You'd Look Better as a Ghost - by Joanna Wallace (Paperback)

About the Book

Claire, an aspiring artist and part-time serial killer, realizes someone is watching her-someone who knows about her murderous hobby and she, while attending a weekly bereavement support group after losing her father, must finish off her blackmailer before they reveal all.

Book Synopsis

National bestseller

"Refreshingly original and laugh-out-loud funny." --Clare Mackintosh, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Party

A comic thriller following the trials and tribulations of Claire, a part-time serial killer, who is keen to keep her favorite hobby a secret--despite the efforts of a determined blackmailer

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 before they make eye contact, before Claire lets him buy her a drink--even 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. Will Claire finish off her blackmailer before her pursuer reveals all? Let the games begin . . .

Review Quotes

Praise for You'd Look Better as a Ghost:

"Dark, creepy, and wholly fascinating, Wallace's imagining of the mind of a successful serial killer will be appreciated by readers who don't mind sleeping with one eye open."
--Booklist

"Deliciously eerie and darkly funny. . . an uncommonly assured debut from a promising new voice in crime fiction."
--Publishers Weekly

"The female serial killer as antihero is a growing subgenre (see Oyinkan Braithwaite's My Sister, the Serial Killer, 2018), and Wallace's sociopathic protagonist is a mordantly amusing addition. . . Dexter meets Killing Eve."
--Kirkus

"A welcome addition to the burgeoning subgenre of darkly humorous female serial killer novels. . . You'd Look Better as a Ghost and its ilk are, I suspect, 'Marmite' books. If you're a fan, this one will be a treat: a pacey page-turner, written in an enjoyably deadpan style."
--The Guardian (UK)

"This darkly comedic thriller turns serial killer convention on its head, mainly because you can't help but root for protagonist Claire. . . Utterly unique and an absolute roller-coaster of a read."
--Daily Mail (UK)

"Horrifying and hilarious in equal measure."
--Woman and Home (UK)

"This is a splendidly funny and buoyant, even jolly, novel. . . There are some deliciously ingenious twists. . . it's first-class escapist entertainment--the most fun you're ever likely to have with a hammer-wielding maniac."
--Daily Express (UK)

"Refreshingly original and laugh-out-loud funny. This is a superb debut."
--Clare Mackintosh, #1 international bestselling author of A Game of Lies

"If you loved 'Killing Eve, ' Wallace's giddy dark ride will be your private Eden, filled with serpent-like twists beguiling you to bite! Her enticing wit had me enthralled and outwitted!"
--Rupert Holmes, New York Times bestselling author of Murder Your Employer

"Delightfully shocking and irreverently funny, this is a pitch-black comedy horror with a heart. . . of stone. Roll-up for your one-way ticket to the warped world of a glamorous psychopath and her relentless succession of hapless victims."
--Janice Hallett, international bestselling author of The Appeal

"Wallace had me at the title and kept me reading late into the night. Wicked, funny and charming, a delicious combination."
--Sascha Rothchild, author of Blood Sugar

About the Author

Joanna Wallace studied law before working as a commercial litigation solicitor in London. She now runs a family business and lives in Buckinghamshire with her husband, four children, and two dogs. She was partly inspired to write You'd Look Better as a Ghost, her debut, following her father's diagnosis of early onset dementia.