if i love these books so much does that somehow make me a psychopath? asking for a friend? because how can these books be bringing so much joy. my only saving grace is there is a audience. so im not the only one. but does this then mean we are all Psychopaths. the way im overthinking this???its a book! and what a book. and i loved it. and it was a joy. i dont know how, or quite who started making this genre a thing but we have them to bow down to and thank, profusely. because they are great.
i think what makes them so wonderful is that utterly dry wit they all have. those sarcastic character and humour. and that is me all day. when that type of dry humour is done well it gets me every single time.
and guys Julie Tudor is definitely Psychopath. and her story is one i sat with from start to finish. i couldn't put this one down as i wanted to know every single detail of where she was going next and soak it all in all at once.
at some moments i even dare i say it had soft spot, felt sorry for her. but then she quickly showed me why i don't.
and Sean oh Sean he definitely didn't have the best time being the focal point of Julie.
the things these book do for me when done well is somehow they are sad or have those emotional touch points. you have the parts that you know mean more or encompass more of an emotional side to them. and thats what i got from this book too. at some point i felt something. and that balance between that and the mad absolute head wobble of a plot is what these books need to grab me, to make them ok lol. and this had that. it was fab. because when you just put everything aside and step into Julie and her view of the world(even if she is very poorly indeed) then you truly SEE it. this is a woman who is not going to let anything stand in her way. and yes that means literally no one will be left standing if they get in her way!
dark humour and then some time recurring, ha. but awesome.

I absolutely loved this book! Julie Tudor is a brilliant character - completely flawed and unhinged and 'in love' with her much younger colleague at work. He doesn't know she exists but everything in her head tells her that he feels the same. And she is willing to wait for him. So when he starts showing an interest in the glamorous office newbie Julie sets to work. After all this isn't her first time of 'dealing' with problem people!

Such a dark, funny and sad read all at the same time. I loved it and cannot recommend it enough!

This was such a fun book we have a psychopath who is unhinged and funny at the same. This book took dark humour to a new level and I loved it. I did find it could be a bit repetitive at times but that really didn't take away from me enjoying the book so much and wanting to know what was going on inside the mind of this crazy lady.

This book is very dark, funny and heart poundingly good.

In this book we meet Julie Tudor, a woman who works at an office and is having a relationship with one of her colleagues, a younger guy named Sean. There is only one problem in their relationship - it's all in Julie's head. She watches Sean constantly, especially when he starts to get close to the gorgeous office newbie. Julie is determined to make Sean hers, by any means necessary. Since this isn't her first time, she knows just what to do.

Jennifer Holdich does a wonderful job in creating laugh our loud moments inbetween the dark events. Some of the things Julie does are so insane, but there is always something funny or unexpected that happens to keep you on your toes and turning pages.


Can't recommend this book enough.

This was an interesting and different read for me, it took a while to get in to it but once I was in I found myself looking forward to seeing what was next for Julie.
It felt suspenseful and I enjoyed the time changes as it made the story seem more real to me.
After reading the likes of how to kill men and get away with it, this one left me feeling a little underwhelmed.
I would however recommend this book to anyone looking for a lighthearted easy read.

I really enjoyed this book once it got it's hooks into me! The story moved at a great pace, with plenty of suspense, twists and turns, told across multiple time periods. The narrative voice of the titular Julie is sarcastic, blunt and often aloof, yet shockingly relatable - with each page turn you wonder just how far things will go, and I found myself rooting for her twisted schemes all carried out in the name of love.

The synopsis of this book is already over the top and it sounds kinda crazy. So I was really curious how this would play out in the story. From early reviews I got a bit of an idea, but I was excited to experience it myself.

The story is told through Julie's POV and you live in her (delusional) mind. It was so interesting to read what was happening and what Julie was thinking at the same time. The events seemed to be told pretty truthful, but then you would read Julie's thoughts and it was insane. This is truly how I would describe delusional, you cannot believe how she interpreted what was happening around her. It was funny, but at the same time it was also really sad and a bit scary that there are people in the world who think like this.

There are a lot of flashbacks to the past in the book and I really enjoyed those. At first I thought I had pinpointed exactly where Julie's delusions started, and I thought it really made sense in the context of what was happening to her. But then we get back further into the past and I saw that it was already happening in her youth. As someone with a psychology degree I thought this book was so interesting! Yes, it was entertaining, but to me it was also a book that made me think long after finishing it. 

I liked how the book ended a lot, it was really bittersweet I would say. There were a lot of events in the end that all invoked different feelings for me haha. But I did really like this ending, I don't think there could've been a better ending to the book than this one. After reading this book I was already looking forward to the next release by Jennifer Holdich and after reading the synopsis for her next book I got even more excited. It's another mystery/thriller with a crazy plot that will probably be fun yet insane once again. I can't wait for that one!

I would for sure recommend Julie Tudor Is Not a Psychopath, but I would recommend getting a feel for the book before getting it. The vibe of the main character is something I don't think everyone would enjoy reading, so be mindful of that! If you don't mind a delusional main character with more than questionable morals, this might be a book for you!

From what I can tell I am an outlier, so keep that in mind with my review.

Julie our main character, is dislikable, not just because of her actions in the book, but she’s also so boring. She’s not funny no matter how much she believes so and it’s really hard to because I know she is written to be humorous so it’s all completely out of whack for me.

While I love a “you” type book, there is nothing here that I can connect to, nothing to find endearing whilst being repulsed and it seems a shame.

Devilishly dark tale of obsession, delusion and murder.

Wow, this was, from the first page, black. You see from the first page what you are getting into... or think you do... can those words REALLY mean that she...? That he...? Only circling back to the opening scenario at the very close, we then meet Julie in the past.

Julie adores and loves Sean. She sets out food for him at mealtimes, she flirts with him at work, she follows him on 'the Facebook'. But Sean... is going out with someone else.

Before Sean, Julie adored and loved other men. They were just hiding their own feelings because of their controlling partners, because it wasn't seemly, because because because.

Julie Tudor is deluded. She is obsessive. Though we only really see her point of view for 99% of the story, we know she is not in a healthy place.

But it is what Julie does and justifies doing that makes this story truly stand out and horrify. The further back we go, the more we understand and see the origins of Julie's mental state. The backstory with parents and an adored sister, then student nurse days, both with early crushes handled in severely maladjusted and harmful ways gives rise to the Julie we see now, in her 50s and blind to all but her 20-something colleague.

I won't spoil this by saying more about Julie's actions, but if you enjoy books/films like American Psycho, You, Baby Reindeer, you'll be prepared for this and know it's likely to be your sort of read.

The readers' questions at the end are insightful and a good way of clarifying your own feelings about the characters, I liked the author questionnaire too, giving answers as to the background to the book.

This was a great read, total escapism, getting into the mind of someone completely unhinged and following the slow-build up from Julie's very full history of deluded behaviour to the bookend from the start we are dying to return to.

Excellent case study in self-delusion including how others around view it over time. Great writing, great characters, tense and insightful writing.

With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample reading copy.

2.5 stars
Unfortunately this book wasn't a great read for me.
Right from the start I struggled to get into the story and the writing style.
Our MC Julie is one of the most unlikeable characters I have ever read. And not in a good way. I think I was meant to find her entertaining and humorous but she was so two dimensional and unlikeable it was hard to root for her. Also, I didn't find any of the other characters likeable so I didn't care about them or what would happen to them.
We did get a lot of flashback chapters which became VERY repetitive, just Julie doing the same thing in different time periods, which absolutely no explanation as to why she was like the way she is.
The whole thing just felt so flat and dull to me. It lacked any humour and the story didn't have any spark to it at all.
I was waiting for the plot to really step up and gain momentum, with maybe some twists and reveals but there was nothing.
I do have to say though that it was a quick, easy read but that was the only thing I did like about it.

First of all thank you for approving my request!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! The authors writing style had me hooked throughout this book.

I didn't want it to end, a book I really couldn't put down.

This book was fabulous! The most engaging and entertaining book I have read in a long time. It has echoes of Sweetpea but with less gore. It's actually a pretty sad story but with so much humour. In my minds eye, Julie is like a dark Mary from Coronation Street!

Great title and cover that attracted me to read this book
Goid style of writing and more than interesting main character
I did struggle with parts but overall a good read

This is such a fun read considering it is about murder. I absolutely loved the main character, she certainly left a lot to be desired in many ways, but loved how her thought processes were shown all the way through, however bizarre and mistaken they were. An absolutely blinding debut novel.

Meet Julie Tudor: spreadsheet enthusiast, homeowner, lover of Sean, and... definitely not a psychopath.

At least, that’s what she tells herself. And us. Repeatedly.

This darkly funny and wildly unsettling book is told through the eyes of an utterly unreliable narrator. Julie is 49, deeply infatuated with 25-year-old Sean, and dangerously delusional about just how “normal” her feelings and actions are.

She insists she’s not a stalker, not unhinged, and certainly not a serial killer. But her behaviour suggests otherwise, especially when other women enter the picture.

What makes this story so gripping is how Jennifer Holdich manages to create a character who is both disturbingly irrational and oddly sympathetic.

Julie talks openly about feeling different, misunderstood, and disconnected from the world. There are moments when you do feel a glimmer of pity for her. That is, until she starts plotting another woman’s downfall because she dares to exist in Sean’s orbit.

The writing is sharp, witty and soaked in dark humour. Julie’s internal monologue is full of bizarre logic and twisted justification that keeps you equally entertained and horrified.

Her obsession feels like watching a slow-motion car crash – you can’t look away.

Fans of unreliable narrators, morally questionable protagonists and black comedy will be in their element with this one. Julie Tudor may not say she’s a psychopath, but you’ll have fun deciding for yourself.

A madcap, unsettling ride through obsession, loneliness and the dangerous lengths people go to for love.

Read more at The Secret Book Review.

I was pleasantly surprised that the locations in the novel are very familiar to me. It even had me wondering if the character it is based on is someone I have previously worked with !

A quirky novel with dark themes and humour.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for this ARC.

This debut novel contains a story with many back and forth moving timelines but we're meeting Julie for the first time in 2009 when she is 49, diligently working in an office in Cardiff, obsessivey in love with coworker Sean, 25. Julie had a sister called Angela who her parents always loved more and who died in a car accident at 17 when Julie was 15. Angela's boyfriend Billy then convinced her to sleep with him and ghosted her afterwards. He is the first man she had an unhealthy obsession with, but by far not the last.

What you need to know about Julie is that she is a delusional fantasist, in denial about the feelings of men she is in love with, which makes her an unreliable narrator. In 1981 Dr Jeremy Pearson's wife Felicity is nearly killed by Julie. In 1983, a homeless man she mistakes for a famous actor is not that lucky. Then Sean comes into her life in 2007, and it is suddenly very dangerous to be his girlfriend.

The main storyline happens in 2009 and 2010, when Julie is fully in the grip of insanity, killing her pets and turning them into taxidermied versions she keeps around the house, painting dark pictures and and behaving weirdly on "the Facebook". You can't help but feel for lonely, damaged Julie who makes up other people's feelings for her, which stems from her childhood in her sister's shadow. On the other hand, she is a full-blown dangerous serial killer without any self awareness who you really don't want to share an office with, especially if you have allergies.

However, I do like her biting, acerbic wit when she delivers burns like "Although I didn’t see how any environment containing Susannah could truly be considered ‘nut-free’" or "Then the doctors pronounced her brain dead and for some reason my parents didn’t bother telling them that was normal for Angela."

There is a lot of dark humour but it often seems to be uncomfortably at the expense of middle-aged Julie who dresses drably and is not well-liked by her colleagues. I'm trying to decide if I like the ending and I'm not sure I do although it was probably inevitable. I just wish that Frank had had more oomph to likewise develop an unhealthy obsession and go around killing the men in her life. Compared to that the ending is kind of mundane.

If you enjoy reading about deranged, mentally unstable characters and disturbing casual violence by a woman who thinks she is doing the right thing for her love life, then you will be captivated by this overblown and unhinged tale of Julie Tudor who is clearly a psychopath.

4.5 stars

Julie Tudor Is Not a Psychopath is the debut novel by Jennifer Holdich.

Julie is inching toward middle age and working in admin in Cardiff. She’s unusual, socially awkward, and can’t read social cues, and is only tolerated by her colleagues. Twenty-five-year-old Sean joins her company, initially working in her team, and she’s instantly attracted to him and believes him to be the love of her life.

The story unfolds from the viewpoint of Julie, so an unreliable narrator. It moves along at pace going back and forth between two timelines. It moves between the start of Julie’s obsession with Sean and how she acts on that attraction, and her past including her childhood, adolescence and University years.

Julie has a complete lack of self-awareness and is completely delusional and utterly obsessive. I found it impossible to warm to her, but I don’t think you are supposed to. That said, I did continue to read the book because it was compelling, and when I thought it couldn’t get any darker – it did. No-one deserves to get in the crosshairs of Julie and I raced through the book because I just had to know what would happen to Sean.

I would say this book would be for fans of A Tidy Ending by Joanna Cannon. It’s an interesting read with a range of characters. It’s dark and sinister strong debut. I look forward to reading Holdich’s next book.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, Hodder & Stoughton, for making this e-ARC available to me in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I went into this without a lot of thought as I thought it might be entertaining but I got about 10% in and I just got freaked out. I worry I've gone too 'woke' as this wouldn't have bothered me in years gone by but following the Pelicot trial last year did weird things to my brain. The idea of stalking and then subduing another person just gives me the major icks no matter what the genders involved. I wish the people involved with this all the very best but I just ... couldn't find it funny. It seemed to be going for a similar kind of 'she doesn't see she's weird' vibe that kicked off Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine but Julie Tudor really does seem to be a psychopath and I did not want to spend time in her mind.

A very entertaining read … Julie is a great character in this dark comedic book which keeps you gripped until the end . Obsessed with her work colleague Sean who she feels is her one true love the book takes you into the challenges of love not running smoothly and Julie’s unique way of dealing with these things . Even though you know it’s wrong you can’t help rooting for Julie and her quest !!