Published By: HQ
Pages: 368
Released On: 04/01/2024
Rhiannon Lewis thought she finally had it all: thanks to the pandemic she’s had to keep a much lower profile but has found happiness with her fiancé Rafael and his family. For once, she is surrounded by people who love her for who she is (or who they think she is).
After over 800 days without murdering anyone, the woman formerly known as the Sweetpea Killer thinks she might have finally turned over a new leaf.
That is until her soon-to-be sister-in-law has a run in with her abusive ex, and Rhiannon rediscovers her taste for revenge. This time, with a loving family in tow, the stakes are much higher. Wedded bliss and life as a normal person are finally within Rhiannon’s reach, but you can never keep a good serial killer down.
Can you?
*****
Thanks to NetGalley and HQ for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.
**Contains minor plot spoilers**
I was lent the first book in the series, Sweet Pea, by a friend and absolutely loved it. I then bought the next two – In Bloom and Dead Head – and devoured them in as many days. So I was thrilled when Skuse said she was writing a fourth, and jumped at the chance to read it. It is thanks to this series that I have picked up more of Skuse’s books.
It is a thriller, a violent and gory crime series, but I found it really funny; it has a very dark humour but it succeeds with making the reader laugh, but then feel quite disgusted at laughing. It is a fabulous series that I have recommended onwards to many people.
Rhiannon was, and still is, a fabulous creation. Serial killers shouldn’t be our favourite characters. They should be the villains, we shouldn’t want to be friends with them. But Rhiannon grabbed me in the first book and I’m still rooting for her in this one. Yes she’s not a good character, yes she’s a serial killer, a dangerous criminal, but she’s also very human and you can see her reason for killing, and it’s actually quite difficult to hate her for it. There are many other characters who are equally as well written, but for me, this is Rhiannon’s show and she steals every single page.
This one felt more frantic than the other three. The others were more placed, Rhiannon knew what she was doing and she was organised and professional (if there is such a thing as a professional serial killer). But she’s losing that control a bit in this one, so that was a different edge to her character which was interesting.
I spent the whole thing willing her to be caught out as I wanted to see how she’d react to that, but then I knew she was discovered, that would probably be the end of the series and I’m not sure I want that yet. This ends perfectly (I won’t say how, but it works). I’m really hoping there’s more. There’s just something about this series that has stuck with me and I just want to keep reading it.
It’s more wider reaching than the first three. I felt the others were about how her crimes affected her only. But this one, it’s how it affects her friends and her family. There are repercussions which she’s not had to factor in before. This gives us a different outlook on her and switches it up. When a series goes on for several books, there’s a worry that it becomes stale. But by changing the impact slightly, Skuse has kept it fresh and fun.
It really got under my skin. I went to bed with this dread, this fear that it was me who had carried out these crimes and I was going to get caught out.
The first three books were fabulous, but I’d say this is my favourite by far. It just had something extra I can’t really explain. An extra spark. It just felt bigger and bolder and more spectacular.
Books By Your Bedside 