Deadly Words: A Serial Killer Crime Thriller (Born Bad # 2)

Meghan O'Flynn

Jun 2021 · Born Bad Book 2 · Pygmalion Publishing

About this ebook

To save herself, she'll have to go up against the world's most vicious serial killer. She just calls him "Dad." A thriller for fans of Dark Places and You. If you like Rachel Abbott, Sue Watson, or Lucinda Berry, you'll love the Born Bad series.

“Brilliant, dark, and impossible to put down. O'Flynn masterfully crafts a twisted tale of buried secrets in Deadly Words. Poppy is unforgettable—unlike any character you've read before. This is storytelling at its finest, and will sit with you long after you've turned the final page.”

~Bestselling Author Emerald O’Brien

A friend once told me that the world needs psychopaths, but I’m not sold that the world needed my father. I only know that I did. 

Poppy Pratt was a teenager when she watched her father murder her boyfriend. Only a child when she made the call that would put her dad away for the rest of his life. She watched the sheriff lead him off, her father still laughing at the Alabama moon, his arms slick with Shawn’s blood. 

Eighteen years later, Poppy is a chiropractor with a thriving practice and a house in suburban New Hampshire. She even goes on the occasional date. So, when a mysterious stranger shows up at her house claiming that her father is stalking him, Poppy blows him off. Her dad is in prison—psychopath or not, he’s no threat. And though this man is writing a book about her dad, she can see no reason for anyone to go after him. 

But then Poppy receives an unmarked package, and her carefully constructed world begins to crumble. A severed ear would throw most anyone off their game. The stranger was right—it might not be her dad, but someone is watching, and they’re after Poppy, too. Could it be an angry family member of one of her father’s victims? An obsessed serial killer fan? But even when Poppy’s new author friend is viciously attacked, she can’t call the police. Shawn wasn’t her father’s only victim, and her stalker clearly knows enough to implicate her in her father’s crimes. 

It seems she’s destined to go down the same way her father did—with her hands covered in blood. The only question is whether she’ll be the one holding the knife. 

Skillful, addictive, and crackling with nerve-fraying tension, Deadly Words is a thrilling joyride straight into the brains of psychopaths. And O’Flynn ensures that you’ll never want to leave. If you like Gillian Flynn and Caroline Kepnes, you’ll love Deadly Words. 

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Ratings and reviews

I really enjoyed most of this book. The story was intriguing and left me guessing. However, the denouement happened too quickly and conveniently, feeling rushed. The story just suddenly stopped with too much left unexplored and unanswered.

This is exactly the kind of book you’d expect from Meghan O’Flynn, which is to say: Leave your expectations at the door. It’s got all the things I love: a complex protagonist, a suspenseful plot, wicked family dynamics and twists I didn’t see coming. Great characters and unpredictable turns in the story make it an entertaining read.

Poppy Pratt is a smart, funny, tough woman with a seriously dark and twisted childhood. Maybe she's moved past it, or maybe not so much. Maybe she doesn't even want to, because Poppy has some pretty serious secrets in her adult life, too. As the story goes on and more of Poppy's behavior and thoughts are revealed, I found myself thinking maybe I shouldn't like and cheer for her, but I still was. Being inside Poppy's mind is a trip that will leave you both shocked and wanting to know more. Looking forward to the next book in the series.

About the author

With books deemed “visceral, haunting, and fully immersive” (New York Times bestseller, Andra Watkins), Meghan O’Flynn has made her mark on the thriller genre. Meghan is a clinical therapist who draws her character inspiration from her knowledge of the human psyche. She is the bestselling author of gritty crime novels and serial killer thrillers, all of which take readers on the dark, gripping, and unputdownable journey for which Meghan is notorious. Learn more at https://meghanoflynn.com! While you’re there, join Meghan’s reader group, and get a FREE SHORT STORY just for signing up.