The book is marked as a thriller but it's more of a slow burn mystery.

An old man dies in a nursing home. After he's wheeled away, everyone mourning his loss, his girlfriend Daphne, admits she killed him. And she's killed before.

Enter Ruth, a podcaster determined to find out the truth. But she has an ulterior motive.

Slow paced with very unlikeable characters this brings you all the way from Canada in the 1920s to present day with feminist undertones.

I enjoyed it even if I was expecting it to be something different & more fast paced.

3.5 stars rounded down.

A murder confession from an elderly resident of a nursing home is the start of a curious relationship between Daphne, a serial killer, and Ruth, the host of a podcast detailing her crimes. Each have hidden secrets and agenda which play out as this fascinating tale unfolds. What drives a woman to kill? Is it for financial gain and independence? Is it the maternal urge to protect and provide for her offspring? Or is it purely to prove that she can?
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel which was well written and well paced throughout.

I feel very ambivalent about this novel, I do think that books about female serial killers, podcasters and their online commentators have reached maximum capacity even when they are bought together in one story, and there is very little new and original to be included. However, Ms Common's style is easy to read and I enjoyed the fashion tips, but I found it difficult to get on board with the feminist narrative and the ending felt quite rushed and unresolved.
Thank you to netgalley and Headline for an advance copy of this book.

This is the story of Daphne St Clair an elderly lady who admits to being a serial killer and letting a budding journalist, Ruth, record a podcast giving all the details of Daphne’s life and killing spree.

In the beginning people have sympathy for Daphne as her first couple of murders were on men who both sexually and/physically abused her. The further into the life of Daphne people’s sympathy starts to wane as it becomes killing because she was “bored”.

Throughout the book you become aware that Ruth has a hidden agenda and there is a reason she is pushing Daphne to reveal her earlier aliases and all the murders she committed.

The book was a good read and an insight into the mind of a very selfish woman and why she suddenly, at the almost end of her life, decided to admit to these murders.

The ending of the book was great and certainly added to the story.

The Six Murders of Daphne St Clair is a wildly original debut that blends mystery, memoir, and podcast culture into one addictive read. When 90-year-old care home resident Daphne St Clair confesses to six murders, washed-up true crime podcaster Ruth Robinson sees her big break. But as Daphne recounts her dazzling, dangerous life—from the Canadian prairies to the streets of 1970s New York—the line between fact and fiction blurs.

MacKenzie Common delivers a smart, layered story that satirizes our obsession with true crime while asking deeper questions about justice, storytelling, and who gets to shape the narrative. Is Daphne a feminist vigilante or a narcissistic liar? Is Ruth exploiting her or uncovering the truth?
This had me hooked from the start and I just couldn't put it down. Loved it

I truly enjoyed this book, particularly how swiftly we are plunged into Daphne's confession, setting an intense tone right from the start.

I must admit, I didn't really connect with either of the main characters. Daphne, in particular, struck me as a sociopath. As the narrative unfolds and we peel back the layers of her motivations for murdering several men, I find myself oddly slipping into her mindset. I understood her motivation and could almost empathise with her. I also loved Daphne for her quick wit, sharp sarcasm, and her unapologetic “screw you” attitude towards everyone around her. However, as her story progressed, her motivations shifted, which ultimately made her character feel more authentic and unlikable at the same time. She doesn’t shy away from admitting that she began to relish the thrill of the kills or that her boredom often drove her actions. This brings to the forefront the age-old debate of nature versus nurture, making her a complex figure rather than just a one-dimensional villain. Paradoxically, my inability to like her only heightened my appreciation for the overall story. The complexity added to her character is what made her feel genuinely human.

On the other hand, Ruth felt disappointingly bland. Despite the substantial mystery surrounding her character and her unwavering drive to extract a confession from Daphne regarding a murder she believes she committed, I found it hard to warm up to her. From the moment we learn about Ruth's background, the identity of the murderer appears fairly obvious, diminishing any suspense and making her quest seem somewhat futile.

I particularly enjoyed delving into Daphne's character more deeply, and I appreciated the inclusion of online forums that added a modern twist and cleverly complemented the podcast element woven throughout the story. However, I feel the segments focused on fashion TikTok could have been omitted without detracting from the overall narrative. Those parts felt out of place, and I could have easily bypassed them without losing any enjoyment of the story.

Overall, the book presents a clever premise and exudes a vibe reminiscent of "The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo," with its intricate character explorations and compelling storytelling.

I want to thank the Author, publishers and Netgalley for the ARC of this book. This review is my own.

I really enjoyed this book. A suspenseful page turner with some very interesting characters and a good ending. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

Wow! Another incredible story, told in an original style, switching between the title character and her 'biographer' and interspersed by interjections from online trolls.
The narrative/conversation itself carries the reader along well enough, but I found the final segments with the psychological implications and insight they provoked worked well for me. No one comes out of this as particularly likable, and I felt little sympathy for any of the main characters - but that matters little and there is an almost imperceptible 'twist' (or maybe two) that comes with the final 'reveal'.
Thoroughly recommended!

I was a little intrigued when I read the precis for The Six Murders of Daphne St Clair. Would it be fusty, possibly lacking energy or would I be pleasantly surprised? Fortunately it was the latter. Daphne, a 90 year old granny confesses to a string of murders over decades of her life. This is worked in to a podcast by Ruth Robinson following many one to one taped conversations. It was most fascinating. Her initial murders courted a degree of sympathy and empathy from the podcast audience but that soon changed when Daphne's ennui was the driver for many of the subsequent murders.
Ruth had an agenda too and it wasn't limited to true crime podcasting.
I really enjoyed the dark humour of our care home granny and weirdly I seem to understand her raison d'être, not that it would be mine.
A very different crime novel and quite the page turner.

This was a good story that kept you hooked in as you waited for each instalment of the interview and to see where it was going. It did feel slightly unfinished towards the end.

Deliciously dark, surprising and mysterious, this is a cracking read, twisted and different. Really enjoyed it.

An enjoyable, fascinating very different book about an elderly resident of a care home- but that doesn’t stop her! Strange how a story grips you- I couldn’t wait to see what Daphne would get up to next and became engrossed with the storyline. K

MacKenzie Common’s The Six Murders of Daphne St Clair is a darkly witty and thought-provoking thriller that delves into the complexities of truth, storytelling, and the allure of true crime. Set against the backdrop of a sensational podcast, the novel follows ninety-year-old Daphne St Clair, who confesses to a series of murders spanning decades, and Ruth Robinson, the aspiring true crime podcaster she enlists to tell her story. As Daphne recounts her past—from humble beginnings in the Dust Bowl of Canada to a glamorous life in 1970s New York—each episode captivates the public, blurring the lines between justice and entertainment.  

Common masterfully explores themes of media sensationalism, the construction of narratives, and the ambiguity of morality. The novel raises compelling questions: Is Daphne a feminist avenger or a manipulative criminal? As the podcast gains popularity, it becomes evident that both Daphne and Ruth harbor secrets, challenging the authenticity of the narrative they’ve constructed.

What’s a girl to do when you have killed a series of men over 90 years and no one has noticed? Confess and record a podcast series before you get taken to jail, of course.

I really enjoyed the format of this book, where the murders of Daphne St.Clair was revealed through podcast transcripts, forum comments and traditional chapters.

I was immediately drawn in to the plot and entertained from the first page to the last. I do think a lot of the plot was easy to predict and there was one death that I had to suspend belief for. That said, I think the ending was really clever and will keep you thinking about the book, long after you’ve read it.

Definitely a book I would recommend for fans of epistolary style storytelling, Bildungsroman books and thrillers.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a chance to review an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

A podcaster interviews an old woman who has unexpectedly confessed to six murders throughout her life. An interesting premise that does go through the six murders the titular Daphne St Clair has committed, but lacking the tension you'd expect of this type of novel. Unlikeable characters and lots of filler in the form of Reddit threads and transcripts - its been done better elsewhere. Not one for me.

The Six Murders of Daphne St Clair is what it says on the tin - we learn about the six murders committed by Daphne St Clair, a 90 year old woman who has just confessed.

I disliked Daphne and her blasé attitude to the fact that she murdered several people. Admittedly, some of them were not upstanding citizens and probably deserved some element of comeuppance - others genuinely didn’t and she killed because she was bored. I also didn’t find anything endearing me to the rest of the characters either.

The Reddit threads and the transcripts of the TikTok fashion videos were just filler and certainly didn’t add anything to the story - in my opinion they would have been better left out and the story/characters being more fleshed out.

The ending was a little too anti climactic for me and left me a bit disappointed.

Overall, I didn’t think this book was as clever as it wanted to be or could have been. Some of the murders and twists were very obvious but it wasn’t a bad read and was mildly entertaining.

Daphne St Clair is not a very likeable character but she is compelling. She garners some sympathy at first because of her circumstances but loses it once she gets into her killing stride. Ruth is easier to empathise with and understand. Spanning most of the twentieth century and some of the twenty-first, Six Murders shows women's lives across the decades - the pain, the fear, the hard work, the restraints, the boredom, and the violence, both above and below the surface.

I very much enjoyed reading this book, despite Daphne's unpleasantness. It kept me hooked and held back answers until (and maybe beyond) the end. I can't say I absolutely loved it but it certainly held my attention and I do recommend it. Well worth a read.

The concept of a 90 year old serial killer had me hooked from the start and I wasn't disappointed. As I continued to read I found myself constantly changing my mind about the character of Daphne St Clair. If I could have read it in one sitting that would have been great but, I did read it happily over a few days. Also enticing was the way St Clair dressed, including the long white gloves with a few drops of blood on them. The story starts with her admitting to the police that she has murdered one of her male admirers. She then goes on to say that she has been murdering men for about 50 years, saying that she wants wipe the slate clean. The story is told in an interview with a young podcaster, Ruth Robinson. The story quickly carries on covering St Clairs life through the years, especially how she survived life in the Dustbowl in the Depression and learned at a young age that you have to do what you have to do to stay alive. There is so much more I could say, but I hope that what I have written will make you want to read it yourself!

Thank you so much NetGalley for allowing me to read this in advance of publication.

The novel opens in a care home. An old man has died which is to be expected. However, one of the residents, the flamboyant Daphne St Clair confesses to have murdered him and many others during her lifetime.

What follows is a feeding frenzy to get that all important interview from the frail 90-year-old serial killer. Ruth, a young journalist is chosen to document her story through a series of podcasts and quicky builds up a following. There are some important people however in their small town who want to bury the story and make their presence known.

As the two begin to get to know each other it becomes clear that Ruth may have an alternative motive for interviewing Daphne. During the interviews Daphne reveals a truly horrific childhood growing up in the "Great Depression". While poverty separated her family from others, she was subjected to unforgivable cruelty and sexual abuse. Leaving her home behind we are treated to events that pepper her life at various stages. And what a character she turns out to be. Yes, she is a serial killer, but a lovable one at that. You simply can't help but warm to her.

The novel gripped me right to its last pages and that is why I give it 5 stars. A beautifully crafted novel with a heart of gold at its core.

Thankyou Netgalley and Mountain Leopard Press for the opportunity to read this ahead of publication.

This book had me hooked! Let me start by saying this book is written as a dual timeline, however It’s written so well that you’ll never lose track of where you are, or lose interest. Our heroine Ruth is interviewing an elderly lady, who’s confessed to murder, for her podcast, whilst dealing with her own drama, and trying to dig all the secrets out of Daphne, the murderer. There is an element of mystery in the book, which is solved by the end, but the reader is left on a slight cliffhanger. I really enjoyed this book and struggled to put it down. I would 100% recommend this book, particularly to anyone who’s enjoyed somewhat dark books before like How to kill a man and get away with it, or others like it