Du hast mich zuerst getötet

by John Marrs, Tanja Lampa (Translator)

Eine Frau erwacht aus ihrer Bewusstlosigkeit – und verfällt in Panik: Gefesselt und geknebelt ist sie von Feuer umgeben. In wenigen Sekunden werden die Flammen sie erreichen. Wer ist sie?

Elf Monate zuvor. Margot, ein ehemaliger TV-Star, und ihre Freundin Anna leben mit ihren Männern in einer schicken Vorortsiedlung. Als nebenan die ebenso hübsche wie clevere Liv mit ihrer Familie einzieht, werden die drei beste Freundinnen.

Aber der Schein trügt. Denn jede lauert, lügt und täuscht den anderen etwas vor. Sie alle haben tödliche Geheimnisse voreinander. Und der schwelende Hass, der unaufhörlich wächst, endet für eine von ihnen im Feuer …

Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Audiobook, Fiction, Book Club, Suspense

461 pages, Paperback

First published March 11, 2025

About the author

John Marrs is the author of #1 bestsellers including The One, The Good Samaritan, When You Disappeared, The Family Experiment, The Marriage Act, The Passengers, What Lies Between Us, Keep It In The Family and The Stranger In Her House. His next book, You Killed Me First, is out in March 2025.
What Lies won the International Thriller Writers' Best Paperback of 2021 award.
The One is a million-copy seller and has been translated into 35 different languages. It was also a Number One Netflix series.
After working as a journalist for 25-years interviewing celebrities from the world of television, film and music for national newspapers and magazines, he is now a full-time writer.
Follow him on Twitter @johnmarrs1 Facebook: @johnmarrsauthor Instagram: @johnmarrs.author website: johnmarrsauthor.co.uk

Reviews

[Brady Lockerby · Rating 3 out of 5]

okay i am SO torn on what to rate this one! overall, i enjoyed myself. like most John Marrs books, lots of twists and turns, you have no idea what is true up until the last page, but i was confused for a lot of this. especially reading it over the course of 3-4 days, i kept having to re-read the last chapter to remember where i was at and what was going on. but like i said, i enjoyed myself! a 3 feels right hahaha

[Sydney Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well that was fun as hell. I had a little bit of difficulty keeping all the characters/POVs straight but this was a wild ride I enjoyed very much

[Laura Lovesreading · Rating 5 out of 5]

HA, These women are a HOT DIABOLICAL MESS!!!!!!

Mr. Marrs is back with his addictive thrillers and in this book, we are following three women who all have deep rooted secrets, enough to kill.

The book starts off immediately into the action involving a woman who has been bound and gagged and is trapped in the heart of a towering bonfire. She has no idea what she has done and neither do we.

Going back eleven months we are introduced to three women, Margot, Anna and Liv. Margot and Anna have been friends for years and Liv moving into the neighborhood befriends the two women but under all the niceties you can tell these women simply don’t F&ck with one another and ensues a whole bunch of chaos and drama!

I never thought I’d see the day where I would add the word ‘FUN’ in Mr. Marrs books, but here we are. This book was so juicy, entertaining and FUN! Of course, he adds his elements of extreme twists and turns, but I really enjoyed reading along to the absolute cattiness of these three women.

I could not put this book down and I promise you it definitely gives ‘Just one more chapter’ vibes. I read it in one sitting!

The book is told in three POVS of the ladies and then we also get anonymous POVS of additional characters who completely had me scratching my head in utter confusion because I didn’t understand who the hell they were and how they correlated to the story, and it felt like they were just talking in cryptic code or something… BUT!!!!!!! When the realization hits of what it all meant… IT HITS! I was preparing to knock one star off because I just didn’t get those chapters, but afterwards I realized just how wonderfully and cleverly it was done. Bravo Mr. Marrs!

The aftermath had me grabbing my invisible pearls and I was excited to see how it would all conclude. The ending had me GAGGED! (excuse the pun)

⋆｡°✩WHAT I LIKED⋆｡°✩
➽ Unlikeable characters
➽ Short chapters
➽ Dark humour
➽ Wild twists
➽ The "darker" chapters
➽ The ending

⋆｡°✩WHAT I DIDNT LIKE⋆｡°✩
➽ The anonymous POVS (at first)
➽ Having to wait till halfway through the book for the first twist


An absolute wild thrilling ride was had with this one and dare I say Marrs has entered his popcorn thriller era with a BANG!

I’m already ready for your next book John… Please don’t keep me waiting for too long!



4.5 ⭐

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
⋆｡°✩pre read⋆｡°✩
Its finally here!!!!!!!!!!!🥳🥳
This man can do no wrong in my eyes!
I can already smell the 5 stars this is going to be!
Lets see if i can make this a one sit read! 🖤🧡🖤

[Helga · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm sorry... What in the name of all the pronouns, tiktoks, Xs, OnlyFans and the latest bizarre trends in our f*cked up world was this?
I refuse to accept that this confusing thing I managed to finish reading was penned by the author of What Lies Between Us, The Good Samaritan and The Passengers!

Detestable characters, first person narrative, which honestly has become irritating, specially when the characters have verbal diarrhea, and twist after unbelievably nonsensical twist.
I honestly have no idea who did what in this book.
I only know that everybody was Tech-savvy, to the point that they could go in someone else's house and very easily delete messages and emails left and right, but on the other hand one of the clever characters who had secrets to hide, didn't bother to make sure their garage door was shut properly.

Bear with me 🐻 Our life is filled with the f*cking facebook, insta, tiktok, twitter...sorry...X...and other useless stuff. When I choose to read a crime/mystery it means I want to forget those shitty subjects and immerse myself in a crime/mystery, where a crime has been committed and there are suspects and red herrings and some twists here and there. I want to relax in a corner and drink my coffee and enjoy the book, not roll my eyes every other page and curse and sigh and get a headache figuring out where in the name of all the crazy ass twists did that mega-twist come from?

[Nilufer Ozmekik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, well, well... what a wildly unhinged ride! This book had me shouting, “What the heck did I just read?!” Just when you think you’ve caught your breath, another twist punches you in the face, and then another, and another! It's like your jaw hits the floor—only for a plot twist to slap it again while your hair stands on end like you’ve stuck your fingers in an electric socket.

You’ll constantly question who the worst character is—and let me tell you, it’s not an easy choice. But let’s be real. Margot takes the crown. She’s human garbage. I mean, slap-worthy, puke-worthy, and just plain despicable. You might think there’s a sliver of humanity buried in her somewhere—don’t be fooled. Every fiber of her reeks of venom.

The story kicks off on November 5th—Bonfire Night—when a woman wakes up bound and gagged at the center of a massive bonfire. As she screams for help, she hears the chilling words: “You killed me first.”

Flash back eleven months, and we meet three women living in a seemingly quiet cul-de-sac:

Margot: a former teen pop star turned stay-at-home stepmom from hell.

Anna: a shy, soft-spoken jewelry maker with a drunk for a husband and a heavy heart.

Liv: a confident newcomer, ex-banker, twin mom, planning to open a yoga studio.

What happens next? Oh, just your everyday suburban chaos: cheating, trolling, backstabbing, stalking, self-harm, murder… you name it. These women harbor some of the darkest, most twisted secrets you can imagine—and just when you think it can’t get worse… it does.

Overall? I’m obsessed.
John Marrs’ mind is a marvel—NASA, forget Mars, let’s explore Marrs! I’ve always loved his sci-fi thrillers, and this domestic psychological rollercoaster was just as addictively brilliant. I devoured this book with a stack of Levain chocolate chip cookies and an endless stream of matcha lattes. I laughed, I gasped, I lived. What are you waiting for? Grab a copy. Buckle up. You’re in for a hell of a ride!

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[Natilie Bell · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25/5

I feel like this book had all the pieces to take me where I wanted to go and then spectacularly drove it off a cliffside - I'm so confused but I will say this is truly unique I've never found myself in a situation where the elements I adored were so mismatched it plummeted to its ending.

Rating this book is a challenge because I did genuinely enjoy reading it - but either there are a few plot lines that seem to just ram into each other or wilt away - or I'm just outright stupid (which is less than favourable.)

I will say, the plot twists in this are great and I didn't see a lot of them coming - I genuinely had no idea where this was taking me till about 60% of the way through.

One of the plot lines in this book - feels completely irrelevant and is there solely to play smoke and mirrors. This is a common device in thrillers to leave the reader in suspense, but as this was told from multiple POV's, a whole character's development was just made redundant. She was just a means to an end, and that really bothers me because I was invested in her the most. She didn't tie into the story at all.

The other thing that really bothers me was the pacing of this and I'm not sure if I can quite articulate what irks me about it. There were plenty of high stakes moments, however it felt like we were making a big deal out of little things and nonchalant about pivotal drama. I don't like to give too many details in my reviews because I don't really like going into a book expecting anything, but the pacing was just so odd for me.

₊˚⊹♡ reading log

who are we backing in a fight; liv or margot? and also anna but she doesn’t seem like the type to strike a fly

♡ 05/08 3:11am
welcome back to insomnia with natilie it's 3am i can't quiet my brain and this book keeps popping up in my head

♡ 26/07 7:51pm
girls i've sent a risky text - time to just fully lock my phone in a box and smash through this to take my mind off it<3

♡ 26/07 7:52am
if you're an insomniac like me you'll know reading after being awake for 24 hours is futile, but that's how addicted i am to this story (even if i am moving at a snail like pace). i have no idea where this plot is going and how the POV's & time jumps all link together they seem like very separate pieces, but either way i'm excited

♡ 24/07 12:24am
ok we're finally underway and i am hooked within the first few chapters, so much drama in this dynamic between three very different women - what is not to love

♡ 22/07 4:51pm
i'm really tired of letting negative experiences take away from the things i enjoy in life -
whenever i go through a difficult experience in life that leaves me feeling insecure or less than/doubting myself worth, i do genuinely feel 'not good enough' for my hobbies. this just sucks, i feel like i miss out on so much of my life - my biggest goal this year is to reduce that

₊˚⊹♡ pre-reading

nope we're back to only reading thrillers because emotions hurt and people suck and yes i'm going to be bitter about it )):

how can people just ugh
yes im embarrassing myself

[Nikki Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Happy belated Pub Day

Whoa! Holy-Mother-of-gawd! John pulled out all the punches with this one! From the moment I started this… I absolutely COULD NOT STOP!

Three women - Margot, Anna and Liv. Liv and her family just moved into the neighborhood. Soon, these women will go to great lengths to impress the next. Who has what, how they got there, where they came from…. You get the gist. Only, they are about to find out THEY HAVE NO IDEA!!!!

I would classify this as his first popcorn thriller and the ride WAS WILD AS HELL! Marrs does something he has NEVER done before and it was absolutely brilliant! He pulled it off beautifully! Other authors have tried this and it just didn’t work for me. Ever. Finally, someone nailed it!!

Bravo John Marrs! Bravo!
5 brilliant ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you John for your creative mind! Many thanks to Amazon Publishing (Thomas&Mercer) and NetGalley for the opportunity!!

[Ceecee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bonfire night.
After a dramatic fiery start and a voice in an ear saying “You killed me first”, I’m hooked.

When shall we three meet again? Let me introduce you to the coven of the cul-de-sac. There is glossy Liv who seems to have it all including a handsome husband called Brandon, think Brandon Flowers but with plenty of muscle definition. Then there’s Margot whose post pop star infamy via her marriage to Nicu follows her everywhere. Just call her Mrs Snark. Then there’s drab Anna married to even drapper Drew, the odd couple out but we all know that appearances can be very deceptive and appearances are very important to this bunch. I’ll say very little else because there’s no way I want to spoil the dark entertainment value of the power dynamics and everything else in this never a dull moment latest read from the talented John Marrs.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, John Mars mind is a darkly creative place and I LOVE IT! I know I should out and out loath Margot because she is utterly despicable but I’ll admit that some of her barbs make me laugh. Sorry, not sorry. I’ll bet the author had huge fun creating her and I have to say she’s very memorable. There’s never a lull in the storytelling which barrels at a good pace through multiple twists and turns to a good ending. It keeps me engaged from start to finish, constantly wondering what will be unleashed next. If you have considering a house move, I’ll make sure you avoid this particular cul-de-sac.

A cracking read. Again.

A Kindle Unlimited read.

[Kezia Duah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Um, HEY! So this was actually quite diabolical😬

This is the kind of drama you only want to read about—NEVER be a part of. At least, that’s how I felt after that shocking start! At first, it unfolds like a drama—three women in a seemingly close friendship, all smiles on the outside.

As the story progresses, the reveals don’t come all at once but through subtle hints sprinkled throughout, leaving me in a state of What is even happening?!—but in the best way possible. I could feel that major surprises were coming, and when they finally hit? Wow. Just when I thought it was over, more twists and shocking revelations kept coming, and each one was great! It wasn’t just about hidden secrets from the past—it was also about the truth of who these characters really were and just how far they’d go to save themselves.

I won’t say much more because, with thrillers, everything can feel like a spoiler—but trust me, this was a ride I absolutely loved!

[Joey R. · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.0 stars— I have always been a big fan of John Marrs, so I was very excited when I discovered he was releasing a new book, “You Killed Me First” on Kindle Unlimited. The book is written from the perspective of 3 neighborhood friends: Anna, Margot, and Liv. The book begins innocently enough as the author does an excellent job revealing the personality quirks of each of the main characters through their interactions together. Margot is a former childhood star with a bad attitude, who always has a negative word to say in every situation. Anna is the shy but kind friend with no self-confidence. Liv comes across as the woman who has everything including money, good looks and the worshipful husband. These perceptions get more and more distorted as you learn the history of each of the characters. ‘You Killed Me First’ has a huge amount of unexpected twists and turns that get more ridiculous the more you read. The implausibility of each of the main characters being involved in that many crimes, schemes and scams is very high and definitely affected my enjoyment of the book. Another plot device that didn’t work for me was when the author had each murder victim possess the body of the person who killed him or her until that person murdered again and a new victim took the previous victim’s place. This soul converses with the murderer and gives direction to the murderer on what to do next while living in the murderer’s body. I started having Riley Sager flashbacks each time I read this ridiculous plot device. Despite the many glowing reviews for this book on Goodreads and my previous love for all things John Marrs, I was not impressed with this book. I couldn’t get into the story because the actions of all of the main characters were over the top and unbelievable. This was definitely my least favorite John Marrs book, but I still am a huge fan and will diligently return to buy his next book based on the very high quality of all his previous novels.

[Jayme C (Brunetteslikebookstoo) · Rating 3 out of 5]

🏝️

The book opens with a horrific scene-a woman has been drugged, bound and gagged and placed in the center of a bonfire 🔥-minutes away from being engulfed in flames. She isn’t the first.

And, we won’t know WHY until the end!

We then backtrack eleven months- and the book now reads like a juicy neighborhood noir!

Margot (a former celebrity who scandously met her husband when she was paired with him on Strictly Come Dancing 💃🏻 🕺🏻) seems to be the undisputed Queen Bee-constantly putting down her meek “friend” Anna, until new neighbor Liv moves in.

Instead of trying to win Margot’s approval, Liv finds that she enjoys tormenting Margot on Anna’s behalf. Margot may be the Queen Bee-but Liv has all of the stingers!

Meow! 😸
SO CATTY….

And, I was having fun with the book until it became very melodramatic and over the top! I started to lose interest about 50% in, and didn’t enjoy the screeching on the Audible version, which occurred when accusations began getting thrown about!

Infidelity, Blackmail, Attempted Murder and Successful Murder are just a few examples of the things that these women do to occupy their days in Suburbia!

I love becoming immersed in the Futuristic World that John Marrs has created (The One, The Minders, The Passengers) but have had mixed results with his stand alone thrillers.

“The Good Samaritan”, “The Stranger in Her House” and “What Lies Between Us” are the three that have worked for me, but this one, although it had its moments, was more of a miss.

Joining my GR friend JaymeO on Outlier Island! 🏝️

This title is NOW AVAILABLE.

[JaymeO · Rating 3 out of 5]

HAPPY PUBLICATION DAY!

Once again, I am on outlier island! 🏝️

John Marrs’ What Lies Between Us remains the standard by which I compare all his psychological thrillers. Unfortunately, nothing he has written after this book has come close to reaching this high bar.

I was super excited to receive the audiobook ARC of You Killed Me First, as the limited quantity of ARCs flew off the NetGalley shelf faster than I could hit the request button! The audiobook includes an all-star cast, but I had a very difficult time distinguishing the three women’s voices from each other and the reader who voiced Drew screamed through his portion.

This game of cat and mouse feels overly contrived, and it took way too long to get to the first twist (not until 50%), so I was super lost. However, I decided to just go with it and hoped that it would come together.

The plot eventually began to make sense, but at that point I didn’t really care about any of the characters. They are all so unlikeable that I had no one to root for. Yes, there are lots of twists, but they are so over the top!

John Marrs fans seem to really be enjoying this one, so please check out other reviews.

3.5/5 stars rounded down

Expected publication date: 3/4/25

Trigger warning: Although there is one scene of animal cruelty, no animals are actually harmed.

Thank you to NetGalley and Brilliance publishing for the ARC of You Killed Me First in exchange for an honest review.

[NZLisaM · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s Guy Fawkes Night and the village bonfire is alight!

A woman regains consciousness.

Her head is pounding.

She has no idea where she is.

Then she smells smoke.

With dawning horrifying clarity she realises she’s bound and gagged trapped in the centre of a burning bonfire.

A phone vibrates in her pocket.

Through an earphone a ringing sounds in her ear.

When the call connects she pleads for help.

A cold voice resonates down the line,

“You killed me first.”

Following this harrowing yet exhilarating prologue we then backpedal eleven months to the day ‘snobby and bitchy’ Margot and ‘dowdy and doormat’ Anna meet their new neighbour ‘seems to have it all’ Liv. Chapters alternated between the three women as we close in on the 5th November. There were also italicised chapters from an unknown first-person narrator.

You Killed Me First, a psychological thriller set in an outwardly picture-perfect domestic setting was explosive. Fans of this genre and this author’s particular brand of twisted twisty plots are in for a shocker. I was already sucked in by the title long before the synopsis was released.

The snarky spiteful thoughts (Margot’s especially) and veiled compliments (Liv’s directed at Margot) were bitingly witty and entertaining. As you would expect You Killed Me First contained all the usual privilege, wealth, gossip, secrets, lies, threats, blackmail, revenge, and dark pasts surrounding Liv, Margot, and Anna, as well as igniting twists. The writing was John Marrs’ usual high standard and I loved the various references to ‘fire’ sprinkled throughout.

I toggled between the e-book and audio, and all the narrators were superb, especially when it came to the italicised chapters and the performance for chapter 61 was bone-chilling.

Once again John Marrs’ psychotic plot has blown me away.

[Nina (ninjasbooks) · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book certainly had many exciting parts with lots going on. I just want to say that I’m not a fan of dissociative identity disorder being used as a cheap plot twist, especially when it doesn’t line up with reality. DID usually develops in childhood due to overwhelming trauma. Yes, we had a house fire here that was terrible, but there was before that no sexual or physical abuse as I could see. The idea to ‘absorb’ people you’ve killed after that is also ridiculous. I didn’t like how that might be associated with the disorder for people not familiar with it. I realize it’s fiction and that some lenience must be granted, but I felt it was taken too far.

[Bec (becbingesbooks) - sorry, behind with lots of catching up to do · Rating 4 out of 5]

Has been a while since I tried a John Marrs book - the last one I nearly DNFd and took me 40% to get into, then I wasn't disappointed that I stuck around. It's fair to say when giving him another chance this time around I was very pleasantly surprised. I really enjoyed this one and was hooked really early. I liked the variety of characters and distinct POVs. That said, my main qualm was that I didn't like the anonymous POVs until well after 50% of the way through (even then, didn't rate). I had no idea what was being said, couldn't focus and wasn't engaged at all because it just didn't fit for me. This of course took away from the story and enjoyment at times, hence 1 star reduction for the frustration. Overall, would recommend, quite clever and twisty, and one of my favourite tropes (no spoilers).

Thanks to Netgalley, the author and publisher for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Brandon Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Flew through this one- what a messy, wild ride!

[Youssra (semi ia) · Rating 4 out of 5]

In true John Marrs fashion, this was a definite page-turner. It had such unlikable characters that are so flawed but he still manages to find a way to make you kind of sympathize with them.

The prologue was truly insane...there is no way someone could read that prologue and not continue to find out what the hell was happening!

I really liked how he kept us guessing and basically not trusting a single character right up until the very end. He also did such a good job of mixing mental illness and the paranormal here where you're not sure if what's happening is in one of the character's heads or an actual paranormal event?

As far as John Marrs books go, this was a fun and fast-paced thriller/mystery but I much preferred his earlier books.


-----------------------------------------
pre-read 🎧
Blow my mind Mr. Marrs 😌

[Marialyce · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author said he had fun writing this, I wish I had fun reading it! 😬 A convoluted story if ever there was one!
And awful characters that would of made you happy to see their demise.🤞

I have read a number of Marr’s books and enjoyed them but this one was a bunch of repetitive actions from a sleazy group of humans! 🤦‍♀️

[Deepak · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Marrs definitely cooked some spiteful diabolical mess here, in the most entertaining way possible 🔥. All three POVs were simply unputdownable. With their pettiness overloaded - Margaret, Liv, and Anna were continuously one upping each other chapter to chapter. The burning greed, intelligence, and drama was screaming at me from all angles to finish it in hurried fashion as I admittedly couldn’t get enough lol.

It eventually led towards this ending where I was impressed to the brim. Dark, twisted, and all types of unhinged. Just how I like my thrillers. I have even more trust issues now, but I also have no regrets at the same time 😂🤯.

[Danny Jae · Rating 5 out of 5]

YOOOOOO JOHN WE GOTTA TALK! WTF!!! I loved every second of this boooookkkk!

[JJtheBookNerd · Rating 3 out of 5]

We start off with a woman tied up, gagged, and trapped in a bonfire on the 5th of November – those in the UK will know this as Bonfire/Guy Fawkes Night.

The story then takes us back 11 months, and we are introduced to various characters – Margo, who is married to Nicu and can only be initially described as a snob and a little bit spiteful. Then we have Anna, a neighbour and friend who is married to Drew. Margo and Anna are the welcoming party for Liv & Brandon, who have just moved into the house across the street.

All the characters seem to hold various secrets that are slowly revealed throughout the story. Some I did not see coming. There are lots of twists and turns, and there's plenty of double-crossing going on. Some scenarios, however, did seem a bit implausible.

In between some chapters, we get a short narration from various mystery characters who are already dead. These felt pretty out of place. We do kind of find out more about them when everything starts coming together towards the end, but I still think they were unnecessary; they threw me out of the story and confused me as to who they were and what was going on.

Most of the characters are morally questionable and not particularly likeable. There is one who we initially thought was a slightly nicer character, who ended up being one of the most repugnant. I wasn't sure about the ending; it didn't leave me feeling like everyone got what they deserved, so it was a bit unsatisfying.

This was well written. I like this Author's style of writing and how they always encroach onto the darker side when it comes to their psychological thrillers. Will always read more from this Author, but I wasn't sure about this one; it had some good parts and some not-so-good parts.

[STEPH · Rating 3 out of 5]

Been waiting months for this book to be released. As soon as I heard about a new thriller from John Marrs, I knew I had to get it, read it, analyze it, and put it on a pedestal—or so I thought.

John Marrs is one of my favorites, and I’ve shown love for his work over the years. I’ve loved most of his books, and every time he announces a new one, I get giddy. But this might be the first time I didn’t enjoy his book as much as I expected to. It’s dark, and I love dark stories, yet I just couldn’t connect with the characters. Sure, they have secrets and dirt hidden beneath their perfectly manufactured facades, but I didn’t like how some serious crimes were completely ignored and swept under the rug. I would’ve preferred a fair and justified ending for each of these awful human beings—at least for two of them.

I don’t mind that he added an unconventional element (one I don’t normally enjoy reading about), but it didn’t change my feelings about how he steered the narrative.

A bit disappointed, if you ask me. But it’s John Marrs. He will always be in my top 10, and I hope my next read is a brighter shade than this one. Probably going to revisit some of his previous works to wash this bad experience away.

Just a piece of my mind. This is probably going to be a hit anyway.

[Jindi (readingwithcaffeine) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was FUN….. I know, that’s shocking considering it’s a John Marrs book but I honestly had the best time with this. I was a little confused at first with all the different POV’s — but quickly caught onto what was transpiring… AND WOW. Talk about catty characters!!!!! I absolutely LOVED part one and found myself laughing so often (which is rare with thrillers) but there’s just so much dark humour packed into this book. The line about the badgers taking walks at midnight literally had me cackling!!!!

Part two was where things started to get a bit darker. I couldn’t have guessed where this book would go and in true John Marrs fashion, there’s so many perfect little twists dotted around every corner in the last few chapters.

THE EPILOGUE WAS INCREDIBLE. Fans of Behind Her Eyes are going to LOVE this one. Definitely up there as one of my favourite books by him and I’m so excited for everyone to read this one!!!

Note: I recently met John at an event in London and we got to chat about all things books and what he has planned for the future! I’ve been sworn to secrecy but believe me when I say - THE MAN IS A GENIUS and you guys are NOT ready!!!!!

[Natalie all_books_great_and_small · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a gifted advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review as part of the readalonghosted by Tandem Collective UK.

You Killed Me First is another gripping, unputdownable, edge-of-your-seat read from John Marrs.
We follow three POV in this book:
Margot a stay at home mum who's an ex pop group star, down on her look after she had an affair with a married man (who's now her husband).
Anna, a timid, friendly neighbour who makes jewellery as a small business run from home who lives across from Margot.
And then Liv, a glamorous and beautiful yoga teacher, setting up her new venture and who has moved in next door to Margot and Anna.
The three become friends of a sort but each has some big secrets they don't want anyone to know and one of them is going to find themselves in the middle of a neighbourhood bonfire on bonfire night being chillingly told..."You killed me first...".
This book was such a ride from page one right until the shock ending. I found that the character I started off disliking the most actually became my favourite by the end of the book. The book is a dark twisty read with lots of fun bitchy humour thrown in amongst the three female characters. This plot had my head spinning with theories in so many direction at every chapter.
If you've not read a JohnMarrs book - this would be the perfect read to get acquainted with his thrilling reads.

[WhatMichaelaReads · Rating 4 out of 5]

You Killed Me First is by far the most fun and lighthearted John Marrs book I’ve read, which was actually very unexpected (if you have read his other books you will know what I mean!)

You can just tell he had so much fun writing it! I can’t wait for you all to meet Margot!

[Alisonbookreviewer · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Stars

John Marrs never fails to amaze me.
Three couples meet in a small town neighbourhood.
Ann and Margot have just met Liv and they quickly become friends.
Ann and Margot both have a past and as the book progresses it starts to catch up with them and
they will stop at nothing to cover it up.
I found it such a different story because some characters are speaking from the afterlife which provide the twists in the book.
It's also told in the events leading up to a bonfire and after.
Several povs in this book.
John Marrs has quite an imagination with all his books. This book did not disappoint

[Kurryreads (Kerry) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars thank you Brilliance Publishing for an early copy!

This is a story of revenge, betrayal, brutal deception, and unbridled rage.

Like any John Marrs book, I was gripped immediately and fully locked into the story. I couldn’t put this book down as I anxiously anticipated how everything would come together and boy was it twisty and explosive.

Such a fun book! I’ve read and enjoyed all of John Marrs’ books - I have a ranking video in my “ranking author books” playlist on my TikTok and would place this one at 7th with 4.25 stars


Video review: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT2f2SquR/

Kindle unlimited recs: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT2GKWrD6/

[Lynn Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25. This is one crazy thrill ride through psycho women and psycho relationships. This is Mean Girls gone wild - and what a wild ride it is. John Marrs always writes these great “are you kidding me” books and this is no exception. Three women, neighbor and friends - or are they?

[Ari · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the one author who's brain I'd like to have a candle lit dinner with plus some additional tequila shots! 😂

From the moment I opened You Killed Me First, I knew I was in for a ride — but nothing could’ve prepared me for just how far John Marrs would go this time. Every book he writes feels like he's daring himself to push the envelope further, to peel back another layer of human nature's dark underbelly, and this one might be his most daring yet. Marrs doesn’t just flirt with taboo or moral ambiguity — he stares it in the eye and dares you to look away. I found myself utterly riveted, even when I was deeply uncomfortable (in the best possible way). The characters? Oh, they’re a masterclass in complexity. You’ll love to hate them, and sometimes hate that you don’t hate them. They’re manipulative, desperate, broken, sometimes monstrous — and yet disturbingly familiar. Marrs has this unnerving talent for making you feel complicit in their decisions, like you’re standing right there beside them, wondering how far you would go. And just when you think the story’s found its floor, he rips it out from under you again.

Without giving anything away — because this is absolutely a book best experienced blind — You Killed Me First spins a layered, brutal narrative that combines psychological suspense with social commentary in a way that’s signature Marrs. It starts with a single shocking act of revenge, and what follows is a tense unraveling of truth, deception, and long-held secrets that hit like emotional landmines. He’s a master at setting up scenarios that make you uncomfortable in all the right ways, forcing you to question morality, loyalty, justice, and the true weight of past sins. Just when I thought I had a handle on the story, he blindsided me — again and again. Each twist felt not only surprising, but right, a natural extension of the characters' logic and trauma. There’s never anything lazy or gimmicky in Marrs’ writing — his plot turns are as psychologically sound as they are devastating.

The pacing is razor-sharp. I never felt like the story dragged for a moment. Short, punchy chapters pull you along like a fuse burning toward something explosive — and when it blows, it hurts. I kept telling myself, “just one more chapter,” and suddenly it was 2AM. Marrs understands tension. He knows how to ratchet it tighter and tighter until you’re white-knuckling the book. But he also knows how to slow down and let a moment breathe when it needs to. His writing is clean, cinematic, and emotionally intelligent — it grips you without ever needing to shout.

And those characters — I can’t stop thinking about them. What makes Marrs so effective is his refusal to give you easy heroes or villains. Everyone in this book is carrying damage. Some are victims, some are perpetrators — many are both. He builds people who feel lived-in, whose decisions (however terrible) come from deeply human places. There were moments where I hated certain characters… and then later felt sympathy or even admiration. That moral dissonance is what elevates this book. You’re not just reading a story — you’re grappling with it. You're questioning your own judgments and wondering where your empathy begins and ends.

When I finally reached the last page, I closed the book and just sat there in stunned silence. It’s not often that a thriller hits you not only with its plot, but also with its emotional truth — and You Killed Me First does both. It's daring, unflinching, and unforgettable. Marrs doesn’t just write to entertain — he writes to provoke, to disturb, to make you feel something lasting.

If you’ve never read John Marrs before, this is an exceptional entry point. And if you’re already a fan? Prepare yourself — he’s upped the ante yet again. I honestly don’t know how he keeps managing to outdo himself, but here we are.

This man cannot write a bad book, it's simply not possible.

[Wendy with a book · Rating 5 out of 5]

Neighbors Margot, Anna, and Liv are the ultimate frenemies, engaged in a tightly knit showdown of who can out-manipulate who.

Once again, John Marrs crafts characters you love to hate… and hate to admit you might even admire.

Because imagine if everyone who ever screwed you over actually faced a consequence? Cross Margot, Anna, or Liv… they may smile at you tightly, maybe even invite you for tea. But sooner or later, whether it slips in like a shadow or drops like a bomb, payback is coming.

Who will emerge as the Queen Bee in this round-robin of revenge? And who will be revealed as the killer with the voices of their victims buzzing in their head?

4.5 ⭐️s