Quick Review – An Ethical Guide to Murder by Jenny Morris

Publisher: Simon & Schuster (ebook – 16 January 2025)

Series: Standalone/Book One

Length: 400 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

In the mood for a curious crime fiction read with a clever philosophical edge? Then make sure to read the outstanding 2025 debut, An Ethical Guide to Murder by new author Jenny Morris.

Plot Synopsis:

How to Kill Your Family meets The Power in this entertaining and thought-provoking read, that asks:

If you had the power between life and death, what would you do?

Thea has a secret.

She can tell how long someone has left to live just by touching them.

Not only that, but she can transfer life from one person to another – something she finds out the hard way when her best friend Ruth suffers a fatal head injury on a night out.

Desperate to save her, Thea touches the arm of the man responsible when he comes to check if Ruth is all right. As Ruth comes to, the man quietly slumps to the ground, dead.

Thea realises that she has a godlike power: but despite deciding to use her ability for good, she can’t help but sometimes use it for her own benefit.

Boss annoying her at work? She can take some life from them and give it as a tip to her masseuse for a great job.

Creating an ‘Ethical Guide to Murder’ helps Thea to focus her new-found skills.

But as she embarks on her mission to punish the wicked and give the deserving more time, she finds that it isn’t as simple as she first thought.

How can she really know who deserves to die, and can she figure out her own rules before Ruth’s borrowed time runs out?

Early last year I had the very great pleasure of reading Jenny Morris’s very first novel, An Ethical Guide to Murder. This excellent book featured a compelling plot focused on a protagonist Thea, with the ability to transfer life between one person to another. After accidentally fatally utilising this power to save her friend, Thea soon finds herself tempted to tip scales between life and death to make a better world. Working with an ambitious love interest, Thea soon sets up her own Ethical Guide to Murder and begins to target those she believes to be truly wicked. However, not everything is as it seems, especially when Thea comes face to face with the consequences of her actions, and the dark side of choosing who gets to life and who gets to die. The resulting personal conflicts with those closest to her, followed by shocking revelations about those she has placed her faith in, will push her over the edge especially when she comes face to face with the person responsible for ruining her life.

I really enjoyed the unique story that Morris came up with for An Ethical Guide to Murder, which proves very easy to get addicted to. Morris does a good job setting the scene for Thea’s unique abilities in the first part of the book, as well as her stressful life and the people around her. The transition towards a secret, life-taking vigilante is well written, especially with the inclusion of a seemingly noble love interest with his own plans for her abilities, and the reader is poised to support Thea with her plans.

The last half of the book continues this story in a fantastic manner, while also adding in some strong philosophical and ethical elements, as Thea finds herself torn about whether she was ever doing the right thing. The resulting battle of morals, especially as Thea also finds herself under investigation and forced to try and contend with true evil closer to home, allows for some deep and heartfelt moments in the book, until you honestly don’t know what the right course of action is for Thea anymore. Everything wraps up on a heartfelt note, as the protagonist comes to terms with their powers in their own way, while also addressing all their personal problems. I think Morris’s strong choice of ending for An Ethical Guide to Murder fit the rest of the narrative extremely well, and you come away from this book very thoughtful and appreciative of Morris’s dive into her protagonist’s psyche, and the fantastic discussion about the value of life and the impact of those who misuse it.

Overall, An Ethical Guide to Murder was a very strong debut that I was glad I got the chance to read last year. Clever, thought-provoking, and filled with some strong characters, An Ethical Guide to Murder was an outstanding read that is worth checking out.