Piper Nuelle

Hey, Hello, Hi, Howdy, How ya doing? Welcome to my blog today for a book review, It’s a great thriller of a book called ‘This Girls a Killer’, by Emma .C. Wells. And here is my honest opinion and review on the book that caught my attention a couple of weeks ago when I was working and spotted it in my local ASDA store.

So, you may be able to see why this novel caught my attention right off the bat, the cover! Now I know, I know you should never judge a book by it’s cover right? But hang on a sec, what if the cover is actually just as good as the book that resides inside. The cover as you can see in my photo with (Excuse my crusty nails) Cordelia would never… But the cover is BOLD, EYE CATCHING with its black background, red almost blood like title and the blonde / yellow of the woman’s face on the front. It’s not too cluttered, it’s basic but in a good way. I have noticed books, especially of the horror genre and or thriller genre are adopting this style of cover as of late with black backgrounds and bold red blood writing, I literally picked up another book yesterday with a similar design… But this one to me is the OG because I spotted this one first! But I digress, back to the book in question…

This story follows the life of the main character, Cordelia Black… Who at first seems a little self-obsessed, self-absorbed, self-centred… Oh right, you get it… and a tad obsessive and over protective over her friendship with her best friend BUT, she does have good reason. In the authors words she is an ambitious pharma rep with a flawless reputation and designer wardrobe… which is her day job. By night, she culls South Louisiana of unscrupulous men… and in my words, she by night, ‘moonlights’ as an executioner of bad smoke induced men, those that make women’s lives hell. But, Cordelia has a system, a system to research, gather evidence and then strike like the viper she is making the world a slightly safer place for those she loves and cares about, but also for other women, like her… who were once damaged and needed someone to look out for them.

Only problem is, the medical product she has been the flawless face of has been deemed unsafe, and is to be pulled from the market… But she needs it, to do her good deeds! Then when her bestie meets a new guy, one that makes Cordelia’s skin crawl she is pulled into a flawed world where she is not in total control anymore. Cordelia holds on tight to the mask she has created for herself, but with things slipping out of her reach and the world closing in on her, can she keep herself and her friend safe? Well… I guess I don’t want to spoil the book… So you will just have to read it to find out! But…

I have to say this book kept me gripping on tight till the very last page, I could not put it down, I was reading it whilst waiting in the car parked up by the kids school on the school run, I was reading whilst brushing my teeth before bed, I was reading it whilst waiting for dinner to cook… It was just so un-put downable, I just had to know what was going to happen next. So many twists and turns that kept you guessing what might happen next.

I actually really began to like Cordelia Black, she was incredibly relatable with her past issues of bullying and home life but also her somewhat of a revamp, total transformation before we even meet her, which was almost caterpillar to butterfly like… Just a little more bloody and chaotic made her even more likeable. And then as those things she work so hard for began to unravel you see how human she still really is, even if she doesn’t think it.

As the story progresses you actually really begin to root for Cordelia, especially because she is ridding the world of dangerous men. Her ways might be unorthodox and frowned upon, but since these men are clever, fake, charming and conniving it only seems fitting that they too are taken out by an equally as conniving woman but the difference is, she is charming. And her artwork… Well… I would actually really love to see what would have become of Franks finished masterpiece!

The book for me was fast paced, well written and so different from how people think people should or would be in these types of circumstances. People expect a person who has experienced trauma to back down, to wilt and hide away, but Cordelia, the strong willed persona she is takes things on head first in a calculated way.

I honestly believe this book is a bloody, stabby, good read and if you are a fan of thrillers, then this book is most essential in your book collection.

I also enjoy that at the end of the book their is a reading group exercise and also a Q n A conversation with the author. The author herself has really thought about how to fully engage with us, her audience and get us fully immersed into the world of Cordelia Black…

Here are some of my answers to her reading group exercise:

1. Cordelia is so protective of her found family, Diane and Sugar. How does this contrast with the crimes she commits? Does her love got Diane and Sugar absolve her other actions? – It contrasts because Cordelia is so super loving to her bestie and Sugar, that you almost cannot see how she can commit blood thirsty crimes, but in the same sense you can understand why she does it, all she wants is to keep those around her safe. To me it kind of does absolve it, she’s doing the world a duty, ridding the earth of scum! But at the same time, she is also tarnishing her own soul with murder.
2. How do you interact with your best friend? What would you do to protect them? – I have many friends, but not necessarily a best friend per say, unless you count my husband. And for him and my kids who I also see as my best friends I would do anything for them… Anything!!!
3. How does Cordelia use how people see her and women to her advantage? – She is able to mask who she really is, but also wear a mask to be someone she is not. She uses being a small, helpless woman to make men give her the information she wants and when she needs it. She also reads men well, she researches them, gets to know them from a distance and then becomes exactly what they want, before she murders their scummy ass’s.
4. What do you make of Cordelia creating art from her kills? Is this just a serial killer trait? A trophy? A way for her to express herself or something else entirely? – To me, I see it that she has no release, she cannot share with anyone else what she is doing or what she has done, she cannot celebrate with anyone, not even her bestie about another scumbag predator being taken care of, so the art, for me, is her release. A way for her brain to cope and understand what she has done.

There are many other questions in the book for a book club which could make for a great discussion. Why don’t you if you grabbed the book answer one question in the comments so I can see if you loved the book as much as me, and whether you feel the same as me about Cordelia… It can be like our very own book club!

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Bye, Take Care, Chow, See Ya… Wouldn’t want to be ya! xo Piper xo