So this second novel by Kukafka will give you the chills… it’s what a thriller, mystery should be. I thoroughly enjoyed reading what was happening through the eyes of the victims. The last chapter… so chilling and creepy, but I’m guessing it was supposed to be hopeful! I know, I’m using the same adjectives, but I can’t not use them.
My only negative, was for a short book I felt it did drag in sections. But once everything started to come together, it went TOO fast! Oh well, can’t alway be 100% happy!
This was so much fun to read and highly recommend! Very thankful to NetGalley, William Morrow, and Danya Kukafka for gifting this ARC!

A truly unique serial killer story, more focused on the lives of the women taken than the motivations of their killer (though his upbringing and early life trauma are fascinatingly detailed.)

I was really looking forward to this one, but it ended up taking some strange turns and detours. It was a slow-moving ride, and I kept waiting for it to speed up. Decent read.

I enjoyed this suspenseful story. This is my first book by this author which I look forward to seeing more from them in the future. This is a well written story that has twists and turns that kept me not only turning pages fast but kept me on the edge of my seat just waiting to see what would happen next. It is a fast paced story that was hard to put down. It is full of action and will keep you turning pages to the end. I enjoyed how the characters pulled me into the story from the beginning and how connectable they were. They are strong, creative characters that truly made the story for me. I enjoyed the growth of the plot as well as the growth of the characters. This is a story about an execution of a serial killer. It brought out different emotions for me throughout but it kept me coming back for more for sure. This is a great story that I truly enjoyed from beginning to end. I highly recommend this book.

I really liked the first 2/3 of this book. It was fast-paced, kept me guessing and had a great storyline that I really enjoyed.
Then I got towards the end and I'm not sure what happened but I got bored with Saffron and Ansel. I felt like they whined a lot and was no longer interested in them. With all the good reviews I feel like it was a me problem and not a book problem but can't go higher than three stars.
Thank you to Netgalley for this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

A deep, well planned book looking at the life of a serial killer. This one is unique as it is covered by multiple perspectives which I was not expecting. Parts of the book are quite haunting. There are moments where the killer becomes somewhat more human … which in itself is disturbing. It’s a 3 star for me just based on the jumping around within the book. I felt in attempt to be “authentic” it took away from the overall experience. Thanks to NetGalley for the early read.

This book is about Ansel Packer’s last few hours on earth awaiting execution. It does not graphically tell about the murders or the animal cruelty. We learn about Ansel’s life from the women who knew him. Each chapter was told from a different viewpoint. Ansel wants us to believe that if there were an alternate universe his life would not have ended up like it did. If he had a loving family or friends would things have been different? That was a theory he considered.

The story was very engrossing. The women in his life were interesting. It made me want to keep reading. Why do we glamorize serial killers? It’s the victims that matter. Why did Ansel take a 20 year break? Maybe he was living the alternate life.

This is the second book by Danya Kukafka and she did a great job.

Thank you to #WilliamMorrow and NetGalley for my ARC ebook.

I liked this book! Solid storytelling. Will def. Recommend for purchase. I enjoyed the characters and even felt the terror of knowing the end was near. Well done!

Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka was amazing! An emotional powerful roller coaster.. This is the story of Ansel Packer, a serial killer who is about to be put to death for his crimes. It's told in multiple viewpoints and periods from the perspective of Ansel himself and the various women throughout his life. It is exquisitely written. It made me feel all kinds of emotions for all the characters, even for Ansel. Makes me question whether people are mostly good or mostly bad and if we should be judged by the worst acts we've ever performed. I simply loved it!!!!

What a fascinating fictional exploration of the hours leading up to an execution intermingled with the history that led to this point. It’s a study in the lives of the women that surround the convicted, the mother, the victims, the victims’ mothers and sisters, the niece, and the last person that might have loved him. It’s a slow build, the removal layer by layer of the past. Was it abandonment that led to crime or was the underlying violent nature always under the surface? Is it in all of us? Life doesn’t really give us answers or allow us to have all the information we need to find answers ourselves. Our characters want answers, want their loved ones back, want justice; just . . . want. The story moves steadily toward the execution and a lifetime is revealed through the womens’ stories. I thought it was a well written, well paced story. It is ideal for a book club to discuss and ponder, reflect on the varied perspectives and discuss whether the death penalty achieves desired outcomes.

Danya Kukafka directly plugs the reader into a killer’s mind in her latest novel Notes on an Execution. As the book opens, Ansel is experiencing his last day before his execution. Told in the second voice, his personality, thoughts, and reflections are rendered completely transparent and disturbing. The novel alternates chapters between Ansel’s excruciating wait and the stories of some important women in his life. The convict’s mother makes a desperate decision that either guides his future actions or at least provides the perfect environment for his natural tendencies to erupt. Hazel, Ansel’s sister-in-law, recounts how he charmingly insinuates into their family and breaks it apart. The last perspective Kukafka provides is that of Sapphire, a police captain that grew up with Ansel and was the first to witness his dark proclivities. She has been following him ever since three young women were killed and there was insufficient evidence to connect Ansel to the crimes. The plot of Notes on an Execution is riveting, and the characters are carefully and realistically constructed. Kukafka also encourages the reader to reconsider their own assumptions about the genesis of a disturbed mind. It is a commentary on our fascination with killers and their stories, while victims are quickly forgotten. People with differing opinions on the use of the death penalty as a deterrent/punishment will find Kukafka’s presentation to be fair, thoughtful and well-rendered.
Thanks to the author, William Morrow and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

This debut novel told from multiple viewpoints was well written. It was a different concept than I’ve ever read before and kept me very engaged. Gave you a lot to think about when someone is on death row and up for execution. Great read.

Wowowwo I can't stop thinking about this. A must-read for 2022. Think serial killers, but a completely different angle. VERY dark and unsettling but extremely emotional. Highly, highly recommend.

This book was so creatively written and well done that the next few lines are just going to be praise for the author and this book! The story is about a serial killer on death row, and is a final countdown of the twelve hours prior to his execution. The author does a fantastic job of telling his life story through the perspectives of his mother, his wife's twin sister, and the homicide detective. I have not one suggestion. I loved it!

Loved the different points of view and the way the story tied back together. The characters were believable and not always likable, which made them seem real.

Notes on an Execution is dark, but powerfully written. Told in multiple perspectives spanning the present-day countdown to the execution of Ansel, interspersed with chapters from 3 important women throughout his life.

The audio is narrated by Mozhan Marno and Jim Meskimen, who both do an incredible job bringing Lavendar, Saffy, Hazel and Ansel to life.

The character depth that author Danya Kukafka created across all four perspectives absolutely fascinated me. All are flawed yet fully dimensional--there are no heroes here. The entire book reminded me of a dark HBO detective series, and I mean that as a compliment.

I can see this being a really buzzed about 2022 release and for good reason!

Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Audio and William Morrow for an advanced copy of this and the opportunity to share my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The book starts with Ansel Packer 12 hours from his execution. He killed 4 women, one his ex wife. The book moves back and forth between Ansel's story and the story of some of the women that he knew and also on some of the family members of the victims. It was refreshing to read a different perspective, provided by those women. The author did a brilliant job humanizing Ansel. But the best were the women. Jenny, his wife, Hazel, her twin sister and Saffy, a detective who knew Ansel when he was young and believed him to be guilty of the murder of her 3 friends and Ansel's mother, Lavender, who to save Ansel and his brother, deserted them and called 911 to find them. The worst part of the book is there is some animal abuse. The author has a wonderful way with words and tells a compelling story. It is one of the best books I have read this year. And I don't give 5 stars lightly.

This story is as sad and heartbreaking as it is captivating. I couldn’t stop reading and had to know what happened next. The story is told through the perspective of 4 people and it was done in such a beautiful way. Although the story seems to be about Ansel, the serial killer awaiting execution, it is more about the women and their stories. Our society is definitely focused on serial killers and men who do harm, so reading a story from the perspective of women who have come into contact with the killer was refreshing. Overall this story is brilliant and unique and will be a frequent recommendation for others.

4 Death Row Stars

This is a unique book as we explore the final hours of a man on death row. The book alternates between his final hours and thoughts and then switches to several women in his life and their stories. It reads like true crime to me.

Ansel Packer is the condemned man, and we learn about his rough early years of his life, then through foster homes, and his adult life.

The women include Ansel’s mother Lavender, and we witness her horrible marriage. There’s also Ansel’s wife and sister, and my favorite character Saffy, the young policewoman convinced that Ansel is guilty.

I found the writing focused on the women in the story although we do get an inside view into Ansel. There’s always been a fascination with serial killers and less attention on the victims, so I appreciated the perspective of this book. It was compelling to ponder the victim’s family perspective, is justice served by executing a killer? It doesn’t bring the loved one back and unfortunately doesn’t seem to be a deterrent for other crimes. Can you forgive the person?

As the clock ticks down the final minutes for Ansel, I found it interesting to think about whether serial killers can ever be reformed, how do they end up hunting people (often women) and why they are glorified while we forget the victims?

A warning that this one contains violence and abuse to animals.

After the initial pages, I found myself not connecting with the story or characters, so I decided to pass on this book. Did not finish