Ophelia Sings's Reviews > How to Kill Your Family

For a book about a woman who murders six people, How to Kill Your Family is surprisingly... Bloodless. It's a vague, flimsy thing which relies heavily on millennial stereotypes (heck, stereotypes full stop) and the slightly juvenile writing style does it few favours, either.

Mackie can't seem to decide whether protagonist Grace is a snobbish, bratty psychopath or a brave class warrior, and that's what makes her so, well, vague - all we know for sure is that she's pretty awful. The murders feel entirely distinct from one another, giving the overall feel of a bunch of short stories tacked together; it's disjointed and clumsy. The denouement is slightly more satisfying but the newcomer who suddenly pops up to deliver it is waif-like and thinly drawn - introducing a new voice at the very end of a tale to tie up loose ends neatly feels like something of a cop-out.

I was hoping for something along the lines of CJ Skuse's brilliant Rhiannon character from her Sweet Pea books - instead we're presented with a sort of cut price Fleabag with a talent contest tearjerker backstory and murderous intent. Which sounds a lot more interesting in theory than in reality, sadly.

My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.