Ladykiller by Katherine Wood
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Gia and Abby, childhood best friends, have grown estranged slowly over the past 12-years, since the tragedy that occurred in Greece when they were both 18-years old.
After the tragic events of that summer, Abby threw herself into her studies, while Gia, a wealthy heiress without Abby’s common-woman concerns, writes a salacious memoir chronicling what had happened.
All these years later, Gia is back in Greece with her new husband. She’s at their family property prepping it for sale after her father’s death. She and her brother, Benny, have been forced to downsize their lifestyles a bit and the Greek property needs to go.
In spite of how heartbreaking losing the property will be, life must go on. With Gia’s birthday approaching in September, she reaches out to Abby and Benny and asks them to join her at a luxury Swedish resort to see the Northern Lights.
It’s something they had discussed when they were younger and always wanted to do. Now is the time. Even though she’s a little hesitant at first, Abby accepts Gia’s invitation.
The day of her flight though, Abby receives a cryptic email that gets her hackles up. It’s not exactly the vibe she was looking for heading into her first vacation in a while. Nevertheless, she proceeds and she’s looking forward to being reunited with her friends.
Once she meets Benny, and gets to the resort though, Gia isn’t there. After days of odd messages from her and placed calls that go unanswered, Benny and Abby get worried enough to travel to Greece and check on her.
Arriving at the family estate, they find it deserted. Gia has disappeared. The only clue, a manuscript she’s left behind detailing the events leading up to her disappearance.
Through shifting perspectives between Abby’s present and Gia’s manuscript, Katherine Wood creates a fast-paced and engaging story of domestic suspense.
I love messy rich people drama, so this definitely scratched that itch, and it did successfully keep me guessing throughout. I found all the details and character interactions just so intriguing.
Additionally, I loved the setting on the beautiful coast of Greece and how the author used Gia’s manuscript as a way of piecing together the story. I thought that was very fun, because what is truth and what is fiction? The lines are often blurry, aren’t they?
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Overall, I was impressed with how Wood pulled this all together. I thought it was very clever and well-plotted. I would recommend this to anyone who loves rich people drama, a luxury setting, or popcorn thrillers.
Thank you to the publisher, Bantam, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I am really looking forward to picking up more from this author!