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stargirllxo's review against another edition
4.0
Wow this book was so good. I did predict the ending but it was still well written. I liked how Kit kind of had a split personality where it would still be her at the base and it made it more exciting. The last line was amazing and ended the story in the most perfect way. Then again, she is the Perfect Killer. I just wish there was more romance between her and Alex, I would've like to imagine that relationship between him. It was cool that she had him wrapped around her finger in a way that made her badass but I felt sorry for him because it seemed like he really loved her. I think they're lunch dates were cute and I wish to have that much of a bond with someone one day.
squirrelsohno's review against another edition
1.0
DEAR KILLER is a book where I wish I can take back all those precious hours I spent reading it and devote them to other things. It’s a book I want to forget, a book I want to pretend does not exist. This is no offense to those who love it, or those who worked on it. It’s a book that I found in so many ways to be ridiculous, nonsensical, and at times verging on being completely offensive to a number of groups – victims of domestic violence in particular. And as such, this review might have spoilers and triggers for any survivors of domestic abuse or stalking, so be prepared if you wish to proceed.
Following the “Perfect Killer”, in reality a teenage girl in a London that sounds more like Los Angeles except with colder weather, we fall into a world where the police are more incompetent than the FBI on an NBC drama (I’m looking at you, The Blacklist), teenage girls decide whether you live or die, mothers are psychopaths who teach evil to their unquestioning daughters, and victims deserve to die if they’re happy their abusers are dead.
Kit might have been one of the most unlikable heroines I have ever encountered. Beyond her contorted sense of the definitions of right and wrong, as well as never questioning her mother’s intentions and having a horrible sense of protecting herself, she was just a horrible person. Her judgments were questionable – letting people live versus letting them die based on notes left in an extremely findable box in a restaurant, in a toilet behind a tile where anyone could find the notes and the cash left as payment for her actions (by the way – what was she even doing with hundreds of thousands of dollars? Putting it away for college? Saving to buy a pony? She was rich to begin with considered she lived in a neighborhood where small townhouses like hers would retail for $10 million US). On top of this, her contorted sense of self is suddenly impervious to the law, to common sense, and to justice. Her “justice” was never just. Ever.
The book never feels like something real, like a true contemporary tale of what might happen. The writing is subpar, the characters cardboard, and the world building for London very off. It seemed more like California and less like England, from the schools
What made me so mad about DEAR KILLER was how it seemed to exist in another world where the laws and realities of our own world don’t matter. For example, Kit our not-so-much-a-heroine heroine wanders onto a crime scene where the police invite her to contribute her opinion – on a crime she committed and bragged about how well she hid everything, while not really doing something that would clear her - and then invite her to give advice on other crimes, into crime scenes, giving her clues and evidence about crimes she committed. In fact, the police officer she takes an interest in is so blinded by how awesome Kit is that he can’t piece together the obvious fact she is the killer. She doesn’t do a good job hiding it, and he’s as daft as can be.
Oh, and Kit? You are not a “Perfect Killer” – you just exist in a world where your police officials cannot put together two and two, where these letters that would pin anyone as a killer are overlooked because they can be “faked” and denied (no they can’t – that stuff is obvious). This book’s research seemed to go as far as watching an episode of a procedural show, and not a good one either.
Oh, and beware, this next paragraph is a huge spoiler AND trigger.
Beyond the stupidity of the police and the immoral morality of Kit, this novel seemingly posits that yes, if a girl that Kit calls a friend is happy her tormenter is dead – dead at Kit’s own hand for beating her up to begin with – that she deserves to die. This guy stalked her, threatened her, and caused her to feel great fear in his presence, a fear that ruined her waking life, and yet she deserved to die because she was happy this guy was dead, even though he loved her, even though he showed her that he cared immensely about her by threatening her and intimidating her.
In what world is that okay? In what world is it alright for a teenage girl to be presented as a smart, intelligent heroine when she kills people whose only crimes are falling for the wrong guy who drunk drives and tells her only for her to react badly, or for a girl who was intimidated by a guy in her life, or for a girl who spurned a creep? How do they deserve to die? This book never even answered the question of how this girl was never caught considering her completely easy to spot techniques. I should have known that it never would have fully answered why this girl thought it was okay to kill women and teenage girls who were victims already without being blamed for their perceived crimes.
Even with the ending being the way it is, the morality of this book is just so off-putting and nonsensical that I just cannot recommend this book. I can’t recommend this book full of unrealistic crime fighting, unrealistic killing, and unrealistic expectations.
I just can’t. And in fact, I’ll go one further. Skip this book, pretend it doesn’t exist, and move on.
Following the “Perfect Killer”, in reality a teenage girl in a London that sounds more like Los Angeles except with colder weather, we fall into a world where the police are more incompetent than the FBI on an NBC drama (I’m looking at you, The Blacklist), teenage girls decide whether you live or die, mothers are psychopaths who teach evil to their unquestioning daughters, and victims deserve to die if they’re happy their abusers are dead.
Kit might have been one of the most unlikable heroines I have ever encountered. Beyond her contorted sense of the definitions of right and wrong, as well as never questioning her mother’s intentions and having a horrible sense of protecting herself, she was just a horrible person. Her judgments were questionable – letting people live versus letting them die based on notes left in an extremely findable box in a restaurant, in a toilet behind a tile where anyone could find the notes and the cash left as payment for her actions (by the way – what was she even doing with hundreds of thousands of dollars? Putting it away for college? Saving to buy a pony? She was rich to begin with considered she lived in a neighborhood where small townhouses like hers would retail for $10 million US). On top of this, her contorted sense of self is suddenly impervious to the law, to common sense, and to justice. Her “justice” was never just. Ever.
The book never feels like something real, like a true contemporary tale of what might happen. The writing is subpar, the characters cardboard, and the world building for London very off. It seemed more like California and less like England, from the schools
What made me so mad about DEAR KILLER was how it seemed to exist in another world where the laws and realities of our own world don’t matter. For example, Kit our not-so-much-a-heroine heroine wanders onto a crime scene where the police invite her to contribute her opinion – on a crime she committed and bragged about how well she hid everything, while not really doing something that would clear her - and then invite her to give advice on other crimes, into crime scenes, giving her clues and evidence about crimes she committed. In fact, the police officer she takes an interest in is so blinded by how awesome Kit is that he can’t piece together the obvious fact she is the killer. She doesn’t do a good job hiding it, and he’s as daft as can be.
Oh, and Kit? You are not a “Perfect Killer” – you just exist in a world where your police officials cannot put together two and two, where these letters that would pin anyone as a killer are overlooked because they can be “faked” and denied (no they can’t – that stuff is obvious). This book’s research seemed to go as far as watching an episode of a procedural show, and not a good one either.
Oh, and beware, this next paragraph is a huge spoiler AND trigger.
Beyond the stupidity of the police and the immoral morality of Kit, this novel seemingly posits that yes, if a girl that Kit calls a friend is happy her tormenter is dead – dead at Kit’s own hand for beating her up to begin with – that she deserves to die. This guy stalked her, threatened her, and caused her to feel great fear in his presence, a fear that ruined her waking life, and yet she deserved to die because she was happy this guy was dead, even though he loved her, even though he showed her that he cared immensely about her by threatening her and intimidating her.
In what world is that okay? In what world is it alright for a teenage girl to be presented as a smart, intelligent heroine when she kills people whose only crimes are falling for the wrong guy who drunk drives and tells her only for her to react badly, or for a girl who was intimidated by a guy in her life, or for a girl who spurned a creep? How do they deserve to die? This book never even answered the question of how this girl was never caught considering her completely easy to spot techniques. I should have known that it never would have fully answered why this girl thought it was okay to kill women and teenage girls who were victims already without being blamed for their perceived crimes.
Even with the ending being the way it is, the morality of this book is just so off-putting and nonsensical that I just cannot recommend this book. I can’t recommend this book full of unrealistic crime fighting, unrealistic killing, and unrealistic expectations.
I just can’t. And in fact, I’ll go one further. Skip this book, pretend it doesn’t exist, and move on.
mischief_in_the_library's review against another edition
1.0
Can't do it. Can't finish it. I was really looking forward to this one. I loved the premise - an assassin who believes that nothing is wrong or right...who then might believe some things are wrong or right? Very cool.
But this book clearly did not happen in the real world, as is obvious by the writing. This teenage girl manages to make friends with a very convenient police officer, who trusts her enough to tell her details from investigations, and let her INTO CRIME SCENES, literally what, after meeting her twice.
Her mum is a ridiculous caricature of a Bad Mother, who didn't feel very 3D. She leaves the letters she receives, with many significant details about who the author is, with the bodies. But apparently they can't pin anyone because the letters might be faked. Sure, maybe that's true for some, but as if the police haven't managed to interrogate enough suspects well enough that ONE of them cracks. She's killed like a few dozen times!
And here's where the plot starts. For the first time in her life, she makes a judgement on who to kill because he was threatening a girl, her sort of friend. Then she feels enraged that the girl is happy he was dead, and decides to kill her because of it. "She didn't seem to understand that death was supposed to be scary." Um, hello, you've spent the last hundred pages telling us how not scary and matter-of-fact YOU find death.
Not to mention she tries to kill a person, fails for the first time, and that person says "I know you're not a bad person and that you regret killing all those people. I won't tell anyone about this." SURE. THAT MAKES SENSE.
This is full of plot holes and convenient incidents. I'd like to know how it ends but I don't want to commit any more time to it.
But this book clearly did not happen in the real world, as is obvious by the writing. This teenage girl manages to make friends with a very convenient police officer, who trusts her enough to tell her details from investigations, and let her INTO CRIME SCENES, literally what, after meeting her twice.
Her mum is a ridiculous caricature of a Bad Mother, who didn't feel very 3D. She leaves the letters she receives, with many significant details about who the author is, with the bodies. But apparently they can't pin anyone because the letters might be faked. Sure, maybe that's true for some, but as if the police haven't managed to interrogate enough suspects well enough that ONE of them cracks. She's killed like a few dozen times!
And here's where the plot starts. For the first time in her life, she makes a judgement on who to kill because he was threatening a girl, her sort of friend. Then she feels enraged that the girl is happy he was dead, and decides to kill her because of it. "She didn't seem to understand that death was supposed to be scary." Um, hello, you've spent the last hundred pages telling us how not scary and matter-of-fact YOU find death.
Not to mention she tries to kill a person, fails for the first time, and that person says "I know you're not a bad person and that you regret killing all those people. I won't tell anyone about this." SURE. THAT MAKES SENSE.
This is full of plot holes and convenient incidents. I'd like to know how it ends but I don't want to commit any more time to it.
jeslyncat's review against another edition
3.0
One of these stars is a pity star.
This book was ok. A very interesting concept, and a cool analysis and main character.
I enjoyed the downward spiral, but missed a lot of the logic and realism that could have been.
This book was ok. A very interesting concept, and a cool analysis and main character.
I enjoyed the downward spiral, but missed a lot of the logic and realism that could have been.
lindsaysc310's review against another edition
2.0
I couldn't finish this one. The premise is just too far fetched for me. A teen who likes to commit random murders based on requests she receives? And that her mother taught her how to kill when she was very little? And the dad has no idea? The author gives a lot of detail to make it plausible but I couldn't sick with it.
justlily's review against another edition
Such a cool idea that was so poorly executed. The main character is an absolute flaming moron so I have no idea how she's supposed to be the perfect killer, considering I read 90 pages before I quit and she was a complete dumbass on every one of them.
taterbuggy's review against another edition
content warnings for this book (let me know if there are any I need to add, I plan to put content warnings in every book in my future classroom library): murder, some graphic content
alexisnicolee's review against another edition
1.0
Could not finish this, was only 50 pages in and i wanted to throw it in the trash
emotionalbookreport's review against another edition
1.0
I don’t know if this was a fan fiction of being a high school version of dexter of not, but it was not good either way. Do not recommend for anyone regardless of age.
kristyreadsalot_'s review against another edition
2.0
When I got this book in a subscription box I didn't know anything about it, but the premise intrigued me, so I decided to give it a go. I kind of regret it. There is not much that I liked about this book at all. It's not a very long book, but it took me over a month to finish it because whenever I thought about picking it up I would cringe. There were so many ridiculous and improbable things that happened, and I found myself rolling my eyes at least once per chapter. This book was written by a seventeen year old, and sadly, it shows.