Funny and gripping, the execution of the book is very well done. It’s a bit questionable 😂 I mean you follow HER rules/guide to why you should lose some living time, make you think though about herself. Definitely a fun read

I loved the premise of this book -- a woman wakes up one morning with the power to see when someone will die just by touching them. The tone of "An Ethical Guide to Murder" is dark and I enjoyed the philosophical questions the story raises. At times the pacing was a bit slow for a suspense novel, but the story was still engaging. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. Pub date is May 20, 2025.

#AnEthicalGuideToMurder

at times i found the pacing meh, but this story was really interesting and asks a whole bunch of ethical questions. is it more moral to give a good person more life if it means taking that life from a person you judge as less good? what makes someone good? how do you truly know? can you ever? 4 stars. would recommend.

Unfortunately, I had to DNF this one at about 50% of the way through. The premise sounded amazing but the main character just irked me to no end. The character is in her mid-twenties but lacks the maturity you'd expect someone that age to have. She's a purposeful trainwreck and consistently makes the worst choices. Being inside her head as the reader is awful because of how negative and self-enabling she is. I had hoped to see character growth from her, and to be fair it may happen in the second half of the book, but I just couldn't take it anymore. There were a few things I enjoyed about this book such as the queer rep. The main character's slow descent into being less and less ethical was also interesting but overshadowed by the awkward pacing and general helpless to change her ways attitude of the main character.

One morning Thea wakes up and discovers that she can now see when people will die, just by touching them – and her best friend is going to die later that night. In her desperation to save her friend, she accidentally makes another discovery – she can change that fate – but it requires choosing someone else to die instead. This sets Thea off on a quest of both philosophy and murder. She has the ability to take life from those who don’t deserve it, and give it to those who do – but how to go about it? How to make those calls? What criteria to use? Thus she begins crafting: The Ethical Guide to Murder. But of course, you know what they say about good intentions….

This has a fairly sassy and irreverent writing style, particularly in the first half, so I think I was expecting it to be a sassy and irreverent book, and it very much was not. There is a simmering undercurrent of rage in the writing as well, alongside genuine philosophical ponderings, and that ends up being far more indicative of where the story leads. It gets extremely dark, and every action has unintended consequences and characters are pushed to their extremes. This book really prods at the morals and ethics of how to deem someone good or evil and what to do with that information.

I personally had a bit of a hard time getting through the book as I found absolutely every character to be unappealing. Even the “good” characters are kind of unpleasant, and the primary duo of Thea and Sam are downright unsettling as they moralize their way through quite a few murders in a short amount of time. But I also tend towards lighter fare, so that isn't really a knock on the book so much as it just wasn't my cup of tea.

Star Rating: 4.5/5 - Not at all the book for me, but I can't deny that it was very well-crafted

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thea discovers she has a new ability when she's out partying with her best friend Ruth. She touches Ruth and realizes that Ruth has only 5 months to live. Then she realizes she can take life from someone and give it to someone else. This says thea out to figure out what her ethics are regarding murdering someone to give their life to someone... More deserving? An interesting easy to read book!

I had a lot of fun reading this. The main character is a mess of a person who is not reliable both professionally and personally but is very loyal to the people she is close to.

She is not the kind of person that I would ever want to be around in real life. She would genuinely make me want to fight her all the time. She has a narrow view of the world and the people around her that starts to change a little over time. However, I don't think it is enough of a change (she barely gets a slap on the wrist for killing people and calls the people she kills massive bitches, but she is sorry she killed them...... then kills someone else later on) even at the end she is still not someone I want to be around. But I do find her interesting.

Though I just can't stop thinking about how she claims to be a failure at becoming an attorney because she didn't pass the bar. It had me pulling my hair because most people don't pass the bar the first time and it often takes two or even three tries before they get their license. So, for the story to act like getting her license was completely out of reach for her, that can only happen if she did something that brings to question her character and fitness to be an attorney so badly that it is deemed, she is never allowed to take the bar again. Though I can see how she would fail the character test given what the book is about.

This was a very interesting read involving the moral dilemma of playing God. It also reminded me a little bit of that show Pushing Daisies from years ago. The author's writing style definitely provokes a wide range of emotions, particularly around Thea and her...gift? Is that what we're calling it? The plot is a little disturbing but will definitely make you think about your own morals/ethics and what you would do in Thea's situation.

Thea has a secret..she can tell how long someone has left to live just by touching them. She can transfer life from one person to another—something she finds out the hard way when her best friend, Ruth, suffers a fatal head injury on a night out. Thea accidentally kills the man responsible and his life flow directly into Ruth. , Thea goes on a mission to punish the wicked and give more time to the good. She must figure out a way to put her power to use , and fast before Ruth days run out. This book was a easy read, and I enjoyed reading it a lot. The plot was well written, and I liked Thea as a character.

Thank you to NetGalley, Jenny Morris, and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Plot:
Thea has a deadly superpower. After touching her friend, Ruth, and seeing a date and time pop up, she knows that she can see the exact moment someone will die. And that time for Ruth was running out in just a few hours. After Thea witnesses Ruth's accident, the man responsible offers his condolences. In a strange turn of events, Thea touches the man and sees his time. Fueled by anger and grief she accidentally takes his time and transfers it to Ruth.

Now she must decide how to use her power. Should she intervene with other people's life expectancies? How does she decide who deserves extra years vs who deserves to have them stolen away?

My Thoughts:
I really enjoyed this book and I loved the premise. Thea's gift is quite the conundrum and I was also having the ethical dilemma during my reading. There were many different scenarios of person throughout this book as Thea makes her decision. What happens when she rushes an opinion? Is it only her opinion that should categorize a person? Is that person capable of fixing their mistake?
Thea also has her own personality traits that would merit losing a few years according to her guide.

The two things I wanted to see more of were Thea making her own choices and not letting her cohort use it for his own nefarious means. Also I really wanted to see a guide, kind of like Zombieland's. Throughout the chapters were small passages that may have been in the guide but I wanted to see the cold hard rules number by number.

Overall, great book and I'm excited to see what's next!

This was an odd book for me. The book left me disturbed. The author has a good writing style. I just personally didn’t like the book. I didn’t like how I was left feeling. I do think when an author pulls strong emotions from a reader, whether good or bad, it is a sign of talent.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced free copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Thea comes into the ability of playing god, ending someone’s life or giving them extra years to live . when she touches someone she can immediately see how much time they have before they die. She discovers her best friend Ruth is going to die within the next few hours and accidentally ends someone’s life and gives their remaking time to Ruth complications and ethics come into play as she grapples how to control this new gift.