Books Like Sweetpea

In fiction, women are typically portrayed as kind, caring, and nurturing, but plenty of authors have turned this stereotype on its head. Whether by circumstances or out of free will, these women are not afraid to get their hands bloody. For example, in Sweetpea by C.J. Skuse, an editorial assistant named Rhiannon Lewis lives a seemingly ordinary life except for the fact that she is a serial killer who loves killing people who she feels have wronged her in some way. For more novels where women leave a trail of bodies in their wake, check out the following books like Sweetpea.

How to Kill Men and Get Away With It

by Katy Brent

How to Kill Men and Get Away With It by Katy Brent is the story of a young, successful influencer named Kitty Collins. In addition to being wealthy and popular, Kitty also becomes a murderer when a man from a nightclub refuses to leave her alone and attempts to follow her home. Although Kitty didn’t mean to actually kill him, his death gives her a taste for revenge. Kitty justifies her new addiction by only targeting men who she thinks deserve it and discovers that she is not just good at killing men but also at getting away with it.   

Blood Sugar

by Sascha Rothchild

Ruby Simon, the protagonist of Blood Sugar by Sascha Rothchild, is an animal-loving therapist with a thriving practice. Ruby is also accused of the murder of Jason, her husband whom she adored. Everyone believes Ruby is guilty of the crime, especially as he’s the fourth person to die in her presence. However, unlike the other three dead bodies in her wake, Ruby did not murder her husband.

Kill for Love

by Laura Picklesimer

Kill for Love by Laura Picklesimer is a satirical thriller about a privileged Los Angeles sorority sister named Tiffany. She has always struggled to keep her sadistic impulses at bay but develops an insatiable desire to kill attractive young men after a party hookup turns bloody. Tiffany embarks on a killing spree, which triggers social media fueled competing murders as well as mounting legal scrutiny. To complicate matters further, Tiffany finds her relationship with a guy named Weston growing, leading her to believe he could be the perfect boyfriend.

They Never Learn

by Layne Fargo

They Never Learn by Layne Fargo stars an exceptional English professor named Scarlett Clark. Scarlett is also very good at getting away with murder and has spent years killing the worst men at Gorman University while making it look like suicides. The story also follows a new arrival at the university, a student named Carly Schiller. Carly is happy to be free of her emotionally abusive father finally, but her plans to study and fade into the background change when her new roommate is sexually assaulted at a party. This act causes Carly to become obsessed with making the attacker pay.  

How To Kill Your Family

by Bella Mackie

How To Kill Your Family by Bella Mackie is the first-person narrative of Grace Bernard. Grace discovers that her absentee father, who is a millionaire, rejected her dying mother’s pleas for help. Determined to get revenge, Grace meticulously plans how to murder him and the rest of her uncaring family. To get away with the deaths, Grace is very careful to orchestrate each one in such a way that it looks like an accident or natural occurrence. That is how she ends up at age twenty-eight with the deaths of six members of her family on her hands without any regret. 

My Sister, the Serial Killer

by Oyinkan Braithwaite

Although Korede, the protagonist of My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Brathwaite, is not a murderer herself, she has no qualms about helping her sister Ayoola to cover her tracks. After stabbing three boyfriends through the heart, Ayoola would have been caught long ago if not for the assistance of Koreda, who knows how to clean blood and move a body. Koreda also ensures that Ayoola does not post photos on Instagram when she is supposed to be mourning her “missing” boyfriend. Unfortunately, Korede’s loyalty is put to the test when the kind, handsome doctor at the hospital where she works asks her for Ayoola’s phone number. Korede has been in love with him for a long time but knows what fate awaits him if she doesn’t do something. 

Killers of a Certain Age

by Deanna Raybourn

Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn tells the tale of four women who spent the better part of forty years working as deadly assassins for a clandestine international organization called the “Museum.” However, at the age of sixty, their talents are no longer needed, and Billie, Mary Alice, Helen, and Natalie are sent on an all-expenses-paid vacation to mark their retirement. Unfortunately, when they are targeted by one of their own, the women quickly realize that they’ve been marked for death by the top-level members of the Museum and must work together to survive.

#FashionVictim

by Amina Akhtar

Anya St. Clair, the protagonist of #FashionVictim by Amina Akhtar, seems to have it all. She’s a fashion editor with a die-die-for wardrobe and killer social media numbers. She has also had to work hard to get where she is, so the path behind her is littered with the bodies of those who got in her way. However, Anya wants more things, especially the friendship of Sarah Taft, who sits one desk away from her at work and is a natural fashion icon. When Sarah becomes her competitor for a promotion, Anya’s obsession goes into overdrive, and she stops at nothing to get what she wants.