How to Get Away With Murder is so cleverly put together with staggering twists and turns that utterly flip the script on what you are expecting. It is everything you could want and so much more.
This is a phenomenal book. Philipson delivers an enthralling read that will keep you up through the night as you simply have to discover just who Denver is. It is a brilliant cat-and-mouse game with tight plotting, incredible atmosphere and a relentless pace that keeps you turning the pages. The book pays homage to the genre but also plays with its tropes and expectations. There is clear love and respect in there but also a refreshing spin on certain plot beats. I also really enjoyed how the North East of England features, pushing against that London-centric feel that can often be recognised within the genre.
At the centre of it all we follow Detective Inspector Samantha Hansen as she returns to Scotland Yard for a brutal case that soon captures the attention of the nation. She is a phenomenal protagonist – layered, driven and completely dedicated to her job. That dedication may be her undoing though as she delves deeper into this case. I loved how we got to see her keen insights and observations, exemplifying the reputation she held before her leave. It makes the way she is treated and riles against feel that much more patronising. However there is a complexity in there that Philipson slowly reveals to the reader and adds more threads to the complicated web this book is weaving. There is a lot to navigate here around the politics of policing, the way the opinions of the public and media influence how cases are handled and institutional prejudices and bias. It is a police procedural that is grappling with what the force represents in the modern day and how someone might navigate that world.
I really enjoyed the narrative structure and how we move between the investigation with Samantha and the excerpts from Denver’s book. The parallels are chilling as the clues line up with the chapters. You feel totally captivated by the story with its dark and pacy feel and I loved how the atmosphere gets more and more claustrophobic as new revelations come to light. It is a book pulsing with anger and that makes it feel volatile. Every page feels electric and Philipson leads you down rabbit hole after rabbit hole. It is meticulously constructed. This intricate plotting means everything lands that much more impactfully.
The twists are well-timed and executed. They truly upend everything you thought you knew and make you excited to keep reading because you cannot quite tell what may happen next. Secrets are brought to light, dynamics switch and characters make choices that will have devastating consequences. Everything builds to a conclusion that I will not be forgetting any time soon. Explosive is not a strong enough word. It is just inspired and ties everything together in a wonderful and unexpected manner.
This is such a strong debut and that makes it even more exciting to see what Philipson does next in her career. Whatever it is, I will be picking it up.
How to Get Away With Murder rewrites the rules of the genre and presents an utterly compelling and exciting new story. It is unforgettable and destined to be one of the most talked-about thrillers of the year.
How to Get Away With Murder is available from Amazon UK, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, Waterstones, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore.
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Synopsis
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?
