Love this author.
This is a story about murder, (several) snobbery and a touch of Dr. Doolittle.
A fabulous funny storyline with some truly awful characters.
Lots of twists and a real shock towards the end.
My thanks to netgalley and the publisher for my copy.

Diana Leyland has her sights set on wealthy author David Farrand as husband number four. But while charming rich men may be Diana’s speciality, David’s daughter Cat is immediately suspicious of her motives. As Diana attempts to secure her place in the family’s glamorous literary world, tensions rise, secrets emerge and it soon becomes clear that almost everyone has something to hide.

Bella Mackie has done it again. Claws Out is darkly funny, wildly entertaining and packed with the kind of deliciously awful characters that somehow become impossible to look away from.

Set among London’s wealthy literary elite, the novel throws readers into a world of gossip, manipulation, ambition and family dysfunction, where nobody is quite as innocent as they first appear. Mackie has a real gift for creating characters who are deeply flawed, morally questionable and yet endlessly entertaining, leaving you constantly reassessing who deserves your sympathy.

What I loved most was the balance between the sharp satire and the mystery at the heart of the story. The twists keep coming, the pace never lets up, and beneath all the scandal and chaos there’s a genuinely clever plot unfolding. Mackie’s observations about wealth, status and human behaviour are as biting as ever, delivered with her trademark wit and cynical humour.

This was one of those books that was incredibly easy to devour in just a few sittings. Funny, addictive and wonderfully catty, Claws Out is another winner from Bella Mackie and my favourite of hers so far.

Everything I've come to expect from a Bella Mackie novel!
Packed with witty, light humour, messy family dynamics, slightly far fetched twists and of course, murder. The tone is sharp and entertaining and full of a cast of unlikeable character, yet somehow you can't stop reading about them or wanting to know exactly how things will unravel.
A fast, fun and darkly entertaining read that leans into chaos in all the right ways.

Compulsively addictive. A great book to sink your claws into this summer! The characters were fun and the ending a real treat. I loved it.

Thank you for my copy of this book to read and review.

I really enjoy Bella Mackie’s style of writing. This book, as with her others, is full of dark humour, unlikeable characters and twists.

I have already recommended this book to friends and I’m already looking forward to her next one.

The novel dives into a glamorous but toxic world filled with secrets, rivalries and people behaving very badly and it does so with plenty of biting humour. The characters are outrageous in the best way and the story moves quickly as tensions build and loyalties begin to crumble. Mackie has a real talent for making even the most awful people entertaining to read about.

Beneath the humour there’s still a clever mystery unfolding, with twists that keep the pages turning without taking itself too seriously. Some characters are intentionally over the top which may not work for everyone, but it fits perfectly with the satirical tone.

I read my first book by this brilliant author last month (How To Kill Your Family) and I was really impressed with the way it was written.

This book was of the same brilliance and I loved it. The charactersation and connections between characters was brilliant. I really enjoyed the drama that unfolded throughout the book and just when I thought I had it all worked out, there was a twist!

Then I get to the end and there is another twist, I thought if reworked it out after the first twist, but nope I was wrong again.

There was an element of humour in this book (and in How To Kill Your Family) and it's not topics that seem funny but to inject humour into these situations is honestly a skill on its own!

Absolutely loved this and I now need to read, What a Way To Go and I have a feeling I'll love that too.

Another Bella Mackie classic. Loved the turns in this. Especially the rats, given the current news. Bella’s references to the upper middle class of North London are spot on!

I loved Bella Mackie’s previous novels, so was excited to get stuck into her latest, Claws Out, which certainly didn’t disappoint.

Dangerous Diana is on the hunt for husband number four. With a talent for working her way into the right social circles and charming wealthy men, she’s determined to secure her place among London’s elite. Sure, her previous husbands have all died rather unexpectedly, but Diana is not one to dwell.

New target David is just Diana’s type – wealthy, well-connected and easily flattered. The only obstacle is his daughter, Cat. Entitled, suspicious and fiercely protective of her inheritance, Cat isn't about to stand by and watch Diana get her claws into the family fortune.

Deliciously dark and packed with Mackie’s sharp observations about wealth, privilege and social ambition, Claws Out is compelling, funny and outrageous. Loved it.

Another brilliant book from Bella Mackie. Fast moving, witty and full of dark humour. Really liked writing style, at times the narrator directly speaks to you and this really adds to the story. Also excellent ending, that I didn't quite expect.

Highly entertaining! Not my usual 'read', (but this proves I must diversify). The story is told with inscisor wit: sharp, funny, accurate and viscious! Superb observations of British (particularly London) 'class' delineations which I never knew existed. The 'Tatler' crowd (toffs & titles), the Liberal North London 'champagne socialist' lot; and the West London 'elite' - different clothes, & a 'bit vulgar' according to North Londoners; & It's the North Londoners we're hearing the story told from, so huge bias here!

Middle-aged Diana has lost 3 husbands and she's climbed the social ladder with each marriage. She's out to hunt down the 4th husband - but isn't that too many coincidental deaths? The daughter of the potential 4th 'victim' thinks so; she has no intention of putting her father at risk (or indeed, her future inheritance).

No-one comes across as morally superior in this story but there's a lot of fun and scheming along the way. Without giving any spoilers the end does go into the whimsy but it's very enjoyable too. Great fun, with super characters. Loved it.

I read Claws Out! over a sunny weekend and literally didn’t want to put it down! The new book from Bella Mackie combines all the elements I loved from her previous novels: it made me laugh-out-loud with both its satirical observations and slightly deluded characters and had a clever plot with a healthy dose of murder in the mix.

The plot of Claws Out! hooked me immediately. We’re told that Diana Leyland is a widow not once, not twice but thrice over and is now casting her net for her next husband. When she meets David Farrand (an author and psychiatrist, in his 70s, loves the sound of his own voice) the scene is set.

Diana and David each have an adult child, Zeb (Diana’s privileged and charming son) and Catriona (David’s entitled and charming daughter). Cat isn’t too pleased when she finds out who her father’s new love interest is…

If Sean was telling the truth, and Cat had no reason to doubt him, then all three of Diana’s husbands had died in freak circumstances.

The story follows both Cat as she sets out to discover what really happened to Diana’s previous husbands and if her father is in danger, and Diana as she works to establish her new life, with her new husband. The loathing between them soon grows and Diana’s son, Zeb finds himself stuck between them.

You could argue that none of the four lead characters are very nice at all, and yet you find yourself invested and want to know how the story all pans out for them. That’s the charm of this read.

While at first it seems like the plot centres around a step-mother/daughter cat fight, it transpires there’s a lot more to it than that.

Claws Out! is a murder mystery that subverts your expectations on more than one occasion and keeps you intrigued. An Agatha Christie book is mentioned at one point and Claws Out! almost feels like a homage to that era and genre.

I also loved the satiric commentary on the particular foibles of the rich, as well as the class-wars between the rich themselves.

To ramp up the entertainment factor, every so often Bella Mackie breaks the fourth wall and speaks directly to the reader and we’re also taken back in time in intervals through the book, to delve further into just what did happen to Diana’s former husbands. This blend just worked so well to draw me in.

Claws Out! was the definition of right book, right time for me. It’s such a fun, witty story with a tantalising plot that was effortless to read. It truly got its claws into me.

The story follows Diana who wants to marry a rich man, but her previous husbands have all died in mysterious ways! When she starts dating David, his daughter Cat becomes suspicious and tries to uncover the truth. Whilst most of the characters are unlikeable, they are well written Overall, Claws Out is a fun, clever, and entertaining read that I would recommend to anyone who enjoys a bit of dark humour.

Thank you to Netgalley, Harper Fiction and Bella Mackie for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

Claws out follows Diana Leyland, a 60-something woman looking for love. Except her real goal is to manipulate her way into a relationship with a very wealthy man. Unfortunately for her new mark, her last 3 husbands died rather mysteriously. After meeting David, his daughter Cat starts to have some serious concerns and will stop at nothing to reveal the truth.

This book is best described as a dark comedy, I was on the edge of my seat one minute and laughing the next. I really didn’t know how the story would play out and was delightfully surprised by the path it took. Mackie is very intentional with her character design and plot development. I suspect it would be even better on a re-read.

I’d recommend this to fans of her previous books, especially ‘How to Kill Your Family’ as it draws on the same dark humour and has a similarly tantalising plot. Mackie is one of the only authors in the thriller space who consistently outdoes the intriguing hook on the blurb.

Claws Out is a blistering dark comedy that, to be honest, you just need to get your claws into!

Bella Mackie never fails to entertain with her unlikeable characters and social narratives that ring SO true. Diana didn't grow up rich and she's got to where she is through sheer determination. So, a few husbands have died along the way, but she won't let that stop her getting what she wants. Until she meets Cat, her next prey's daughter, who will not let Diana infiltrate her family and is intent on shedding light on Diana's murky past.

I thoroughly enjoyed Claws Out, I love how I hate the characters yet still want to root for them, and I'm not ashamed to say I'm pretty bleary today after staying up way past my bedtime to finish it!

Bella Mackie does it again! A humorous, dark, twisty romp with a killer hook and some killer twists.