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An Ethical Guide To Murder
She can take years off your life. Don't annoy her.
Table of Contents
About The Book
Thea has a gift. Or possibly a serious ethical problem.
With a single touch, she can see how long someone has left to live – and transfer that time to somebody else.
She discovers this when her best friend Ruth suffers a fatal head injury on a night out. Panicking, Thea grabs the man responsible.
Ruth wakes up. He drops dead.
Now Thea has the power of life and death at her fingertips – and she is determined to use it responsibly.
Mostly.
To keep herself on the straight and narrow, Thea creates an Ethical Guide to Murder: rules for who deserves to lose time, who deserves to gain it and how to make the world a little fairer.
But justice is complicated. Revenge is tempting. And absolute power is alarmingly easy to justify.
As Thea’s rules begin to unravel, she must decide who she is willing to kill – and whether she can save Ruth before her borrowed time runs out.
Murderously funny, sharply observed and unexpectedly moving, An Ethical Guide to Murder asks how far you would go for the person you love – and who gets to decide how much time anyone deserves.
‘A marvellous debut! Jenny Morris has taken the “with great power comes great responsibility” concept and applied it to someone who struggles to be responsible for her own laundry’
Alice Bell
‘As entertaining as it is thought-provoking . . . one of the most interesting characters that I’ve read in a long time’
Kellye Garrett
‘Fresh and fun . . . Combining ethics with a good old revenge story, I raced through this unexpectedly poignant novel’
Sam Holland
Revenge is best served pre-ordered. How to Destroy Your Ex, the wickedly funny new novel from Jenny Morris, is available to pre-order now.
About The Reader
Product Details
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio UK (January 16, 2025)
- Runtime: 12 hours and 43 minutes
- ISBN13: 9781398534445
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Raves and Reviews
‘A wonderfully hooky premise with the emotional depth to back it up, An Ethical Guide to Murder is a stellar debut from Jenny Morris. The Trolley Problem for the Uber age’ Callum McSorley, author of Squeaky Clean, winner of the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Novel of the Year 2024
‘A darkly compelling and brilliantly original take on power, morality, and consequence. Thea’s extraordinary gift is both a blessing and a curse, and watching her navigate the blurry line between justice and vengeance makes for an absolutely gripping read. With razor-sharp prose and wonderfully relatable characters, Morris asks the ultimate question: if you had the power of life and death, how far would you go? I couldn't put it down’ Amanda Cassidy, Irish Times Bestselling author of The Perfect Place
‘You do not want to miss this! A fresh, humorous yet thought-provoking tale of one ordinary, complex woman’s quest to put her superpower to good use. Thea’s dilemmas of who lives and who dies will keep you pounding through the pages with a smile on your face and an ache in your heart’ Graham Bartlett, author of City on Fire
‘A deliciously dark, entertainingly sincere Dexter meets Sophie's Choice. Loved it!’ Claire Wilson, author of Five by Five
‘An Ethical Guide to Murder is a thought-provoking whirlwind of a ride with unexpected twists, well-timed humor, and a propulsive plot. It kept me on my toes until the last page, and I'm still thinking about it!’ Gloria Chao, author of The Ex-Girlfriend Murder Club and Ex Marks the Spot
‘Jenny Morris’ remarkable debut novel resembles Naomi Alderman’s The Power, but she limits the ability to harm and sets the story in the present, not the future…(a) clever, beguiling novel’ The Sunday Times
‘This original read is dark, funny and gripping’ heat' Book of the Week
‘Also out in the middle of this month is Jenny Morris’s ingenious An Ethical Guide to Murder (Simon & Schuster (12hrs 43mins), narrated energetically by Nicky Diss. At its heart is a fantastical proposition and an equally unlikely character: Thea, who has the ability to tell how long you’re going to live and, if you’re not one of the good guys, to subtract your remaining years and give them to someone more deserving. The novel’s momentum — and its fun — comes from Thea’s qualms, and her consequent attempts to work out a set of rules to govern the use of her superpower’ Financial Times, Audiobook round up
‘Wittily written, it’s deeply emotional at times and I was surprised at my reaction (tears) at several points – but one of those must-talk about books’ Belfast Telegraph
‘An Ethical Guide to Murder will leave you pondering over deep issues that are often skated over in regular crime novels. What an excellent debut!’ Crime Fiction Lover
‘A bewitching, deadly and cleverly audacious read with psychological weight…and a dark heart’ Buzz Magazine
‘An Ethical Guide to Murder is a complex moral dilemma on who really determines what’s good and what’s bad, do bad people not deserve to live long lives, and whether the power for deciding that should sit with someone that’s not even in control of keeping on top of their own laundry! . . . [In Thea] Jenny Morris has written a complex and vulnerable character who is highly principled and incredibly naive in equal measure . . . Jenny Morris has lovely, fast paced writing style, peppered with good humour that breaks up some of the thornier moral questions and makes Thea a much more likeable character than she otherwise could be . . . It’s a fun read that could lean more towards cosy crime than a true thriller and might make for an entertaining Netflix drama ( think of The Obituary) and if you’re a fan of Bella Mackie’s How to Kill Your Family you’ll enjoy this debut from Jenny Morris just as much’ Interview Room One
Resources and Downloads
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