You’d Look Better As a Ghost by Joanna Wallace
Joanna Wallace’s You’d Look Better as a Ghost is the unholy baby of Dexter and Fleabag, featuring a sarcastic, short-tempered protagonist whose nightly hobby happens to be caving in the heads of anyone who crosses her. (I’ve heard knitting is also fun, but to each their own.) As far as darkly funny, part-time serial killers go, Claire is one of my favorites — the trials and tribulations of her gruesome, gory exploits would honestly make a great series. But I’m getting a little ahead of myself! Here’s a little more about the plot of this comic thriller, courtesy of the publisher:
“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?”
If you’re at all intrigued by ‘nature vs. nurture’ cases, Wallace’s novel presents a highly-compelling (and disturbing, duh) example. (And if you’d like to know more, read my full review of You’d Look Better as a Ghost here.)
