This book kept me guessing throughout. Would she finally find out what happened to her brother? Where he was buried? Gradually she was learning where other bodies were buried, with that exception. The ending of the book was quite fast paced, with a twist from Joe that I never saw coming. I won't say what happens with Emys search, but this is a book I enjoyed reading

Unsurprisingly, it is the title that compelled me to join this blog tour and I am very pleased that I did! Tam Barnett is a very imaginative writer who is able to pull the reader into her stories from the beginning. The central character, Emy, is a large part of this. Her tone is colloquial and it often feels as though she is talking directly to the reader. This made me warm to her very quickly and I felt incredibly sympathetic towards her and her family, in light of her back story, which Tam Barnett has developed really well.

How To Read A Killer's Mind has quite short chapters and is fast pace. Despite the difficult subjects in some places, I found the novel easy to read and highly engaging the whole way through. I loved getting to know the prisoners with whom Emy works, and I was fascinated by their crimes and their motives for them.

As the novel reaches the end, the tension ratches up a notch and I really wanted to know how the different elements of the story would come together. I did not always expect the direction that the story took but I really enjoyed the journey.

This novel follows Emy, a psychologist who has opened a facility where 3 notorious inmates are held so she can try to uncover where they have buried their victims. To do that? She needs to get inside their minds.

Firstly, do not let this cover deceive you. This story was incredibly dark, but peppered immaculately with humour in the right places. It takes a true talent to be able to make my blood run cold and also make me laugh within a few sentences.

If you’ve read the book ‘Mind Hunter’, or watched the series on Netflix and enjoyed it, this book is definitely for you; likewise if you’re a Criminal Minds fan. Enthralling and unsettling, the involvement of the inmates in the plot really makes you question the depravity that the human mind is capable of.

Emy, the FMC, is a fabulous character; her wit and grittiness puts her up there as one of my favourite female protaganists in a thriller book. I had absolutely no qualms as to this being a five star read.

I really enjoyed this one. There were a lot of satisfying twists and small details that paid off. It’s a fast read that I didn’t want to put down. I found Emy to be a believable character with complex choices. While it’s a thriller none of the characters felt far fetched or unrealistic given the book an overall air of creepiness that had me excited to dive back in every time I picked it up.

Okay so this is the first book I have read by Tam Barnett.. can I just say this like frazzled my mind, the research that must have been done.. top notch!

From the title I was intrigued, slight slow pace to start then boom the tension picks up, keeps you hooked & chapter chasing.

I absolutely adore Emys role she quite the houmous character & was also written so well, I really enjoyed all the character development & relationships even with the inmates!! The research that must have went into this book is outstanding.

I enjoyed the darkish theme to this book, the twists really did shockingly twist! The insights in to criminals minds.. Just amazing. Tam written style is expository & narrative, this was an easy 5 star read & would highly recommend if you a fan of crime thrillers!!

I loved this! A unique twist on a psychological thriller - with an actual psychologist trying to get into the minds of infamous murderers. With a hidden motive, the main character pulls you in and makes you feel invested in the outcome of the story. There were a few plot areas that seemed underdeveloped and/or unnecessary to me, but overall I really enjoyed this read and look forward to reading more from this author.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

This was my first book by Tam Barnett, but I can say that now I'm going to go read her other book!

A bit of a slow start, however, once it picked up then it PICKED UP. I read this book in a day so I could see how it ended. I didn't want to put it down. It felt like watching Mindhunter, however, I wish it had more of the analysis aspect. You can tell that Tam Barnett did her research though! I loved the twists and the suspense.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Loved every second of this book! My first Tam Barnett book- and deffo won’t be my last!
Loved the characters, loved the different POVs going between first and third person.
I really felt sorry for Emy, who was such a strong female lead.
I was kept guessing throughout the whole book, never able to guess the outcome.
I was gripped from page 1.
The only thing I would comment on is that Emy just left the facility with Frank and no questions asked, no one caught them etc. which would not happen in real life, so maybe some sort of confrontation was needed?

I went in thinking this would be a lighthearted, comedic take on the subject, but it was a little darker than i expected! I loved the twists and the author kept me guessing until the last few chapters. All of the puzzle pieces came together so perfectly!

Thank you so much to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for an ARC in exchange of an honest review.

Love love LOVED this! I enjoyed Tam’s first book however this for me was a whole different ball game. The premise was so different and kept me absolutely hooked. It captured all emotions with elements being horrifying, sad and really funny. I would 100% recommend!

I truly loved this book! It had been far too long since a thriller made me lose sleep—and this one did, in the best possible way. From the very first page, I was addicted to the story, desperate to know what would happen next.

Clever, witty and totally binge-worthy—think Mindhunter vibes with a gripping deep dive into the psychology of serial killers. If you love thrilling mind games and unraveling the darkest corners of the human psyche, this one’s for you.

The writing? Fantastic. The pacing? Fast and relentless. And the twist? OH, the twist—it absolutely blew my mind! This book has such a refreshing and unique premise and unlike many books that start strong but lose momentum, this one delivers from start to finish. Every moment kept me hooked and I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough.

This was my first book by Tam Barnett, but it won’t be my last. I’m already planning to go back and read his debut - he has officially earned a spot on my favorite authors list. I truly hope we get many more books from him in the future!

A big thank you to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for the complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Hugely enjoyable book giving a different side to getting inside the mind of a serial killer. In this book the crime has already been solved, the murderer is serving their prison sentence, but there are things left unspoken - like where the bodies are - and it is up to Emy and her team to get them to give up the goods.

This refreshing take on the subject explores the workings of Dr Emy Rose and her team as they embark on a controversial project to glean the missing information. The usual restrictions and legal processes don't seem to apply and Emy walks a constant knife edge as the centre is under continual threat of being shut down.

But Emy has a particular reason for wanting to crack one particular case and she will stop at literally nothing to get the information she needs.

I didn’t really get into the book at first. But I kept reading, and I’m so happy that I did. This book is amazing. The plot twist are absolutely unexpected, and the characters development is also really well written. This book could not have been written any other way. Absolutely amazing

A fast paced thriller, with multiple mysteries. I flew through the last 30% of the book, as all the pieces of the puzzle started to come together.

wow. i went into this book expecting it to be a lighthearted comedy despite its dark title. i saw the description that said darkly comedic, and i think that misled me. it was much darker than i expected, but i ended up loving it! the twists just kept coming and the characters were great. it took me a little to figure out everyone because so many characters were introduced in the beginning, but once i established them, i was hooked. and the ending had my jaw on the floor!

Let me first start of by saying this easily falls between a 4.5 and 5 star read for me. Despite some of the British banter that wasn’t really for me, especially in the beginning before things really start to take off, overall it was BRILLIANT! I can say with certainty that I won’t be shocked when it enters the Bestsellers list. It’s one that I’ll be recommending all year!

It was a little slow to start but once it got going, boy did it go!! So many minor (yet major) little plot points that truly came together PERFECTLY throughout the entirety of this book. Everything made sense in an addictive, page turning way. It never felt “fluffy” or like any unnecessary filler was used. Everything served an important purpose and I LOVE that in any novel.

The amount of research and carefully thought plot and meticulous attention to detail really made this book stand out amongst other psychological thrillers I’ve read in the past. It’s very heavily focused on the psychological aspect rather than thriller but in a digestible, edge of your seat, full body goosebumps kind of way. Every single character had such depth and intrigue that you genuinely wanted to know everything about everyone.

My only real feedback would be feeling a little disappointed we didn’t find out more about what happened with Chi and Tom. I feel like I was still left with some questions and would have loved a little more finality to wrap up those storylines and relationships.

All in all, Impeccable writing and an absolutely brilliant book! I audibly gasped, didn’t expect to cry but shed actual tears TWICE!

Thank you to BoldwoodBooks for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

PLEASE pick this one up April 7th - you will not be disappointed!

This dark novel took me on a rollercoaster ride - one that I did not want to get off of! This is a very well written book, however it does take some time getting used to the writing style. This was my first book by this author, so that could be why I felt this way about the writing. I really loved the depth of the relationship between the Mother and Daughter throughout this book, it made me cry. I also enjoyed the strong friendship between Emy and Chi. This psychological thriller was a really good one! It had many twist and turns! I had no idea what was coming next and I never would have guessed how this thriller unfolds towards the end. It is unique, witty, funny at times, and extremely disturbing. Overall, it was a very entertaining and emotional book!

How to Read a Killer’s Mind is a book about a woman psychologist named Emy that talks to serial killers, so she can get inside their heads. She wants to find out where the missing bodies are located from these serial killers. She has one big motive for being there and talking with them, especially one certain serial killer. As the book progresses, things begin to unravel, relationships become jeopardized and everything becomes clear.

The trigger warnings for this book are death, violence, and grief. This is a psychological thriller, so it gets really intense throughout the entire book.

Thank you to NetGalley, author Tam Barnett and Boldwood Books for sending me this advanced reader copy of this brilliant book in exchange for my honest review!

#NetGalley
#HowToReadAKillersMind

With a title like that I was always going to pick this up. Absolutely my kind of book. It was a little slow to start with but once it got going boy did it go. It was kind of addictive in the end, I just needed to know what was going to happen and what twist would happen. There are a lot of surprises in this book, and most of them came at the end of chapter so I just had to keep going.

Dr Emy Rose is a psychologist who is working with serial killers who have confessed. Her aim is to get them to reveal where they have buried the bodies. But she has an underlying motive in doing this. She isn’t a very likeable character for most of the book, only when she was with her mother did I see a little bit of her compassion.

This is a book that I will not forget in a hurry. It is dark and messed with some pretty gruesome details in there. There is also some humour in parts, not as much as I had expected with the book comparisons but enough in the right places.

Thanks to Boldwood books for my advanced copy of this book to read. Published on April 7th.

How to Read a Killer's Mind by Tam Barnett is a gripping psychological thriller that dives deep into the twisted thoughts of a killer, unravelling complex motives and the dark recesses of the human psyche. The novel skillfully intertwines suspense and emotion, offering a chilling narrative that keeps you on edge until the very end. With its well-crafted characters and meticulously researched details, it's a must-read for fans of crime thrillers.

Here’s my breakdown:

🔪 Murder
🚩 R*pe/Sexual Assault
🚫 Neglect/Child Abuse
🧠 Mental health diagnosis
🌊 Twisty and well-researched

It's a journey that will have you questioning everything.
3.5 star rounded up to 4 star!

The blurb:

I’m psychologist Dr Emy Rose, but that’s not my real name.

I work with serial killers who've hidden their victims. My job is to find the bodies - and I'm kind of awesome at it.

The trick is to get inside these murderers' minds. And there's one in particular I'm hellbent on breaking.

Why? None of your business! Just know, I'll stop at nothing to read that killer's mind...

My thoughts:
This is the second book that I’ve read by Tam Barnett, I thought How To Get Away With Murder was good, but this one was just mind blowing!

The book reeled me in from the start. The first half is fairly medium paced, but then at about halfway it really picks up pace and I couldn’t put it down!

I loved the concept of Dr Emy Rose and her role in the story. I liked that although the story is quite dark and twisty we also see a side to Emy that is humorous too.

A really great read, one I’d highly recommend adding to your tbr!

Thank you so much to Tam Barnett for sending me an advance copy of his book to read via Netgalley. Opinions expressed here are my own.