Happy New Year everyone!

I hope you had a great time celebrating with your loved ones, and if you’ve set any New Year’s resolutions or created a mood board to manifest with, that you’ve enjoyed the reflective journey that those activities bring with it. I’ve not set any resolutions, but I have created a mood board for this year, and I’m very excited to see how much of it I can manifest into reality!

So far into January, I’ve read 2 books, so I’m well on track for my numerical reading goal this year, which I’ve set to 45 books. In 2023 I read 50, and in 2024 I read 40, so I feel 2025 I can definitely do 45! This year I intend to read considerably more from my bookshelf, finish all the series I’ve started and not finished (guilty😜!), and to read more Stephen King and TJ Klune, because I think they’re wonderful authors and I’ve not even scratched the surface of their works yet!

The book that I’m reviewing today is a book that I read recently, which publishes on Tuesday 14th January in the UK. With its brat green cover, book cover quotes from Hugh Grant(!) and high good reads reviews already, this is going to be a book you’ll be dying to read 😉.

A SERIAL KILLER’S GUIDE TO MARRIAGE BY ASIA MACKAY

Many thanks to Hachette Publishing for my gifted PR Copy of this book.

Publisher: Wildfire (an imprint of Hachette)

Genre: Thriller/Domestic Romcom

Number of Pages: 400

TWs: murder, suicide, abuse, depression, foster care, assault.

‘Hazel and Fox are an ordinary married couple with a baby. Except for one small thing: they’re ex-serial killers.

They had it all. An enviable London lifestyle, five-star travels, and plenty of bad men to kill. Not many power couples know how to get away with murder. 

Then Hazel fell pregnant and they gave it all up for life in the suburbs; dinner parties instead of body disposal.

But recently Hazel has started to feel that itch again. When she kills someone behind Fox’s back and brings the police to their door, she must do anything she can to protect her family. 

This could save their marriage – unless it kills them first.’

When I was offered the opportunity to read this book early, reader let me tell you I JUMPED at the chance. What an entirely interesting plot! I don’t think I’ve ever read a book before where a couple are reformed serial killers. To be clear, they’re not spies, hired assassins or secret agents that have fallen in love (eg Mr & Mrs Smith, love that film!). Oh no, Haze and Fox are just serial killers. They kill because they want to get rid of the bad guys, or it’d be more accurate to say have to. They used to kill together – it’s actually their meet-cute, if you can call it that.

The story opens with the prologue, talking about perhaps they should have gone for a mini-break or marriage counselling, and very much finishes that prologue on a cliffhanger that leaves us wondering… are they going to kill each other?

As the cover states, ‘the couple that kills together stays together’, so what happens when that stops? As we go beyond the prologue we find that this is a dual POV story, with chapters from Fox and Haze. I really loved the contrast in their tones.

Fox is happy. He’s a proud dad and Husband, he’s an American guy living in the UK, with a rich family and a mildly stable high paying job. He has fallen naturally into the ‘great husband and father and doesn’t kill people anymore’ role. He’s had his time travelling Europe and going to fancy parties with Haze, and he’s happy to live a secure life.

Haze is bored shitless. She loves her family but she finds absolutely no source of exhilaration or adrenaline and the baby groups just aren’t cutting the mustard as a fountain of excitement. She’s an artist, but without murder as her source of inspiration for her pieces, she’s got nothing.

With no source of creativity, no friends and still plenty of people who she feels deserve to be killed off for their wrongs, she is frustrated at everybody and everything. Including Fox. We begin with Haze’s chapter and right away I absolutely loved how dry her character is. The writing is sharp, witty, sarcastic, honest and brutal in observation.

Fox and Haze’s relationship was always fuelled by the desire to murder bad men. That was their version of date night. Now what are they supposed to do with their surburban life? How do they keep the magic alive? Both have vowed to each other not to kill anymore, for the sake and security of their child. They can’t exactly go to a marriage counsellor and say that though can they.

Haze then accidentally makes a friend. She had zero intention to, but it just kind of happened at baby group. That friendship and an accidental-she didn’t really mean to oops- murder creates a whole snowball of events that threatens to end Haze and Fox, once and for all…

CAN’T PUT IT DOWN RATING 4.5/5

This book is SO refreshing and funny! Who would have thought that I’d be reading a book about serial killers and murders and laughing my head off whilst I do so? It is so much more than a thriller , to market the book just as that would be absolutely selling it short of it’s talent.

Written with ‘Killing Eve’ type wit, this novel about feminism, vigilantism, marriage troubles, secrets and boredom in suburbia will keep you rooting for the protagonists… even if they are serial killers.

If you loved ‘How to kill your Family’ by Bella Mackie, you’ll really enjoy this!

WASHED DOWN WITH:

I’ve been thoroughly loving a cup of ‘Hug in a mug’ by a local small business here in Hull called ‘Cuppa Kindness’. It’s a chocolatey vanilla chai, which tastes creamy and nutty, but what I truly adore is that there is a QR code on each tag that takes you to a short mindful meditation using your hot tea! It’s been a wonderful way to settle the mind before I read.

If you’re local, this is stocked at Flour and Feast down Humber street, or contact Cuppa Kindness direct online.

Do you enjoy funny thrillers and if so will you be reading this book?

What recommendations do you have of books from this genre? Recommend them in the comments!

Until the Next Chapter,

Emma

X0

@papyrusandpeppermint