How To Kill Your Family is a darkly comic novel about getting revenge on the family you never knew, but things not quite going to plan. Grace is a twentysomething woman who works in fashion PR and resents the estranged father she's never spoken to, wealthy self-made businessman Simon Artemis. She's also telling her story from prison, but she's not even there for the right reasons. As Grace unfolds what has happened to her and her hopes for release, it's clear trying to kill your entire family is no simple business.

As the book's concept is that Grace is writing down her story from prison, it has a classic 'unreliable narrator who gets interrupted by current events' feel, which brings suspense and also ridiculousness, especially as most of the interruptions are her despairing about her cellmate, who she finds annoying, or complaining about prison life and clothing. Grace is a purposefully unlikeable narrator: a snob, constantly making up opinions of people and judging them, and someone who was so caught up in her revenge plot that she just assumed everything else in her life would happen how she expected. This works well for the dark comedy vibe of the book, as there's always a sense she's not actually that good at murder, and has mostly been protected by luck and rich people not wanting others to look to hard into their affairs. She's not someone with a grand masterplan as much as someone out for revenge who is almost as stuck up as the people she's after.

The book tries to play around with some class stuff, from Grace's struggling upbringing, the middle class family who took her in as a teenager, and the wealth of her father and those around him, but this is also undercut by Grace's own snobbishness and the fact she's clearly painting a very specific picture so you can't actually tell if she's exaggerating things. Generally, things around class and money are more for plot reasons or comedy, like whether Grace can afford a particular thing or get time off work for her plans. There's also a few comments about the treatment of non-white servants by the Artemis family, but these are more part of Grace's own sense of social commentary than really saying anything.

How To Kill Your Family is a light read that feels like it fits in with a lot of the current pop culture moment, with a murder romp set amongst the well-off. The style of the narrative is distinctive and the concept is fun, though after a certain point it starts to get a bit repetitive, and the ending's twist fell a bit flat for me. I could really imagine it being adapted into a TV series or film, as it feels very visual from Grace's tendency to describe everything (and pass judgement on it).

The best way I can describe How to Kill Your Family is an entertaining murder-romp. Think Killing Eve or I Care A Lot, only with a spikey, sharp tongued narrator who seeks to avenge her mother's mistreatment by bumping off her father's wealthy family. Everyone in this book, including the protagonist Grace, is deeply unpleasant and self-obsessed and while that might be an issue for some readers, it wasn't for me. While I wasn't quite cheering her on, I was compelled to see how her outlandish and complex plans would work to murder the family.

The novel is told from Grace's POV so at times her bitter outpourings can feel intense, but this is peppered with witty observations and commentary on the hypocrisies and vulgarities of everyone from the elite Monaco dwellers, to Uncanny Valley influencers, to earnest rich liberals.

This was a novel I really enjoyed picking up and going back to. There were moments where it felt a little long and slow, but overall it was a fun read.

Thank you to NetGalley and The Borough Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really like Bella Mackie. Her first book, Jog On, played a huge part in me taking up running. I very much enjoy her on Instagram (is that a weird thing to say?) and her ABJ mantra is something I appreciate ✨ I’m so pleased that Bella’s first foray into fiction is as brilliant as I’d hoped it would be.

Grace is a stone cold mardy bitch, with wry observations pouring out of her, and I liked her a lot. Her story is full of dark humoured twists and turns, perfect for our generation of true crime junkies. Surely a TV adaptation is in the works? Here’s hoping!

The highlight of this book is the narration from Grace.
Its funny,deadpan and just a little chilling,as she tells how she calmly bumped off six members of her family.
Grace is a voice I could happily listen to again and again.
The whole book is just amusing,and I got to the end and felt really satisfied at how it ended.
Hoping its a hit for Ms Mackie,and we see more to come.

Genre: Literary Fiction

Release Date: Expected 10th June 2021


TW: Murder, Death, Illness, Prison, Graphic Sex.


Grace is currently sitting in jail for a murder she didn't even commit.

Not that she hasn't killed before, she definitely has, but she didn't do this one. For the last fourteen long months she's been amongst the criminals who were stupid enough to get caught and it has dragged.

At 28, her body count is six - six members of her family killed in clever and untraceable ways - and nobody knows but her and her secret journal. How wonderful it is that she'd gotten away with it all, but how sad it is that nobody will ever know just why and how she got the perfect revenge.


How To Kill Your Family is Grace's private confession, as we travel back in time to find out the reasons that she killed off her entire family and the plans that slowly fit together into the perfect revenge. Through diary entries and thoughts, we jump between the prison cell and her former life, waiting for the moment she gets to see freedom again.

There was a strange, uncomfortable feeling the whole way through the book when you realise you're rooting for the success of a mass-murderer but the more we get to know Grace the deeper entrenched in her life we become. Jumping between outrageously hilarious highs to dark disturbing lows, this was an actual roller-coaster in paper form.

The narration throughout felt personal, as though she was speaking straight to the reader at times but it rambled a lot - as though her train of thought was constantly getting lost and repeating herself so through these rambling sections I did lose interest a little as it felt like a large chunk of info-dumping at once - but this also gave it it's unique charm.

How To Kill Your Family was a deeply uncomfortable yet uplifting exploration into class, status, family and love with a killer heroine and deliciously dark twists.


RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you to Bella Mackie, Harper Collins UK and NetGalley for this ARC in return for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this book - so original, refreshing, different to anything else out there at the moment. I have seen comparisons to Killing Eve TV show, and I can see why - a strong kick-ass anti-heroine who we can't help but love and root for despite their murderous tendencies! But there is more to that than this. There is a real connection to the reader / the audience through the narration which was warm, sarcastic, funny and very authentic.

The book centres on Grace, writing her story from prison where she has been sentenced to life for a murder that she strangely didn't commit - the murders she has committed (all 6 of them, all family) are not known about! This is her confessional.

Dazzlingly dark and funny - I think this is going to be a real winner. Loved! I did not want this to end (but oh, the ending is good!)