This was fun- it probably won't stick in my mind for long, but for a couple of days sitting down and relaxing, this soapy, slightly silly, sort-of murder mystery was engaging and enjoyable.

Madison May is murdered by someone who seems to know her- and she keeps on being murdered, in different lives and different worlds. I enjoyed exploring how Madison lives her different lives, and Felicity, the journalist who reports on one of Madison's murders, was a fun character- I especially enjoyed her journey from her world to others, and how the concept of different worlds was laid out to the reader through her discoveries.

I'm not quite sure what genre this really fits into. It's sort of a murder mystery where you already know who the murderer is but not which parallel dimension he currently inhabits. However hidden under the surface is a story of self-reflection, personal growth and character development. What I can say without a shadow of a doubt is that I very much enjoyed it. There are layers to this book that are easy to miss if you aren't paying attention to the small details and little one-liners.


Felicity is a very sympathetic character, one I not only liked but found it easy to empathise with. She is flawed, impulsive and, at times, down-right selfish but her strong moral compass, her compassion and ultimately that realisation of just what she had, also made her likeable. Over the course of the story we also get to know Madison May too. The supporting characters were well written, remaining consistent throughout the book and their interactions with Felicity often raised some very thought provoking moments.


Whilst the book wasn't perfect, it captivated my attention and soon became a story that I didn't want to put down. The reader was left to occasionally make their own links, to draw their own conclusions. Some may interpret this as a weakness in world-building or clarity of explanation, but personally I appreciate the author allowing me this autonomy. Finally I want to finish with what for me was quite a profound quote from the book. It summed up perfectly the truth behind this fascinating story.

"They're all the same, though," Felicity said. "That's what I figured, eventually."

‘You know what I find crazy? There are so many of you. You’re common as dirt. I can find another you tomorrow. But you always think you’re so special.’
-
WOW. This book took me by such surprise. I requested it on Netgalley as the premise was kind of interesting and gave me small vibes of 7 Deaths and as I’ve said in previous reviews, I’m always chasing that next 7 Deaths… But I truly didn’t expect to love this book quite as much as I did. Bravo. Standing Ovation. I loved it!
-
Young real estate agent Madison May is shocked when a client at an open house says these words to her. The man, a stranger, seems to know far too much about her, and professes his love–shortly before he murders her.
Felicity Staples hates reporting on murders. As a journalist for a midsize New York City paper, she knows she must take on the assignment to research Madison May’s shocking murder, but the crime seems random and the suspect is in the wind. That is, until Felicity spots the killer on the subway, right before he vanishes.
Soon, Felicity senses her entire universe has shifted. No one remembers Madison May, or Felicity’s encounter with the mysterious man. And her cat is missing. Felicity realizes that in her pursuit of Madison’s killer, she followed him into a different dimension–one where everything about her existence is slightly altered. At first, she is determined to return to the reality she knows, but when Madison May–in this world, a struggling actress–is murdered again, Felicity decides she must find the killer–and learns that she is not the only one hunting him.
Traveling through different realities, Felicity uncovers the opportunity–and danger–of living more than one life.
-
I honestly can’t put this book into words, it was just so cleverly written with such a complex story line that somehow felt easy to read. The different worlds were so creative with such minute changes that the possibilities truly did feel endless, I found myself running through this book almost as fast as the characters did just to find out what was going to happen next! A true triumph from an author who’s previous work I have yet to read, but they are all most firmly at the top of my TBR now!
-
Thank you so much to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the ARC. I will be telling everyone I can to read this book!!

The 22 Murders of Madison May is a thrilling book about a girl that is killed... more than 20 times. Madison May doesn't know it, but she has been murdered by the same man multiple times. But then, comes Felicity Staples. After reporting on the murder of real estate agent Madison May, Felicity gets involved in something bigger than anything she's ever known. Soon, she is traveling between worlds trying to prevent Madison from getting killed, at the same time she learns more about herself.

This book has a very interesting plot and premise. However, I felt it lacked development and a climax. There were no twists or major events. You pretty much get told what this is all about in the first few chapters and then the story just keeps going. I did enjoy reading it, but I thought it would be much better.

Felicity is a reporter for a New York online paper. When she has to cover for a colleague, she visits the crime scene of Maddy May’s murder. Strange graffiti and a man in a hat plus her instinct for a good story make her investigate this further. What she uncovers is a secret society travelling parallel universes, and a serial killer who’s also travelling through the multiverse to kill all the versions of Madison May who are not the perfect Hollywood actress he fell in love with. Furthermore, Felicity is pushed into a parallel universe herself, which then prompts her to travel on to other parallel universes to find one that feels more like ‘home’. Because, you can only travel forward, never back.

To be honest, I don’t remember much from the book although I only finished reading it a couple of days ago. It’s a lot of plot, but the dialogue makes it a quick read. Still, the characters weren’t outstanding. The different universes gave the whole story a bit of a Groundhog Day feeling, and the finale was rather predictable.

The 22 Murders of Madison May is a well-written psychological thriller which takes a now fairly familiar premise - parallel worlds - and makes something fresh and disturbing. At the same time though it takes a trope - a woman under threat - that is equally familiar (over familiar) and - well, I'm not sure whether it succeeds in making something new of that, or not. Let me explain.

The Maddison - Maddie - of the title is a real estate agent working in New York.

She's a struggling actress, studying in New York, chasing that big opportunity, that part which will change her life.

She's a barista, making ends meet as best she can when her dreams of stardom won't, quite, come true.

She has a boyfriend. She's broken up with her boyfriend. She's about to get back with her boyfriend.

Flickering alternatives, second chances - and a constant, ever looming threat.

That aspect of things - the threat - is the centrepiece of this story, and it's one which I think deserves a warning because for many women the moves, the beats, of this experience will be familiar. Maddie is careful. She keeps her keys handy, ready to clutch between her fingers. Her phone is charged. Estate agent Maddie takes a photo on her mobile of her clients. Another Maddie worries about being alone in a subway car with a stranger and ponders the tactics: stay or go? Which is safer? Get off a stop early and walk? How busy are the streets roundabout? A third Maddie joins up with a group of friends for a weekend party, seeing the company as offering some safety.

Maddie is just so careful. Barry shows how her safety consciousness is ingrained in her daily life. The opening scenes show how Maddie, showing a house off to a new client, juggles the professional - lighting candles to mask the property's odour - with the professional/ personal - changing into heels and deploying a little acting-school glamour to hurry the sale along - with safety precautions - that mobile phone shot, leaving doors open, being aware she is in relation to him.

It's something we see throughout the book. Yet several times we also we see her dead, simply overwhelmed by an attacker, wrong footed by following a social convention for just a bit too long, distracted, flummoxed. Despite all her precautions, all her plans.

This is nothing unusual and I'm sure it will stir uncomfortable memories for some women. (It ought, of course, to stir uncomfortable empathy for men too). This simply won't be a book some wish to read, I think. What is unusual is Barry's parallel-worlds spin - the Maddie are in different universes but all of them are in the same danger - not just the same danger as in, generic male violence, but, in their different worlds, they are targets of the same man. There is a particular threat coming after them. So we get to see Maddie's generic, sensible precautions come up agains the same, targeted, menace from a man who has studied them before in other worlds, who knows them sometimes better than they know themselves.

This setup made me feel a bit queasy, I have to say. It's like seeing the same rigged sporting contest over and over again, but of course, with higher stakes. That's where I began to worry that rather than subverting the almost universal trope of a man hurting a woman, this alternative take actually reinforces it. Despite being a slickly, compellingly written thriller with a whole science fictional cant that I won't share (spoilers), plenty of twists and turns (and with Felicity! - I'll tell you abut her in a moment) I'm not sure my unease at this aspect ever completely went away. I ended up really unclear whether I thought enough had been done on this front or not.

But was going to tell you about felicity, wasn't I? She's another woman with an existence in all the parallel worlds where we see Maddie, but unlike Maddie, Felicity has some inkling of what's going ion, and she makes it her business to become Maddie's guardian angel. Having to come to terms with all those different lives she might be living - symbolised here by the variants on her boyfriend, Gavin, who turn up - Felicity's dilemma is as much philosophical as anything else, as she tries to understand exactly what is happening to reality, and to act morally within that understanding. If there is a place where The 22 Murders of Madison May overcomes that central trope, it's in Felicity and the real level of responsibility she feels to all those many worlds, not just the one she is in. Also, her determination and rage, which take her on a long journey from the slightly glib political correspondent we meet at the start of the book, checking out a time scene as a favour to a colleague. Felicity's growth and maturing is another central theme which comes through strongly.

As I said above, this book is never less than well written and it is always thought provoking and engaging. It won't for everyone, though.

Max Barry's new novel 'The 22 Murder of Madison May' is an intriguing exploration of the theory of the multiverse and how 'moving' between these parallel lives has serious repercussions on time and space. The premise and story set up is simply brilliant - we meet Maddison May, New York real estate agent, who is showing a house to a strange young man. He shares that he loves her, in 'every world', before stabbing her to death. Such a gripping opening!

From here, we follow Felicity as she investigates Maddie's death and finds herself caught up in hopping between parallel universes, different dimensions where Maddie has been murdered multiple times. 20 so far to be precise. The reader is immersed in Felicity's mind-boggling revelations about the universe and her quest to protect Maddie.

The majority of the book is fast-paced and gripping as it switches between Maddie's different realities and Felicity following her through the dimensions. Unfortunately though, the ending feels rushed. I almost wish the book was longer to allow the ending to be resolved with more satisfying detail. I appreciated it went down an unexpected route but the lack of detail left me feeling cold.

Overall, I look forward to seeing what Max Barry writes next. He has an insightful, interesting writing style and the majority of the book pays off. Worth it for the original premise alone - 4 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher who provided an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was such an enjoyable read and I loved the idea behind it - multiverse. Madison May is murdered and Felicity Staples is the reporter send to the crime scene where not everything is at is seems. Then she spots the murderer on the subway and before she can do anything he vanishes. Even stranger, Felicity finds that no one remembers Madison May and her cat is missing.

As the title suggests, this is a story that skips into different universes - multiverse - and I was hooked. What I particularly liked was the way that a chapter of tension was followed by a chapter that made me laugh, in the same way that Shakespeare would include comic relief into his tragedies. The plot moves along at a good pace and Felicity is a great character. I preferred Felicity to Madison - to me, she was more real and I loved her interactions with her partner and some of the other characters that she kept coming across. This was a psychological thriller with a difference, crossing time and space.

A great read - thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read it.

This is a great sci-fi murder mystery – which doesn’t quite fulfil its potential. It’s “Sliders” – where the gang are chasing an obsessed murder who keep leaping from life to life, putting things right, that once went wrong world to world, killing the same woman over and over again.

It’s a fun ride. Less preachy than Barry’s previous book “Jennifer Government” – but a good deal more grisly. The characters are occasionally aware of the metanarrative surrounding their actions, which makes their decisions particularly entertaining.

The exposition in the middle is a little clunky. Our heroine literally walks up to a professor and says “tell me how multiple world works. Oh, and do you know anyone who has done it?” Which is a bit too convenient for my liking. And yet, at the same time, the mechanism for shifting between worlds is never really explored in detail. There are some fabulous hints about what’s really going on – and how long it has been going on for – but it seems to peter out. Perhaps something to be explored in a sequel?

It compares favourably to “The Shining Girls” by Lauren Beukes – at least in this book the protagonists actually understand the “supernatural” mechanism which is facilitating the murders.

If you like your sci-fi to be Earth-bound and a bit stabby – this is the book for you!

Australian science fiction and thriller author Max Barry has done conspiracies, satire and space wars so it is perhaps no surprise that he has moved on to multiple world theories in his latest book The 22 Murders of Madison May. With its delightfully onomatopoeic title, the book is based on the idea that every small decision creates a completely new reality and that there are people who can jump from one reality to another. And while there are rules specific to Barry’s conception of this narrative device, so long as readers can accept this premise and not ask too many questions, this is a great thrill ride.
The book opens with what appears to be the random death of estate agent Madison May. News reporter Felicity Staples, not usually involved in the crime beat, is sent to investigate. That investigation will lead her to a man who gives her a strange egg-like object, asks her to hold onto it for him before she finds herself in another, almost identical world. Before long Felicity has encountered a group of people who can jump between worlds, trying to stop a serial killer who is killing his way through versions of Madison May that do not live up to his ideal.
Multiple world theory is a well used science fiction trope with a long list of books, movies and TV shows. So much so that even the multiple worlds/crime thriller combination is not necessarily a new one. Some recent examples include China Mieville’s The City and The City, Blake Crouch’s Dark Matter and Micaiah Johnson’s The Space Between Worlds, and TV series like Counterpart and The Man in the High Castle. In order for these to work, particularly where there are potentially an infinite number of alternate worlds there have to be some rules and Barry includes ideas like “moorings”, and specific timing constraints when bubbles of reality come close to each other. And much like another great science fiction trope, the time loop (Groundhog Day) scenario, this conceit allows the protagonist to learn from her mistakes and hopefully, get better with each reality she visits.
While it is undoubtedly pacey and enjoyable and builds to a tense and explosive finale, The 22 Murders of Madison May also raises more questions than it answers. The first of those may be the most existential – which is if there are literally infinite versions of someone does any of this matter? And if it does matter then why is Felicity so blasé about essentially wiping out other versions of herself when she drops into a new reality and then leaving a gap in the old universe when she leaves it behind (a rule which does not allow her to return to her “home” reality”)? At first it appears that the travellers need a particular object to jump realities but then it turns out they might not and then it is possible they do? And do the group trying to stop the killer really want? And does that matter? The questions go on but the pace is relentless so there is little time to think about them before the next set piece.
The 22 Murders of Madison May is what might be termed a “high concept” thriller. Barry has built a journalist v serial killer narrative into a multiple worlds framework. As already noted, accepting the premise at face value is the key. The best advice for this type of book is to turn off some critical faculties and just enjoy the ride, because on that level Barry delivers an enjoyable page turning thriller with some relatable protagonists up against an implacable, resourceful enemy.

I will make exceptions, but it would take something special for me to want to read any more books with titles that are variations on The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle or The Many Lives of Heloise Starchild, but we are talking about Max Barry here. Barry, in my experience (Jennifer Government, Lexicon, Providence), has always been creative within the conventions of the science fiction genre, so when he comes in with a book entitled The 22 Murders of Madison May, I don't even need to read the blurb or synopsis to know he's going to come up with an entertaining and distinctive variation on a theme that is often difficult to work with.

Those who haven't read Barry however it might take a little more convincing, so to summarise the concept (which is admittedly is a little easier than trying to describe The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle) it's about a 22 year old woman, Madison May, an estate agent, an actress or whatever she happens to be in 22 different realities in which she is going to be murdered. A young man, Clayton Hors, who has become obsessed with the idea that Maddie must be perfect, is travelling through each of those realities and killing any version of Maddie that doesn't live up to his ideal. And Maddie is surprisingly easy to track down and murder since - other than for normal personal security - she has no reason to suspect that anyone would want to kill her.

So, perhaps not too complex for a science fiction thriller and perhaps not too original either. It's a variation on the time travel genre of going back through to change the future by killing someone in the past. Plenty of movies work on this classic premise - Terminator, Looper, Twelve Monkeys - and it's one that usually has plenty of intriguing complications, paradoxes to resolve and philosophical questions. The 22 Murders of Madison May seems a little simplistic in comparison. In fact, judging by the first two gruesome killings you wonder if you really have the stomach for another twenty. Fortunately - in in some ways - Clay is already a considerable way through that figure and inevitably the story is a little more complicated than that.

For a start there are a few other people jumping dimensions trying to catch Clay, and now there's also a journalist involved. Crime stories are not Felicity Staple's usual work, but when she fills in and picks up a couple of unusual elements and an unusual figure at the scene of the murder of an estate agent, she is drawn into this strange series of cross dimensional murders. And drawn into the multi-dimensional vortex herself. She doesn't know how this has happened and is initially confused by the slight changes she sees in her boyfriend in each new dimension but there is one consistent purpose she is sure of; she needs to stop Clayton Hors killing Maddie again. And again.

You would hope with any good SF book of this type that there is also more than just this thriller murder chase adventure, that there might be some at least semi-credible rationale behind the process and that it might touch on some deeper issues relating to people and society. The concept of the ability to jump is sort of glossed over, but as Felicity takes time to speaking to a college professor, we at least are able to get to grips with the theory. It's not by chance either that Maddie is a budding actress, to varying levels of success in each dimension, as the concept inevitably questions how much control we have over the roles or direction of our lives.

Getting all that in and making it a thrilling ride is one thing but, like time travel holding it together consistently and following it through to a satisfactory conclusion is another matter that often proves to be disappointing by the time it comes to trying everything up. As far I'm concerned Max Barry has never failed on that front and he doesn't disappoint here either. The many worlds of Max Barry and The 22 Murders of Madison May are well worth taking the time to explore.

The blurb caught my attention right away. I really enjoyed this book and read it in a day! It was an engrossing and highly enjoyable read. I felt that the author did an excellent job executing the time travel concept. There was excellent character development and the perfect amount of suspense in this multiple murder mystery. I definitely recommend.

3.5

Thank you to NetGalley and GP Putnam’s Sons books for this arc!
This book is about a serial killer Clayton Hors and the young/upcoming actress he obsessively stalks (throughout different universes) called Madison May. Felicity (a reporter who is investigating the initial murder) soon gets dragged into the multiverse with Clayton and in each one she tries to stop the inevitable murder of Madison.

This book was fascinating and enjoyable to read at the beginning. The characters were all developed, and each had their own important plot line present throughout the multiverse. The concept of the book is original, and I have not read one with a similar plot line before, however; to begin with this made the book a tiny bit confusing. At the beginning of this book the pacing was very good, and it kept me intrigued and invested, despite this at around halfway the book began to slow down and became repetitive and somewhat predictable. Another way in which the pacing of this book was uneven was the fact that near the end it became very fast and sudden in terms of what was happening. This made for a thrilling read but at the same time felt out of touch with the slower previous 4/5 chapters. Max Berry has a lovely writing style and the novel flows very well so even when the pacing is slow the book is still enjoyable. I really enjoyed the ending of this book. The last few chapters were an intense and exciting read – what made it even better was the fact that it was not the ending I was expecting from the book. The strength of the ending definitely made up for the slightly weaker middle part of the book.

I would recommend this book to readers of crime fiction and those who like suspense. People who enjoyed One of us is Lying and My Sister the Serial Killer would enjoy this book in different aspects. I gave this book 3.5 stars because although the writing style was good, and the plot was rich there were some points where it felt too slow and parts that just didn’t have me as invested in the book as I wanted to be. The book just didn’t leave a huge impression on me as a whole.

Thank you Net Galley and publisher for the copy.

This was a engaging and enjoyable read. The time travel concept was well executed. But after having read the Dark Matter, it didn't blow my mind as such. I enjoyed the suspense created by the murder mystery. I also liked that Maggie's backstories in each universe were used to buildup the murder. It helped to connect with the story.

That said the story felt a little flat for me towards the end. The story started with a fast pace with good twists and I was hooked but I was expecting more from the ending.

3.5⭐

This was my first book by Max Barry but it will not be my last.

'A parallel universe, also known as an alternate universe, or alternate reality, is a hypothetical self-contained plane of existence, co-existing with one's own'

I've literally read this in less than 24 hours & lost a night's sleep...I couldn't put it down! First book I've ever read by this author, certainly won't be the last. This was absolute genius, the concept original, very well written & it's the kind of book I'd love to see as a movie!

'This is a mind-bending speculative psychological suspense about a serial killer pursuing his victim across time and space, and the woman who is determined to stop him, even if it upends her own reality'

Many thanks to Netgalley for my ARC in return for my honest review.

𝗜 𝗴𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗮 5 ⭐ 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴

Madison May is shocked when a client at an open house declares his love for her... before killing her. Journalist Felicity Staples takes on the assignment of Madison's murder and finds the crime to be random... until she sees the suspect on the subway, before he vanishes. Felicity soon realises the universe has shifted and nobody remembers Madison May or Felicity's encounter with the mysterious man, and her cat is also missing. She soon realises that in pursuit of the killer, she has followed him into a different dimension... and everything about her existence is altered here. While wanting to go home at first, she soon pursues the killer again after he kills the Madison May in this world, and discovers that she isn't the only one hunting him... Will living more than one life present an opportunity, or danger? A unique and thrilling tale that keeps you turning the pages until the very end... not a bad read. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of the book in return for my honest feedback.