I have several folk to thank for sending me a surprise copy of An Ethical Guide to Murder<\/strong> by Jenny Morris, including The Likely Suspects<\/a>, Laurie McShea<\/a> and Harriett Collins<\/a>. My grateful thanks to them all. I\u2019m delighted to share my review of An Ethical Guide to Murder<\/strong> today.<\/p>\n An Ethical Guide to Murder<\/strong> is published by Simon and Schuster on 16th January 2025 and is available for pre-order through the publisher links here<\/a>.<\/p>\n How to Kill Your Family<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/em>meets\u00a0<\/span>The Power<\/span><\/em>\u00a0in this entertaining and thought-provoking read, that asks:<\/span><\/p>\n If you had the power between life and death, what would you do?<\/span><\/p>\n Thea has a secret. Thea realises that she has a godlike power: but despite deciding to use her ability for good, she can\u2019t help but sometimes use it for her own benefit. How can she really know who deserves to die, and can she figure out her own rules before Ruth\u2019s borrowed time runs out?<\/p>\n Thea finds herself with the power of life and death.<\/span><\/p>\n Crikey! I can\u2019t honestly say I enjoyed An Ethical Guide to Murder<\/strong> but my goodness I thought it was good! I found it such a powerful read that messed with my mind as I tried to decide my opinion of Thea, and to rationalise why I felt so conflicted. Jenny Morris\u2019s writing is so impactful that the reader experiences the depth of Thea\u2019s emotions with her, which has the effect of occasionally making them feel complicit in her often dubious actions.<\/span><\/p>\n Thea is a complex character. She has an advanced sense of morality which should make liking her straightforward. And yet, she\u2019s obsessive, misguided and flawed so that whilst she feels all the more human, the fact that she is willing to lie, to obfuscate the reality of events and indeed, to murder, made me dislike her at times and feel frustrated by her at other times. She evoked profound responses in me as a reader, and for all my negative thoughts about her, I grew to love her and wept for her too.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The plot premise is both simple and clever. Thea has the ability to take time from people\u2019s lives and bestow it on others \u2013 which she does, regularly. The trouble is, what feels right doesn\u2019t always prove to be the case, and judging others to the extent of, in effect, murdering them, doesn\u2019t necessarily prove to be the panacea for all the ills they have caused. As a result, the book is disturbing, gripping and unsettling. It\u2019s one of those stories that permeates the reader\u2019s brain even when they are not reading An Ethical Guide to Murder<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n Morality is a central theme, but it is supported by other aspects like choice, truth, corruption, wealth, perception, coercion, control and trust so that I found reading An Ethical Guide to Murder<\/strong> a bit like standing on quick sand. No sooner had I decided my stance towards Thea than Jenny Morris pulled away my certainty and gave me another perspective to ponder. I was left reeling by this narrative.<\/span><\/p>\n I found An Ethical Guide to Murder<\/strong> completely mind blowing because the moral dilemma central to the story is so complex that I found it impossible to decide my own position. It\u2019s a book I highly recommend so that you can make your own decisions \u2013 about Thea, about justice and about your own morality. Be warned. It might well leave you totally befuddled and you\u2019ll definitely wonder just what you might do in Thea\u2019s place!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n For further information, follow Jenny on Twitter\/X @Dr_Jenny_Morris<\/a>, Instagram<\/a> and Bluesky<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/lindasbookbag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/ethical-guide-to-murder.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nAn Ethical Guide to Murder<\/h3>\n
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She can tell how long someone has left to live just by touching them.
Not only that, but she can transfer life from one person to another \u2013 something she finds out the hard way when her best friend Ruth suffers a fatal head injury on a night out.
Desperate to save her, Thea touches the arm of the man responsible when he comes to check if Ruth is all right. As Ruth comes to, the man quietly slumps to the ground, dead.<\/p>\n
Boss annoying her at work? She can take some life from them and give it as a tip to her masseuse for a great job.
Creating an \u2018Ethical Guide to Murder\u2019 helps Thea to focus her new-found skills.
But as she embarks on her mission to punish the wicked and give the deserving more time, she finds that it isn\u2019t as simple as she first thought.<\/p>\nMy Review of An Ethical Guide to Murder<\/h3>\n
About Jenny Morris<\/h3>\n
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