I have a gift. I see people as ghosts before they die. Of course, it helps that I’m the one killing them.

The night after her father’s funeral, Claire meets Lucas in a bar. Lucas doesn’t know it, but it’s not a chance meeting. One thoughtless mistyped email has put him in the crosshairs of an extremely put-out serial killer. But even before they make eye contact, before Claire lets him buy her a drink, before she takes him home and carves him up into little pieces, something about that night is very wrong. Because someone is watching Claire. Someone who is about to discover her murderous little hobby.

The thing is, it’s not sensible to tangle with a part-time serial killer, even one who is distracted by attending a weekly bereavement support group and trying to get her art career off the ground. Claire will do anything to keep her secret hidden – not to mention the bodies buried in her garden. Let the games begin…

Told from the point of view of serial killer Claire we follow her life as she attends a grief support group following the recent death of her father – Who she didn’t kill, and are there with her every step of the way as she murders those who she thinks deserve her harsh punishment.

We also go back in time to when Claire was a youngster and see where her rage began and watch as she becomes quite unhinged.

For a book about a serial killer, You’d Look Better as a Ghost has plenty of humorous moments and is quite light-hearted. It may also make you feel sorry for our murderous protagonist, especially after delving into her past.

The plot flowed naturally and was easy to follow and had me hooked from the beginning. There were quite a lot of characters but as you can imagine some don’t last very long. There was also a predicament with someone who knew her little secret, though I did expect this to play out longer than it did.

Overall, You’d Look Better as a Ghost was entertaining and had me giggling in places. It is certainly quite dark and seductive too. Original, deadly, funny, twisty, surprising, and sarcastic, this is a 2023 must-read.

Joanna Wallace worked as a solicitor until an auto-immune condition took away some of her sight. She now works as a listening volunteer and trainer for her local branch of The Samaritans, and runs a family business with her husband. She was partly inspired to write You’d Look Better as a Ghost following her father’s diagnosis of early onset dementia.