📖 Title: An Ethical Guide to Murder-a standalone

✍🏾 Author: Jenny Morris- a new to me author

📅Publication date: 5-20-25 | Read 5-13-25

📃 Format: eBook 381 pgs.

Genre:
*Fantasy
*Mystery/Suspense
*Adult Fic

Tropes:
*magical realism
*good vs evil
*vigilante justice

👆🏾POV: 1st person single

⚠️TW: grief, child abuse, leukemia, death of parents-h, suicide attempt, SA

🌎 Setting: London

Summary: When Thea knows her friend will die, she uses her supernatural power to take life from someone else to keep Ruth alive. As she uses her control over life and death, her moral compass shifts so she invents an ethical guide of who deserves to die.

👩🏾 Heroine: Thea Greaves-works in HR at a bank, raised by Grandad after her parents' car accident.

🎭 Other Characters:

*Dr. Ruth Levy-Thea's childhood friend and BFF
*Sam Ellis-a human rights lawyer who interned with Thea, becomes her love interest
*Zara-Thea's boss, Ruth's friend
*Oliver Locksley-Ruth's patient Thea saved
*Karly + Leo- young mother and son, Sam's client
*Othello-18, a socialite that lives in Sam's building, befriends Thea
*Officer Stewart-investigates Thea for being present at suspicious deaths

🤔 My Thoughts: I loved the concept of an ordinary person having the ability to control life and death. It called her morality into question, as well as other people. Ruth, Oliver, and Sam played pivotal roles in her decision to implode peoples' lives. Her relationship with Grandad is complicated but they found a way through it. I loved Thea went to AA to make amends which she did in the best way.

Rating: 5/5 ✨
Spice level 1/5 🌶️all off page

🙏🏾Thanks to NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing | MIRA, and Jenny Morris for this ARC! I voluntarily give my honest review, and all opinions are my own.

A quirky, comedic take on a grim and morally slippery superpower

Thea has a dangerous secret—she can touch someone and know how much time they have left to live, and she has the ability to transfer life from one person to another. After a tragic accident leaves her best friend, Ruth, fatally injured, Thea unknowingly kills the man responsible and saves Ruth by transferring his life force to her. With this newfound godlike power, Thea struggles with the ethical implications of deciding who deserves life or death. To navigate her abilities, she creates an "Ethical Guide to Murder," but as she tries to right wrongs and balance good and bad, she realizes the lines aren't as clear as she thought. With Ruth's borrowed time running out, Thea must figure out the rules of her power before it's too late.

Thea’s superpower is an undeniably cool concept, and the novel’s central question - how do you ethically use such a fundamentally unethical power? - sets up a fascinating moral minefield that the story is eager to explore, if not always gracefully (as I doubt there truly is a correct answer).

The world-building shines most in the way it captures the intoxicating danger of controlling life and death, especially when no one around you knows you have that power. The necessity of an “ethical guide” becomes clear early on, though the book cleverly underscores how subjective, and sometimes hypocritical, ethics become when power is involved. Thea begins as someone trying to do the right thing, but it isn’t long before she’s justifying her own dark impulses under the guise of justice. This descent - into a borrowed lifestyle among the rich, and a slow unraveling of her moral boundaries - is where the novel’s character work starts to get interesting, if somewhat uncomfortable.

The novel also dives headfirst into messy, deeply human relationships. Sam, Thea’s manipulative boyfriend, is a standout antagonist - controlling, emotionally abusive, and disturbingly persuasive. His influence makes Thea’s choices all the more complicated. Ruth serves as the book’s moral anchor - her unwavering principles clashing starkly with Thea’s increasingly flexible ethics. These dynamics are well-drawn and thought-provoking.

The underlying notion that wealth breeds evil is both intriguing and heavy-handed. There’s a clear critique of privilege here - how money gives people the means and protection to commit harm. While this adds a sharp edge to the narrative, it also paints with a broad brush, making some plot turns feel a little too convenient or ideologically neat.

The pacing can drag at times, and while the writing style is often witty and biting, it occasionally undercuts the emotional weight of what’s happening. That said, the story lands a surprising twist that reframes much of what came before and offers a semi-satisfying rationale for how and why these powers exist.

An interesting premise makes for a thought provoking read. Thea's sudden ability to not only see when someone will die but also to transfer life between individuals comes as a surprise but she moves forward after she saves her friend Ruth's life. But who to cancel and who to save? Thea discovers it's not an easy choice, thus the ethical part of the title. What if there's a child involved? What if the power can be used for revenge? It's interesting to watch Thea work her way through the options. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. You'll think about this one later.

DNF.

Unfortunately, the writing wasn't for me. Felt very inconsistent.

I did love the premise and think the finished copy would make more sense.

Interesting premise that looks to humanize the ethical and moral implications of death. I enjoyed the concept, but tone and semi-stream of consciousness really didn’t fit for my reading style.

Good thriller debut. Interested to see what else this author releases.

Thank you Harlequin Trade Publishing & MIRA for granting me an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and not influenced by the publisher.

Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read an ARC of this book via Netgalley. All thoughts in this review are my own opinion and given voluntarily.

I really enjoyed my time while reading this book. I found the premise to be incredibly unique. I thought that the topic of ethics throughout the plot was very interesting to read. To give a little backstory, our main character Thea finds herself with the ability to see how long people have left to live and she can suck the life out of someone, and transfer it into somebody else. From there she finds herself in various situations, where she finds herself deciding the fates of others. Some things go right, some things go wrong. I found myself incredibly drawn into the plot of the story. I felt like it was well paced.

I also found the characters of the story to be well written. While they weren't always the most likable, I found them all to be extremely compelling, and how the characters impact the decisions and the lives of one another. It made for a lot of drama between the characters that was fun to read. The main character Thea, definitely had a lot of character growth throughout the story. I wasn't really rooting for her for the majority of the story. The only one I was rooting for was Ruth. My main complaint about her is that she just felt like her character was to good, it was unrealistic. I don't have a lot to say about any of the other characters. I didn't like Sam, but I also don't think I was supposed to. He served his purpose as a character. I thought he was well written.

I also just want to note that there was some British terminology used in this book as it is set in London (Ex. Pushchair instead of Stroller). I would say that it is pretty well known terminology that the majority of people would know/can figure out with context, without having to look things up.

I really enjoyed my time reading this book, and would recommend. I would also read from this author again in the future.

This is a really interesting concept with maybe too many ideas to feel cohesive.

The thing that caught me the most off guard was the drastic tone shift in the last 20%. I actually quite liked that bit, but it seemed like the ending for a different type of book than the one I’d been reading.

I do love an antihero main character, and I enjoyed the inner turmoil over the trolly problem-esque ethics of her powers.

Thanks to Harlequin for providing an arc through NetGalley for me to review!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy

An Ethical Guide to Murder by Jenny Morris is a first person-POV speculative novel asking ‘What if you had the power to give and take life at your will?’ Thea lost her parents in a drunk driving accident years ago and has been struggling ever since, including failing to start a career in law. When she realizes her best friend, Ruth, is about to die, Thea takes life from a jerk close-by and gives it to Ruth. This starts her on a path where she starts becoming judge, jury, and executioner.

When I first heard about this book, the first thing that went through my mind was ‘Death Note?’ As such, I needed to read it for myself to see how similar or dissimilar it is to the animanga classic exploring how good intentions can be warped when someone has too much power. An Ethical Guide to Murder is similar in that Thea can take life and has some control over how it’s taken (mostly by how much time she takes vs Light being able to clearly state the how if he so wishes) and Thea goes on a similar arc where she starts to become intoxicated by her power. Where it’s different is that there are no death gods or any deities at all, the investigation aspects are not that big of a part of the book, and because Thea needs to touch someone to take life or know when they’ll die, she never reaches the international stage Light did. It’s a very different take on a similar premise but will still satisfy readers who want that character arc where the lead starts to become a villain even if you understand where some of it is coming from.

I found it really interesting how Thea has an incredibly strong moral code in regards to children and that is the main thing that threatens to make her change her decisions. She’ll never take life from a child and is resistant to leaving children without a parent, becoming hesitant when she learns one of her targets has a teenage son. From a societal standpoint, it makes perfect sense that she would have this code given her own history and we tend to agree that if there is anyone who needs to be protected, it is children. I think why I find this so interesting is that Death Note never really asked this question about who was always going to be a step too far so for Jenny Morris to give a clear answer and stick to it really worked for me.

The other thing I found interesting was how stuck Thea is in life and the ennui she has and how she starts being more active when she has a chance to take down capitalists who aren’t doing enough with their wealth. This is something that I think is a very common thought that many of us have as the world burns and keeps burning and yet many of the people with the most wealth don’t seem interested in actually doing anything about it. It’s a thought experiment that is very honest about how so many would handle this exact scenario if they were in Thea’s situation instead of making her this great champion of justice who always makes good choices. Even in times of despair, we need art that reminds us that when people have the power to decide who lives and dies, it doesn’t matter what their intentions are; they could always start doing more harm than good.

I would recommend this to fans of Death Note who a similar idea in a very different direction and readers looking for a book exploring a messy character who has power over life and death

I loved the premise. I didn’t love the execution.

I found Thea relatable in that she really wanted to use her gift for good, but I found her unrelatable in how entitled she acted about it later on. Her friendship with Ruth seemed so fragile even from the beginning. I really didn’t like Sam as a person, which I suppose was the point.

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for an ARC of this book. This is my honest review.

I decided to DNF this book. I have health anxiety and the topic of how long someone has left to live was more triggering than I was expecting it to be. Nothing wrong with the book; it’s funny and unique, and if it weren’t for my own triggers I think I’d have really enjoyed it!

Thea realizes that she has the power to tell when someone is dying when she touches her best friend and sees that Ruth will die later that night. Later as Ruth lies dying, Thea discovers she also has the power to drain one person's life to give to another. She tries to use her powers in an ethical way, saving people who deserve it and taking the lives of those who don't, but everything of course gets out of hand. This was pretty good, not really what I expected (less on brand with the rest of the current trend of women serial killing for "good reasons"), but still not wholly surprising, except maybe the ending. 3.5 stars rounded to 3.

An interesting, though underdeveloped, thought experiment into one of the biggest questions in philosophy – what is the value of a human life, and are some lives more worthy than others?

Thea Greaves wakes up one day with the inexplicable ability to tell how long someone has to live. On that same day, she accidentally-on-purpose kills somebody to save her best friend’s life – transferring the remainder of her victim’s life to her friend. This power is heady, and Thea is unprepared to deal with the ethical consequences. She teams up with Sam, a lawyer with the inside scoop on the worst criminals in the city. With their self-written ‘Ethical Guide to Murder’, Thea and Sam are bringing justice to sweatshop owners, human traffickers, drug dealers, and more – people who can afford to be above the law. But sometimes good and evil aren’t as simple as what’s on the surface, and Thea may not be the best arbiter of justice after all.

The premise is certainly interesting – if someone was able to shift life from supposedly evil people and into the deserving (children with cancer? Homeless shelter directors? The book is vague on this point), is it ethical to do so? But for a book that promises deep philosophical ramifications, this book is skimpy on actual philosophy, or indeed, any type of internal struggle or moralizing. The closest to real philosophy the author gets is the trolley problem (one of the most famous thought experiments in the field, but also very basic). I was expecting something more like The Good Place – a hefty dose of deep thinking and important issues against a lighthearted background with jokes. That was what the opening chapters seemed to set up. Instead, it was a self-involved and impulsive protagonist with too much power and few ethical boundaries performing ad-hoc vigilante justice when the whim took her. The book is interesting but ultimately unsatisfactory.

An Ethical Guide to Murder by Jenny Morris is a thought-provoking novel about morality, power, and the consequences of playing with life and death. The book focuses on Thea Greaves, who wakes up one day with the ability to see the lifespan of those she touches and realizes that she can also transfer life from one person to another.

Thea and Ruth have been best friends since they were children. That’s why Thea didn’t believe her “hallucination” of seeing Ruth dying later that night. But when an accident leaves Ruth bleeding out on the sidewalk, Thea then discovers that she can actually take life from one and give it another. That was how she was able to save Ruth’s life. But this leads down the road of morality, ethics, and the power over peoples lives. Where Thea seems to want to do good, how is one person able to decide who gets to live or die?

This novel is very thought provoking, especially with each chapter opening with one of Thea’s “Ethics to Murder” statements. The book really makes you think about your own moral compass while reading Thea’s justification of her actions. The whole book is character driven and you see Thea struggle through most of this book. I didn’t really find her relatable though, mostly just aggravating. I found it hard to sympathize with her, but could just be me! I had thought this book was going to be funnier, but there’s really not much humor or comedy here. I did like the twists and I thought the ending was perfect.

While it did take me a while to read because it didn’t hold my interest through the whole story, I would still recommend this book to others. I also think this book would be great for book clubs since it could open up discussions about moral compasses, Thea’s justifications, and if readers feel the same about Thea’s “ethics” for murder and giving life.

This book begs the question: with the power to give and take life; where is the line that it’s too late to come back from?
I think what I liked most about this book is the believability in Thea’s Story on what coming with the power to save and harm people by taking their years of life can do to a person.
If I had a window into seeing when someone close to me was going to die and I could change it by taking away another persons life force (especially people who are in the sense, wasting the life that they have) and save them with it? I would do it without a second thought. But I could also see how that would be a slippery slope to navigate. Following Thea on her journey through this terrifying god like power was for sure an anxiety inducing ride.
Some scenes were fillers and could have been tossed out but overall it was an engaging story you didn’t know what was going to happen.
I would give it a 4 star rating and would recommend it to anyone look for an interesting take on the morally grey genre .

At first, An Ethical Guide to Murder felt like a slow burn, but once it picked up, I was completely hooked—reading until midnight just to see how it would all unfold. This book doesn’t just tell a story; it forces you to sit with the complexities of morality, questioning what is truly good or bad. The lines between right and wrong blur in ways that are both unsettling and thought-provoking, making it impossible to look away. The twists and emotional weight of the narrative took me on a rollercoaster, leading to an ending that was as unexpected as it was beautiful. It’s a book that lingers long after the final page, leaving you reflecting on just how grey life really is.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest

Thank you to HarperCollins for the advanced copy of this novel. An Ethical Guide to Murder will hit store shelves on May 20th and will be featured in this year’s Summer Reading Guide.

This surprising genre-bender is a perfect read for fans of Assassin's Anonymous and The Good Place. It blends elements of fantasy, magical realism, and heart-wrenching drama.

An Ethical Guide to Murder centers around Thea, a woman with a profound yet morally complicated gift: She can determine how long someone has left to live by touch and even transfer life from one person to another.

When an attempt to save her best friend, Ruth, a gifted physician who does much for the world, goes awry and ends with an accidental death, Thea realizes that she can, essentially, suck the life out of the person who hurt her and transfer those years of life back into her best friend. As her gift becomes stronger and she becomes entangled in several accidental deaths around town doing a few trades, and an old boyfriend with incredible connections partners up with Thea to take down an elaborate web of evil people he has encountered as an attorney.

In these times of political upheaval and capitalist maneuvers, I found this fictional exploration surprisingly therapeutic- it paused my doomscrolling for an entire day! If you could trade the life of an evil person for the life of a child battling leukemia, it would be an easy trade. More than a few people are making headline news that I would like to shave a few years off to give to someone far more deserving.

However, complications arise when we discover that people aren't always who we believe them to be. As Thea ventures on a personal journey seeking vindication for a tragedy in her childhood, you'll find yourself navigating that beautiful gray area of morality that would spark fascinating discussions in a book club.

Thea's growth journey is powerful, and although some readers may find her use of her gifts questionable at times, the character development is strong and relatable. The plot unfolded in unexpected ways, and by the end, I was in tears—both from the emotional payoff and the way the author brilliantly tied everything together.

The book is slightly longer than necessary, featuring a beautiful conclusion that could have come much earlier, but I'm so glad I persevered. The author magnificently rewards the reader with an ending worth the wait. Don't be surprised if this book enters next year's book club lineup; it's a unique, thought-provoking read I can't wait to share with you.

DNF @ 21%. This was a very intriguing premise, but I found it very difficult to connect with the story. The main character was quite unlikeable and immature, especially when compared to the more dimensional side characters who I found myself becoming more partial to. Thea's moral compass often contradicted her actions, which I often disagreed with. For these reasons, I will not be continuing with the book.

2.75 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the opportunity to read this arc in exchange for an honest review.

A book with a great premise that didn't live up to its potential. It does too much philosophical waxing instead of posing and exploring the moral compass in a more general manner. Some of the moral dilemma questions were funny and the book was engaging but I found the main character to be a bit flippant for how much psychological depth the book tries to have. I thought this was an interesting spin on a hero story, and by the end, I liked the main character a lot more.

I was hooked by the premise of this novel - a moral compass of who deserves to live or die. It’s an interesting and reflective topic so I appreciated the thought provoking themes.

There were times where I enjoyed the ideas of our main character but I had a hard time connecting with her. She was immature and not very likable