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hey_abijo's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Women reeling from severe loss and trauma take us along for the ride on their hunt for vengeance. The story is based on this premise: two women, connected only by their shared suffering and constant grief, agree to swap murders— but their plans go haywire. Multiple engaging POVs, some clichès and predictability, moderate suspense, and many plot twists. Author Steve Cavanagh knows how to write suspense and mystery, but his skills are less aptly applied in matters of artful detail, emotion, sensitivity, and tact.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Kidnapping, and Murder
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual violence, Grief, Stalking, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Blood and Alcohol
honey_coated_chapters's review against another edition
5.0
°:. *₊ ° . ° .•
𝑹𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈: 4/5
𝑵𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒑𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒔: 352
𝑮𝒆𝒏𝒓𝒆: mystery/crime
𝑹𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒊𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆: revenge plots served extra hot and loose ends.
———————————————————————
This hooked me in from the first chapter. There’s alternating POVs per chapter (3-4 POVs in total) and each one ended on a cliffhanger that just had me at the edge of my seat. The twists and connections are honestly riveting, this author may be up there with Alice Feeney for best twists. But, I also didn’t totally mind it because the story was still put together neatly. The “swapping murders” premise was such a thrilling concept, I know it’s not entirely original but the execution was near perfect. The way our characters describe their thought process along with their motives, it honestly hard to put down. I liked the detail that went in to each of their chapters, it’s not totally gory but there is descriptions of crime scenes that provide just enough information to give you some chills but not too much to where you’re turned off entirely. There’s a crime aspect that I appreciated while we were able to see how another character (detective) makes his connections. I will say that I had to suspend my belief just a little bit — some parts are over the top, I didn’t mind but it’s worth mentioning if you like your thrillers true to life. Aside from that, 4 stars is just for my own selfishness because we don’t get answers! We don’t know why certain ~things~ happened.
🧸
𝑹𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈: 4/5
𝑵𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒑𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒔: 352
𝑮𝒆𝒏𝒓𝒆: mystery/crime
𝑹𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒊𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆: revenge plots served extra hot and loose ends.
———————————————————————
This hooked me in from the first chapter. There’s alternating POVs per chapter (3-4 POVs in total) and each one ended on a cliffhanger that just had me at the edge of my seat. The twists and connections are honestly riveting, this author may be up there with Alice Feeney for best twists. But, I also didn’t totally mind it because the story was still put together neatly. The “swapping murders” premise was such a thrilling concept, I know it’s not entirely original but the execution was near perfect. The way our characters describe their thought process along with their motives, it honestly hard to put down. I liked the detail that went in to each of their chapters, it’s not totally gory but there is descriptions of crime scenes that provide just enough information to give you some chills but not too much to where you’re turned off entirely. There’s a crime aspect that I appreciated while we were able to see how another character (detective) makes his connections. I will say that I had to suspend my belief just a little bit — some parts are over the top, I didn’t mind but it’s worth mentioning if you like your thrillers true to life. Aside from that, 4 stars is just for my own selfishness because we don’t get answers! We don’t know why certain ~things~ happened.
🧸
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Suicide, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
reading_under_covers's review against another edition
4.5
It’s been a minute since I binged a book and this one did it for me!
The alternating POVs and short chapters made this one so hard to put down. I loved seeing everything come together and definitely understand the hype behind this one!
I’m also just always intrigued when stories go the Strangers on a Train route and thought it was utilized really well here!
**Just a note that this book does deal with very heavy topics**
The alternating POVs and short chapters made this one so hard to put down. I loved seeing everything come together and definitely understand the hype behind this one!
I’m also just always intrigued when stories go the Strangers on a Train route and thought it was utilized really well here!
**Just a note that this book does deal with very heavy topics**
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Pedophilia, Suicide, and Murder
shellysbookcorner's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
4.0
Thank you Atria Books for my review copy.
This was my first time reading this author and it was a good read! The book started out with a bang and didn't let up. Now I did call one twist, but there was another one that left me stunned. Well played, Steve Cavanagh. Now as far as the ending goes I'm not 100% sure how I feel because I felt one character got off way too easy and the one good deed doesn't eliminate all of the other terrible things they did throughout the story.
This was my first time reading this author and it was a good read! The book started out with a bang and didn't let up. Now I did call one twist, but there was another one that left me stunned. Well played, Steve Cavanagh. Now as far as the ending goes I'm not 100% sure how I feel because I felt one character got off way too easy and the one good deed doesn't eliminate all of the other terrible things they did throughout the story.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death, Pedophilia, and Death of parent
ashliej's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Mental illness, Suicide, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Kidnapping and Grief
Minor: Infertility, Pedophilia, and Rape
khucc's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Sexual assault, and Murder
Moderate: Child death, Pedophilia, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Infertility, Rape, Vomit, and Alcohol
ceredonia's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Violence and Stalking
Minor: Cancer, Child death, Pedophilia, Self harm, Torture, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
srivalli's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders and Suicide
Minor: Bullying and Pedophilia
lacyg's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Suicide, Grief, Stalking, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
stephreadsal0t's review against another edition
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
My only complaints:
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness and Violence
Moderate: Child death, Pedophilia, and Suicide
Minor: Bullying, Infertility, Rape, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, and Alcohol