Thank you Berkley Books, #partner, for the finished copy of How I’ll Kill You in exchange for my honest review.
Publisher: Berkley Books
Pub date: March 21, 2023
Summary:
Your next stay-up-all-night thriller, about identical triplets who have a nasty habit of killing their boyfriends, and what happens when the youngest commits their worst crime yet: falling in love with her mark.
Make him want you.
Make him love you.
Make him dead.
Sissy has an…interesting family. Always the careful one, always the cautious one, she has handled the cleanup while her serial killer sisters have carved a path of carnage across the U.S. Now, as they arrive in the Arizona heat, Sissy must step up and embrace the family pastime of making a man fall in love and then murdering him. Her first target? A young widower named Edison–and their mutual attraction is instant. While their relationship progresses, and most couples would be thinking about picking out china patterns and moving in together, Sissy’s family is reminding her to think about picking out burial sites and moving on.
But then something happens that Sissy never anticipated: She begins to feel protective of Edison, and then, before she can help it, she’s fallen in love. But the clock is ticking, and her sisters are growing restless. It becomes clear that the gravesite she chooses will hide a body no matter what happens; but if she betrays her family, will it be hers?
My thoughts:
It’s no secret that I love books about serial killers…there’s just something about these kinds of stories that call to me and so when I saw this one, I knew I had to read it. And I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this one…it had much more depth than I expected…in such a good way!
I think what I loved most about this book is that it’s about sisters who are serial killers – triplets who haven’t had the easiest upbringing and wind up becoming a band of serial killers. You’ll have to read the book to find out why, but it’s the fact that there is some backstory, though I do wish this part was flushed out just a bit more, that really makes this story so unique. I did love the character development we did get and felt this really helps with the motivation behind what is going on now. And it’s all told from one of the sister’s point of view, Sissy’s. Being in her head, getting her internal dialogue as we progress through the story just gives this one such a unique angle.
This is a quick read, no doubt about that – I basically binge-read it in a day. I was pulled in immediately and while this is definitely a book you have to suspend disbelief, it’s a fun read, but also one that does have some depth. And I loved that the ending was not what I was expecting!
If you love books with morally gray characters, this one is for you! This was a great debut novel and I cannot wait to see what Ren DeStefano has in store for us next!
