A review by _beccareads
How to Kill Your Family by Bella Mackie

dark funny slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Grace's tale of revenge, where she cold-bloodedly kills six members of her family, initially had me intrigued. The concept held such promise, which is why it pains me to give this book a disappointing two-stars.

I had high hopes for this story—a vengeful daughter going on a killing spree to exact justice on her despicable and elitist family. It had all the makings of becoming one of my favorite reads of the year. However, I just couldn't overlook how unlikable Grace was as a character.

As a result of her difficult start to life, it was evident that Grace harbored deep-seated resentment towards everyone and she made no effort to hide her offensive remarks, targeting individuals from all walks of life. I think her constant whining (and the excessive use of the word "banal") is meant to come off as sharp humour but this completely missed the mark for me.

Grace’s dislikability and complete lack of redeeming qualities, coupled with chapters that rambled on endlessly made this a chore to read, the only saving grace (no pun intended) was her murderous endeavours - special mention to the sauna scene, which was particularly gripping.

*potential spoilers below*

I was tempted to DNF this book multiple times, but soldiered on, solely fuelled by the chance to see Grace's final act of revenge. So you can imagine my disappointment when, within just three short chapters, a new character was introduced, completely undermining the climactic murder I had eagerly anticipated.

Overall, this book really could’ve been great, but Grace’s unbearable nature, chapters that dragged on way to long to keep me hooked and the rather abrupt ending just made this book unsatisfying.