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An Ethical Guide To Murder

She can take years off your life. Don't annoy her.

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An Ethical Guide To Murder

By: Jenny Morris
Narrated by: Nicky Diss
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How to Kill Your Family meets The Husbands in a darkly funny, wickedly original novel about friendship, revenge and the dangers of playing God.

Thea has a gift. Or possibly a serious ethical problem.

With a single touch, she can see how long someone has left to live – and transfer that time to somebody else.

She discovers this when her best friend Ruth suffers a fatal head injury on a night out. Panicking, Thea grabs the man responsible.

Ruth wakes up. He drops dead.

Now Thea has the power of life and death at her fingertips – and she is determined to use it responsibly.

Mostly.

To keep herself on the straight and narrow, Thea creates an Ethical Guide to Murder: rules for who deserves to lose time, who deserves to gain it and how to make the world a little fairer.

But justice is complicated. Revenge is tempting. And absolute power is alarmingly easy to justify.

As Thea’s rules begin to unravel, she must decide who she is willing to kill – and whether she can save Ruth before her borrowed time runs out.

Murderously funny, sharply observed and unexpectedly moving, An Ethical Guide to Murder asks how far you would go for the person you love – and who gets to decide how much time anyone deserves.

‘A marvellous debut! Jenny Morris has taken the “with great power comes great responsibility” concept and applied it to someone who struggles to be responsible for her own laundry’
Alice Bell

‘As entertaining as it is thought-provoking . . . one of the most interesting characters that I’ve read in a long time’
Kellye Garrett

‘Fresh and fun . . . Combining ethics with a good old revenge story, I raced through this unexpectedly poignant novel’
Sam Holland

Revenge is best served pre-ordered. How to Destroy Your Ex, the wickedly funny new novel from Jenny Morris, is available to pre-order now. Crime Thrillers Dark Humour Fantasy Genre Fiction Literature & Fiction Magical Realism Thriller & Suspense Crime Exciting Murder
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Critic reviews

‘A wonderfully hooky premise with the emotional depth to back it up, An Ethical Guide to Murder is a stellar debut from Jenny Morris. The Trolley Problem for the Uber age’ Callum McSorley, author of Squeaky Clean, winner of the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Novel of the Year 2024

‘A darkly compelling and brilliantly original take on power, morality, and consequence. Thea’s extraordinary gift is both a blessing and a curse, and watching her navigate the blurry line between justice and vengeance makes for an absolutely gripping read. With razor-sharp prose and wonderfully relatable characters, Morris asks the ultimate question: if you had the power of life and death, how far would you go? I couldn't put it down’ Amanda Cassidy, Irish Times Bestselling author of The Perfect Place

‘You do not want to miss this! A fresh, humorous yet thought-provoking tale of one ordinary, complex woman’s quest to put her superpower to good use. Thea’s dilemmas of who lives and who dies will keep you pounding through the pages with a smile on your face and an ache in your heart’ Graham Bartlett, author of City on Fire

‘A deliciously dark, entertainingly sincere Dexter meets Sophie's Choice. Loved it!’ Claire Wilson, author of Five by Five

‘An Ethical Guide to Murder is a thought-provoking whirlwind of a ride with unexpected twists, well-timed humor, and a propulsive plot. It kept me on my toes until the last page, and I'm still thinking about it!’ Gloria Chao, author of The Ex-Girlfriend Murder Club and Ex Marks the Spot
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Most relevant
I did finish it but I just didn’t enjoy the whole ‘ethical’ stance ..
The performance was a bit flat for me.
I’m sure there will be many who will enjoy this but it was more of a ‘summer beach holiday’ read for me and not my usual pick

Not my cup of tea

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Seeing all the negative reviews on this book made me curious to read this book and I am so glad I did. Let's face it, we can all put ourselves in the same position. People we would like to take revenge on and others we want to help, however we can. Read this book with an open mind. Enjoy it for what it is, a look at other people's minds and possibly what's in yours.

Gripping revenge

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I got really absorbed into this book. Narration and story were fab. Thought provoking but not on an exhaustive hard work way. Just a really nice change from the usual format. Would recommend.

Different and thought provoking

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Wouldn’t recommend this book. The main character is a monster, the writing is quite poor. It was a Book Club read and I would not recommend it. Too many inconsistencies and ridiculous characters. Narrator had a blocked nose which was really irritating.

Lazy prose and ghastly characters

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Great story with some moral turmoil, thoroughly enjoyed it and didn’t expect the ending to be so wholesome

Great story with a wholesome end

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