August 1, 2024
UK-based Mackay (The Nursery) makes her U.S. debut with a tale of two former serial killers who trade vigilante justice for life in the suburbs after having a baby together. Hazel misses their previous life, while Fox loves being a father. Then Hazel kills someone without telling Fox, and the police come knocking, jeopardizing the family's new life. Prepub Alert.
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Starred review from October 21, 2024
Artist Hazel Matthews and wealthy heir Nathaniel Foxton “Fox” Cabot, the married protagonists of Mackay’s wildly entertaining latest (after The Nursery), have spent the last few years traveling across Europe, murdering men who prey on women. Their exploits have earned them the Interpol nickname “the Backpacking Butcher.” When Hazel becomes pregnant, Fox decides it’s time to settle down, and the couple decamps to the London suburbs to raise their daughter. Fox takes a job in an office; Hazel sees her artistic inspiration buried beneath a mountain of diapers and playdates. Restless, she kills a man on her own—one who she believes deserved to die. Soon, however, Hazel learns that one of the mothers from her toddler’s playgroup is a cop who’s been investigating the case of the Backpacking Butcher, and that this latest kill has put her on Hazel’s trail. Mackay brilliantly exaggerates the stifling aspects of parenthood through the eyes of her charismatic killers, wringing both laughs and pathos from her deliciously outlandish premise. This is sensational. Agent: Alice Luytens, Curtis Brown U.K. (Jan.)Correction: A previous version of this review incorrectly identified the cop who is investigating the case of the Backpacking Butcher.
December 13, 2024
Hazel Matthews is a bored mom. She stays at home with her daughter Gigi while her husband, Fox, is out working to support them. The worst part? Haze and Fox used to be a serial killer duo. With Fox's family money, they jetted all over Europe, finding unconnected victims so as not to be caught. They loved the thrill of the kill, but they also loved the vigilante justice they dispensed to domestic abusers. But when Gigi came along, Fox told Haze he wanted to stop killing. Their "hobby" could only hurt their daughter. Haze, though, is desperate to regain the connection they used to have. With her life just the same as any cookie-cutter mom's, Haze must find a way to reenergize herself--even if it means going back to her old ways. Haze and Fox's story feels somewhat uneven as surprises appear without much warning. However, it's ripe for book club discussion, as readers must decide how far they will go in rooting for our murderous protagonists.
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February 1, 2025
It's hard to keep the spark going in your marriage when you move to the London suburbs and have to let go of your glamorous, globe-trotting lives. (No more partying, traveling, or murdering!) Hazel and Fox have been married for more than 10 years, and they both adore their little daughter, Bibi. Hazel, an artist, has hung up her paintbrush to become a stay-at-home mom, and Fox is out breadwinning at an investment company every day. So what if they might have sex a little less often than they used to--it all sounds pretty normal, right? Well, MacKay's novel might cover the kind of bumpy transition that's familiar to many couples--but there's a catch: Hazel and Fox are former serial killers, now trying to reform for the sake of their child. But giving up killing has dulled a spark that has them each feeling trapped and resentful. As MacKay switches back and forth between their two perspectives, it becomes clear that Hazel--forged in a difficult childhood and still mourning her best friend from art school, who died by suicide--has always found killing a release from her anger. Now it's all bottled up, and she can only direct it by snarking at the local moms in her baby-and-me music group and resenting her husband. When she meets Jenny, another mother, they begin an unlikely friendship that offers Hazel a distraction; Jenny's former partner is a total sleazeball who owes her a lot of money, and Hazel is determined to see that he pays up. Fox, meanwhile, deals with his struggles by attending AA meetings, figuring that an addiction to murder is not so unlike an addiction to alcohol. This is a dark comedy indeed--any ethical concerns over murder are brushed under the rug because it's something Hazel and Fox do together, and they only kill "bad men." As a metaphor for modern family life, it's entertainingly astute. Fans of Mr. and Mrs. Smith, this one's for you.
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