*Zero Kill* by M.K. Hill is a dark and disturbing psychological thriller that takes readers on a harrowing journey into the mind of a killer. Hill’s debut novel introduces us to a chilling protagonist, a man with an eerie sense of detachment and a knack for blending in. The novel’s title is a nod to the central theme: the notion of "zero kills," which reflects both the protagonist's twisted worldview and the eerie calmness with which he carries out his actions.

The plot revolves around the complex relationship between the protagonist and his circumstances. Hill crafts an unsettling narrative in which the boundaries between good and evil blur, forcing readers to confront their own moral assumptions. The story kicks off with a tense atmosphere as the protagonist, who is deeply troubled and emotionally detached, finds himself embroiled in a situation that pushes him into increasingly dangerous territory.

One of the strengths of *Zero Kill* is its character development. Hill does an excellent job of creating a character who is deeply flawed and morally ambiguous. The protagonist's inner turmoil and psychological descent are depicted with chilling authenticity, making it easy to sympathize with him, even as his actions grow more heinous. This duality is what drives much of the novel's suspense, as readers constantly grapple with the question: can you empathize with someone so lost in his own psyche?

Hill’s writing is sharp and immersive, drawing readers into a world where the stakes are high and the lines between right and wrong are constantly shifting. The pacing is effective, keeping the reader hooked with its blend of slow-burn tension and sudden bursts of violence. The book also features several plot twists, some of which are unexpected and genuinely surprising, adding to the novel's sense of unpredictability.

That said, *Zero Kill* isn't without its challenges. The novel's dark themes and intense focus on the psychological aspects of its characters may feel overwhelming or unsettling for some readers. While the portrayal of the protagonist’s mental state is effective in building tension, there are moments when the narrative can feel repetitive, as Hill spends a lot of time exploring the character’s internal struggles.

Overall, *Zero Kill* is a compelling psychological thriller that will appeal to readers who enjoy delving into the minds of morally ambiguous characters and exploring the complexities of human nature. M.K. Hill demonstrates strong storytelling skills and an ability to craft an unnerving atmosphere, making *Zero Kill* a solid choice for fans of dark, psychological fiction.

“Zero Kill” is a high-octane ride that combines espionage and action with a mother’s fierce determination to protect her family. The story kicks off with Elsa Zero, a single mother and ex-agent, experiencing a life-altering moment when her boyfriend’s marriage proposal in a packed restaurant turns into a nightmarish betrayal. She finds herself on the fun, fighting to keep her kids safe and unravel the mystery of why every world intelligence agency wants her dead.

The novel’s pacing is relentless, with twists and turns that kept me on the edge of my seat. The action scenes are vividly described, and the tension is palpable throughout the book. “Zero Kill” is a standout thriller that offers an adrenaline-fueled journey with a heart.

Elsa Zero humors her attentive, eager-to-impress boyfriend by getting dressed up to go to a fancy restaurant instead of staying home in comfy clothes. The next thing she knows, she is suddenly a target — for reasons unknown, everyone is apparently trying to kill her. This world of covert operations, secret plots, and spy agencies is one she left behind nine years earlier to live a quiet life as a personal trainer and raise her two children. Her instincts, connections (but whom to trust?), and combat skills are now all she has in order to stay alive. The action and suspense are hugely compelling as Elsa defends herself and tries to understand why every secret agent on Earth seems to be after her. She can’t imagine what they think she did. We don’t find out the motives for any of this until very late in the proceedings, leaving us just as mystified as Elsa while she uses a variety of creative methods (both low- and high-tech) and a shifting roster of allies to try to figure out what is going on and protect her kids. The stakes turn out to be as high as they can possibly get. The scary technical details we finally learn need some fudging to fit into the compressed timeline of this story, but nobody will care about that when the chase and combat scenes are this dramatic.

Thanks to Netgalley and Aria & Ares for a digital advance review copy.

Great book that started with a bang!

This book has it all: it has suspense; intrigue; action; murder; mystery; serial killers; and plenty of twists and turns. I was gripped from start to end.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I was really looking forward to reading this story. I found it difficult to connect with the writing style of the author. Unfortunately this was not the book for me.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, which was fast paced, full of action, with a central character that eats iron bars for breakfast and chews up and spits out her enemies at an alarming rate!
As a retired deep-cover agent with a price on her head, you just know that Elsa will be facing many challenges as the story unfolds, and this book did not fail to deliver.
I loved her inebriated ally, Max Saint, and other beautifully drawn characters throughout the book, and they will pull you in and hold you. It has some humour, though not that hilarious as the marketing hype suggested, but it makes for a very entertaining read.
I would highly recommend it.

An action-packed from start to finish this is a no-holds barred thriller with the strongest of female protagonists

I really enjoyed this book! It had an interesting plot which wasn't too convoluted to follow, and it was certainly full of action, intrigue and havoc. It was unusual to read a spy novel in which the main protagonist was a parent and had to consider her children's safety in all things.

I didn't guess the reason for the 'kill order' on Elsa until about half way through, and only a little of it - there was much more. The end chapters were full of surprises and there was a good outcome (for some of the characters, not to mention the rest of the world!)

My only minor criticism is that Elsa, retired for 9 years from the 'security' business, was able to survive so many fights, beatings and falls. She seemed super human so lots of suspension of belief was required, although the fun, drama, intriguing plot and great pacing easily made up for it. I would definitely recommend it.

Wow!
Exactly what I wanted to read, a rip roaring, page turner that i couldn’t put down.
The characters are well written, the plot has many twists and turns and features a terrific and gripping climax.
I hope there will be a follow up novel.
A Great read.

Meet Elsa Zero: Bad neighbour. Single mother. Ex-deep cover agent.
And right now, the most dangerous person on Earth.

This book was an action-packed and intense read. I was hooked right from the start and loved this way more than I expected, too. Some great plot twists I didn't see coming. I flew through this so quickly ! 

Thank you to Netgalley, Head of Zeus and M.K Hill, for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

3 stars

For 9 years, Elsa Zero lived her boring life, raising her 2 kids, after leaving a career as a deep-cover agent. But now, everyone, even her past employer is after her. Why? No one knows exactly why, but everyone knows they need to be after her. But then all of a sudden everyone knows why they are after her.

The book was entertaining and with a straightforward plot without any side stories to confuse the reader. The book is packed with action and a lot of running and killing. All the time something is happening. Yet I do have a couple of issues with the book.

No one cared about Elsa for 9 years, waited for the very last moment, and then all of a sudden everyone decided to kill her. For 2/3 of the book, both reader and Elsa, and quite some of the services after Elsa have no clue what is happening and why Elsa is dangerous, and then everyone knows how she is a threat (well, not really), but somehow, no one knows who "the bad guy" is. In the span of 3 days (no idea, actually), Elsa is bitten up, tried to be killed constantly, tired, hasn't slept, hasn't eaten or drank anything besides coffee, and still wears the same clothes after her date (thank god, for the mid-book wash due to drowning). Maybe I've missed something and some of her "recharge time", but no idea how this woman still functions by the end of the book and yet is indestructible to an inhuman level.
Quite some characters are one-purpose-one-scene characters and truly could have been skipped or substituted by sudden events. On top of that, very useless governmental and other secret service organizations and liability in the face of Saint, letter being just an annoying drunk.

Would I recommend this book? If you want to read something with a lot of action and the main character is always on the go - then yes. If you are looking forward to reading a mystery with a complex plot and a lot of secrets that will be revealed through the book making you excited to discover each of them - look past this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Aria & Aries for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.

A rather fantasy type plot reading like an arcade game. I guess this is more suited to young adult readers. Seemingly endless violence with an indestructible heroine

Elsa Zero is living a quiet life as a physical trainer. As a single mom of twins, she has finally met a man that loves her. Perhaps not her dream guy and a bit on the boring side, but he is stable. That’s is until the night he proposes and a few minutes later he’s trying to kill her🤦‍♀️ He’s not the only one. All of a sudden Elsa has a target on her back and has absolutely no idea why. Every intelligence agency in the world is out to get her🤷‍♀️She is in possession of a deadly secret, the only problem is she doesn’t know what that secret is. Somehow Elsa must keep herself alive long enough to find out what everyone is after and keep her children safe at the same time. An action packed thriller, filled with tension and humor throughout with a heroine that you really don’t want to get on the wrong side of. Thank you to Bloomsbury Publishing and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

Meet Elsa Zero, running for her life and trying to keep her children safe.
An ex deep cover agent, she is being relentlessly pursued by intelligence agencies, all wanting her dead, because she is in possession of a deadly secret, but doesn’t know what it is.
An action packed spy thriller full of twists.
Each short chapter is fast paced and adrenaline fuelled with a very dramatic ending - who can she trust.
Would easily transfer into a movie - think Jason Bourne meets Taken
Thanks @mkhill @headofzeus & @netgalley for the eARC

I love action films but don't often read crime books that lean more towards the action thriller sub-genre. I will not be making that mistake again, Zero Kill was one of the most exciting books I've read in a long time. The opening chapters were just amazing, completely took me by surprise and I loved that the story took some unexpected turns.

Elsa Zero is just the perfect protagonist, she's fearless and determined and not the type of person you want to get on the wrong side of. What's different about Elsa is that despite her strong, no nonsense image as a secret agent, she is also a mother who will do anything to protect her children and it's this juxtaposition of both sides of her character that make her so unique.

A really enjoyable thriller, you won't be able to put it down once you start reading!

Zero Kill is one of those books that grabs you by the throat and never lets you go. It’s a wild ride of a thriller, action packed and over the top but so entertaining - I loved it!

Elsa Zero is a personal trainer and mum to twins. On a date night with her slightly dull boyfriend Joel he proposes - and then tries to kill her! Elsa’s past is coming back to haunt her - she is a former deep cover secret agent and now everyone wants her dead, but why? And so begins Elsa’s heart-stopping journey to understand what is going on.

It’s an edge of your seat read full of action and with plenty of twists - and a generous sprinkling of humour. Elsa was a complex character who I grew to like - and her indestructibility was truly impressive! With an ending that left me wondering if we will see more of her, I for one would be up for another action-packed and entertaining read!

This book literally grabbed my attention from the first chapter and I remember messaging one of my close friends saying ‘OMG this is the book I needed right now it’s a female version of John Wick.’

I loved everything about this book and literally couldn’t put it down. there’s so much action, pace and tension throughout this book which will have you racing to find out what happens next.

Elsa Zero has retired from her former career undertaking covert missions for various intelligence agencies. After becoming a mother to twins, she now works as a personal trainer and leads a very ordinary life. Except that she doesn't. For reasons unknown to Elsa, she has suddenly popped up on the radar of every intelligence agency around the world as a major threat. Her life, and her children's lives are now at risk and Elsa must look back to her last mission from nine years ago which failed dramatically to find the answers, save herself and her family.

This book starts with a bang and never stops. There's no leisurely back story or time to get to know the main characters before getting into the action and that is what's so brilliant about it - non-stop action, non-stop excitement and a really entertaining storyline. Elsa Zero is a fascinating character and it's amazing to have such a strong, female protagonist leading this type of action thriller. Obviously, because of her job, her unusual upbringing and her history she comes off a little cold, but that never stops you from rooting for her. When it comes down to it, Elsa is just like any other mother trying to do the best for her children, despite this happening under extreme circumstances!

The opening scenes of Zero Kill will definitely stay with me. I won't say why because it's best to go into the story not knowing what's going to happen, but I can say that it was very unexpected. I had an idea of the general themes and style of the book from reading the blurb but this one particular event was so brilliant and really started the book off on a high, leaving the reader a strong message from the start that literally anything could happen going forward.

Perfect for fans of the Jason Bourne series and Red Queen by Juan Gomez-Jurado, I would highly recommend Zero Kill for anyone looking for a fast-paced action thriller.

Elsa Zero is not your average sporty MILF, she's a kickass heroine you cannot help loving as she alternates serious fighting skill with being a mother and trying to survive.
It starts during a date night that turns into a hell date night as I would be happy to discover that the guy who just give a diamond ring is trying to kill me.
It's the beginning of a fast paced, twisty and highly entertaining spy thriller that keeps you turning pages as there's not a moment of calm and there's always someone new trying to kill Elsa.
She's in possession of a secret but she doesn't know what it is.
This is a super fast paced and action packed thriller but also a very entertaining book with moments of pure fun.
It caused me sleep deprivation due to fun and cant-stop-reading-syndrome
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to Aria & Aries for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Zero Kill by MK Hill is an explosive spy thriller which never slows down!
In short, in one ‘off the wall’ moment Elsa Zero’s life is in extreme danger and it soon becomes clear that every intelligence agency in the world wants her dead because little does she know she’s in possession of a deadly secret.
Wow, well this book delivers in spades, it’s a non-stop espionage thriller which violently draws you in and hurtles on at breakneck speed until the very end. And it seems that this isn’t the last we hear from Elsa Zero, so I for one will be buckled in waiting for my next ride.
Big thanks to MK Hill, Aria & Aries and NetGalley for this eARC which I chose to read in return for my honest review.