dark humor, moral ambiguity, and sharp observations about womanhood and rage.

Get your copy of A Serial Killer’s Guide to Marriage from my independent online bookstore today!

Hazel and Fox once believed they were made for each other. Not in a meet-cute, rom-com way, but in a far more specific sense: they are serial killers who take pleasure in killing objectively bad men, saving future victims while satisfying their own darker impulses. Before pregnancy and playdates, their greatest joy came from killing—and from doing it together. Their intimacy was built on absolute trust, shared secrets, and a kind of moral clarity that only made sense to the two of them (and me, to be honest).

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Writers on Writing

Creepy characters we love to hate (and secretly can’t)

There’s something fascinating about a character who creeps you out, makes you uneasy, or shocks you with their actions—but somehow, you can’t bring yourself to hate them completely. These are the villains and morally gray characters who blur the line between right and wrong, forcing readers to wrestle with their own sense of judgment. They unsettle us, intrigue us, and make our hearts race, which is why they are perfect companions for October reading.

Sure, she’s pretty. But there’s also something uncanny about her. Do you trust her?

In thrillers and suspense novels, some characters are written to be frighteningly clever, ruthless, or unpredictable, yet their motivations or circumstances make their actions feel, at least in part, understandable. In How to Kill Men and Get Away with It by Katy Brent, the protagonist’s cunning and dark choices are chilling, but her perspective invites empathy and even admiration for her ingenuity. Bad Men by Julie Mae Cohen and This Girl’s a Killer by Emma C. Wells present characters whose morally questionable or violent actions are layered with complexity—making you uneasy, yet unable to fully condemn them.

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Book Reviews, Find Your Next Read

Book Review: This Girl’s a Killer by Emma C. Wells

Do you just love watching bad things happen to bad dudes? The big guys like Harvey Weinstein, Louis C.K., Aziz Ansari, Andrew M. Cuomo, (and hopefully someday Donald Trump) are toppled publicly for all to see. But what about the everyday bad guys—the nobodies who use and abuse those who don’t have the power or the platforms to make their voices heard? In This Girl’s a Killer, Emma C. Wells introduces readers to Cordelia Black, a pharmaceutical rep by day and an unapologetic dispenser of justice by night. Set against the sultry, morally gray backdrop of South Louisiana, the novel delivers a character-driven thriller that’s as sharp and polished as its protagonist’s designer wardrobe.

This Girl’s a Killer by Emma C. Wells

Cordelia Black isn’t your typical serial killer. Or, as she would vehemently argue, she’s not a serial killer at all. To her, “Karma” isn’t just a concept; it’s her calling. Her targets are meticulously chosen—men who have evaded justice for their heinous crimes. And though the evening news might paint her as a monster, Cordelia’s actions feel like a balm for those who crave retribution in an unjust world.

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Book Reviews

4 New books I’m *dying* to read this #Spooktober

I love thriller/suspense novels, but come October, I’m always looking for something a bit more– dark. I guess that’s why they call it “Spooktober!”

This Spooktober season, I’m really looking forward to reading the following books:

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