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A review by beate251
A Serial Killer's Guide to Marriage by Asia Mackay
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Thank you to NetGalley and Headline for this eagerly anticipated ARC.
Haze and Fox are married ex-serial killers. When they had their daughter Bibi, Fox made them quit their dangerous life and move to the suburbs. Haze is not happy about it. She loves her daughter but is not cut out for normal life. She misses her old life and also still grieves for her best friend Matty who committed suicide many years ago. She and Fox have only ever killed bad men, so really, they were doing society a favour, whilst leading a life full of thrills, without an inkling of remorse.
"Hunt, kill, hold hands. That was our love language, and we knew exactly how to keep the passion burning bright."
Now she is forced to make friends with other mothers like nervous wreck Jenny who, shock horror, turns out to be a police officer on maternity leave, and very interested in serial killers like the Backpacking Butcher, the name the police gave Haze and Fox because they believe it's only one man.
"They thought we were a couple to die for; they’d never guess we were a couple to die from."
One night, Haze slips up and sets in motion a series of events that threatens everything she and Fox hold dear. Meanwhile, Fox is having his own battles to fight involving his horrible parents and his own desire for the old thrills, that lead him to AA meetings as a means of coping.
Wow, what a book. This is such smart and clever writing, done in very short chapters using two POVs with flashbacks to happier times. I enjoyed every tense minute and read this in one sitting. I'm not sure what it says about me that I rooted for Haze and her murdering ways all through the book but she is such a great character. You can feel her rage about all the bad men she's no longer allowed to kill while she plays happy housewife, and you get it. Her marriage seems to be going down the pan with both of them withholding things from each other, and I just wanted for them to be ok again.
The book contains dark humour but it's not as funny as I thought it might be. Instead we get the brutal but entertaining dissection of a marriage, that, apart from the killing, could be a fairly typical union that goes from the honeymoon phase to a more boring suburban life containing pooping kids and bin juice.
The action speeds up towards the end as everything seems to come together in a thrilling, rain-soaked finale.
"I always knew our life together would involve bloodshed. I just never thought it would be ours."
The ending is total perfection - absolute chef's kiss and exactly what I wanted to happen. This book will be a sensation when it comes out next January and I feel privileged to have received such an early copy.
Haze and Fox are married ex-serial killers. When they had their daughter Bibi, Fox made them quit their dangerous life and move to the suburbs. Haze is not happy about it. She loves her daughter but is not cut out for normal life. She misses her old life and also still grieves for her best friend Matty who committed suicide many years ago. She and Fox have only ever killed bad men, so really, they were doing society a favour, whilst leading a life full of thrills, without an inkling of remorse.
"Hunt, kill, hold hands. That was our love language, and we knew exactly how to keep the passion burning bright."
Now she is forced to make friends with other mothers like nervous wreck Jenny who, shock horror, turns out to be a police officer on maternity leave, and very interested in serial killers like the Backpacking Butcher, the name the police gave Haze and Fox because they believe it's only one man.
"They thought we were a couple to die for; they’d never guess we were a couple to die from."
One night, Haze slips up and sets in motion a series of events that threatens everything she and Fox hold dear. Meanwhile, Fox is having his own battles to fight involving his horrible parents and his own desire for the old thrills, that lead him to AA meetings as a means of coping.
Wow, what a book. This is such smart and clever writing, done in very short chapters using two POVs with flashbacks to happier times. I enjoyed every tense minute and read this in one sitting. I'm not sure what it says about me that I rooted for Haze and her murdering ways all through the book but she is such a great character. You can feel her rage about all the bad men she's no longer allowed to kill while she plays happy housewife, and you get it. Her marriage seems to be going down the pan with both of them withholding things from each other, and I just wanted for them to be ok again.
The book contains dark humour but it's not as funny as I thought it might be. Instead we get the brutal but entertaining dissection of a marriage, that, apart from the killing, could be a fairly typical union that goes from the honeymoon phase to a more boring suburban life containing pooping kids and bin juice.
The action speeds up towards the end as everything seems to come together in a thrilling, rain-soaked finale.
"I always knew our life together would involve bloodshed. I just never thought it would be ours."
The ending is total perfection - absolute chef's kiss and exactly what I wanted to happen. This book will be a sensation when it comes out next January and I feel privileged to have received such an early copy.
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Suicide, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail