Group Reads Discussion: You Killed Me First

[SRC Moderator, Moderator]

This is the discussion thread for the Summer 2025 Group Read, You Killed Me First in the category Fiction: Psychological Thriller. Please post your comments here. This thread is not restricted to those choosing this book for task 20.10, feel free to join in the discussion. Warning- spoilers ahead!

The requirement for task 20.10: You must participate in the book's discussion thread below with at least one post about the contents of the book or your reaction to the book after you have read the book.

[Katrisa]

This was a fun twisty read. The main characters are all various levels of unlikeable at different times but all have some redeeming qualities also so I found myself rooting for different characters at different points in the novel. I was not expecting the end of this book. This is my second John Marrs book and I have really liked both. I need to put some more of his on my TBR.

[Dee]

i finished this up last year - i normally like dark and twisty - but this one just didn't work for me - as mentioned, all the characters were unlikeable and I figured out the reason fairly early on in the book - oh well!

[JennRenee, Moderator]

I liked the book. It wasn't anything revolutionary for me. I felt it followed an average thriller formula, but I found myself entertained. I did find it a little confusing at the beginning. Maybe I was meant because when it all clicked it clicked.
I will read more from this author. I did enjoy it quite a bit.

[Jessica]

Margo is the most insufferable character I've ever come across. She's almost too much of a cliche but I know there are so many women like her (view spoiler)[(without the murdering) (hide spoiler)]. I almost dnf'd it when we started with her point of view.

The 'I can't be racist because I would date Idris Elba' line was crazy.

I haven't quite finished yet but I'm already feeling like the ending is going to be disappointing.

[Karen Michele]

Well, I'm still not completely sure what I thought of this book. It was difficult for me to remember which woman was which and there were lots of off the wall (to me, at least) comments like the Idris Elba line that Jessica pointed out. I liked the second half better, but the plot felt a bit convoluted to me throughout. I liked it enough to finish it and gave it 3 stars (I tend to be a generous rater).

[Marie (UK)]

I had intended to read the adventures of Sally for this task but this cropped up in another challenge.

I have read other books by this author but this is my favourite

This almost two books in one. The first narrative centres around Liv, Margo and Anna - one of whom currently resides inside a bonfire about to be lit. The second draws in characters from the past lives, now deceased, appearing as ghosts. Confused? Yes there were times of confusion for me too but the author draws the threads together with real skill.

[KSMary]

This is my first book by John Marrs and probably won't be my last. All of the characters were equally dislikeable except for Margot and Liv's husbands. Lots of stories going on within the story so at times it was hard to keep everything straight but overall I like this one.

[Lisa]

I've had a few John Marrs books on my TBR, but this is the first I've read. I actually listened to the audio and found myself getting a little confused with the characters. I had to rewind several times. Not sure if the confusion was from listening or just the way the story was told.

I liked the twists in the story but struggled to like the characters. I waffled back and forth with them, which I guess was sort of the point to keep us guessing. I will definitely give the author another go.

[Alex]

I liked the twists on this one - but overall, it wasn't my favorite. I found it difficult to be invested in any of the characters. I would probably read more by this author though! It was a decent easy twisty read. :)

[Tess]

I enjoyed this book. He always has twists and turns that are unexpected. A few years ago my library did a community read of The One by him. I loved it. For the end of the program we had a virtual Q&A with him. He was very interesting.

[Cat]

workman-like thriller that was the right level of disposable fun for holiday reading. some entertaining moments and (semi) twists - and a nice parade of dislikable characters too!

[Kristina Simon]

Well that was a fun, fast, twisty read! My only quibble was that the epilogue/last chapter was a little too one the nose. So much so that the ending felt more like an info dump than an elegant wrap up. Still, it was a twist I didn’t see coming and that was fun.

This is the second John Marrs book I’ve read for this season’s challenge. I enjoyed both of them, though I liked The One a bit better. I look forward to reading more of this author’s books in the future.

[Jen B]

This was my first book by this author. It was definitely twisty -- especially in the last few chapters, when it seemed like each one brought a new twist. I didn't particularly like any of the characters, but maybe I wasn't supposed to. Overall, I thought it was a fun, quick, beach read, and I'll give this author another go at some point.

[Amy]

I enjoyed this one more than I expected. The three main characters were all pretty awful, but I think that was intentional. The plot twists were creative and even when I saw a few coming, the book still held my interest. I'll definitely read more by this author.

[Jecca]

This is not my first John Marrs book and he always has something curious up his sleeve. So, for me, picking this one was a no-brainer. I didn't enjoy this one as much as The One, but it was still pretty engaging. I didn't really like any of these women but I became invested in their trainwreck lives. And Anna...did not expect that at all. I didn't love the ending, but overall enjoyed the read.

[Michelle]

This was a book definitely outside of my favorite genres but I went in to it with an open mind. I managed to read the whole thing but honestly I didn't really see the point in any of it. They were all awful, there were all these plot points that kept cropping up that never went anywhere which was super weird like the fact that Liv was spending too much money, why harp on it so much when it never actually becomes important?? Or did I miss something? Also, how on earth can anyone be as clueless and dumb as Margot? Looking at the damage to her car in the driveway in the middle of the night? Why not put the car in the garage? Not wondering why things went missing or passwords got changed? If that happened I would be having conversations with my husband and kids to try and figure it out. I felt like I just had to suspend too much disbelief which is fine when I'm reading fantasy but shoudln't be the case when reading a thriller. I gave it 3 stars as it wasn't awful but I don't think that I will be reading any more books by the author.

[Ash, Moderator]

I liked this book for the most part, it was a little slow for me and I probably won't even remember it by next year, but I don't regret reading it.

[KSMary]

Ash wrote: "I liked this book for the most part, it was a little slow for me and I probably won't even remember it by next year, but I don't regret reading it."

This comment made me laugh because I finished this book about a month ago and while I like it enough, I've already forgotten what the book was about.