An Ethical Guide to Murder is a dark, curious and addicting read. It’s an exploration of the ethics of life and death, and the trials of relationships, both mundane and bizarre. It is delivered with acerbic wit, and heartwarming and thoughtful reflection, which balances the heavier subject matter.

I found it a little slow in parts but overall a very enjoyable and thought provoking read. The evolution of Thea’s character and her choices was so intriguing and the ending packed a truly emotional wallop - in the best possible way. 4.5⭐️’s.

Thank you Simon & Schuster (Australia) for a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed are my own.

Thea’s Ethical Guide to Murder
“1. The target has caused excessive pain and/or suffering to another human being.
2. They are aware of the consequences of their actions.
3. They have taken no action to repent and show no or little remorse for their actions. 4. They are likely to cause more pain and/or suffering in future.
Bonus points if they have been directly responsible for at least one death.”

As Thea’s best friend lays dying in her arms outside a nightclub, the belligerent drunk responsible for Ruth’s fall looms over them. Instinctively Thea grabs his hand and pulls at his life force, channelling it into Ruth, and as her friend’s eyes open, the drunk turns away taking a single step before dropping dead to the ground. Thea doesn’t understand it but suddenly, with just a touch, she knows exactly when someone is going to die, and not only that, she can also absorb part or all of a person’s remaining time and transfer it to another.

An Ethical Guide to Murder has a simple yet challenging premise that centre’s around a single question ‘If you had the power between life and death, what would you do?’ Thea comes up with a bunch of rules, but it’s a heady power, and there are always exceptions. Moral ambiguity, betrayal, regret, loyalty, and redemption, are just some of themes Morris thoughtfully explores in the novel, often tempered with a touch of dark humour. Thea’s struggle to understand the complexity and consequences of her decisions drives the plot forward, with characters, and circumstances, rarely as binary as they may appear.

Thea has a sympathetic background, having been orphaned at a young age in a tragic car accident, and then raised by her stoic grandfather. Still, as an adult she’s a bit of a flake, with a vague feeling that she’s owed something, and lacking any real direction in life despite her law degree, leaving her vulnerable to manipulation. Thea could also be described as impulsive and somewhat selfish, yet she’s intensely loyal to Ruth. I was never really fond of her, but I found her to be an interesting character and I was invested in her journey.

Thought-provoking, entertaining and poignant, An Ethical Guide to Murder is a cleverly crafted novel, and an impressive debut from Jenny Morris.

If you had the power to play God to save your loved ones, would you?

‘An Ethical Guide To Murder’ tells the tale of Thea who one day wakes up and realises that she can tell the exact date and time that someone is going to die and finds out that one of her best friends is only hours away from her death.

When she later learns that she also has the ability to both take life force from one person and also give it to someone else, she soon finds herself in an inner battle with her conscious about the ethics of taking or sparing a life, something she spends the rest of the book grappling with as she falls deeper down the rabbit hole.

This book really made me think a lot about what I would do if I were in Thea’s situation and also made me question so many things. It reminded me a lot of my first year philosophy class at uni.

I found it to be a fairly good pace which a few twists and turns to keep me intrigued enough to keep going.

Thank you to Simon & Scheuster AU and NetGalley for the eARC of this book.

This book absolutely hooked me in right from the start. Thea discovers this unusual power she has… If it wasn’t amazing enough that she can tell how long someone has left to live by touching them, she realises she can take time from someone’s life and give it to someone else, someone who doesn’t have much time left. She starts to realise that saying “Only the good die young,” and it clicks that she can turn the tables on that. It definitely challenged my thoughts of what I’d do in the same situation! The ending absolutely blew my mind, and I loved it. I definitely didn’t guess that it would go that way! I love Jenny’s style of writing, I found it so easy to read and it just kept on drawing me in.

This novel was a bit of a roller coaster - which I suppose is to be expected from something with an underlying serious narrative. At times it was cheeky, at times philosophical, at times a bit suspenseful and at other times sentimental.

What would you do if you had the power to choose between life and death - not just your own, but everyones? This is the dilemma facing Thea as she discovers the gift of giving and taking life lies - literally - in her hands. Would you rob Peter to pay Paul? Be Robin Hood? Or is it possible the power might go to your head; especially if you meet someone with grand ideas about fixing the world.

Sometimes two wrongs don't always make a right.

This is an enjoyable book, easy to read with some characters you will grow to love and/or hate. Worth the read.

4.5 stars

If you ever need to escape reality, then this is totally the book for you. I am still after reading this, thinking how someone would find it ethically moral to tak a life to save a life. How can anyone answer that?

Its:Thought provoking,
Powerful,
Complex characters and not many likeable,
Dark themes,
Unique,
Corruption,
Moral dilemmas,
Perception,
Secrets,
Got interesting ethical questions,
Family,
Emotional,
Going to have you hooked from the word - go,
Trust,
Unreliable narrators,
Coercion,
MAgical realism, romance, hilarious dark comedy, thriller, fantasy & contemporary moral drama all in one book!!!,
Love,
Loss,
Got and ending that i did not see coming, & it had me in tears.

For a debut novel, Unbelievable. Cannot wait to see what is in installed next for you @dr_jennymorris.

If you had th epower between life and death, what would you do?

Thea has a secret.
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 - 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.

Thea realises that she has a godlike power, but despite deciding to use her ability for good, she cant help but sometimes use it for own benefit. Boss annoying her at work ? She can take some life from them * give it as a tip to her masseuse for a great job. Creating an "ethical Guide to Murder" helps Thea to focus on her new found skills. But as she embarks on her mission to punish the wicked & give the deserving more time, she finds that it isn't as simple as she first thought.

How can she really know who deserves to die, & can she figure out her own rules before Ruth;s borrowed time runs out?

An Ethical Guide to Murder by Jenny Morris presents a fascinating and morally complex story. Thea, an ordinary woman, discovers she has the chilling ability to know how long someone has left to live and can even transfer life from one person to another. When her best friend Ruth is fatally injured, Thea saves her by taking the life of the man responsible, setting off a series of moral dilemmas.

As Thea uses her power to extend life for those she deems deserving, she creates her own “ethical guide” to navigate the difficult choices. However, her attempts to balance justice with personal gain lead to unforeseen consequences. The novel deftly explores themes of power, morality, and the complexities of life and death, making readers question who truly deserves to live or die.

Morris expertly blends suspense with deep ethical questions, creating a thought-provoking and gripping narrative. Thea’s journey is both thrilling and emotional, and the book will leave readers reflecting on the cost of power and the grey areas of morality.

I found this a slow book to read. I liked the concept but it wasn’t for me. I know this will be a great book lots of people will love.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

This is definitely one of those books that proves to be a 'thinker', and will linger for a fair while once you're finished reading. It deals with some incredibly heavy themes incredibly well, and the moral quandary that Thea, our main character, finds herself in at all times is definitely interesting and keeps the pages turning. Thea has the ability to touch people and find out how long they have left to live, and also the ability to take and give 'life essence' away at will - essentially making her a demi-god of sorts. She is, by no means, a good person, and a lot of her choices to begin with are unguided (and, in some cases, mean-spirited).

Then, she reconnects with someone from her past, and things get really interesting really quickly.

The issues raised in this book throughout prove to be vexing, and the growth for Thea is painful, but very necessary. If I have any criticisms, it's that the character of Sam was somewhat unrealistic and almost completely transparent in his 'badness', but at the same time, I can see why he was written as such. The ending of this book, without giving too much away, is poignant, sweet, and more than absolutely touching.

This one is well worth picking up, and is definitely in the running for one of the best thrillers that sits with you for a long time after reading.

I dove into this one semi-blind, skipping a reread of the blurb—and wow, what a ride! The first chapter hooked me immediately. I laughed, I gasped, I yelled (angrily and excitedly), I cried, and I wrestled with every moral dilemma Thea faced. Oh, and I may have questioned just how much money I would eat a human toe for ....?

There were moments that made getting through the book a challenge, but the gripping premise kept me persevering alongside Thea on her journey.

All in all, a fascinating and thought-provoking read!

Jenny Morris's Ethical Guilds to Murder is the perfect cure for any reading slump. With its clever humor and captivating storyline, this book kept me laughing from beginning to end.

Whether you're an experienced reader or just beginning to explore books, this one is a delightful choice. The unique chapter introductions alone are worth the read. I found myself speeding through the pages, excited to see what unexpected turn would come next.

I absolutely loved the premise of this book, someone who has the power to not only see how long someone has left to live, but also the ability to transfer the time left between people. The ethical dilemma between choosing whether to use this power, and then choosing who deserves to live and who deserves to die is also intriguing.

I have a few issues with this book. The first is that Thea, to me, is insufferable. I can't stand her as the main character, I would honestly barely be able to deal with her even as a minor character. She has no accountability, and she seems to blame everyone else for her shortcomings.

Secondly it was incredibly obvious that Sam was using Thea, and that he was shady/into shady things. I can't stand him, which I guess was the point, but it irritated me that Thea couldn't see what an awful person he is.

Thea's Grandad keeping such a massive secret from her also annoyed me, I understand he comes a different generation, but surely even he could see what a mistake that was.

My biggest issue is the repetitiveness of this book, it was almost twice as long as it should have been and it was the same story repeated several times until Thea hit a brick wall and came to her senses. I really wanted to enjoy this but the length just became too much for me and the repetitiveness ruined a lot of the book.

Fascinating debut from Jenny Morris, which raises so many different and unusual questions around the idea of - if you could take life, to give life to other people - what would you do? Thea finds herself with this ability and must navigate so many challenges as she works out how to deal with her ability and includes drawing up a list with the help of an old friend regarding the ethical rules of murder. This was fun, dark, twisty and easy to get caught up in. Thea manages to make friends and enemies, makes some amends for her new addiction, and gets herself into frequent trouble at work, at home and in her new serial killer career. ‘She also slowly learning about the value of family and friends. My biggest issue with this story is that now i’m craving lobster mac and cheese but no unlimited or even limited supply here! Looking forward to reading more by Jenny; and with thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for an advanced copy in exchange for a review. Due for publication 15th January 2025.

Thea has a secret.
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 – something she finds out the hard way one night. But as she explores her power, it is clear she needs a guide, hence the Ethical Guide to Murder. And even then, is it really that easy to weed out the villains?

I must admit, I do love some magical realism from time to time and this one was just so clever and unique! The author wove a fabulous story and incorporated many moral dilemmas for the character. It is definitely one that will stay with me for some time and I look forward to more by this author. 4.5*

Thank you to Simon and Schuster and NetGalley for the gifted review copies.

Somewhere between fantasy, science fiction and crime fiction, with a nod to family tragedy, chicklit style girls out of control, the ups and downs of long term friendships, romance and relationship tensions, there will need to be a sub-category that AN ETHICAL GUIDE TO MURDER will slot into. In other words, which shelf this one goes onto is going to be a creative choice, because it's nothing if not very different.

The story revolves around Thea, and her secret power of life and death. Just by touching someone she can tell how long they have to live. She can also transfer life from one person to another - something she finds out the hard way when her oldest, best friend Ruth suffers a head injury on a night out.

Other than this particular "life hack" Thea's a bit of a walking disaster area. After the death of her parents in a car crash (which she was also in) as a very young child she was taken in and raised by her grandfather. A distant, curmudgeonly old man who she loves, but doesn't always get. Her best friend Ruth was another "outsider" when they were young, both of them shy in their own ways, both had tricky childhoods (Ruth was very ill when young) and both of them have come out of that time as firm, but very different, friends. Thea pursued a career in the law (very haphazardly), ending up working in HR with an old flame of Ruth's as her constantly annoyed boss, Ruth went into medicine and works all hours in all sorts of places trying to cure everyone she comes across. Meanwhile Thea's got this power, and she's using it. Aided and abetted by an old flame / new love, lawyer Sam, they are on a bit of a crusade, creating the 'Ethical Guide to Murder' to identify and qualify victims, although Thea's not above a bit of personal score settling if the occasion arises.

A not even vaguely believable central conceit in this one is made considerably more appealing by the characterisations. Thea's a flake, Ruth's very serious, Sam seems a bit too good to be true. Thea's one of those women that is fun to read about, but would be a nightmare to know in real life (even without the killing / reading people's lifespans bit). She's often profoundly annoying and self-centred, something that considered, caring Ruth's kind of okay with, until she begins to realise that Thea and Sam are, indeed, up to something.

Connection with Thea, and a liking (probably not the right word) of her, is going to be the key for readers as there's not a lot of surprises in great chunks of this plot - the identification of the victims, the stealing of lifespan, and gifting it forward, does get repetitive at points, as does the "ethical" component of it which is mostly pretty black and white, alleviated by the twists and turns in the people that Thea chooses to "save". Hang in there though, because the big kicks come at the end, as Sam and Thea's lives start to implode, financial crimes come to light and Thea starts to question herself. Interestingly as the wheels start to fall off, what started out as an ethical approach to murder, switches gently into a moving morality play, and consequences and responsibility start to play on minds.

Jenny Morris's Ethical Guilds to Murder is the perfect antidote to any reading slump. With its witty writing style and engaging plot, this book had me chuckling from start to finish.

Whether you're a seasoned reader or just starting your literary journey, this book is a delightful read. The unique chapter introductions alone are worth the price of admission. I found myself racing through the pages, eager to discover what quirky twist awaited me next.

If you're looking for a fun, lighthearted read that will leave you smiling, I highly recommend Ethical Guilds to Murder. It's a 4.5 ⭐️ gem that I couldn't put down.

Thea has the ability to tell how long someone has left to live just by touching them. Not only that, she also has the power to transfer life from one person to another.

She initially uses her powers for good, but is then tempted to use them for her own benefit. This raises the question of how she should decide who 'deserves' to die and the ethical issues around her making that decision.

The premise of Thea being able to transfer life was intriguing to read about to start with, but it got repetitive and I needed something more to keep my interest.

As I started this review, I struggled for several minutes to decide what genre to call it, as it doesn't sit neatly in one particular category. It's part contemporary moral drama, part fantasy, part thriller and part black comedy. How each reader classifies it may depend on their personal feelings towards to the premise. I am viewing it mostly as a contemporary drama with fantasy elements. The story idea held my interest throughout and it was interesting to see Thea's arc as she grappled with her new abilities and the morally correct way to use them. Although thought-provoking this was still a fairly light and easy read. A few things I saw coming well ahead of time, but others took me by surprise. Overall, the story moved at a good pace too. I could see this making an interesting TV limited series. If you are looking for a work that poses some interesting ethical questions while also being genre-bending, An Ethical Guide to Murder is worth checking out. I am giving it 4.5 stars.