Jenny Morris's An Ethical Guide To Murder is a tale where the line between right and wrong is blurred  in both an entertaining and thought-provoking manner. As someone who runs a website devoted to ethics in business the title alone intrigued me.

The story begins with Thea, a seemingly ordinary woman with an extraordinary secret: she can feel the exact moment someone will die just by touching them. This premise sets the stage for a plot that is both thrilling and thought provoking. When her best friend Ruth suffers a near-fatal accident, Thea's discovery of her ability to transfer life changes everything and leads to a plot full of ethics and grey areas as she must decide who deserves to live and who should die.

Morris creates a story where each decision Thea makes leads to further complications, spiraling into a plot filled with moral quandaries. The book gives us a unique plot device but also acts as a mirror to the our own moral compass, challenging us to question the ethics of justice, revenge, and the value of life itself.

The plot unfolds with a series of dark twists, as Thea attempts to use her power for good, only to find that good and evil are not as black and white as any of us think. Throughout the book we are introduced to different characters and scenarios that test Thea's resolve. The pacing and tension grows as Thea navigates this ethical minefield.

The plot merges the suspense of a thriller with moral grey areas designed to make the reader think. It's one of those books that not only entertains but also leaves you wondering what you might do even after the book is closed.

In conclusion, Jenny Morris has crafted a plot in An Ethical Guide To Murder that is not just a great read  but is a journey into humanity’s darkest places. The book is fast-moving, entertaining, and has a well written, engaging plot, this book is a must-read for anyone who enjoys their thrills with a hefty dose of moral complexity and any of us who love a good grey area.

An Ethical Guide to Murder took its inspired concept and spun it into a thought-provoking story.

This was a book that had a brilliant concept – suddenly having the power of life and death at your fingertips and being able to use it to balance the scales. It challenges everything we know about death and spirals into a million questions. That heightens the significance of having a great protagonist to follow. Thea is relatable and messy, caught up in her own mundanities and challenges. She is at times unlikeable and complicated. However, she is passionate and driven, wanting to achieve her goals. She is thrown into a unique situation and suddenly gifted this power beyond comprehension. How do you handle holding lives in the palm of your hand?

It is a muddy quagmire of morality, which Morris makes you stay in to contemplate what is on the page. She builds on this great idea wonderfully, really living up to the title and delving into the ethical implications of Thea’s newfound ability. It kickstarts a whole debate about who deserves to live and what lengths we make to go to right a wrong. Morris explores the destructive power of vengeance, particularly when it becomes an obsession. Thematically, this is such a rich book. It is emotionally fraught with a wonderful meditation on loss and grief. In fact, it caught me by surprise a little with how heartfelt it was. I really enjoyed the turns the plot took and how they explored further ethical dilemmas associated with this power, without giving anything away. Morris has some surprises up her sleeve with some jaw-dropping twists.

An Ethical Guide to Murder brings an imaginative concept to life with an enthralling and impressive debut from Morris.

I enjoyed the storyline to this one but I just wish it was over sooner. I felt as though the storyline dragged on beyond what it needed to.
While the storyline was unusual and really good, the ending fell flat and could have ended plenty of times throughout the book and would have been a lot more appealing to me.
Deals with the morality of does one person deserve to live more than another regardless of what they have done with their lives?
You think you are a good person until you put yourself in this persons shoes and I honestly don’t know what my answer would be!
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Release Date - 15th January 2025

really enjoyed this thought provoking debut from Jenny Morris, the pages rushed by and I was completely hooked from start to finish.

One day, Thea unexpectedly finds she has a superpower; she can predict the exact length of someone’s life when she makes any physical contact with them. She can also transfer ‘life’ from one person to another.

The first time this happens, Thea finds out that her best friend Ruth has a matter of hours left to live. She is doing anything she can to avert disaster when she realises that she can siphon someone else’s promised lifespan away and transfer it. Thea knows she will do anything to help Ruth so when the opportunity comes up take some years from an annoying stranger , she hardly hesitates.

Afterwards she is overcome with a mix of emotions, guilt for what has happened to the stranger, but relief at saving Ruth. Thea knows that she has to use her unexpected gifts carefully and responsibly, but also knows that choosing not to use them is also making a decision.


Thea finds herself making moral judgments about everybody she meets; does someone’s altruism mean that they deserve more life than a thief or conman?

Thea also has her own past grief to deal with; her parents were tragically killed in a car accident when she was a child and the driver has never been identified or convicted. She would give anything to bring that person to justice but will this power help her in her quest?

I read this in one hit. I was so keen to see where the story would go and I was not disappointed with the ending. I thought that the ethical dilemma at the heart of the book was a really interesting one and I can see this book sparking a lot of discussion

This was a new author for me and I enjoyed reading it. To be honest I finished it with tears in my eyes. Trying to use her gift?/ Curse for the right reasons Thea gets manipulated into someone elses agenda. She then tries to make things right with people involved, leading to me ending up crying. I guess that means the characters are well written to get that response! I recommend reading this book

DNF. I think this fits into a subgenre of 'murder but it's quirky' books that I just don't get on with. If you liked Finlay Donovan, you'll eat this up, it'll be your new favourite thing. Spoiler, I did not particularly enjoy Finlay Donovan. Unfortunately, it's just not for me.

***advance review copy received from NetGalley in return for an honest review***
A really interesting, well-written book that is not so much about murder but rather the philosophical question of what is it that makes a person good.
Does one very good deed outweigh a very bad one? Do some people’s deed mean they deserve to live more than others? And vice versa? And, if you had the power to do so, should you be the one to decide?
The main character grows throughout this story. There are certainly times where she becomes very difficult to love, not so much for what she does or does not do, but rather her lack of self awareness. This, I suspect, is deliberate on the part of the author.
Certainly a book I’ll be thinking about for a while.I’m

A fast-paced thriller with a satisfying conclusion.
Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read this advanced copy. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Wow! What a read, especially the ending. Amazingly thought-provoking in a surreal way. Life and death and the powers to give and receive it? There are so many themes running through this book. I thought it sounded interesting a bit different and quirky based on the blurb, but I hadn't expected to find it as good as it was. Definitely recommend this book!

A facinating ride into the world of a woman who can give and take life from anyone she meets. Think morally grey decisions, plenty of mistakes and petty judgements mixed with a dollop of dark humour and glimmers of hope. An Ethical Guide to Murder takes a dark subject yet still managed to keep it light and not too heavy on the moral judgement.

Thea is an interesting character to bestow this kind of power on. She's very aware of her abilities and uses them vicariously, and at first without any deep decision making. She's also rather unpredictable. Just as the reader thinks they know what Thea will do, then she throws up a curveball. It certainly kept me on my toes. She's certainly not likeable, but it's because of this self awareness that I liked her. She's also still very vulnerable and easy to manipulate in certain cases, which makes her more paletable to me. She's human and I think she makes tye same mistakes we'd all make if tye tables were turned.

A really interesting story that delves deep into the human psyche while keeping the plot from getting too heavy at the same time. Really enjoyed this.

Thea has a secret. She is able to tell how long someone has left to live by touching them and can transfer lives from one person to another. She decides to try to use her power for good but at times can’t help but use it for her own benefit. She realises that this power isn’t as simple as she first thought and creates an ethical guide to murder.

I wanted to read this on the premise alone as it sounded like such an intriguing and original storyline. After finishing I can say this is definitely a unique, creative read, which raises a lot of interesting ethical questions and dilemmas. The characters are written well, although I found the majority unlikeable and frustrating.

I liked that there was dark humour running alongside serious subjects and I think it flowed well, however at times it was slow going. The ending was fitting and unexpectedly emotional. I enjoyed this book for the most part and would read more by this author. This is definitely worth reading for those looking for a thought provoking, well written book with a unique storyline. 3.5 rounded up. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy in return for an honest review.

This was such a great book, it was easy to read. I loved the dilemma between life and death, those deserving or not. Overall it had me hooked.

Judging by other reviewers, I suspect this will be quite popular. That makes me feel a bit better about finding it difficult to find the positives. I'm afraid I didnt enjoy it and, had I been reading it for my own enjoyment, would have given up on it quite quickly.
The characters seemed to have no redeemable features which meant that I did6care about them.
Not for me, sorry. Thanks to Netgalley.

Ethical Guide to Murder challenges the idea of who deserves life and who deserves death. Thea’s best friend Ruth is set to die and Thea accidentally pulls life to give to her, giving Ruth another 6 months. She is trying to find a way to give her more.

I adore the premise and the philosophical debate about who does and doesn’t deserve death. However, I found it difficult to engage with the character of Thea who acts childish and willfully naive at times. Because the story is told in her head, it was just really tricky to keep my interest.

This isn’t a book for me but I would be interested to read more of Jenny Morris’ books in the future.

‘An Ethical Guide To Murder’ by Jenny Morris is a unique and thought-provoking debut novel which defies genre classification - at times a hilarious dark comedy, but also a slow-burn thriller and a magical fantasy. The book focuses on Thea, who has led a normal (if somewhat disappointing) life working in HR despite her passion for the legal profession and flatsharing at a subsidised rate with her best friend Ruth - an ICU doctor - until a night out changes everything. When Ruth gets in an accident, Thea senses that she has only minutes to live and siphons years of life from an innocent bystander to save Ruth.

Suddenly, Thea has the capability to shorten and lengthen lifespans using just a touch, and with some encouragement from old flame Sam, decides to use her power rather than hiding it away. Killing bad people to save innocent ones whose journeys are set to be cut tragically short has to be the correct action, right? However, to quote ‘Wicked’, no good deed goes unpunished - and Thea’s existence becomes a tangled web of ethics as she loses friends, self-belief and sanity.

Thea herself is an excellently developed character, with an emotional backstory and relatable flaws. While initially the premise feels ludicrous, the novel really does make you step into her shoes and ponder how you would use such an important ability. Ruth and Sam, who to me felt like the proverbial angel and devil on Thea’s shoulders, could have been explored more - I ended up finding Ruth quite frustrating and ruminating on whether Thea deserved better from her childhood BFF.

The book felt like a cross between Eve Kellman’s ‘How To Kill A Guy In Ten Ways’ and Rebecca Serle’s ‘Expiration Dates’. Ultimately, it’s a tale of morality, addiction and guilt which felt far heavier than the cover led me to expect but gripped me from start to gut-punching finish. Four stars!

I received an advance Digital Review Copy of this book from the publisher Simon & Schuster UK via NetGalley. Opinions my own.

Something totally different that will have you questioning your ethics and beliefs. If you really did have the power to control if someone lived or died, is it a straight forward, simple decision? Surely if someone has done something bad that makes it easier? What if they seem a genuinely good person? What if they are hiding who they really are?!
These are some of the questions are main characters will have to ask themselves as they develop their ‘Ethical Guide to Murder’ and can they live by this code?

As I say, something completely different, a step away from reality, but certainly gets you thinking of people in some positions and how their decisions can affect others.

A good read with some questionable characters, just who can you trust? Who is truly out to do no harm?
A thought provoking story with an ending you will not see coming.
I look forward to more from this author.

Woah, what on earth did I just read, just wow! This is a book that will absorb you, while also making you ponder big ethical dilemmas.

And I am astounded to learn that this is a debut novel. Makes me very excited for this author's writing career if this is the level of book she is writing as a starter.

Ok you have to suspend your belief in reality to understand and totally believe Thea's power, I believe this is distinctly more paranormal than anything I tend to read, but I was drawn in from the title. And after starting to read, I just had to keep reading to find out what would happen.

And I never ever ever predicted that ending, although it makes total and utter sense.

If you were able to kill people undetected, but also able to give additional life to others would you be able to decide who was deserving? That is what Thea is struggling with throughout this book, while also having to live a double life.

There is her best friend who she is suddenly able to save from a very premature death, there are people she is completely convinced she should kill, and there is a man egging her on having discovered what she is able to do.

This will certainly get you thinking, and I have no idea what I would do in Thea's position, besides attempt to avoid all physical contact with everyone for the rest of my life.

Utterly brilliant and easily the best book I've read so far in 2025!

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

Thank you publisher for thsi arc.

A pretty easy read. It's more of a character driven type of mystery, so if that's a style of mystery ou enjoy, give this a try. I do enjoy a character study and thoroughly had a good time.

The premise is so interesting, and I am glad to be able to read it early. As mentioned in the blurb, this story explores the concept of who truly deserves to die. It does make you contemplate the nuance of a person and how people who do things for a greater good can also do truly horrible things behind the scenes as well. The story shows how dangerous it is for one person/group to be able to decide whether someone can live their life as it should be, or if someone deserves to live more than another. It feels like a microcosm of the unfair justice system in many countries that still has death penalty, and as someone who doesn't currently have much other knowledge on the topic, I don't think it's my place to talk about the issue.

This did have me crying at the end in a way that surprised me at how invested I had actually gotten into our main character and those around her (iykyk). It showed quite a realistic potrayal of the nuance and flaws of people in the real world.

The plot was always constantly moving but it did feel a bit slow at the beginning.

Overall, I would recommend if you enjoy a more character driven mystery thriller and the premise piques your interest.

Thea has a secret! We soon discover Thea's secret and how she struggles with the knowledge. This leads Thea to setting down on paper "The Ethical Guide To Murder" as a guide in helping to come to terms with she can do. Thea lives in London with her best friend, Ruth and works in HR with Zara. One night, Thea finds out that Ruth hasn't got long to live. What should she do? She has to decide and to live the action of doing good. I found the book made me think about what I would do if I were in that situation! The story was cleverly plotted and very easy to read. The ending came as a total surprise to me.

Thea has a unique power - she can see how long people have left to live just by touching them, which is unsettling enough, until she finds out her friend has days left to live. But when she realises she can save her, at the expense of another person's life, Thea had a very difficult decision to make, one that will affect her own life immeasurably.

This was a great concept for a book. Easy to read, despite the subject and very thought-provoking.