Review of HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER by Rebecca Philipson (New Release)

 3.5 Stars

This book’s premise is singular but its execution not so.

Samantha Hansen is a Scotland Yard detective. She has been on leave because of mental health issues, but insists on returning when she learns of the murder of 14-year-old Charlotte Mathers. Found in her backpack is a copy of a book, How to Get Away with Murder, by Denver Brady. The author, a self-proclaimed serial killer, details his methodology and his past victims. Sam is tasked with finding Brady to determine if he’s the killer or if there’s a copycat at work.

Chapters alternate between Brady’s how-to manual and Sam’s investigation. The pacing in the middle is uneven. There’s a lot of repetition, some of which is confusing. What’s the significance of different characters discussing the buoyancy of water and Ben and Jerry’s ice-cream? And it’s sometimes difficult to keep track of Brady’s various victims as described in his book. There’s definitely overuse of the trope of characters being interrupted in their conversation just as one of them wants to convey something important. Then there’s the conversation with a YouTuber who says he feels like a character being cheaply thrown into a scene; this chat feels like a fourth wall break, especially with the addition of Sam’s comment about loving plot twists.

Characterization could be stronger. Sam has positive traits: she is intelligent and persistent and sensitive. She also struggles with PTSD. At the beginning, she experiences physical symptoms like headaches and the taste of salt, symptoms that are mentioned again and again. Readers will feel sympathetic, especially because her being assaulted by a colleague was handled unfairly. But then Sam’s symptoms just seem to disappear without sufficient explanation. Of course, I do understand the need for vagueness in detailing Sam’s “journey” but it may contribute to the plot twist feeling somewhat artificial.

I found myself getting frustrated with Sam’s slow reading of Brady’s instructional guide. Her repeated excuse is that she has difficulty concentrating, but surely reading the book would be an essential first step in the investigation. So much of Brady’s personality is revealed in the book: his pretentiousness and sense of superiority, as well as his misogyny and homophobia, are obvious. When his identity is revealed, it’s really not a surprise.

The ending, on the other hand, may come as a surprise to readers though there are certainly a lot of clues, especially references to there being no rest for the wicked and to Sam’s feelings of injustice. But it’s the use of a bonus chapter that bothers me: since it cannot have been written by the same person, is it added to a second edition or a follow-up book? And how does that bonus chapter connect to Sam’s diatribe about criminals being able to change their names and become untraceable?

This is not a bad book and it will certainly leave readers questioning, but there are some elements that feel contrived.

Note: I received an eARC from the publisher via NetGalley.