A Serial Killer’s Guide to Marriage was an incredibly strong adult thriller with a killer concept and the chops to back it up.

As soon as I heard the pitch for this book, I knew I had to snap it up. It is just such a rich and fascinating premise that Mackay makes full use of. We move between Hazel and Fox’s perspectives, as well as both the past and present timelines. This gives texture to the novel – seeing how Hazel and Fox met and their whirlwind romance to today’s suburbian boredom. It has that classic feel of a marriage on the rocks, but here that stems from the lack of murder in their marriage now. Within this, there is a dark sense of humour that I really enjoyed. It adds a smirk to proceedings that are often plagued by darkness.

As the story unfolds, you get more of an understanding of Hazel and Fox’s backgrounds and how these inform them as the killers they are now. There is a beautifully poignant thread about mental health and grief, which really hit home for me. On the other hand, there is also a throughline about privilege and legacy protecting you at all costs, which is a sharp shock of reality pushing through (though obviously pushed to an extreme).

Mackay pulls you in straight away with a fast-paced, compelling opening that is cinematic, slick and sinister. It instantly validated the Mr and Mrs Smith comparison I had heard and promised you a dynamic that you simply must unpick. From there, the tension never let up. Every page of this is soaked in blood and tension with a brilliant story and plenty of twists. It is a very well crafted thriller with great use of atmosphere and suspense. All the way through it feels balanced on the edge of a knife, where it all may descend into chaos at any moment.

A Serial Killer’s Guide to Marriage is a sensational and suspenseful thriller that will be a hugely talked about story in 2025. Don’t let it pass you by.

I sat down to read this and just kept going until I’d finished. I’m still in my PJs at 14.30!
Great, pacy, thriller of sorts about a very rich, glamorous couple who are both serial killers but have given up killing to raise a child. Haze, the female killer, makes a new friend at a toddler music class who might turn out to be the worst choice ever, and Fox, the male killer seems to be keeping a lot of secrets. What could possibly go wrong?
It’s probably better not to examine the plot points too carefully, but I enjoyed this - it’s a fun read, and I did find myself rooting for killers.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

i half read this and half listened to the audiobook, and i think i preferred the flow of the audiobook. it's a domestic thriller from the perspectives of two ex-serial killers. i enjoyed thr growth of the characters.

As soon as I saw the book title I knew I had to read this book and I'm so glad I did. It reached and exceeded my expectations. A brief summary Hazel and Fox are former serial killers who are married but promise to never kill again once Hazel gets pregnant and gives birth to Bibi. Hazel does not keep this promise.

I really enjoyed this book, mainly because of the main characters. Despite them being serial killers I found them surprisingly relatable. Since moving to suburbia Hazel has found herself struggling to fit in with making friends and the expectations of her. Meanwhile, Fox is doing everything he can to keep his family safe and stop them from falling apart, even as things inevitably begin to unravel. You get to read both of their POVs, which gives you a deeper understanding of them. Even though they’re both former serial killers, their worries are normal making it easy to empathise with them. At least until they mention that they miss killing.

This writing is easy to read, making it easy to put down and then pick up without losing track of the story. I didn’t laugh out loud, but I smiled throughout it thanks to the dark and cynical humour of the author. I’d recommend this book to anyone, it’s a fun read that I could see anyone enjoying.

This book was weirdly dark but lighthearted all at the same time.
I really enjoyed the dual POV, particularly Haze’s as she adjusts to life as a new mum.
The character development was brilliant and despite all their shenanigans I found both Fox and Haze to be super likeable character. Is it okay to be routing for a pair of serial killers?!?
A great read that I would highly recommend!

I liked this dark thriller about a married couple who are retired serial killers. Alternating viewpoints from Hazel to Fox made the story flow fast. A quick and easy read.

I started this and was not sure how I felt, but this was a great read. I had no trouble getting through it quickly and enjoyed every moment. The twists and turns kept coming to the end and it was a great read.

Thank you so much for allowing me to read this early!

Although I did enjoy the twist that happened I feel like getting to the twist was a lot of nothingness!!

My expectations were high going into this and unfortunately worent met!!

Highly entertaining, quirky and dark. More a dark comedy than a thriller, though still with great twists and reveals. Very enjoyable read!

I thought this was good wholesome fun, if a tinsy bit predictable. Asia McKay is a dependable author.

Haze and Fox are a couple of retired serial killers living in the suburbs with their baby Bibi! The story is written with dark humour and you can see the couple are struggling in suburbia! Haz and Fox are from very different backgrounds, which comes across in an unique way. The book is told using various view points and you want the couple to overcome their differences. All in all, an entertaining read with an ending that I did not see happening.

This was just an average read for me, I did enjoy it for what it was, but felt id read many similar books so nothing to new in this book. Did make me laugh sometimes too and that's never a bad thing, overall fast paced and good if you like this kind of thriller novel.

I listened to the audiobook version of this and thought that the 2 points of view of Haze and Fox were both narrated well in the main - although why you would decide someone called Hamish speaks with an Irish accent remains a mystery 😂 but luckily that was a walk-on character!

The idea of a central character who is a serial killer isn’t new but even Jeff Lindsay (Dexter) didn’t come up with a married couple working ‘to make the world a better place’ .

I loved the fact that Fox and Haze take parenthood seriously and try to curb their natural instincts in order to make things safe for their daughter. I also loved the fact that they both come from different types of dysfunctional families but neither are asking for reader sympathy to excuse themselves.

Lots of interesting subplots used to create tension, jeopardy and red herrings and a clever way of tying them together later.

Okay, so the story is thankfully far-fetched but it’s not pretending to be what it isn’t. I’m not sure what the name is for this new type of comic murder fiction - Dark Suburbia? - but it is fun to read.

With thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, Headline Audio and Asia Mackay for an arc of the audio version of this novel.

In A 'Serial Killer's Guide to Marriage' by Asia Mackay, Fox and Haze are a perfectly matched couple. Both have a thirst for killing bad men: Haze in a flurry of chaos, and Fox with meticulous precision. With money behind them, they can travel the world attending glamorous party's and killing. However, when their daughter Bibi comes along, everything has to change.

Mackay writes with humour. She also has a good understanding of what its like to be a new mother. Whilst the draw of the book is the premise of a married couple who like to kill, the real story is about how marriages change over the years, and how difficulties can be perpetuated by miscommunications. Mackay does this well, but there were times I found myself wanting her to get on with it. Plus as the novel went on, the humour was less present. This is a good book, but not one I would rush to recommend.

I absolutely loved this dark humour, original, twisted and a clever thriller with this unique married couple, Haze and Fox. They used to kill people and were know as serial killers but now they would kill for a normal life. Definitely fast paced thriller just the way I like it

An absolute great read. Very entertaining and fun

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House

True crime is my 'thing' so I was thrilled to be accepted for an eARC of this thriller. In <I>A Serial Killer's Guide to Marriage</I>, Haze and Fox are a married couple with baby Bibi – yes really – bonding them in suburban England beyond their initial interest-in-common: murder.

Through fun, witty dialogue, even funnier internal monologues from each main character, and a switching POV, this book becomes a page-turning mystery-thriller with a wild ending. I thought this would be a serious, dark book, but I'm glad that it was a racing mystery-thriller with humour, wonderful characters, style and adrenaline. The author brilliantly weaves in social commentary of what is morally right, and this was a great palate cleansing read. It has <I>Mr and Mrs Smith</I> vibes and definitely feels cinematic and compulsive in many ways.

Hazel and Fox have the dream life. He is an investment banker from a wealthy family. She, a successful artist, with a waiting list for buyers for her work. They can travel the world in five star luxury, have a fabulous home in the suburbs with a dream house, are a gorgeous couple who have the hots for one another, have an amazing marriage, and an adorable young daughter, Bibi. On appearances, they are the envy of all their neighbors and all the mothers in Hazel’s mom and baby groups.

In reality, they are retired serial killers. Retirement is not working out so well for Hazel, who is finding the itch to kill growing harder to ignore. She misses their life of travel, killing those who deserved it. Of picking prey, going on the hunt, and removing despicable humans from the world, while getting her fix in. Getting pregnant put an end to that, with Fox insisting they have to be safe, cautious, and ever so careful, all for Bibi’s sake. She is starting to take out her frustration on Fox and their marriage.

Hazel tries her best. But out on a run one day something happens that sets a spiral of events into play. Each begins to suspect the other of hiding something. Their marriage begins to fray. For most couples, when things get tense, counseling and intense therapy may be the answer. For Fox and Hazel, they may literally kill one another if things get too heated. Can they put their issues aside and save their marriage, and one another?

This is a dark comedy, thriller of a read. Hazel in particular has a dry and biting wit to her which is entertaining to read. The story covers the traditional trope of the stress of marriage and children with the spin of a pair of serial killers trying to mask themselves and fit into the suburbs and play normal and nice. Their efforts are suffocating to them, and you start to empathize with them. You want them to break free and continue to be themselves, especially given their target group. They are good serial killers after all, right?

There is a lot more in this story that I won't give away as you will want to read it to uncover it. But there are plenty of twists, things I did not see coming at all. I love how well the dual POV worked in this story, breaking up the tale well, building more suspense and confusion at times, and at others giving us back story and clarity. It is very well written, with the pace well maintained throughout. It keeps you engaged and guessing until the end, and hoping for the best outcome, then questioning yourself for rooting for two cold blooded, twisted killers!

*I received this book from NetGalley for review, but all opinions are my own.

This is a playful, slightly offbeat novel that packs a lot of energy into its short chapters making it a fun, easy read.
However I found the characters leave much to be desired. Haze comes across as self-absorbed, while her husband, Fox, seems quite controlling. and I found it difficult to relate to them both.
The short chapters, while contributing to the novel’s fast pace, also meant that I kept turning the pages otherwise I might have given up halfway through.,
Overall, this book is a fun, quirky romp that offers in terms of creativity and wit but for me fell short on character engagement. It’s perfect for those looking for a light, amusing read, but less so for anyone hoping for a more emotionally resonant story.

💭 ᴍʏ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛꜱ:
I adored this setup. Looking inside the mind of serial killers, while they navigate their way as a new family. I loved Hazel & Fox. The quick chapters got me hooked quickly and then you want to see how they’re gonna get themselves out of the mess! It has such a quick pace story with continued suspense. I couldn’t get enough. Nearly binged it in one sitting!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🤓 ʀᴇᴀᴅ ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪᴋᴇ:
Quick read
Short chapters
Multiple POCs
Continued suspense
Detective stories

ꜱʏɴᴏᴘꜱɪꜱ:
𝘏𝘢𝘻𝘦𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘍𝘰𝘹 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘺. 𝘌𝘹𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺'𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘹-𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘴.

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭. 𝘈𝘯 𝘦𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘺𝘭𝘦, 𝘧𝘪𝘷𝘦-𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘢𝘥 𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭. 𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳.

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘏𝘢𝘻𝘦𝘭 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘶𝘱 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘣𝘴; 𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘢𝘭.

𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘏𝘢𝘻𝘦𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘍𝘰𝘹'𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺.

A couple who kills together stays together… or will one of them find themselves under a suburban patio?
Haze and Fox have a mutual hobby of taking out bad men, traveling Europe living an envious lavish lifestyle until Haze falls pregnant and Fox suggests they hang up their knives for the future of their daughter Bibi. What could possibly go wrong.

A Serial Killer’s Guide To Marriage has very similar undertones to How to Kill Men and Get Away With It which for me was great as I really enjoyed both books. It’s a bit dark and twisted but at the same time it was fun and lighthearted. It touched on many normal points people struggle with in marriage but with the dark twist of being based around murder.
I felt that the characters were built well and I really got to know each of them. I really enjoyed it from start to finish and I am keeping my fingers crossed that Asia Mackay considers a sequel.
I will definitely be recommending this book to others.