Kill For Me Kill For You by Steve Cavanagh

 




🔪 Kill for Me, Kill for You by Steve Cavanagh — Spoiler-Filled, No-Confusion Review

⭐ 5 out of 5 stars | Revenge thriller | Murder swap madness | Twists galore that’ll fry your brain (in the best way)


🚨 MASSIVE SPOILERS AHEAD 🚨


💭 My Take

Let me be honest:
👉 I went into this book with sky-high expectations because my book club hyped it like it was the twistiest thing ever.
👉 I started reading... confused. Didn’t feel grabbed at all. Timeline hopping? Presidents’ speeches? What’s happening?!
👉 But THEN... I hit the end. I put down the book. And I couldn’t stop thinking about it. It’s brilliantly layered, and once the puzzle pieces click? Chef’s kiss.


📝 The Plot — Finally Clear

💔 Amanda’s pain + plan

👉 Amanda White loses everything:

  • Her 6-year-old daughter Jess is murdered.

  • Her husband Luis dies by suicide soon after.
    👉 Amanda is convinced Wallace Crone (wealthy family, sketchy history) killed Jess, but Crone walks free thanks to daddy’s money.
    👉 Amanda = consumed by grief and a thirst for revenge.


🍸 Enter Naomi (aka Ruth)

👉 Amanda meets Naomi at a grief support group — they bond over their shared loss of a daughter.
👉 Naomi says she’s stalking Frank Quinn, the man who killed her daughter.
👉 After some drunken venting, they agree to swap murders so neither will get caught.


🔪 The murders go sideways

👉 Naomi tells Amanda she’s already killed Crone — now Amanda owes her.
👉 Amanda tries to kill Quinn, but panics. Quinn attacks her, but she escapes — thinking she’s failed.
👉 Next day? Both men are still alive. Naomi has vanished. Amanda = setup.


🕵️ Amanda meets Billy

👉 Amanda sneaks into Quinn’s house for clues, but gets spotted by cops.
👉 Mysterious guy Billy helps her escape.
👉 Billy reveals Naomi tried the same murder swap scheme on him too (under a different name).
👉 Together they uncover Naomi’s real identity: Ruth Gelman.


👁️ Ruth’s twisted motive

👉 Flashback time: years ago, Ruth was attacked in her home by a man with piercing blue eyes.
👉 Her husband Scott took revenge — but on the wrong man.
👉 Scott dies. Ruth ends up in a psychiatric hospital.

👉 When Ruth gets out? She becomes obsessed with hunting her attacker. But here’s the problem:
💥 She starts seeing Mr. Blue Eyes everywhere. Any guy with blue eyes = potential attacker in her mind.
💥 That’s why she manipulates grieving parents into killing random men who remind her of him.

👉 In short: Ruth thinks she’s getting justice — but she’s actually making innocent people killers.


🎭 The final showdown

👉 Ruth spots Mr. Blue Eyes at the Macy’s Parade (or so she thinks).
👉 She tries to kill him and his family.
👉 Billy and Amanda follow — but here’s the twist:
👉 Billy IS Mr. Blue Eyes.
👉 He reveals himself privately to Ruth by taking out his contacts.
👉 Billy is ready to finish what he started 11 years ago and kill Ruth.
👉 Before he can? Cops arrive. Ruth is institutionalized again.


📝 The truth about Billy

👉 Billy sends Amanda a letter confessing:

  • He used her to find Ruth.

  • He killed Crone while she was at that concert he suggested.
    👉 Amanda? Burns the letter and moves on, finally at peace.


🌟 Final Thoughts

✅ The timeline makes sense once you realize the presidents’ speeches tell you the year — genius.
✅ Ruth = tragic, terrifying, and twisted.
✅ The book asks: When a victim turns into a predator, can we still feel sorry for them?
✅ A slow-burn puzzle that absolutely rewards your patience.


📌 Grab Kill for Me, Kill for You

👉 Buy on Amazon


📚 Loved this? Try these:

The Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson
The Chain by Adrian McKinty
The Night She Disappeared by Lisa Jewell

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