Saffy has a secret: A secret she is deeply ashamed of. It’s not the fact that she’s a serial killer in her free time. In fact, she’s quite proud of that. After all, she’s only killing bad men. She’s making the world a better place.
No, her secret is far worse than that. She has a messy, inexplicable, uncontrollable crush. So, while she’s busy plotting her next murder, she also has the much harder task of figuring out how to get a boyfriend.
but, if there’s one thing Safft knows, it’s how to get her man…
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So, I was kindly sent a proof copy by Zaffre Books before it’s release, and I kid you not when I say that it ruined all other books in 2023 for me. I completely binged it in a day or two because it has all the makings of an exceptional thriller and I could not put it down. Literally. I would try and focus at work, but honestly all I could think about was reading this book until I finished it.
I’m not usually one for annotating my books as I’m too much of a perfectionist and they would have to be annotated exactly right, but I found that I couldn’t help it with this one. There were so many great lines, so many thoughts bumbling around in my head as I was reading, and so many shocking twists, that I felt it only appropriate to note down my reactions as they happened – and that happened to be in the margins of the book, because where else could I put them?
This book is an utter rollercoaster. One second I am laughing from the sickeningly dark humour, and the next I am on the edge of my seat because it’s suspenseful and tense! I have never read a book that is able to execute this so exquisitely. I often find that most thrillers tend to focus on the thrill aspect of the book and forget about the subtle tension that you’re able to create – something which this novel does so well through Saffy’s character. It is rare that I have such visceral reactions to a book, but my heart was pounding, my stomach was twisting, and I audibly gasped more than once!
As for Saffy, I sit on the edge of loving her and also being utterly disturbed – something which I still have yet to make up my mind about months later. The line between vigilante and psychopath is so blurred that the two become almost indistinguishable, and I feel it’s almost inappropriate to say that you like or love her as a character because of her actions. , I would situate Saffy in the circle of morally grey characters like Dexter Morgan from Dexter… I mean, she’s practically his female counterpart so I guess that would make sense. Does the fact that she’s doing the wrong thing for the right reasons make it wrong?
But her (very) dark humour – to the point where it’s impossible to tell whether she’s joking or not – is so endearing that a part of you can’t help but feel some twisted connection or kinship to her while reading. You don’t want to like her… but you just do. Perhaps it’s because you’re constantly questioning things and wondering whether her actions are in fact justified – is it okay that she’s a serial killer, simply because she’s killing only the bad men who deserve it? Do they deserve it? What does it say about me as a reader if I’m on her side? Does that make me as sick and deranged as her? Is she deranged, or is she a vigilante on a warpath for justice? Do I sympathise and empathise with her on some level?
I’m always in awe of anybody who can write from the perspective of a serial killer. It’s such an intricate mindset to get into that I feel its hard to make it feel real… but somehow Julie managed this perfectly. As I reader, I firmly believe that Saffy is out there right now, just living it and killing it…
In between the edge of my seat action, the thrill of will Saffy/won’t Saffy get caught, the dark humour that had me both unnerved and amused, and the little trail of the Agatha Christie-like breadcrumbs that Julie leaves scattered throughout for us to collect up like the end, I became utterly invested in this book.
It is not surprising that this book had made it to the #1 spot of my 2023 reads because I have recommended it to every single person I know. The book is is currently making its rounds through my family and friends, and so far (from those who have read it), they have all said the same thing: it’s thrilling, sickly humourous, and they absolutely loved every moment of it… so if that’s not motivation for you to pick this up, then I don’t know what is!
Usually this is the space where I would include favourite quotes, but with this book I feel like it would give away too much of the story and the spark that makes this book special… so I’ll simply include a list of some of my other favourite thrillers/crime novels/murder mysteries!
Sadie by Courteney Summers
Finlay Donovan is Killing It by Elle Cosimano (Finlay Donovan #1)
Survive the Night by Riley Sager
Five Survive by Holly Jackson
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
The Appeal by Janice Hallett
The Sun Down Motel by Simone St James
Full Dark House by Christopher Fowler (Bryant & May #1)
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