I read this over a 24 hour period the majority of it in one long session. A modern novel featuring a true crime podcast and internet comments but with an age old story to tell. Daphne lives in a luxury retirement home and shocks everyone when she confesses to not only the murder of another resident but to several historical murders. Kept, due to her age, confined in her rooms she decides to relate her life story to podcaster Ruth not knowing that Ruth has an agenda of her own. The writing and plotting are excellent, laced with dark humour ,and encouraged me to keep reading till the end. Throughout the book there are questions of morality , is Daphne motivated by self preservation, by the need to provide for her children or just by pure greed..
If this is a debut novel then the author has a very successful writing career ahead of her.

Well this novel does exactly what it says on the tin. It's about a nonegenarian who, after the death of her aged boyfriend (Warren) at the care home they resided at, decides to confess to his murder - and she doesn't stop there.

But once she's confessed to Police she finds herself the target of true crime podcasters who all want her story. She picks Ruth Robinson amd begins to tell her story but Ruth isn't all she appears to be. She has her own agenda but will Daphne provide the answers she craves?

This book was heading for five stars - it was witty and fun to begin with and Daphne (despite her serial killer tendencies) is an engaging character. The thing that palled for me was the endless saga of Ruth not getting to what she wanted to know and the narrative felt a little circuitous in places.

Otherwise, it's a good story with some nice little twists at the end. A serial killer with a difference. Daphne is a great character with an interesting history. Ruth did get on my nerves a bit, but thankfully Daphne's story is the star of the show.

The main body of the narrative is the podcast and Daphne's sole recollections, which are not aired, but there are some bits where the fans have their say and the odd part regarding fashion which seemed to have no bearing on the plot at all. Good apart from the odd minor niggle and I'd definitely recommend it.

Thankyou to Netgalley and Headline for the advance review copy.

A cleverly written book and Daphne was, dare I say it, an engaging character in spite of her crimes. I wasn't overly keen on the forum posts but it clicked why they were there towards the end of the story.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

I don’t know why but I really thought this would have humour running through it and Daphne St Clair would be a loveable grandma…. How wrong was I! She is an awful human!!!

Someone dies at the retirement home where Daphne resides, later that day she confesses to the murder and says she’s murdered before, we meet Ruth a journalist who has recently been unlucky in love and work… what comes next is Daphne’s backstory, what leads a woman (mother of 3) to become a serial killer!?

Great book which unfolds at a good pace,

The Six Murders of Daphne St Clair is the debut by Mackenzie Common. Daphne isn’t your average 90 year old living in a nursing home. She is razor sharp, glamorous, has a boyfriend and plenty of money. The most extraordinary trait, is that she is a serial killer, a fact that she decides to inexplicably confess one day, by calling the local police.
Ruth Robinson is trying to make a name for herself as a journalist, unsuccessfully. Her small hometown is proving to be very inhospitable to her privately, as well as in her work life. Can she get the scoop of the decade? Interviewing Daphne, to find the answer to the question on everyone’s lips. Why did Daphne confess?

Bizarrely, despite Daphne’s actions, you can’t help but like her, though I’m obviously not condoning her behaviour and actions. She has an acidic wit, dripping with sarcasm, a sharp but selective memory of her long, and eyebrow raising life. Her relationship with her youngest granddaughter is lovely. She is a complex character, who undoubtedly was shaped by her formative years.

All the way through the book, while following Daphne’s story, there is an undertone bubbling away. We know there is something that Ruth has hidden away, but it is frustratingly out of reach to the reader.

Daphne St Clair is a great debut. It is darkly entertaining, but conversely light at the same time. I read the book, but I can see that it would work really well on audio, the podcast element lends itself really well to that format. I think fans of Sweetpea, and None of This Is True will thoroughly enjoy the book. 4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ from me.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I was always going to like this book as a true crime podcast junkie but I absolutely loved it. One of the best things I’ve read in ages. Daphne and Ruth were great characters and I loved the ending.

Overall the story was good, giving Evelyn Hugo vibes which is a book I loved.
I didn't enjoy the HauteHistorie sections; ended up skipping past these. .

Daphne is an old woman who resides in a nursing home in Florida. She is telling her life story to Ruth who is making a podcast about her.
Why is Ruth so interested on one old woman's life? This is because Daphne has just confessed to murdering one of the other residents, and to being a serial killer! A woman who has got away with ,murdering several men over a span of around 50 years, with no one even suspecting that they WERE murders!
Ruth is searching for the meaning behind Daphne's confession, but also harbours a secret of her own regarding her reasons for wanting to interview the nonogenarian killer.
A brilliant read told from different viewpoints, and with secrets, lies, plus a touch of humour at times.

When Warren Ackerman dies at a senior living facility no one is surprised, until his elderly girlfriend Daphne confesses to his murder. The country is shocked when she declares that Warren wasn't the first man she'd murdered.

Female serial killer novels are a very popular genre at the moment and most of them are firmly tongue-in-cheek and filled with dark humour. With a tagline of "Meet Daphne St Clair: glamorous ninety-year-old grandmother, care home resident, and your new favourite serial killer" I fully expected The Six Murders Of Daphne St Clair by MacKenzie Common to be in the same vein. What transpired was something much more sobering and mysterious.

Word of Daphne's crime, and her admission that she has killed before, spreads quickly around her local area. Encouraged by her granddaughter Daphne agrees to tell her story for a podcast, a podcast that proves to be extremely popular, Most of the listeners have the same question. Why would a ninety-year-old, having gotten away with numerous murders, suddenly confess?

In charge of the podcast is Ruth, a struggling local journalist. As Daphne recounts her story we quickly learn that both Daphne and Ruth are unreliable narrators. Daphne's start in life was bleak. I found the details of the Dust Bowl in 1930s Canada informative and distressing. Considering her early life of desperation and abuse, Daphne's first two murders are almost understandable. By her fourth we learn that she relishes the sense of power she has, deciding who lives and who dies. In her heyday she was beautiful, clever, flirtatious and inscrutable, all of which made her attractive to rich men. However, she could be mean, malevolent and greedy, her only concern in life being her own well-being. The information she is prepared to share with Ruth, and the general public, is carefully curated.

Ruth's involvement initially seems obvious, she's desperate to enhance her flagging career. As Ruth delves deeper into Daphne's past it soon becomes clear that she has an ulterior motive.

I enjoyed the way in which the popularity of the podcast, and Daphne's crimes, were discussed on message boards, with ridiculous theories and desperation to know where Daphne lived. We also see some of the more bizarre behaviours on social media with Daphne merchandise becoming popular and even an influencer giving advice on how to dress like Daphne during the time period in which she committed each murder.

The overarching question remains though, what is the motive behind each woman's actions? The mystery surrounding Ruth eventually clears but what she hopes to achieve is still vague. As for Daphne's motive, you'll just have to read the book yourself to find out.

I really enjoyed this story both the story itself and the way the book was laid out with Ruth and Daphne talking, the bits that became the podcast and also their individual parts. And the interspersed 'online comments' was a nice touch.

Wannabe true crime podcaster Ruth Robinson may have just scored the break she needs to launch herself into a stratospheric career. I mean, how often do you find a serial killer when you need one?

And if 90 year old Daphne also turns out to be a pensioner in a care home who has fulfilled her other social roles as a woman, it can't get much more intriguing than that, surely? This story will more or less sell itself to listeners!

But as the podcast begins to garner attention, there may be cause for unease. Is Daphne really telling the truth about her exploits? For that matter, is Ruth?

An entertaining, dark and humorous look at the kind of lemonade that some women make when life hands them lemons, this gets 3.5 stars.

There’s been a not entirely unexpected death at a Florida senior home, Coconut Grove. A resident, Warren Ackerman, has died from apparently natural causes. But no one is surprised given his age and health. Amongst the largely female residents there is sadness at a possibly eligible man gone.
Until another resident, 90 year old Daphne St Clair, his girlfriend, calls the local police station and confesses to his murder by poison. Rose and Diane, her two twin daughters were embarrassed that she had a ‘boyfriend’ at her age’ and are about to be even more mortified at Daphne’s next revelation. Fasten your seat belts, girls, it’s going to be a bumpy ride!
She confesses to 5 more murders over 4 states, 2 countries over 7 decades and soon she is charged with first degree murder and placed under house arrest at Coconut Grove. She is shunned and ostracised by the staff and other residents but she’s tough, tougher than they think. As she puts it:

‘Jeez, you kill an old man and suddenly no one wants to sit at your lunch table.’

And her family have very mixed reactions, all of them negative. Rose thinks of the scandal as her husband is a senator while Harper, Daphne’s favourite grandchild, is excited at having a soon to be famous serial killer as a grandma. James, Daphne’s son, has apparently vanished and she has no idea where he is.
Daphne wants to tell her story her way and selects Ruth Robinson as an interviewer and publicist. She is a rookie podcaster and their interviews together begin. And so Daphne starts to publicly recount her life from her decision to run away from a harsh and dangerous home life in a small Canadian town to the well heeled ‘cushy’ life at Coconut Grove. She is unrepentant at her actions. She achieved all that she wanted; a life in New York, rich husbands, wealth but there’s always an itch nagging her. She kills from desperation, expediency and just because she wants to when her life wasn’t what she wanted at times and she missed the thrill of killing.
However, Daphne has no idea that Ruth and her might have a connection and that she has an ulterior motive in working with Daphne. Ruth was raised by a single mum and managed to find her father who acknowledge her existence and tried to bring her into his family before dying a mysterious death. Was he one of Daphne’s victims?
In the meantime, Daphne’s notoriety grows as online commentators weigh in and on TikTok Haute Historie begins to post carefully curated high fashion outfits inspired by Daphne. Dressed to Kill perhaps? She has become one of the most famous and reviled women in America – what will happen next?
This is such an assured debut novel. I liked Daphne. Although she wasn’t one of the most likeable of character, she was honest. She was also a survivor and had a lot of interesting, relatable and pithy comments to make on the ageing process and how it affects women and why she committed the murders. She had a definite voice and as I read her story I could visualise her so well as a cross between Iris Apfel and Judge Ruth. Daphne was determined not to go quietly into that good night or at least face it on her terms.
I really enjoyed the excerpts from Haute Histoire as I could imagine it happening only too well. Although the online commentators didn’t add much to the story they were entertaining.
Ruth is from the wrong side of the tracks and she’s been trying to get a writing career off the starting blocks for some years. This could be her stepping stone. But she has to keep changing the title of the podcast as another murder is revealed. She was a more muted character compared to Daphne who leaves her with a warning and the reader doesn’t know is Ruth heeds it or not.
I’ll be very interested to see what the author writes next and it’s perfect for a movie or mini series. Great cover too.
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC.

Great idea for a book, recording podcasts and TikTok confessions of murders with clever twists which I will not divulge and spoil for the reader. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to ARC this book.

I am in awe of MacKenzie Common's writing.

She is Ruth. A young woman who has been wronged and is grieving for the father she had barely known before his sudden death.

Her employment history has plummeted radically since then. Thanks to the family who did not want anything to do with daddy's secret daughter. Still the journalist in Ruth pushed through. Knowing her time would come.

The subject of her amazingly popular podcast turned out to be a ninety year old woman living out her final years in a Florida care home.

Daphne St Clair decided to come clean and admit to the murder of her very close friend, Warren. Whose death had been seen as natural in a man of his age, but Daphne proved her involvement and became a cause celebre. Especially when admitting that Warren was simply one of many.

Daphne, or Loretta, had grown up dirt poor and living in a violent abusive family. She wanted more so went in search for it. Eventually becoming extremely rich whilst leaving a number of bodies behind her.

The story of Daphne's life is told through Ruth's podcast.

MacKenzie' s writing comes over as true, allowing Ruth to ooze her own feelings out whilst Daphne tells her smug history.

This is a must read.

A fabulously written gripping story that was a pleasure to read. I would absolutely recommend this book, it was brilliant

Incredible read. I loved the style of the writing with a mixture of story, podcast and occasional fashion commentary. I was completely hooked by the no-nonsense attitude of Daphne and the gritty determination of Ruth to both tell and reveal their truths as they saw fit. I can't wait to see what is written next.

This was a deliciously 'naughty' read. Daphne is close to the end of her life and living in a care home. Everyone is stunned, when, at the ripe old age of 90, she confesses to murdering six people. She agrees to be interviewed for a podcast. Ruth, the podcaster, has secrets of her own to unravel.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book despite Daphne not being a particularly likeable character. She was however definitely intriguing and I found myself asking if she was a victim or predator as her story unfolded. I know what I decided? What about you?

Okay, I’ll admit it – I was drawn to this book by the cover, as a fan of vintage fashion, the glamorous image grabbed me, and then, the content held me! As this is the first book I have read by this author, I didn’t know what to expect – what I got was a clever and multifaceted tale of a unique woman, who is unapologetic in her harsh attitude towards most of the people in her life. She is quick-witted and extremely well versed in sarcasm – I was drawn to her immediately. In comparison, I found Ruth rather insipid, but the pairing really does work. As the tale progresses it becomes clear that Ruth has a hidden agenda, a very personal reason for pushing Daphne to reveal all about her life and the assorted murders she has committed.

I liked the format of the book and thought that the inclusion of comments from people listening to the podcast was a brilliant offshoot. All in all, The Six Murders of Daphne St Clair is both thrilling and darkly entertaining - it kept me captivated from beginning to end. Highly recommended.

even from the front cover i loved this book. i mean just look at it.
i instantly wanted to know Daphnes story. i shouldnt have been so intrigued by someone that says she commit so many murders. but i was. because what starts with her confessing to killing a man in a care home, quickly unfolds to her wanting to tell her story of how she is actually a serial killer. i mean dont we all just want to read on for her to reveal her story.
and this isnt just any telling of a story we read in a book. because Daphne enlists someone else to help her tell. she enlists a journalist to create a podcast of it all. there is so much more to Daphne than murders. and she is about to expose it all.
the story then shows us her world through such a great timeline. we are taken through some of the great times on earth in terms of changes and moments many of us can touch upon. right up until the present day as we learn this is a woman who was thinking she was doing all she needed to in a world that told her she had to in order to survive.
we get not only Daphne podcast type scripts but also more points of view of Daphne and Ruth. both have their own secrets. both .have been still holding back.
we are of course in the age of social media. and so there is insights into what others are saying...and we all know how that can go. yikes.
i adored this book. i mean why get to so old an age to say she was a murderer. and how did she get to this point!?( no im not saying there is ever a "backstory" to why people murder) but boy there is alot to this woman that we want to know. do you ge to an age where you have to let these things out? there is that thing to do with not wanting to go with things left unsaid or darkening your soul as you leave. is this what Daphne is doing?
brilliant book. just brilliant.

Although the subject of murder shouldn’t be fun, this is an enjoyable read. While slipping into social media speak from time to time, to prgoress the background to the murders with public opinion, the murderer is interviewed by a podcaster, who also hold a suspicious secret and the reader is left wondering when the two will collide. A 90+ year old murderer tells a good story and the podcaster doesn’t get an easy ride from the meek little old lady. The title may or may not be accurate, you’ll have to be judge and jury as the story evolves. There might be some justice to some of the murders, but who is to say what is right and what is wrong? I’m not sure I’d want the police from this town involved with any murder locally to me, as their level of failure increases as the book reveals the murders. I enjoyed the setting of the murder stories over the past 70+ years and the reasons given for each success or failure. This is well written and I hope to read more from this author in the future.