This was an absolutely spectacular book! This story follows Haze and Fox who have found in each other a common hobby which happens to be ridding the world of the worst kind of men. Throw marriage, a baby, and life in suburbia into the mix and their lives get a little messier.
I was hooked from the first chapter and read the entire book in one day, as I couldn’t wait to continue exploring their relationships. I absolutely adored this book and will definitely be on the lookout for more from this author!

I was excited to read this book, but after trying to get engaged and returning to it many times, I could not finish. The writing style starts off dynamic and thought-provoking, but then the story gets mired down with minutiae, and/or the plot gets lost. losing steam. I expected more after 70% but it just didn't deliver. Great cover and premise, didn't get there

Have you ever wished that Dexter's wife, Rita, was also a serial killer? If so, this is the book for you!

It's the classic story of a husband and wife having a baby leading to them giving up their passions (killing bad men) and subsequently leading to marital problems. A tale as old as time lol

The story is full of righteous female rage and could have been a winner for me if the format was different. You get both Haze's and Fox's POVs and there are time jumps and there are newspaper clippings and there are text messages and and and and.... Because of choppy formatting, this one took me much longer to read than I anticipated. I enjoyed the content enough that it still sits at a 4 (3.5 rounded, honestly).

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-ARC of this book.

Thank you for the opportunity ton read this arc!

I went in thinking I would love this book. The premise was so good but unfortunately as I began to read it I just seemed to fall flat. I wasn't really a fan of either of the main characters and really had to push through to complete the book.

This book gave me more of an action packed movie vibe vs. a suspenseful thriller. I am not a huge fan of action movies so this book was just alright for me. It kept me reading though but didn’t keep me up late at night needing to know asap what was happening next.

Thank you netgalley for an early release!

I got really close to putting this one down around the 25% mark. I wasn’t really jiving with either of the main characters. In the end, I didn’t love how the story was told. I wish that we’d either just had Hazel’s narration or that we got a true narration from Fox. Characters would enter his narration without explanation and it made me feel like I hadn’t been reading carefully enough. We weren’t privy to everything that Fox knew and that took some of the enjoyment out of the book for me as his POV is half the book.

Overall, I thought the author used the plight of these characters to make an interesting commentary on marriage in general, but then I thought the conclusion lacked…a conclusion. Perhaps she wasn’t trying to make a commentary on marriage? Because all the end of the book did was wrap up the surface level plot, but did nothing to address the deeper themes of marriage that I felt she was toying with the rest of the book.

Note: Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Haze and Fox were couple goals. They were rich, beautiful, fun, and madly in love. While they came from very different backgrounds - Fox a trust fund baby; Haz a foster child - they shared a hobby of killing bad men. When Haze got pregnant, they traded in their serial killer lifestyle for a generic suburban family one. Now, with a young daughter, Fox seems to adapting well while Haz is bored and uninspired. With Fox's encouragement, Haze makes friends with another mom and starts to think she can scratch her itch by helping her new friend stick it to her ex. When she kills without Fox and his parents reenter his life, the secrets between the couple keep piling up and resentments grow.

I absolutely loved this book! The chapters were short, which was really bad for the cycle of "just one more" before bed. Haze and Fox were both really captivating characters and I love vigilante justice stories. It is told from both of their POVs in both past and present tense so you get a feel for their history, both together and apart. It was a lot more humorous than I had been expecting and managed to brush over most of the disturbing details of what the bad men had done. Fox's narration did keep more secrets from the readers, but that actually added some suspense to the story and it worked really well when the whole truth came out. I highly recommend this read!

I was expecting this book to be more Mr. and Mrs. Smith but the reality is that it was a little more slow burn than I was expecting. Her need to kill is very fun as was how they met. However, I really wanted more.

4.25 rounded down to 4.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bantam for an advanced copy of this book in an exchange for an honest review.

A Serial Killer's Guide to Marriage is an interesting take on what happens when two serial killers meet, get married, and have a child. It was relatable in the sense that it seems when people are married for a long time, they grow and change, and the people in the marriage need to grow and change together for the marriage to last. Throw a child into the mix, and your marriage seems to be even more work, because you're constantly caring and worrying about the livelihood of the little one. Even without adding a child, sometimes people lose themselves and need to rediscover who they are, and I thought that message was very well done. I also liked the dual POVs between Hazel and Fox - although I would have liked more from Fox's perspective, because even though we got his side of things, I felt like we were still kept in the dark along with Hazel, as to what he was doing while we were hearing from Hazel's perspective. The ending was a bit far-fetched, but it was cute, and I liked the message that we don't need to change who we are once we have children.

The only issue I had was the fact that multiple parts felt a bit repetitive - and a lot of the details about how Hazel was feeling in her marriage, how Fox was feeling - even the parts with his family, and how they knew about his "hobbies" - it was just beat to death over and over again, and it kind of took me out of the story. We know they were frustrated and not communicating - but it seemed to be mentioned every single chapter. It might have been different if there was more "showing" than just "telling" about it, but once I looked past those parts the story was cute and relatable (minus the serial killing).

I thought this was an interesting take on serial killers, because we don't really see what happens to them once they settle down and get married. Overall, I got through this one pretty quickly and found it rather enjoyable.

3.75 / 5 🌟

first, i just wanted to say thank you to bantam books and netgalley for this arc!! 🥰

what a fun take on a marriage of two people that have a deep dark desire that could land them in prison for life.

overall, i enjoyed this book! i think the plot for me lagged at times and that definitely affected my rating more than anything. another thing that i couldn’t get on with was the likability of both halves of this couple. there was a large percentage of the book where i didn’t like either partner!! however, i think the way everything spiraled out of control make this book a fun read because you didn’t know how it was going to end or if there was going to be a happily ever after. i enjoyed the author’s writing in this book, and i found the chapter lengths’ very digestible. i would recommend!

again, thank you to bantam books and netgalley for this arc!! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

*3.5 stars ✨

A fun domestic thriller. Two people who meet, fall in love, & have a desire to kill people. A fine romance. However, they only kill men who deserve it. When domestic life threatens to overwhelm them, how will they get that spark back? The first half was just ok, but the second half I enjoyed a lot more. I became humorous and a little more fast paced. All in all, it was entertaining.

I loved how a majority of the story was going. Their relationship was complex and interesting from how they met to the Marraige and baby. I enjoyed mot of their showdown. The ending just did not work for me. It felt like they were trying to hard to have a happily ever after.

Thank you to Netgalley and Asia Mackay for the ARC of this book. Haze & Fox felt very Mr & Mrs Smith, they had a dark and deadly past that they hid in their "boring" suburban lifestyles whilst fitting in with their neighbours and the locals.

Dark humor at its best. Haz and Fox are the perfect, couple. Beautiful, talented, rich and blissfully in love. They share a passion for each other and their unusual pastime…they’re both serial killers. Not the random, sociopath who roams the world killing but principled killer who target bad men (typically rich, white, privileged men) who prey on women. The world is better off without them and Fox and Haz have a great time traveling through Europe accomplishing their kills. Life changes for them when Haz gets pregnant and they (mostly Fox) decide to have the baby. Bibi is the love of her parents lives but her arrival requires some drastic changes to their lifestyle…as it does for all new parents. In their case, it means giving up the “work”, moving out of London to the suburbs and commuting to work for Fox, going on baby play dates for Haz and hosting neighbors’ dinner parties for them both. What will this drastic change do to each of them and their marriage? Funny, oddly insightful and clever, this book is a joy.

A fun and funny thriller about a couple in mid life. I loved hearing both partners perspectives about how irritated and in love they were with each other, but struggled to get on the same page. This book gave me Killers of a Certain Age vibes but with middle age parents and more mystery. I can wait to check out Asia Mackay’s other books. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.

A bit reminiscent of Netflix’s ‘You’, Mackay tries for a witty, modern take on marriage through the eyes of killers with a conscience, but falls short. I found the plot to be slow moving and the characters whiny, and in the end couldn’t care about their story or about finishing the book. I’m sorry, I really wanted to like this one!

*OUTLIER REVIEW*

The couple who slays together-stays together!
So, what happens when this couple can no longer share this passion?

Hazel and Fox used to kill bad men together (ala Dexter) . But when Hazel became pregnant, they agreed to give up their hobby for a respectable life in the Suburbs.

Hazel misses having an outlet to help her tame her RAGE, and eventually she cheats on Fox (as in kills behind his back!) bringing the police to their door. Now, she will have to find a way to protect those she loves.

The story unfolds from the POV’s of BOTH Hazel and Fox, in the BOTH the past and the present, with occasional magazine articles describing Hazel’s work as an artist, AND text messages sent to her late friend Matty’s cell phone, giving the execution a very choppy feel.

Sure-it’s a fun premise but it’s been done before (Samantha Downing’s “My Lovely Wife”) and I guess I could not help but compare the two.

And, have you ever noticed the overuse of kids in Foster care, growing up to do bad things in so many psychological thrillers? I know the foster system is far from perfect but it seems like a lot of characters share a very similar backstory and I guess I have grown weary of these too.

One POSITIVE is the “tongue in cheek” humor, and I admit that FIVE YEARS AGO-this very well may have scored higher for me. BUT, the ME today, didn’t find it very engaging-my taste seems to be changing.

So, take this review with a grain of 🧂 salt. If you are new to the genre, or only read it occasionally, and you enjoy dark humor-this will probably be a great book for you! There are plenty of 4 and 5 star reviews for it, and I encourage you to read those as well.

AVAILABLE January 14, 2025

Thank You to Bantam for the gifted ARC provided through NetGalley. As always, these are my candid thoughts!

While this book was a bit darker than I expected, it fit well into the thriller aspect I was expecting. Based on the cover & title, I was expecting a more light, humor-based thriller, which this, overall, was not.

I liked the flashbacks to show us what Haze and Fox were like before & what shenanigans they were both up to before the Bebe, and honestly I was happy Hazel found herself again…by picking up her little habit of killing people. I enjoyed the twists that came with Jenny’s friendship and Fox’s family.

Asia Mackay's "A Serial Killer's Guide to Marriage" is a wildly original and razor-sharp satirical thriller that will keep readers hooked from start to finish.

The story follows Hazel and Fox, an ordinary married couple living in London with their baby. However, they share a dark secret: they're both ex-serial killers. They've given up their murderous past for an enviable suburban lifestyle to which Fox has really taken a liking. Hazel, however, finds herself struggling to keep her killer instincts buried and ends up committing a murder behind Fox's back.

Mackay's pacing is impeccable, balancing moments of high tension with introspective scenes that delve into the characters' psyches. The characterization is spot-on, with Hazel and Fox emerging as complex, multi-dimensional characters. Their journey from their dark past to their attempts at normalcy is both humorous and emotionally resonant.

Overall, Mackay's sharp-witted and engaging prose, and relatably flawed characters, make "A Serial Killer's Guide to Marriage" a fun and highly enjoyable read for fans of dark comedy and suburban thrillers alike.

💀 What happens when marriage meets murder? Asia Mackay's A Serial Killer’s Guide to Marriage is as darkly hilarious as it is utterly addictive. This is one for fans of sharp wit, breakneck pacing, and protagonists who are as deadly as they are intriguing.
🔥 Why I loved it:
🔪 Haze, the main character, is chef’s kiss perfection. She’s complex, layered, and completely unforgettable. You’ll root for her even when you probably shouldn’t (but hey, no judgment here).
📖 Short, snappy chapters keep the story moving at lightning speed—you won’t want to put this one down!
🤣 The irreverent tone is what really sets this book apart. Mackay somehow makes murder feel... fun? Trust me, it works.
📍 Think: a Tarantino movie meets rom-com with a splash of noir. It’s dark, it’s sharp, and it’s SO much fun.