A unique read - it almost feels like its own genre. A humorous thriller - something different for sure!

My Wife, The Serial Killer opens with Fran having just committed her second murder. This one, however, is close to home as it just so happens to be her neighbor. What's worse - her husband, Gareth, is a detective assigned to the missing person's case for the same neighbor. Fran struggles to keep things under wraps as her husband investigates, believing things arent as simple as they seem.

I loved the first half of this book. It was funny, gripping, and kept you on your toes! I loved having the point of views switch between Fran and Gareth, giving you a look at everything from both sides. My enjoyment started to wane as it went on - the humor was sparse, and the trial seemed to drag on - but the ending was worth it. Overall, enjoyable read!

This book was very unique- balancing humor with intense moments which really enhanced the reading experience, while providing relief and depth to the narrative. Also, the characters were well-developed and consistent, making it enjoyable to follow their journeys. Often, a complex beginning requires some patience, but it lead up to a rewarding end once you got into the story. And a satisfying ending is always a bonus, tying up loose ends so readers are left with a sense of closure. Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the ARC.

I actually really liked the concept of this book overall and the humor in it was a nice break between intense moments! The characters were so well described and maintained throughout the book, and I really enjoyed getting to follow them. The beginning of the book was a bit hard to follow, but once I got a bit more into it I was on a roll! The ending wrapped up perfectly and I of course shoutout to Mep, the true main character 🐈‍⬛

I thought the book had a really great premise let down by execution.

Why is every single woman in this unlikeable? I’m all for having unlikeable characters, that often makes a story feel real, but there isn’t a single character in this book that I thought had redeeming qualities. I mean, seriously, am I supposed to feel sympathy towards the FMC? And Gareth was written so inconsistently as well. It just felt like the book was not properly developed. Maybe with a few more rewrites it would have gotten to where it needed to be.

Thank you for the ARC.

3.5/5

I liked the serial killer wife / detective husband dynamic, especially with the wife not being super confident. Her anxiety and overthinking was so realistic.

The pacing was good, nothing dragged on too long and I enjoyed how this wrapped up. I did find it difficult to read though, with the lack of double apostrophe (' instead of ") ~ especially when the dialogue was just in the middle of paragraphs.

My Wife, the Serial Killer is a a unique book in that I’m not really sure what genre it falls under? Not that it matters. Thanks to Storm Publishing for sending a fun read.

This book follows Fran, who lives a pretty normal life, works in child protective services after growing up in the system, and her husband, Gareth who is a police officer. The twist? Fran’s a murderer and Gareth is investigating the case, not knowing it’s hers.

The book definitely kept my attention and I think it was really cool switching between the the two POVs so you saw everything going on, but I think it did take some of the guessing out of it that could have been present. It was very witty and dry humor which I always love. Overall a super unique read that I had fun with.

First off I want to say thank you to @netgalley and @stormbooks_co for the advanced copy!

I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed this, but this book delivered! It’s a twisted wild ride filled with secrets, intrigue and brilliantly dark humor. The plot strikes the perfect balance between chaos and believability, never feeling exaggerated. Each character has their own brand of madness, yet their strange charm is undeniably captivating. The darkly comedic dialogue sharpened the tension, creating a wickedly fun psychological thriller. Garbett masterfully balanced the story with heart and wit, keeping it grounded despite its potential for chaos. The story's intensity stemmed from the dual perspective: a detective husband and his murderer wife. Despite her meticulous planning, a past connection led to her downfall. I will absolutely be returning to this author in anything he writes in the future!

Highly recommend for anyone who likes thrillers with a little bit of chaos and wildness.

Married life can be murder… and I was so here for it 🔪💍😂

I genuinely didn’t expect to enjoy this as much as I did, but it completely won me over. It’s dark, it’s funny, and somehow still manages to be heartwarming in the weirdest, most delightful way.

The writing had me giggling more than once, and I loved how the full story unfolded bit by bit—just the right mix of suspense and snark. I was a little unsure about Gareth at first, but both he and Fran ended up being such well-drawn, oddly loveable characters. (P.S - I loved the cat!)

Overall, it was perfect. 👏 Totally satisfying, with just the right twist of dark humour and emotional payoff.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ – Darkly hilarious, unexpectedly tender, and a total page-turner. Highly recommend for anyone who likes their thrillers with a little chaos and a lot of character.

Big thanks to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the ARC! 🙌

We are thrown into Fran's & Gareth's world, a husband and wife dual POVs- where one is an almost serial killer and the other is a detective. From the first few chapters, we understand that Fran is on a 'mission' or spree (if you will) from her past, and we unravel it in forthcoming chapters. The two are also trying for a child! The book is humorous, though I would say the pace is slow instead of being a page turner. I appreciated Fran's chapters more than when it came to Gareth, who felt a bit flat in comparison to our humorous queen. The concept of the book is great, but it might come out under cooked with the writing in parts and character development. Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the eARC!

I really enjoyed the first 40% of the book. It was so hilarious, the way the leads spoke was funny and very relatable to the current way of conversation. The author also wrote funny science history which really made me so in love with the book. But as we reach 50%, I was a little disappointed as the story swayed away from comedy. And it was getting alittle bored and the plot was not very interesting there after. Alittle disappointed for the plot wise. Felt alittle draggy and lost the initial engagement.

I was very pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this. I genuinely giggled at times. I loved the way it was written, and that the motives and circumstances surrounding the murder were revealed to us gradually throughout. I think the book could have easily fallen flat if the protagonists were unlikeable and while Gareth took a little more warming up to, both Fran and Gareth ended up wonderful characters in their own right, and as with most of the supporting cast too, felt so real and well fleshed out. I did get a little nervous approaching the ending as I couldn’t image how everything could be resolved satisfyingly in such a short amount of time but it was perfect, chef’s kiss, and I wouldn’t change a thing about it. I would absolutely recommend this. Thank you, NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the ARC!

This book was almost like a mixture of "Dexter" meets "Desperate Housewives".
our main characters are super compelx and the plot of this book was unlike anything I've ever heard of before. There are two main character in this book our male main character is detective Garth and our female main character is his wife Fran. I loved the idea of this story however there was something about it that just didn't hit the mark for me. I tried to like our main character Fran however there was something about her that made it very hard (ignoring the fact that she's a murder). What should have been the most interesting character in this story Fran instead felt a little flat to me and unrealistic. When Fran has enough of her neighbour she takes matters into her own hands and ends him. Since she is a murderer already this isn't anything new however her husband won't believe that the neighbour is just missing and starts to dig deeper into what really happened to him. I liked the back and forth parts of this story and I enjoyed the different motives and viewpoints. I did find parts a little long and it wasn't as light as I was expecting it to be from the description. I enjoyed the humor in this book which was very unexpected from the dark subject however it gave it a little more edge to the story. Not bad overall just I don't think that this was up to my tastes.

My Wife, the Serial Killer is a dual POV crime comedy. Fran has just killed her elderly neighbor, but she wants you to know that he deserved it and she's not a serial killer, this is only her second murder. Fran and Gareth moved into a new neighborhood last month so Gareth could start at a new police precinct and he's convinced that there's something nefarious behind his neighbor's disappearance.
I enjoyed reading this book. There isn't anything special or that great about the writing, character, plot, etc, but there wasn't anything that bad about them. The plot was predictable and the story didn't feel super original, but once again they weren't bad either. I was entertained while reading it and that's about all I have to say about it, but sometimes that's all a book needs to be.

Thank you to Storm Publishing and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a gifted copy of this novel!

I absolutely love the female Dexter-type vibes that this plot promises! This novel is told from a multi POV with what I would consider to be relatively short chapters, which helped me read this one so quickly. A very bright character in this book was Mep, who I was especially rooting for. Although we even know from the title that the wife is a criminal, this book brought some unexpected twists. Despite this, however, I will say that I did struggle at times in the middle of the novel with the pacing and how it furthered the general plot. Ultimately, I do think this would be a fun beach read for people who enjoy crime dramas!

A debut novel, The Serial Killer (2025) by H. J. Garbett is a gentle, humorous, crime mystery. Fran and Gareth are a happily married couple who just moved into a new neighbourhood, in order to start their family. Gareth is a newly minted police detective and his social worker wife Fran, is a serial killer. Just weeks after settling in, Fran kills an elderly neighbour as Gareth has to do a welfare check on him. Convinced his neighbour is missing and suspecting foul play, Gareth is assigned to investigate, as the police determine it’s a murder case. With its gentle, humorous tone, the narrative switches back and forth between Fran and Gareth and the inevitable murder trial conclusion. It’s a frolic of a mystery thriller, with an enjoyable four star read rating. As always, the opinions herein are totally my own, freely given and without any inducement. With thanks to Storm Publishing and the author, for an uncorrected advanced review copy for review purposes.

Had me hooked from the first page. Witty and humourous. Absolutely intense and will have you eagerly turning the pages to know what happens next.

The duel pov between husband being a detective and the wife being the murder was intense. Not to mention the wife meticulously thought everything out but got caught out due to a link in her past.

Back story of wife was heartbreaking but tied everything together. Her brother was sweet and misunderstood.
Loved the epilogue

This book delivered exactly what I hoped for! A twisted, wild ride packed with secrets, intrigue, and brilliantly dark humour.

The plot toes the line between the chaotic and the believable, and yet it never feels over the top.

Each character is psychotic in their own unique way, but there’s a strange charm to them that keeps you hooked. I found myself genuinely intrigued by their individual perspectives, especially as the layers of their secrets slowly unraveled.

The darkly comedic dialogue added a sharp edge to the tension, making it feel like a wickedly fun psychological thriller. This story easily could’ve lost control, but Garbett balances it with just enough heart and wit to keep it grounded.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this wild, character-driven thriller and will absolutely be returning to this author in the future.

That was absolutely delicious!! The way I devoured this book in a day! I'm obsessed with Fran and her husband Gareth!
Absolutely hilarious! And that epilogue! This is definitely a great summer read!

As debut novels go, this is a great book.
I really enjoyed reading this and found I didn't want to put it down as I wanted to know what happened next.

I would class it as a thriller with a great dry sense of humour throughout the whole book with some great characters. (Shout out to Mep who is just a vibe)
My Wife, the serial Killer is a great concept for a book and an interesting read. It really had me thinking, 'what would you do in that situation' so much so I asked my husband how he would react to the plot.

Overall a great easy read and will be recommending it.

Thank you so much Netgalley and Storm Publishing for the ARC on this delightful book.

I received My Wife, The Serial Killer for free in exchange for my honest review. I wasn't sure what to expect going in, as I had never read a book by H.J. Garbett before. I was pleasantly surprised. It was quite humorous and enjoyable while still keeping you guessing. I enjoyed the characters and the development of the husband's character as he came to terms with the fact that his wife is in fact, very likely a serial killer. I would definitely read more books by this author.