Publication Date March 19, 2024

Although I recognize some of the titles attributed to Steve Cavanagh (Thirteen, The Defense), I can’t recall reading any…but when I read that Kill For Me, Kill For You would be great for fans of Silent Patient or Gone Girl, I thought I’d give it a try (loved Gone Girl, neutral on SP).

It’s a fascinating premise: two strangers, Amanda and Wendy, happen to meet. Over a few drinks, they share eerily similar stories about their trauma and desire for revenge against the men whose actions destroyed both their families. Their “perfect plan” is that each of them will kill the others’ hated enemy. And in another part of the same city, a woman named Ruth is attacked in her home, leaving her terrified.

As you might expect, these stories intersect, and there is a terrifically twisty plot with some surprises. The story can be summed up with a quote: “Trauma changes you. Losing a loved one to violence provokes a response. There are two common responses: either thy don’t want anyone to ever hurt like they do, of they want everyone to hurt like they do.”

It is well written, with some memorable lines: “Some people, those with money and the ear of power, never pay for their rimes the way ordinary people do.” And “Amanda was coming around to the view that what was legal and what was right were often two different things.”

I don’t often want to immediately reread thrillers, and there were some things that were a bit too neat—not to the point of seeming contrived, but just enough to make me want to figure out if I missed something, or (often more accurately for me) “how did I miss that?!?!?”

Thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for providing a copy in exchange for my honest review. Four stars.