Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

Kill For Me Kill For You by Steve Cavanagh

6 reviews

beckyremillard's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

yvo_about_books's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

4.75

Finished reading: July 27th 2024


“It takes a lot to kill someone. Human beings in crisis cannot think straight; their instinct to preserve life gets sidelined in the sea of their desperation. In the absence of a psychological disorder or crisis or the impairment to rational thinking brought about by drugs or alcohol, it is very hard to kill another living, breathing member of the human race.”

It's no secret that I'm a huge fan of Steve Cavanagh's writing, and I've been waiting impatiently for his newest book to be finally published outside the UK. I loved the sound of the premise of Kill For You, Kill For Me, although I confess I added it to my wishlist even before I learned what it was going to be about... His writing hasn't disappointed me yet, and Kill For Me, Kill For You turned out to be another absolutely fantastic and deviously clever read. This is one of those books where it's best to go in blind in order to feel the full impact of the plot twists... Trust me, you will most likely be picking up your jaw from the floor more than once before reaching that final page. His writing is always engaging, and I was already enjoying the ride from the beginning... But once the first major plot twist bomb dropped, I started to see just how clever and intricate this plot was. My mind is still in awe of what I have just read, and I have no doubt that this book will appear on my list of 2024 favorites. I particularly loved the Strangers On A Train vibe; not a copy of the classic, but rather an ingenious adaptation that will mislead you more than once. The story uses a multiple POV structure, which was perfect for the plot and helped creating maximum impact for certain twists. If you like your thrillers on the dark, twisted and engaging side, I can highly recommend Kill For Me, Kill For You! 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

pomoevareads's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

What a thrill ride! I have been reading lots of character driven family stories lately (my go to genre) and needed a good thriller to give me a jump start. This one did the trick.

As the title implies, two people meet and agree to kill someone for the other. And then there is a hiccup that catches the breath of one of the characters and makes her see things differently. I won’t say more than that, just know that there are a few good twists, the pace is on point, and if you can let go of some less than realistic excitement and just fall into the fun, then this book will offer you a great escape.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

jewelsbookopinions's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark mysterious sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I thoroughly enjoyed how gripping this was, but I did feel wanting more for the ending. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

srivalli's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious medium-paced

3.0

 3 Stars

One Liner: Okay… not impressed (kinda outliner)

New York City

When two strangers, Amanda and Wendy, meet by chance, they discover they have a lot in common. Their lives have been ruined by men who escaped justice in the hands of law. Soon, they make a pact – one kills for the other, and neither gets caught. 

In another part of the city, Ruth and her husband Scott have a routine life until that night when an intruder with startling blue eyes changes it forever. Can Ruth ever feel safe and get back to her life with the intruder still running free? 

The story comes in the third-person POV of Amanda and Ruth, with a couple of chapters from Scott and Farrow. 

My Thoughts:

It’s been a while since I read a thriller, and this book has great reviews. Seemed like a good idea to read it. Well, the results are mixed. 

Using a popular premise requires additional twists and shocks to keep the readers hooked. While some of it works here, the rest feels a bit too unbelievable. Yeah this is fiction, but you can’t leave those gaps open. 

There’s no timeline for both tracks, which is a way to retain suspense. Of course, readers can still figure it out. But there’s a ‘reveal’ that negates the theory, which makes readers wonder what’s going on. I was fooled for a minute but decided to stick to my original theory. 

Things start to come together after 70%, followed by some action and more reveals and twists. Again, some of it worked, but the rest didn’t make me go wow! I was still hopeful, only to realize that some questions would not be answered. I should accept what’s being told and move on. Not done! 

The pacing is uneven due to the filler content. It gets better in the last quarter, where things need to happen fast. The filler should have helped in relating to the main characters. Yet, that doesn’t happen. No matter how much I tried, I couldn’t connect with any of them. I did feel sad for Amanda and Ruth, but I wasn’t able to empathize with their situation (I blame it on the writing). 

The detective pair has some character development, which is surprising in a standalone. Maybe this will become a series (what’s the point in all that back pain if it goes nowhere). 

Still, the book highlights important themes like injustice, moral dilemmas, victim trauma, etc. It would offer quite a bit for book club discussions. 

To summarize, Kill for Me, Kill for You is an average thriller with some moments. How you like it will depend on what kind of thrillers you prefer. This will work great for some readers, so check out other reviews before you decide. 

Thank you, NetGalley and Atria Books, for the eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book. 

#NetGalley #KillForMeKillForYou 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

stephreadsal0t's review

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Started the year off with two bangers of thriller novels. I always love Cavanagh novels and this one had really good twists.

My only complaints:
the final twist was a twist too much for me, re: Mr Blue Eye’s identity. Secondly, I really wish for no more books featuring the Crazy Infertile Woman. First of all, how come it’s never an infertile man? But more importantly, Why does infertility seem to be so linked to being a batshit crazy murderer in books? Let's keep infertility out of my thrillers - I have enough of it IRL!</spoiler
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
More...