Book Review: Kill for Me, Kill for You | Steve Cavanagh

I’ve been wanting to read Steve Cavanagh’s work for some time after his thriller Thirt3en. However, when I saw the plot of Kill for Me, Kill for You and it’s inspiration from Strangers on a Train—I couldn’t resist starting it immediately. Cavanagh’s latest thriller revolves around three women who all have a reason to want someone dead and may get their wish.

Review | Kill for Me, Kill for You

While this isn’t the first book to take a spin on the iconic murder-swap plot in Patricia Highsmith’s Strangers on a Train, it’s certainly one of the better ones. Intricate plotting, unique twists, and a third storyline all intermingle with the classic set up—if I kill for you, would you kill for me?

What’s Kill for Me Kill for You about?

Amanda is drowning in a mix of grief and rage. Six months ago, her six year-old daughter Jess was brutally murdered after being taken under Amanda’s husband Luiz’s watch. A week later overcome by guilt, Luiz took his own life. In the six months since, Amanda hasn’t made any progress moving on. How can she? Her whole world was taken from her by a man who won’t be arrested for it. Crone is certainly the culprit, but the police don’t have the evidence to arrest him. Amanda can’t let it go; she torpedoes her own life by following Crone, trying to get close enough to kill him. All she has succeeded with is a restraining order Crone filed against her.

As part of the leniency from the court, Amanda is begrudgingly attending a group therapy session hosted by a man named Matt for parents who have lost children or family members. On her first week, Amanda is fascinated by another member of the group who goes by “Wendy” (the group members are all encouraged to use a fake name). Unlike the other members who are sad, falsely positive, or accepting, Wendy is angry. It’s such a relief for Amanda, she’s angry too.

When the two women happen to be in the same bar after group, Amanda approached Wendy and learns about the assault and murder of her teenage daughter. Similar to Amanda, the police know who committed the crime but don’t have the evidence to proceed. It’s a man named Quinn who was a music teacher at her daughter’s school. Amanda and Wendy (who’s real name is Naomi) form a friendship of sorts, bonded in their rage and thirst for revenge. And eventually, Amanda admits to attempting to kill Crone. Naomi (Wendy) has an idea—what if they swap murders? It’s the perfect crime—each will be the prime suspect in their respective cases, but with an airtight alibi. Meanwhile no one knows they are friends—they only met through group which is bound by confidentiality.

Meanwhile across the city, a woman named Ruth is brutally attacked in her home while her husband Scott is out. He arrives home to find her barely alive and suffering from multiple stab wounds. Hers is the third attack on women in NYC that seems to follow the same MO. But Ruth is the first to survive and provide a description of the attacker to police—a brunette man with striking blue eyes. Over the next few months, Ruth is physically healing, but psychologically she still feels trapped by her PTSD and fear that the blue-eyed man will come back to finish the job.

Ruth and her husband have been staying in a hotel ever since, and Ruth barely leaves the room. On her first outing to the hotel restaurant, Ruth is startled when she hears the voice of her attacker. Looking over, he’s sitting in the same restaurant as her. Ruth may have found Mr. Blue Eyes, but the police won’t be able to prosecute him for the crimes since he left no physical evidence behind.

Three women all have a reason to want revenge on the men who took everything from them… and they just may find a way to get it.

Why should you read this book?

I’m already predicting Kill for Me, Kill for You will be on many best-of lists in 2024. This book is a hit, plain and simple—Cavanagh knocked it out of the park. It starts out with the Strangers on a Train inspiration, but don’t think you have the story figured out. That is only the beginning and you will be hard pressed to guess the roller coaster Cavanagh will take you on. Fresh, unexpected, shocking, and wickedly entertaining, readers won’t be able to put it down until the very final twisted sentence.

What did I like?

One of the most successful techniques that Cavanagh used was multiple POVs with changing perspectives plotted out expertly. Initially the reader hears primarily from Amanda and Ruth—they introduce us to the two primary plots. The first plot surrounds the grief group where Amanda and Naomi (Wendy) eventually meet and hatch their murder-swap plan, and the second surrounds “Mr. Blue Eyes”—the man who has been attacking women in NYC and is identified by Ruth.

Though Ruth and Amanda remain the primary narrators, Cavanagh drops in other POV that add complexity and richness to the story—primarily Ruth’s husband Scott and the police detective working the Mr. Blue Eyes case (who also happened to be the detective who worked Amanda’s daughter’s case). Ruth’s husband Scott is the parallel in the Mr. Blue Eyes plot to Amanda and Wendy—he seems fated to go down the same path as them, seeking revenge on the man who police can’t arrest despite Ruth’s ID.

The two stories are linked by the detective, who had previously worked Amanda’s case (and has remained in touch with her to see how she is doing) and is currently working Ruth’s case. I liked his character a lot—his ended up being some of my favorite scenes. It was interesting to see what he was picking up on while the other three were engaging in some behavior that isn’t exactly legal.

What’s going on with that murder-swap plot?

Naomi (Wendy) is essentially the catalyst that starts everything rolling. When Amanda goes to group therapy, one of the first people who speaks up is a woman who shares about the tragic murder of her child and how she met his killer and forgave him. She says this with such an air of delusion and false positivity that the reader can simultaneously see how broken she still is and equally see why someone like Amanda or Naomi would be annoyed by her. It felt preach-y, and Naomi’s biting response to it adds a rare moment of levity to a dark and twisted book.

Amanda is drawn to Naomi’s clear anger and cynicism. Naomi isn’t one to force Amanda to try and move on, or to release her anger—Naomi is as mad as Amanda and she has been as obsessed with seeking justice for her daughter’s murderer as Amanda. Rage and revenge may not be the most stable foundation for a friendship, but it is one that ignites quickly. When Naomi sees that Amanda is serious about wanting to see Crone dead, she feels she finally found someone who has as much fuel to her fire as she does.

That’s when they agree to the swap…”if you kill for me, I’ll kill for you”. It makes perfect sense. They both get what they want and avoid the risk of being sentenced for it. Each will have an air tight alibi while their target is murdered. The police may look at them, but they can never link the women together. You may think you know where this is headed. I thought I knew where it was headed. But Cavanagh has some tricks up his sleeves and there will be more twists and turns before we get to our destination. I was riveted by this plot! The reader will hate the two men responsible for the murders. How could they not?

Final thoughts

There is a lot we (and the characters) don’t know. What if they are wrong about who is responsible? What if someone saw them together? What if one of them can’t or won’t follow through on their part? Will this be a story of vigilantism, or vigilantism gone wrong? I’ll say this—the narrators seem unreliable at best. They are so overwhelmed by grief, trauma, and PTSD that it’s hard to take everything they say at face value. They have rage and grief clouding their judgment. But what is our excuse when we root for them to succeed? Cavanagh boldly poses the question to the reader—do two wrongs ever make a right?

With plenty of options on the table, don’t rule anything out. Cavanagh has deliver an expertly-plotted story with fatal and brilliant execution. Don’t ever get too comfortable with this story—it has some surprises in store for you.

If you liked Kill for Me, Kill for You, what should you read next?

About the Book | Kill for Me Kill for You

For fans of The Silent Patient and Gone Girl, a razor-sharp and Hitchcock-inspired psychological thriller about two ordinary women who make a dangerous pact to take revenge for each other after being pushed to the brink.

One dark evening on New York City’s Upper West Side, two strangers meet by chance. Over drinks, Amanda and Wendy realize they have much in common, especially loneliness and an intense desire for revenge against the men who destroyed their families. As they talk into the night, they come up with the perfect if you kill for me, I’ll kill for you.

In another part of the city, Ruth is home alone when the beautiful brownstone she shares with her husband, Scott, is invaded. She’s attacked by a man with piercing blue eyes, who disappears into the night. Will she ever be able to feel safe again while the blue-eyed stranger is out there?

Intricate, heart-racing, and from an author who “is the real deal” (Lee Child, #1 New York Times bestselling author), Kill for Me, Kill for You will keep you breathless until the final page.