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Summary and Reviews of A Serial Killer's Guide to Marriage by Asia Mackay

A Serial Killer's Guide to Marriage by Asia Mackay

A Serial Killer's Guide to Marriage

A Novel

by Asia Mackay
  • Critics' Consensus (2):
  • First Published:
  • Jan 14, 2025, 352 pages
  • Rate this book

About This Book

Book Summary

Two former serial killers trying to keep their past buried realize that old habits die hard in this "wildly original, razor-sharp thriller" (Chris Whitaker, New York Times bestselling author of All the Colors of the Dark).

I wasn't smashing the patriarchy; I was killing it. Literally.

Hazel and Fox are an ordinary married couple with a baby. Except for one small thing: they're murderers. Well, they used to be. They had it all. An enviable London lifestyle, five-star travels, and plenty of bad men to rid from the world. Then Hazel got pregnant.

Now, they're just another mom-and-dad-and-baby. They gave up vigilante justice for life in the suburbs: arranged play dates instead of body disposals, diapers over daggers, mommy conversations instead of the sweet seduction right before a kill. Hazel finds her new life terribly dull. And the more she forces herself to play her monotonous, predictable role, the more she begins to feel that murderous itch again.

Meanwhile, Fox has really taken to being a father. Always the planner, he loves being five steps ahead of everyone and knowing exactly what's coming around the bend. Plus, if anyone can understand Hazel needing one more kill, it's Fox. But then Hazel kills someone without telling Fox. And when police show up at their door, Hazel realizes it will take everything she has to keep her family together.

Chapter One

Three months earlier

Haze

I really was very lucky. I looked around our brand-new, expansive kitchen. Bespoke wooden cabinets, marble countertop, an electric five-door AGA. A family painting of three stick figures holding hands stuck to the stainless-steel fridge doors.

I grew up in many different places, but I never had a home. I grew up with many different people, but I never had a family.

Now I finally had both.

Don't f*** it up.

I stared at the wall nearest the window as I chopped grapes at the island. Four different shades of white were painted on it. The paint codes for each option underneath. Decisions, decisions.

"Neeeeowwwwwwwww!" Fox walked into the kitchen, holding a giggling Bibi with her arms out like an airplane. He was in the suit he was wearing when we first met. It was thirteen years ago this June. The American stranger who came to my rescue in Paris. I felt a stab of something. I wasn't sure what.

"And crash landing!" Fox dropped Bibi into her highchair at the oak ...

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Reviews

Media Reviews

Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Wildly entertaining ... Mackay brilliantly exaggerates the stifling aspects of parenthood through the eyes of her charismatic killers, wringing both laughs and pathos from her deliciously outlandish premise. This is sensational.

Kirkus Reviews
This is a dark comedy indeed—any ethical concerns over murder are brushed under the rug because it's something Hazel and Fox do together, and they only kill "bad men." As a metaphor for modern family life, it's entertainingly astute...Fans of Mr. and Mrs. Smith, this one's for you.

Author Blurb Chris Whitaker, New York Times bestselling author of All the Colors of the Dark
Sexy, stylish, thrilling, and funny ... Asia Mackay rips up the rulebook in this wildly original, razor-sharp tale of marriage and murder, mundanity and mayhem. I loved it.

Author Blurb Clare Mackintosh, New York Times bestselling author of Hostage
Murder has never been so funny. If you liked Mr. & Mrs. Smith, you'll love this original and darkly funny thriller.

Author Blurb John Marrs, bestselling author of What Lies Between Us
So razor sharp, it had me reaching for the plasters... . A fresh and original voice in a genre we're all fascinated with.

Reader Reviews

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