“You’ve killed one of the most famous men in the world and put his lips in the fridge,’ I say, bewildered. ‘Why?’….‘So he can’t…talk in the next life, of course.’ She laughs. ‘It’s my signature. All serial killers need a signature.’”Two girls out to deliver justice to men who err, who have no qualms about things as minor as murder, and who have a sense of humour as dark as (at times darker than) their deeds. That’s what we get in Katy Brent’s new book, To All The Men I’ve Killed Before, the third in her bestselling Kitty Collins trilogy.It follows How To Kill Men And Get Away With It, and I Bet You’d Look Good In A Coffin, which feature the protagonist, Kitty Collins, a London-based socialite who develops a taste for murder after she kills a man who follows her from a club, and who then goes on to kill misogynistic men. In the third novel, Kitty finds herself in Los Angeles. This time, she is not alone.Accompanying Kitty on her latest mission of violent justice is her half-sister Antoinette, who is even more unhinged when it comes to murdering men. After she is wolf-whistled at at LA airport, she quickly takes a picture of the man and looks up his address, intending to kill him. When Kitty tries to reason with her, Antoinette says:“It’s stuff like this, Kitty, the everyday harassment, the whistles, the slut-shaming that underpin the rest of it. That makes men think they can get away with the bigger stuff too.”The duo is looking for Aidan Ward, Kitty’s best friend, Tor’s ex, and her former therapist. He assaulted her so badly that she ended up in a coma. Kitty learns Aidan fled to the US, and the two sisters promptly shift base there to make him pay for his deeds.All of which makes for a compelling, provocative plot told from Kitty’s perspective. We see Kitty juggling two lives: one as a cold-blooded serial killer, and another as a girl indulging in retail therapy, sipping tea, and focusing on finishing a workout. It’s a striking juxtaposition: a girl who seems ordinary but isn’t. It might seem odd to some, but it is a welcome, refreshing change from the gritty, lonely, cut-off-from-society vigilantes, often from struggling backgrounds, that other authors serve up. The humour of To All The Men I’ve Killed Before is dark, but its settings and characters are bright.Story continues below this adAs always, Brent’s writing is fast and fluent. The 330-odd-page book is divided into several chapters, most of them very short, but you can sail through them easily because the narration is direct and often satirical. Brent handles modern-day issues with humour, and her direct narration also helps readers understand Kitty’s mind, the reasoning behind her actions, and the kind of vigilante justice she delivers.Brent even pairs gory details with casual, dark humour, as the opening lines of this review show. Some might find the collision of gore and humour slightly insensitive, but we enjoyed it. It does not make the violence any less serious, but it does help the reader see the twisted side of the two sisters.Her tone might seem casual, but Brent handles women’s issues very sensitively and doesn’t paint them as minor problems. She highlights everyday issues women face, like sexism, catcalling and casual harassment, and goes on to address bigger, more serious problems like violence against women, rape and murder, building a very justifiable female rage in her characters.While the book is an easy read thanks to Brent’s narration, it tends to rush through subplots a little too quickly. Some characters show up and then disappear without making the impact you’d expect. Readers who haven’t read the first two books can pick this one up, as Brent does some quick context-setting, but we recommend reading the trilogy in order.Story continues below this adTo All the Men I’ve Killed Before is not a gripping, slow-burn mystery with a plot twist around every corner, but an easy-to-read thriller. It has its share of gore, and while the mystery element is weaker, the (often murderous) antics of its protagonist, along with its tongue-in-cheek humour, will keep you riveted. This makes it a great palate cleanser between heavier, more serious reads.Those who enjoy vigilante justice with a side of glamour and gore (and garnished with grins) will enjoy it. It is not an intense page-turner that will keep you up burning the midnight oil. But it will often make you smile and sometimes laugh out loud, especially if you happen to be a girl. And that surely counts for something.To All The Men I’ve Killed Before by Katy BrentHarperCollins384 ppRs 599