I was lucky enough to be granted an advance review copy of Bella Mackie’s first fiction book ‘How To Kill Your Family’ which I thoroughly enjoyed (and did not act upon!) Bella posted on social media over the festive period that her more recent book was on offer at 99p for a Kindle copy – well, I somehow missed the bargain, but was happy to invest in the full price! Here’s the blurb:

“One wealth-obsessed man, who is also dead.
One status-obsessed woman, who is the perfect accessory.
Their four inheritance-obsessed children, each with a killer instinct.
And a murder-obsessed outsider looking to expose them all…

Anthony Wistern is wealthy beyond imagination. Fragrant wife, gaggle of photogenic children, French chateau, Cotswold manor, plethora of mistresses, penchant for cutting moral corners, tick tick tick tick tick tick. Unfortunately for him, he’s also dead. Suddenly poised to inherit his fortune, each member of the family falls under suspicion.”

Again, Bella has written about rich people based in London – I guess it worked very well last time – and again, there are lots of unlikeable characters!!

You know early on that Anthony has died, at his own 60th birthday party no less, but you don’t know how – and in fact, that’s the whole premise of the book. Anthony is stuck in a weird no-mans land between life and the after life – and in order to move on, he needs to remember how he died. Whilst trapped, he’s able to watch over his family and friends and see what they’re doing in real time to get clues and help trigger his memory. It’s an incredibly clever way to tell the story.

Each chapter is told from one of three points of view – Anthony, his wife Olivia, and an internet sleuth who is investigating Anthony’s ‘murder’. None of the narrators are particularly nice, and to be honest, neither are the supporting characters too!

Various ‘suspects’ are looked at – Anthony’s children, extended family, work colleagues, investors – and there are plenty of people with motivation for seeing him off. There are lots of twists and turns and you don’t uncover what’s actually happened until very near the end of the book.

It’s a real look at how awful some monied people, and people born with a family history if not cash, can be – but awful in a ‘can’t look away and need to see how this all finishes’ way.

Another great book – and as is already happening with ‘How To Kill Your Family’ – ripe for being made into a film or TV series.