How To Kill Your Family: Dark Witty Humorous Novel

Posted On January 13, 2023

Hi Readers! Didn’t expect another review so soon, did you? Well, I am full of surprises! After reading The Eighth Life, I needed something light to read, something like a palate cleanser if you will. So, I picked this book randomly. I had seen it often on Goodreads and I was intrigued. In two days, I was done with it and here comes the review!

~~GOODREADS DESCRIPTION~~

I have killed several people (some brutally, others calmly) and yet I currently languish in jail for a murder I did not commit.

When I think about what I actually did, I feel somewhat sad that nobody will ever know about the complex operation that I undertook. Getting away with it is highly preferable, of course, but perhaps when I’m long gone, someone will open an old safe and find this confession. The public would reel. After all, almost nobody else in the world can possibly understand how someone, by the tender age of 28, can have calmly killed six members of her family. And then happily got on with the rest of her life, never to regret a thing.

When Grace Bernard discovers her absentee millionaire father has rejected her dying mother’s pleas for help, she vows revenge, and sets about to kill every member of his family. Readers have a front row seat as Grace picks off the family one by one – and the result is as and gruesome as it is entertaining in this wickedly dark romp about class, family, love… and murder.

But then Grace is imprisoned for a murder she didn’t commit.

Outrageously funny, compulsive and subversive, perfect for fans of Killing Eve and My Sister, the Serial Killer.

~~THOUGHTS~~

Start of the Book:

When I started reading the book, I wasn’t quite sure if I would stick with it. After reading the Goodreads blurb, I thought it would be fast paces. But when our protagonist Grace Bernard kills her grandparents right in the first chapter, I knew I was going to read this and read it fast! That first chapter was impressive and roped me into the book immediately. Few books get points for luring me in that quickly!

Majority of the Book:

The majority of the book was fun to read. It had a dark humorous side which was fun to read. It was one of those no-guilt psychopath murderer. And not the should-I-or-should-I-not kill murderer. And, I was so glad for that. The books that show a premise of murder but then include the whole shame-guilt spiral into it, just make it impossible for the reader to have any fun. So, for once, I was glad to have this woman with no conscience offing grandparents, uncle, cousin and others in more creative ways as she went along with it. Loved that!

The story line is loosely divided into three parts. First part is where she murders. Second is where she is in prison. Third is where she retells her life from childhood till the time she reaches prison. This meant that murder chapters were one third, which I was surprisingly okay with.

End of the Book:

When a story is so streamlined and simple for 90%, you can surely expect a twist at the end. For me, this book was at a solid 4 stars up until the end, after which it went back to 3 stars. There could have been many ways in which 4 stars could have turned to 5, but alas. Introducing a new character at the absolute end of it making him superior to the protagonist who was with the readers throughout felt a bit passive aggressive to me. Yes, Grace killed 6 people but I still wanted no repercussions for her. So, what the hell. Sure, it was clever, but I did not enjoy it. I suppose most of the readers didn’t enjoy that either based on the Goodreads reviews I have seen. Sometimes, we just don’t want intelligence. We only want compassion. And, I guess that says a lot about humans, but hey, we feel what we feel!

~~TO READ OR NOT TO READ~~

I would still say go ahead and read it. The book is fun, dark, engaging and witty. You will have a great time with it for majority of the part, which I think is amazing. If you want to get out of a reading slump, you should read this book. If you want to read dark murderous humour, then you should read it. If you want a perfect ending to a book, then this may not be the one to read. If you can endure a lot of self-absorbed witty monologues, then you should read it. I have rated How to Kill Your Family by Bella Mackie at 3/5 stars!

Until next time,