Pushing daisies meets cat woman, this book introduces us to a woman with the power to move life between people, and shows us how easy it is for lines to be blurred. It’s quite dark, yet doesn’t come across as oppressively so. The ending is most satisfactory and overall it was a very original and interesting read

This was a really easy read, but it had some really interesting concepts and would make for a great book club book.
I really liked the fact that Thea was so morally ambiguous, she was trying desperately to do the right things but she had some warped ideas.
This was funny, really quite dark and thought provoking, and it was really entertaining. I have high hopes for this one. It would make for a great tv adaptation.

You wake up one morning and it seems like today is like any other day…until you hug the person you love most in the world and discover you know exactly how long they have to live; within twelve hours they’ll be dead. As the timer ticks down to zero and their death occurs you realise you can save them - you just have to transfer years of life from one person to another and you have the ability to do so. Once you’ve saved your love one, which not use your power to make the world a better place? Why not take all the life a sexual predator has left and give it to someone who helps the homeless? This is the reality Thea is facing when we meet her in
An Ethical Guide To Murder.

It’s a really original and thought provoking concept for a novel. Sure, Thea is irritating and bizarrely naive at some points in the novel, but I couldn’t put the book down and when life (!) forced me to stop reading, I found myself thinking about the book. You’ll question your own morality as you read. I thought the ending was really apt, cleverly written and poignant.

I would certainly read another book by this author. I’ll be recommending this book to readers who love unreliable narrators, ethical dilemmas, books that make you think and female protagonists who aren’t adverse to leaving a trail of bodies in their wake.

Thank you to the author, published and NetGalley for a chance to review an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I received this book as an Arc reader from NetGalley. The writer does a good job of putting your mindset of making ethical decisions that you wouldn’t normally think of, for example who deserves to live or die? This book follows Thea who finds herself in the position where she can choose who lives and dies. I was really interested in the story from the beginning where it captured my attention. The only aspect which I didn’t enjoy was the way in which she transferred life to people, it had a paranormal aspect which I didn’t expect or really enjoy but that is just a personal preference. The ending of the book does pull on your emotions and makes you feel attached to the story. Overall, it was a good book but just wasn’t my favourite.

was really excited by the premise of this book and it played out so well! It read like the trolley problem on steroids - there was a surprising amount of philosophical thought going on in my head whilst reading this. The plot was fun, straight forward and easy to read. The characters are all a bit flawed, which are my favourite type of character. I kept guessing how I’d thought it would end right until the very last pages, it wasn’t what I expected but it was a satisfying conclusion. A great read.

I don’t even know where to start with this… other than I absolutely LOVED it and I’ve recommended it to everyone I’ve seen since!
Some fantastic characters, the story was both shocking and funny in equal measures. This book really makes you think about people on a much deeper level… who is considered to be good or bad? What makes one person better than another? And what would you do if you held the power to take and give life to those around you?
Brilliant brilliant brilliant!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for my ARC of this wonderful book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for this ARC.

Thea is a normal 26 year old who hates her boss Zara and loves her gay BFF Ruth. Her parents died in a car accident when she was eight, and she was brought up by her lovely Grandad who has always tried to instil the difference between right and wrong in her.

One day when she touches Ruth's arm she suddenly gets a flash telling her that Ruth will die tonight at a specific time. But that's not all. When Ruth gets a head wound in a bar that night Thea accidentally touches the man who shoved her over and transfers his remaining life into Ruth. He dies and Ruth lives.

What do you do when you discover you have the ability to play God and redistribute lifespans, either by killing someone or decimating their given years to pass on to other people?

Thea reacts by creating an Ethical Guide to Murder, with the premise of only killing really bad people and giving their years to really good, deserving people. Every chapter starts with an excerpt from this guide, justifying her reasons.

But how do you know whether someone is all good or all bad? Thea's superpower creates all kinds of ethical dilemmas and unforeseen repercussions, because people aren't always what they seem. A case in point is what happens when Thea finally finds the person responsible for causing the fatal car crash in which her parents died. Oh, and the charity guy who seemed so deserving at first.

This is an at times uncomfortable book that constantly makes you examine your own morals and question what you would have done with this ability. I didn't find a lot of dark humour and I felt this book was very different to my usual revenge or serial killer reads. There is an undercurrent of rage at the unfairness of life, which seems to reward a lot of undeserving people while punishing deserving ones. So why not redress the balance?

The premise of the book is intriguing but then it gets bogged down by moral questions and some inconsistencies in how Thea's talent works, slowing the pace down. There weren't a lot of characters I actively liked, except Grandad. Especially manipulative lawyer Sam and the awful guy we first think is a hero are pretty hard to stomach, but everyone else is flawed too.

I can't say that I saw the ending coming and I'm not sure how I feel about it. At least Thea is consistent in how she approaches retribution and making amends. If you're expecting a deranged serial killer, this isn't her. She honestly tries to do good but it becomes a curse to her.

I liked the writing style and that the book makes you think. It's a very unique story examining what would happen if we could suddenly decide other people's lifespan and why. Points for originality in this interesting debut novel!

"Right and wrong are not mutually exclusive concepts. Having a good reason to do a terrible thing doesn’t make it any less terrible. Especially if you’re the one deciding what’s moral and what’s not."

3.5 stars