How To Get Away With Murder by Rebecca Philipson

Description from Goodreads:

"If you picked up this book because you truly want to get away with murder, you will not be disappointed. Simply turn the page and we’ll get started…

Denver Brady claims to be the most successful serial killer of our time – and that’s precisely why you’ve never heard of him.

But with the publication of How to Get Away With Murder, his manual for aspiring serial killers, that’s about to change.

When a copy of Denver's book is found at a crime scene, DI Samantha Hansen is given the job of tracking down the elusive author.

As Denver and Sam’s stories unfold and converge, it becomes clear that there’s more to both than meets the eye.

And once Denver’s book goes viral, the pressure to find and bring him to justice brings Sam to breaking point.

But in this dark and twisted tale, who is hunting whom?"

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A dark and clever debut

I’ve just finished this one and I'm still trying to process those final chapters. How to Get Away with Murder is the debut from Rebecca Philipson and it’s a properly clever take on the serial killer genre. The premise hooked me right away – a manual for aspiring serial killers written by someone called Denver Brady is found at a crime scene. It's essentially a book within a book, which I thought was a really fresh way to structure a thriller.

We follow DI Samantha Hansen as she returns to work at Scotland Yard in London after a six-month break. She’s a complicated lead character who’s dealing with her own trauma and PTSD, which made her feel very human and relatable. She isn't your typical "super-cop" and I really rooted for her as she tried to find the elusive Denver Brady while investigating the murder of a fourteen-year-old girl.

The narrative flips between Sam’s investigation and excerpts from Denver’s "how-to" guide. I found the parallels between the two really chilling. It’s pacy and dark, but there's a bit of dry British humour in there too that lightens the mood just when you need it. Even though it's quite a gritty story, it moves along quickly and kept me guessing about how the two threads would eventually collide.

There were a few moments where I had to suspend my disbelief, and one particular plot thread felt a bit loose toward the end, but the overall execution is brilliant for a debut. If you’re a fan of twisty thrillers that don't always play by the rules, I’d definitely recommend giving this a go.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of this book.

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