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Miss Murder
I can't see pictures in my mind. I've never been able to.
So when mysterious manuscripts started arriving at my door—perfectly crafted thrillers that turned me into the bestselling "Miss Murder"—I didn't question the gift. I just published them and watched the money roll in. Money I desperately needed to keep my dying mother alive.
But when a grieving woman pounds on my door, screaming that my latest book matches her son's murder down to the smallest detail, my perfect lie begins to unravel.
Because the manuscripts aren't fiction.
They're confessions.
And my ghostwriter—my killer—has been watching me all along.
Miss Murder is a psychological thriller packed full of twists about the price of dreams built on blood, perfect for fans of Freida McFadden, Kiersten Modglin, and Daniel Hurst.
So when mysterious manuscripts started arriving at my door—perfectly crafted thrillers that turned me into the bestselling "Miss Murder"—I didn't question the gift. I just published them and watched the money roll in. Money I desperately needed to keep my dying mother alive.
But when a grieving woman pounds on my door, screaming that my latest book matches her son's murder down to the smallest detail, my perfect lie begins to unravel.
Because the manuscripts aren't fiction.
They're confessions.
And my ghostwriter—my killer—has been watching me all along.
Miss Murder is a psychological thriller packed full of twists about the price of dreams built on blood, perfect for fans of Freida McFadden, Kiersten Modglin, and Daniel Hurst.
276 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 10, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 191 reviews
July 15, 2025
I got so tired of reading “Range Rover” and “aphantasia” lol
September 11, 2025
Meh
This just wasn't one of my favorites. Tension builds, but the peak was rather flat, and then the storyline just seemed to zigzag elsewhere.
This just wasn't one of my favorites. Tension builds, but the peak was rather flat, and then the storyline just seemed to zigzag elsewhere.
April 16, 2025
Read this! Perfectly paced. Twists you don’t see coming. A cracker of an ending.
I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of this, along with the follow up - Mrs Murder - & I whizzed through them. They are easy to read without being simple. This is Freida McFadden elevated. Better, more relatable & likeable characters who have a complexity to them that just makes you want to get to know them more & more. It’s dark enough for any psych thriller lover to love it, enough of everything without it being too much.
There’s no excessive bad language, no smut & it’s just pretty much written perfectly, not too wordy but with all the information needed to stay invested.
I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of this, along with the follow up - Mrs Murder - & I whizzed through them. They are easy to read without being simple. This is Freida McFadden elevated. Better, more relatable & likeable characters who have a complexity to them that just makes you want to get to know them more & more. It’s dark enough for any psych thriller lover to love it, enough of everything without it being too much.
There’s no excessive bad language, no smut & it’s just pretty much written perfectly, not too wordy but with all the information needed to stay invested.
August 12, 2025
Called it in chapter six. Definitely a quick and fun read.
April 21, 2025
It's difficult to write thriller reviews without giving away the plot. Who even knows what a spoiler is?
Miss Murder, falls more into the suspense category than thriller. A mid-slow pace, but I couldn't put it down and now I'm behind on responsibilities.
The story of an author composing books not of her own writing spirals several times into different mini-mysteries. What we worry about in the opening isn't what we'll be pondering or trying to unravel further along in the book.
The characters are well-drawn, not macguffin-style created only to advance the plot, emotionally richer than most suspense/thrillers. Still, even with a human emotional landscape the ending was completely insane.
I did audibly gasp which isn't something I usually do while reading. The author really "went for it", and I look forward to reading the upcoming sequel.
There's a little bonus story at the end if you follow her link, fun but very short.
I discovered this book on an FB thriller group and gave it a chance because I thought the story was a debut book and I like to give new authors a chance. The same thing happened with another recent book I loved, Love, Mom.
I'm curious why the writers don't share their original author names. In the scheme of life, it doesn't matter at all but still, I'm curious.
Miss Murder, falls more into the suspense category than thriller. A mid-slow pace, but I couldn't put it down and now I'm behind on responsibilities.
The story of an author composing books not of her own writing spirals several times into different mini-mysteries. What we worry about in the opening isn't what we'll be pondering or trying to unravel further along in the book.
The characters are well-drawn, not macguffin-style created only to advance the plot, emotionally richer than most suspense/thrillers. Still, even with a human emotional landscape the ending was completely insane.
I did audibly gasp which isn't something I usually do while reading. The author really "went for it", and I look forward to reading the upcoming sequel.
There's a little bonus story at the end if you follow her link, fun but very short.
I discovered this book on an FB thriller group and gave it a chance because I thought the story was a debut book and I like to give new authors a chance. The same thing happened with another recent book I loved, Love, Mom.
I'm curious why the writers don't share their original author names. In the scheme of life, it doesn't matter at all but still, I'm curious.
April 10, 2026
Miss Murder is one crazy bitch I didn’t see coming!
September 1, 2025
I simply did not like this book. The plot was good in theory, but just terrible execution. I had high hopes from the summary and reviews, but unfortunately they did not pan out. The twist ending was creative and unexpected, but the writing lacked depth and connection. It was repetitive, formulaic and void of emotion. I skimmed the last 60 or so pages as i was so tired of reading the same thoughts and phrases over and over. Zero suspense, zero build up, Zero fun
July 27, 2025
The first ~60% I just wanted to yell at Luna “GET A FREAKING LAWYER” but obviously, there would’ve been no story then lol. I devoured the last 40% in one sitting. I was truly shocked by the ending! I guessed the killer, but not what came next. The whole ‘aphantasia’ thing bothered me a bit but not enough to take away from the story for me. Can’t wait to read Mrs. Murder!
June 21, 2025
Meeehhhh .. I don’t know I think it was kinda silly. Pretty predictable. A large chunk of the book was just of her inner turmoil over the situation. I am a bit curious about the sequel, maybe it gets better.
April 27, 2026
I have read several of your books and so far this has been my favorite. I have loved all the others. Totally recommend this one
March 30, 2026
Just going to start off by saying Zia Rayyan is one of my new favorite authors! At first with this book it started off normal for me and I was very comfortable reading it and getting into it, but the more I kept reading the more I kept getting pulled in more and more like she had a rope around my neck. I couldn’t and also didn’t want to fight it and gave in to the story and how awesome she is with her words! I was in so deep with Luna’s story and how it would end! The ending literally knocked me off my seat! Leaving me sitting on the floor wondering what did I just read!
June 14, 2025
LOVED her writing style! i loved the ending, only thing i didn't like was how many times it mentioned she drove a Range Rover, if it was a shots game I'd be drunk😂
but bug fan of this book, I'll recommend it.
no spice.
but bug fan of this book, I'll recommend it.
no spice.
April 12, 2026
Ooohhh my gosh I absolutely devoured this book!!! Oh my gosh!! It had me hooked through the whole dang thing wanting answers on what was going to happen next!!! oh my wow must freak’n read!!!🩵🖤 Zia Rayyan is definitely a new favorite author of mine!!! I absolutely love his books !! He has such a way with words he just draws you in and you can’t wait to see what happens next
January 16, 2026
Holy!
I was literally on the edge of my seat reading the last few chapters. I don't like to write reviews with spoilers.. that being said if you haven't read this book you need to! It was one of the best books I think I've ever read.
I was literally on the edge of my seat reading the last few chapters. I don't like to write reviews with spoilers.. that being said if you haven't read this book you need to! It was one of the best books I think I've ever read.
June 16, 2025
4.5 stars
My first book from this author. The way she promoted it in the Psychological Thriller readers group made me buy both on the spot. Keep it up!
Uncommon for me, I've figured out the killer very early in the book, so that made me pay attention to certain details more than I've normally would have. It was suspenseful and a very easily flowing read for my vacation and the twist at the end was my kind of disturbing ending. Can't wait to read the next one!
My first book from this author. The way she promoted it in the Psychological Thriller readers group made me buy both on the spot. Keep it up!
Uncommon for me, I've figured out the killer very early in the book, so that made me pay attention to certain details more than I've normally would have. It was suspenseful and a very easily flowing read for my vacation and the twist at the end was my kind of disturbing ending. Can't wait to read the next one!
May 17, 2025
Stumbled upon this online. I needed a quick thriller and this fit the bill. As most reviews say if you like Freida McFadden you will most likely enjoy this a lot. I did enjoy this but I found it being predictable. The only twist I didn’t see coming was the very end. I’m excited to see what Zia writes in the future!
June 27, 2025
This started out as a nice suspense story and turned into a cheesy, somewhat predictable and gory mess. The concept was an interesting one, but the content was really lacking. I felt as if this book was just written quickly to set up the second book. I am not interested in wasting my time on book 2.
June 2, 2025
Okay, so the end was sick and twisted🥲
July 11, 2025
3.5 ⭐️ It was okay nothing earth shattering.
June 6, 2026
**SPOILERS**
This book was ridiculous and infuriating.
Someone either got a Range Rover or is hoping to get one for all the mentions of Range Rover in this book.
These are my notes as I listened to the book:
I wasn’t falling for them trying to make us think Steven was the author of the murder books in Chapter 10, way too early to reveal that.
Huge eye roll moment - who would even consider up and leaving their home because a boyfriend MIGHT be cheating on you. Especially with a convalescent mother living in said home, but that’s what Luna did/thought. So ridiculous. And why do you conclude he’s cheating just because you see him talking to your editor? Maybe he’s concerned about you. OMG, a few chapters later when Steven (supposedly - because at the point I’m writing this I believe he’s already dead and the killer sent this text) texts Luna saying he’s moving on, and then blocked her, and then Luna laughingly says “was he seriously blocking me and moving somewhere else just because we broke up” like you just didn’t say you would do that a few chapters ago. Ugh.
No way it’s her editor, Janice, what are the odds you pick an editor who is actually the author and killer. Ugh. (Turns out I was [partly] wrong about this.)
Ch19 For someone who claims her mom is all that matters, she’s never there taking care of her, Vincent is. She is concerned that if the truth comes out she is going to jail and no one will be there to care for her mother yet later she risks all of this anyway.
Ch 23 The cop knocks on her door to give her a ticket for hitting a car. But that’s considered a hit & run which is a criminal offense, yet he acts like it was no big deal. Ugh.
Vincent
How does a nurse know how to write a book, let alone one a month? Turns out Janice was the writer and Vincent was blackmailing her to document his killings.
Why didn’t he want any money? This doesn’t make any sense and we never got an answer.
Janice
Steven was talking to Janice out of concern.
Janice left the note about retiring for Vincent not Luna.
So why didn’t Steven say anything to Luna before? And why would he leave Luna in a house with a serial killer?
So by the end Luna takes Janice’s place so she can actually write her own books. So yes, she watches Vincent kill people. So ridiculous. She actually brings Val to her house so Vincent can kill her.
Oh and the reason Vincent kills is to please her. I murdered them for you. Why? You needed stories. Ugh.
If I were you I’d skip this book. I wished I had.
This book was ridiculous and infuriating.
Someone either got a Range Rover or is hoping to get one for all the mentions of Range Rover in this book.
These are my notes as I listened to the book:
I wasn’t falling for them trying to make us think Steven was the author of the murder books in Chapter 10, way too early to reveal that.
Huge eye roll moment - who would even consider up and leaving their home because a boyfriend MIGHT be cheating on you. Especially with a convalescent mother living in said home, but that’s what Luna did/thought. So ridiculous. And why do you conclude he’s cheating just because you see him talking to your editor? Maybe he’s concerned about you. OMG, a few chapters later when Steven (supposedly - because at the point I’m writing this I believe he’s already dead and the killer sent this text) texts Luna saying he’s moving on, and then blocked her, and then Luna laughingly says “was he seriously blocking me and moving somewhere else just because we broke up” like you just didn’t say you would do that a few chapters ago. Ugh.
No way it’s her editor, Janice, what are the odds you pick an editor who is actually the author and killer. Ugh. (Turns out I was [partly] wrong about this.)
Ch19 For someone who claims her mom is all that matters, she’s never there taking care of her, Vincent is. She is concerned that if the truth comes out she is going to jail and no one will be there to care for her mother yet later she risks all of this anyway.
Ch 23 The cop knocks on her door to give her a ticket for hitting a car. But that’s considered a hit & run which is a criminal offense, yet he acts like it was no big deal. Ugh.
Vincent
How does a nurse know how to write a book, let alone one a month? Turns out Janice was the writer and Vincent was blackmailing her to document his killings.
Why didn’t he want any money? This doesn’t make any sense and we never got an answer.
Janice
Steven was talking to Janice out of concern.
Janice left the note about retiring for Vincent not Luna.
So why didn’t Steven say anything to Luna before? And why would he leave Luna in a house with a serial killer?
So by the end Luna takes Janice’s place so she can actually write her own books. So yes, she watches Vincent kill people. So ridiculous. She actually brings Val to her house so Vincent can kill her.
Oh and the reason Vincent kills is to please her. I murdered them for you. Why? You needed stories. Ugh.
If I were you I’d skip this book. I wished I had.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 16, 2025
5/5 🔪
A chilling, twist-packed debut!
Miss Murder by Zia Rayyan is a truly amazing and twisty page-turner that had me hooked from the very first chapter. Rayyan does a fantastic job of creating a chilling, suspenseful atmosphere while keeping the story grounded and real.
The fast-paced plot, packed with jaw-dropping twists, kept me guessing all the way through. It reminded me stylistically of Freida McFadden’s thrillers (with that same addictive pacing and sharp edge) but with a fresh, original storyline that shines a spotlight on a thriller writer herself.
This debut is nail-biting, cleverly layered, and downright hard to put down. I can’t wait to see what more Miss Murder (or should I say Mrs. Murder?) has in store. Zia Rayyan is definitely an author I’ll be keeping an eye on! (and you should too)
A chilling, twist-packed debut!
Miss Murder by Zia Rayyan is a truly amazing and twisty page-turner that had me hooked from the very first chapter. Rayyan does a fantastic job of creating a chilling, suspenseful atmosphere while keeping the story grounded and real.
The fast-paced plot, packed with jaw-dropping twists, kept me guessing all the way through. It reminded me stylistically of Freida McFadden’s thrillers (with that same addictive pacing and sharp edge) but with a fresh, original storyline that shines a spotlight on a thriller writer herself.
This debut is nail-biting, cleverly layered, and downright hard to put down. I can’t wait to see what more Miss Murder (or should I say Mrs. Murder?) has in store. Zia Rayyan is definitely an author I’ll be keeping an eye on! (and you should too)
October 29, 2025
If you think this is a story about justice, think again. Miss Murder completely hooked me — I devoured it chapter after chapter, eager to see how far it would dare to go. And when I finally found out, I was genuinely stunned. The revelation, while not particularly mysterious and somewhat predictable after a certain point, still managed to keep my interest — even if the justifications felt a bit simplistic. It’s deeply disturbing and utterly unhinged, yet one of those rare, brilliant twists you don’t come across often. Darkly satisfying, it left me both shaken and impressed. It made me wonder: how far would an author go to write a bestselling masterpiece, battling their own aphantasia — and their love — in the process?
I can’t wait to read the sequel — and make sure you stay until the very end, because Zia Rayyan has a surprise waiting for you.
I can’t wait to read the sequel — and make sure you stay until the very end, because Zia Rayyan has a surprise waiting for you.
June 14, 2025
Wow! I stumbled across this book in a Facebook group (psych thriller readers) when Zia posted a description of this book as if it was happening to her! As an author! I immediately downloaded this book. It was extremely hard to put down (we're replacing floors & I HAD to help 😉). I thought I had figured it out, but not completely. I was gripping my kindle to the very end. I cannot wait to continue with this series. It's fast paced & perfectly twisty! If you're a fan of Freida McFadden, pick up one of Zia's books. You won't be disappointed!! & Vincent's POV added bonus at the end was perfect!
July 18, 2025
5⭐️ out of 5 ⭐️
0🌶️ out of 5 🌶️
This book was a random pick up for me as I saw it on Kindle Unlimited and decided, why not? Well, I am glad I did!
The concept of an author having someone type the stories of real crimes in order for her to profit off of them is truly a fanatic concept (in the book not in real life!).
The twist at the end?!
I was CLUTCHING my phone so hard!
If you want a quick read, I highly recommend this book!
Brava!
TW: Death, murder
0🌶️ out of 5 🌶️
This book was a random pick up for me as I saw it on Kindle Unlimited and decided, why not? Well, I am glad I did!
The concept of an author having someone type the stories of real crimes in order for her to profit off of them is truly a fanatic concept (in the book not in real life!).
The twist at the end?!
I was CLUTCHING my phone so hard!
If you want a quick read, I highly recommend this book!
Brava!
TW: Death, murder
July 15, 2025
Miss Murder, wow. My first read from this author and I am not disappointed. It did start a little slow for me but it started hooking me as I kept reading. Through the middle of the book I had already figured it out with clues but even though on top of that there was still a twist. AND DON’T GET ME STARTED ON THAT ENDING!!! I was shocked!!! Good book, starting the next one.
June 4, 2025
I loved this! I finished it in less then 24 hours and thats probably because I couldnt put this down! The suspense was suspensing and the thrill was thrilling. I cannot wait to read more by this author!
June 24, 2025
Loved this book! I had been in a reading slump for a bit but this book snatched me right out of it in the very first chapter! Well written, great twists, overall great story line. Will be reading Mrs. Murder!
June 18, 2026
Too many overused phrases and too many plot holes. Main character was annoying, self-centered.
Why would you choose to be an author if you can’t picture the story?
This book just didn’t do it for me. 2 stars because I finished it.
Why would you choose to be an author if you can’t picture the story?
This book just didn’t do it for me. 2 stars because I finished it.
June 4, 2025
An ending I definitely did not see coming! Loves the quick pace of this book and plenty of twists along the way just when you think you’ve figured it out. Can’t wait to read Mrs. Murder now!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 191 reviews