You Killed Me First by John Marrs

 You Killed Me First 

By John Marrs

Three women. Three smouldering secrets. Who will make it out alive?

It’s 5 November, and a woman awakens to a nightmare. Bound and gagged, she lies trapped in the heart of a towering bonfire. As the smoke thickens, panic sets in – she’s moments away from being engulfed in flames. How did it come to this?

Rewind eleven months: Margot, a faded TV star, and her long-suffering friend Anna watch as glamorous Liv and her flawless family move into their street. The three women soon fabricate the perfect pretence of friendship, but each harbours her own deadly secret – and newcomer Liv senses something is terribly wrong beneath the polished exteriors.

As cracks widen in the veneer of perfection and lies escalate out of control, tension ignites. Bonfire Night is approaching and someone is set to burn…But who will it be?

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Cover Art: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I went into You Killed Me First by John Marrs thinking it would be another entertaining thriller, but it ended up pulling me in much more than I expected. The book opens with an intense, shocking scene that immediately sets the tone and made me want to keep reading. From there, the story jumps back in time and slowly reveals how everything built toward that terrifying moment. I was curious right away and found it hard to put the book down.

What really held my attention were the three main characters—Margot, Anna, and Liv. At first they seem like ordinary women living comfortable suburban lives, but it quickly becomes clear that none of them are quite what they appear to be. Each chapter shifts between their perspectives, and I enjoyed seeing how differently they viewed the same events. Their secrets and misunderstandings gradually create more and more tension, and I felt genuinely invested in their stories.

I also liked the way the novel explored familiar but powerful themes like jealousy, betrayal, and revenge. Marrs does a good job showing how small lies and hidden resentments can grow into something much darker. Even when the characters made choices that were frustrating or questionable, I could still understand where they were coming from. That made them feel like real people rather than typical thriller stereotypes.

The twists throughout the book kept me on my toes. Just when I thought I had figured out what was going on, something new would be revealed that changed everything. Some moments were a bit dramatic, but they fit the overall tone of the story and added to the excitement. I enjoyed trying to guess how all the pieces would come together in the end.

By the time I reached the final pages, I felt completely satisfied. You Killed Me First turned out to be a gripping, entertaining read that delivered plenty of suspense and surprises. If you enjoy thrillers with flawed characters and unpredictable plots, I think this book is definitely worth picking up.