A thought-provoking and masterfully layered novel, told largely from the perspectives of the women in a serial killer’s life. Quite a refreshing take, and the flashbacks and multiple perspectives are skilfully handled.

This was a thought-provoking and compelling read. As a true crime fan, I do often struggle with the fact that violent men are catapulted to fame and notoriety, almost rewarded for their horrific actions. Obviously, you have the more extreme examples of some people who claim to be in love or sexually attracted to serial killers, but even the average true crime enthusiast (like myself) who watch documentaries and so on for entertainment or their own interest, must reconcile with the fact that this entertainment is built upon the suffering and pain of the victims. This novel goes some way to rectify that, by focusing on the women affected by the actions of the killer rather than the killer himself. In fact, the killer's perspective is written in the second person which I thought was clever, both to dehumanise him and to also sort of put the reader under the microscope as a participant and observer to these atrocities for their own enjoyment, as I mentioned before. The focus of this novel is the women in this killer's orbit--his mother, his wife's sister, his childhood friend turned lead detective on his case--as how their lives have been affected by his actions.

In the author's note, Kukafka writes that:

"Average men become interesting when they start hurting women. Notes on an Execution was born from a desire to dissect this exhausting narrative."

I would say that this desire was highly successful.

(Many thanks to Netgalley and Orion Publishing Group for the eARC.)

Danya Kukafka's Notes on an Execution is a must read for 2022 - chilling, powerful and incredibly moving.
This book is beautifully written, the stories of the women in Ansel's life are emotional, whilst the final few chapters documenting Ansel's life felt almost claustrophobic due to countdown and tension it created.
One for your bookshelves and one to recommend to others, 5 stars.

What a brilliant novel this is! Superbly written in a mix of second and third person narration, it tells the story of a serial killer awaiting execution and looking back on his life and crimes. We also see his story from a feminine viewpoint, through the eyes of his mother, his sister-in-law and a police captain. Gripping from start to finish, Notes On An Execution is affecting and thought-provoking.

5⭐️
The book deconstructs the life of condemned serial killer Ansel Packer looking through the lives of some of the pivotal women in his life to better understand him.
Starting just before his imminent execution and his manipulation of one of the guards, then going back to the beginning to his Mother and her story.

I don’t feel that I have the eloquence to do this book justice.

The strands and time frames are cleverly intertwined and the transitions feel natural and blend well. Its emotional, compulsive reading. It’s got a great pace with revelations that keep you hooked throughout.

The characters are really well drawn, I couldn’t help but admire how conniving, self assured and manipulative Ansel was. His mothers story was heart rendering. It’s a very character driven story.
Saffy is by far my favourite character. Like all of the characters she’s not had an easy life.

It’s emotionally very moving, and left me asking a lot of what ifs.
This is an excellent book. I highly recommend it. I don’t think the title or cover does it justice.

3.5 rounded down

I requested a copy of this on the strength of reviews of Kukafka's debut Girl in Snow. Notes on an Execution tells the story of a serial killer, Ansel Packer. Packer is on death row, and we meet him in the days leading up to his execution for the murders of a number of young women. Through alternating chapters told from various perspectives - the policewoman hunting him down, his mother, his ex - we learn how Ansel came to be a killer and the impact he had on so many characters' lives.

The blurb sets out that the book asks readers 'to consider the false promise of looking for meaning in the psyches of violent men' -- an interesting concept which I think was handled well. It took me a little while to keep up with all of the various characters and timelines, but would say that if you're in the market for a well written mystery/thriller you could do a lot worse than this.

Beautiful. Poignant. Phenomenal.
This was a beautify read and I learnt so much. I cried and I smiled and there was nothing more that I wanted from this book. Truly a gem.

Ansel Packer, Prisoner 999631 is on Death Row at Polunsky Prison in Texas and it’s twelve hours until his execution. It’ll be painless they say but of course he leaves much pain behind. The story is told via a countdown and mostly through various women whose lives Ansel touched and through them we ‘see’ Ansel and his origins and what leads to him becoming a serial killer. There is Lavender his mother who gave birth to him in a barn aged 17 in New York State. Here we get to delve into the nature versus nurture debate. Saffy Singh meets Ansel in 1984 in a group home, she becomes a captain in the New York State police and tracks him for years convinced he is The Girly Killer. Finally there is Hazel whose twin sister Jenny marries Ansel. I feel her portrait is the most fascinating as she offers up a duality of Ansel on first meeting him. As Ansel reflects in the countdown to his hour of execution he gives his thoughts such as his views on good and evil.

Wow. I don’t think I’ve ever read anything quite like this book. The quality of the writing is absolutely brilliant, it’s almost lyrical in tone and written with mind blowing intensity. I admire how this book focuses on the women as let’s face it, the attention is usually on the serial killer. This is how it should be and as a consequence it’s incredibly powerful and quite astonishing. It’s very thought-provoking as it asks the reader to mull on some important questions and in places it packs a real punch to the guts. The countdown to the execution is breathtaking as it’s crackling with tension and your thoughts are all over the place. Could he have ultimately been redeemed? I daresay we will never know the answer to that one but even so he still needs to pay the piper for his early crimes.

I can honestly say that even though it’s dark, heartbreaking and unbearably sad this is one of the best books I’ve read in 2021 and it’s been a bumper year so this is high praise indeed. I will never forget this book, it places you under a mesmerising spell as the beautiful writing makes it impossible to put down.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Orion Publishing/ Phoenix for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

The best book I read in 2021. I loved GIRL IN SNOW, but this is an absolute triumph from Kukafka and deserves every accolade it will surely receive next year. I would give this 10 stars if I could.

Oh my. What a book. This one took me totally by surprise.
The story of a killer on death row, his life and more importantly the women in his life, this was an utterly mesmerising read.

A beautifully woven tapestry of characters and story as we jump back and forward in time, read the spiel on it if you want but I went in blind, pulled in by the title alone.

The writing here is exceptional both in its storytelling and some beautifully descriptive prose. There is a melancholy throughout in the tone that was truly hypnotic. I’m more of a story over writing style kinda guy but I just loved loved loved the writing here. I found myself on many occasions reading back a sentence or two, not because I hadn’t taken them in or understood them, they were just so beautifully descriptive and worded I just had to read them again for the shear enjoyment.

On a broader scale the book does look at the glamorisation of serial killers in modern society. The bogey men of our time that we tend to see in near mythical status, like rock n roll stars of sorts, here we have a rather underwhelming man, one without conscience for sure but an unglamorous, unhappy man.

The focus is more on the women in his life and the lasting devastation that is left in the wake of the small moments of time where he commits the acts of murder.

This isn’t a thriller per say. The killer for once is probably the least interesting of the characters here. That’s not to say that he isn’t well written and rounded. All the characters here are beautifully written and so ingrained in my brain after reading about them.

Enough of my rambling and not really explaining what the book is about. All you need to know is that I thought this book was a stunning piece of writing and storytelling. When I finished it I honestly wanted to read it all over again.

My easiest five stars of the year.

Thanks to the publisher for the ARC through Netgalley.

Wow, what a read. I have both wanted to race through this as it was so compelling and brilliantly written… but also had to take regular breaks to draw breath as it is do powerfully delivered and the content really delivers a blow.

This a the story of a man on Death Row. Except it’s not. It’s the story of the women whose lives have been torn apart by the crimes he has committed. His mother, a sister and the lead detective all get centre stage. But so do the cast of other women whose lives he has impacted and shattered.

Through brilliant fiction we are able to ponder the ever present questions of whether someone is born bad, whether a bad person can be good, or a good person be bad. We can debate the whole issue of the death penalty. We can assess the impact of a persons early years on their later actions. We can do all of this whilst being immersed in the stories of these women.

Stunning.

Ansel Parker is on Death Row, scheduled to die in twelve hours.

This isn't just the story of the condemned man. As his final hours tick by the novel jumps back in time to moments from Ansel's life, we meet his mother, see his childhood and learn the stories of the women he is convicted of murdering.

We know he is sentenced to die and there is a truly inspired thriller plot uncovering the events, over decades that lead to Ansel's crimes, arrest and conviction.

The timeline of events is handled with a crafted perfection, involving the reader deeply with the various characters throughout Ansel's life.

Danya Kukafka achieves that rare feat, a careful balance between all the various timelines while twisting and looping and interweaving them to create a rich and deeply involving plot. I found it lusciously addictive, wherever we are in the timeline with whichever character all the elements and stories are compulsively readable. I had to know the bigger picture but was locked into every individual strand.

We know from that start that Ansel Parker is sentenced to die in twelve hours time, but the story of his crimes and the efforts required to bring him to justice form a compelling, intelligent and deeply emotionally involving thriller.

This book is a work of genius. In regards to the timeline and multiple threads, the only times I've ever known them be used so effectively is in Dark Places by Gillian Flynn and in various books by Catherine Ryan Howard.

Notes On An Execution deserves all the accolades and comparisons with the best ever books in the genre.

An absolute must read.

Very possibly my favourite book that I've read this year.

Thanks to Netgalley and Orion Publishing

This book is beautiful in every way. the cover is beautiful, the writing is beautiful and the storylibe is beautifully raw and emotive, The content is raw, real and ferocious and will leave the reader thinking about this book for a long time, I know I havent been able to stop thinking about it. This book is a triumph I loved it.

4+ stars

At times this book is brutal,and harsh,and throughout it left me feeling uncomfortable.
It's also beautifully written and will stay with me a long time.
I've not heard of this author before ,but this book has just skimmed into my best books of 2021 in the last few weeks.
Superb.