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

“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.

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

John Marrs does it again!

This is SO good!!! John Marrs is one of my favorite authors and this is another great story! I couldn’t stop listening to this!!!

Lots of unexpected twists

Honestly, I almost stopped the book. Margot was impossible to listen to in the very beginning of the book. However, as the story moved on, she was by far the most interesting character. The pacing was pretty good and the narrators did a good job with their characters. The twists involved were almost always unexpected - there were even a few times when my jaw dropped. If you like mysteries, murders and a lot of mind games, this is definitely a story for you.

Intriguing

Loved the way the story was told. It was different story than I am used to

Great story

I like how unique the story was and how it kept twisting and turning! John Marrs never disappoints!

Multiple twists

This is very well written and very well voiced. The book was better than I’d expected and the when I almost thought I had things figured out, I’d get another plot twist. The entire book from start to finish is excellent.