Book Review: To All the Men I've Killed Before by Katy Brent

Author: Katy Brent

Publisher: HarperCollins

Pages: 384

Release Date: Aug 2026

Find it at: Amazon

Book Blurb

If a man hurt your best friend – like, really hurt her – what would you do?

1. Key his car?
2. Broadcast what a scumbag he is to everyone in his life?
3. Hunt him down and chop him into little pieces?

If you picked number 3, I think we could be friends. Because that is exactly what I intend to do.

I’ve tracked this lowlife to LA and brought my little sister Antoinette along for the ride. It’s like a girls’ trip, only with more knives.

It won’t be the first time I’ve killed for revenge. But it will be the sweetest.

My Thoughts!

First, thank you HarperCollins Canada and NetGalley for an advance review copy of this book!

I went into To All the Men I’ve Killed Before expecting something a little different—in a good way. The premise is bold: a revenge-driven female serial killer, a girls’ trip to LA, and a mission to take down a man who’s hurt someone close to her. It sounded like it could be dark, funny, maybe even a little “chick-lit but make it unhinged.”

The story follows Kitty Collins (our resident killer) as she tracks down a man who’s seriously harmed her best friend. She heads to LA—with her younger sister Antoinette in tow—for what is essentially a revenge mission disguised as a chaotic girls’ trip. And this isn’t Kitty’s first time doing this either, which kind of sets the tone for the whole book. This book is in fact the third in the Kitty Collins’ series, but even though I read this one without reading the previous two, I didn’t feel like I missed out on anything. It flows well.

To give credit where it’s due: this book is very readable. The writing flows easily, it’s fast-paced, and I flew through it because it genuinely kept me hooked. There’s also a strong sense of voice—Kitty is bold, unapologetic, and very much committed to her own version of justice. Antoinette, meanwhile, brings a more chaotic energy, especially as she starts getting a little too comfortable with the whole killing thing. The sister dynamic was actually one of the more interesting parts of the story.

But… the story itself (anddd maybe execution) didn’t quite sit well with me.

I struggled with how over-the-top and unrealistic a lot of it felt. There were quite a few plot holes, things that just… happened without explanation, and very little sense of consequence for actions that should have had major fallout. The characters also didn’t always behave in ways that felt believable, which made it harder to stay fully invested. I mean, I can believe the killers are obviously OK with killing people, but when you add at least 5-6 more characters that become aware of the fact AND they are OK with it - that frustrated me no end! If that’s the reality of this world, I would like to go live on Mars.

And then there’s the tone around revenge. I understand what the book is tapping into—frustration, anger, the whole “men getting what they deserve” angle. That part is real. But the way the story leans into violence as not just justified, but enjoyable, didn’t sit right with me. The moral line felt blurred in a way that wasn’t thought-provoking so much as… uncomfortable.

I get that this isn’t meant to be a serious, grounded thriller, and maybe that’s the point. It’s exaggerated, a bit chaotic, and probably meant to be taken with a pinch (or handful) of salt. And for the right reader, that might be exactly what makes it fun. For me, though, while I appreciated the original concept and the addictive writing style, the execution and tone just didn’t fully work.

Overall, an easy and compelling read with a standout premise—but definitely one that will depend heavily on your taste.