Synopsis

Saffy Huntley-Oliver is beautiful, charming, rich, and in her spare time she’s a serial killer. For the past fifteen years she’s been hunting down and killing bad men: rapists, murderers, domestic abusers. As a hobby, it’s not as Instagrammable as baking, but at least it’s better for your thighs.

The problem is, that it’s hard to sustain a healthy, balanced heterosexual relationship when you’re expecting to have to kill your boyfriend at any moment. She’s lost her faith in mankind.

That’s why she’s decided to look for a good man instead, preferably one who shares her interests. Jon Desrosiers, with his campaigning podcast, perfect bone structure and adorably messy hair, could be just the guy for her. As the creator of a hugely popular true-crime podcast, he has to delve deep into the psyches of monsters, though he’s always been on the side of justice.

So begins a tale of obsession as Saffy uses every trick in the book to get her man. Regardless of the cost to human life…

Review

You need to meet Saffy. Trust me, she is a brilliant character and you’ll spend your time with her entirely jealous of her lifestyle, audacity and objectives. A tiny part of you might be shocked by her behaviour, but I reckon for the most part, you’ll want to be her.

I adored her and while it might be weird to say that I wish I had her job, if you read it you’ll see what I mean and maybe you’ll agree with me. What’s interesting is that we know Saffy is a psychopath, but her tragic backstory which endears her to us. She’s also utterly charming and compelling so it’s easy to ignore the lengths to which she goes to snare the man she loves. Although perhaps not how she treats the dog – needs must and all that, but the poor thing (don’t worry it doesn’t die).

Bad Men manages to find a balance between humour and darkness, combining the story of a serial killer, with a little romance and revenge. Parts of it are gruesome, but there’s actually less murder than you might expect, and it also looks at the world of social media, true crime and fame.

Even though we have a dual POV, Saffy outshines everyone else and I would love to see her return in book form (or perhaps in a film… and I feel this may happen) as I need more of this partnership. I say partnership, but Jon has no idea of Saffy’s true nature and this just adds to the wicked humour Cohen provides throughout their relationship. Jon is an interesting character, but his appeal for Saffy isn’t quite convincing, so hopefully he will become more attractive in subsequent books.

Funny, gripping and audacious, this is a brilliant book that will have you questioning everything you thought you believed in!

So ask yourself – what’s more important: morality or justice?

Thanks to Zaffre Books for my proof copy. Opinions my own.