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You Killed Me First

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You Killed Me First

By: John Marrs
Narrated by: Elizabeth Knowelden, Moira Quirk, Clare Corbett, Deepa Samuel, Fajer Al-Kaisi, Steve West, Gail Shalan, Rachael Beresford
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About this listen

“Electrifying and page-turning, John Marrs is not to be missed.”—#1 New York Times bestselling author Freida McFadden

"I am such a fan of John Marrs' books and You Killed Me First is another five star read."—#1Sunday Times bestselling author Sarah Pinborough

"This is trademark John Marrs and then some."—Sunday Times bestselling author Andrea Mara

Three women. Three smouldering secrets. Who will make it out alive?

It’s 5 November, and a woman awakens to a nightmare. Bound and gagged, she lies trapped in the heart of a towering bonfire. As the smoke thickens, panic sets in–she’s moments away from being engulfed in flames. How did it come to this?

Rewind eleven months: Margot, a faded TV star, and her long-suffering friend Anna watch as glamorous Liv and her flawless family move into their street. The three women soon fabricate the perfect pretence of friendship, but each harbours her own deadly secret–and newcomer Liv senses something is terribly wrong beneath the polished exteriors.

As cracks widen in the veneer of perfection and lies escalate out of control, tension ignites. Bonfire Night is approaching and someone is set to burn…But who will it be?

©2025 by John Marrs. (P)2024 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved. Crime Fiction Domestic Thrillers Psychological Suspense Thriller & Suspense

Critic Reviews

“A cast of narrators bring their talents to this psychological thriller about three neighbors—wealthy women with deep, dark secrets.… Knowelden as Margot takes listeners on a wild ride of privilege, while Quirk keeps Anna buttoned-up and neutral to infighting. Corbett, as Liv, is underhanded and manipulative. The other narrators take the smaller parts of previous victims. As the women piece together their individual stories, someone will be the next victim, but who?”—AudioFile Magazine

“The most chilling opening I’ve ever read in any book—a superb start to a stellar thriller. This is trademark John Marrs and then some! Clever, twisty, dark, surprising, propulsive—an elevated thriller that readers will devour. I loved it.”—Sunday Times bestselling author Andrea Mara

“Three deliciously devious women and a suburban setting alight with toxic secrets makes for an absolute scorcher of a read. Taut, smart, and breathlessly twisty—a surefire hit.”—Ellery Lloyd
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Fantastically read. Each character was given a different narrator however, unlike similar books, this did not complicate or confuse the listening. Very easy to follow each characters journey and attach yourself to them in some way.

Plenty of twists!

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This is such an unputdownable book. After reading some the reviews about the three main protagonists, I wasnt sure I'd really get into this story. I always like to have someone I'm rooting for, so to speak. But the way this story was woven made me change my mind. I thought I knew which woman I peferredd over the others, but as the story unfolded, the true characters of all three came thru. The storyline was so very clever, and very very different from anything I've read before. Such a clever author.

I listened to this on audible and couldnt stop listeneing till the end... which happened to be 3am.

Absolutely Unputdownable

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This was sheer brilliance. Had me engaged from start to finish. Just the perfect amount of characters and the narrator did an exceptional job of differentiating each one. Nearly every chapter kept you hanging and craving more. Story line was sheer perfection. The interwoven narrative between the characters was super exciting. Plenty of different plots and all ends neatly tied up. The beginning and ending was so satisfying. I urge you to read this book. Well done Mr Marrs. Kudos to you.

Amazing story

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John Marrs always delivers. Loved this. Kept me so engrossed. Did not see the twists coming.. I’m already looking out for another book of his.

Story

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The starting and the ending of this book are insane. All the three women in this novel are unhinged on another level.

4.5 ⭐/5 for me

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John Marrs has such a talent for drawing you in from the very start. The storyline of the three main characters intertwine perfectly. The ending does not disappoint! Well worth a read and I have recommended to friends to read this book!

Interesting from the very first chapter

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I love John Marrs, he's my new favourite author! This isn't my favourite of his books though, I prefer "The Family Experiment" and "The Good Samaritan", they were 5-star stuff!

"You Killed Me First" was a good listen, but less original and less surprising than Marrs's other works.

Twisted characters

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Never boring. Character voices excellent.How the author kept track in their head I'll never know

Brilliant storyline with such twists and turns

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I listened to this as an audiobook and the performances were really great. Judging by some of the other reviews on Good Reads this might had made it easier to follow with the different voices.

The story felt slow to start, I was a bit bored and not enjoying of most of the characters. But it turns a corner at some point and from then on was BAM! BAM! BAM! So many twists and while I didn’t think the story was as cohesive as it could have been, I really enjoyed the direction the story went and how it ended. It’s was definitely shocked a few times (a few predictable twists in there too). But all in all a good listen that kept me hooked until the final sentences.

Slow starter but worth sticking it out

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A story very different to anything I’ve read/listened to before. I like that you’re constantly changing who you’re rooting for only to have things shift again - keeps you wondering what’s going to come next the whole way through. I look forward to reading more from this author!

Great listen

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