How Not to Murder your Ex by Katie Marsh

Drunk and disorientated, you arrive back at your mobile home to find your ex lying on the steps. Then you notice the blood and realise someone’s killed him. Earlier that day, you confronted him a café and said you would kill him for what he’d done. Did you do it?

For Clio, this is a birthday she won’t forget in a hurry. She’s soon the prime suspect in the eyes of the police. But her friends since school, Amber and Jeanie, have no intention of seeing her go to gaol for a crime she didn’t commit. They resolve to track down the real killer of her ex, Gary, who made plenty of enemies.

The forty-something characters are sharply drawn and observed from the beginning. They all have their different problems and demons, but are united in their love for one another and a determination to get to the truth.

There’s a lot of humour and wry observation in the story, which motors along at a brisk pace, showing the story from each character’s viewpoint, including the victim Gary, in the build up to his murder.

I was drawn to the story by the title and the promise of a fun read. While I doubt if I’m the target reader, it didn’t disappoint and I enjoyed the story, the three lead characters and the way they solved the murder, which left me cheering for them at the end.

Description

It is 5:30 am on Clio’s forty-fifth birthday and her hated ex is lying dead on her doorstep. Even worse, this is no accident. Someone’s killed him…

When single mum Clio’s ex Gary turns up dead on the doorstep of her caravan – the one she’s been forced to live in ever since he stole every penny she had – there’s only one suspect. Her.

What’s more, she doesn’t remember much about the night he was killed – not just because of the forgetfulness that’s been plaguing her along with the hot flushes – but because she definitely had one too many cocktails with her two best friends Amber and Jeanie.

Clio does remember them talking about how much they all hated him though. And, in the frame for murder, she has to ask herself – if she didn’t kill Gary, who did? One of his many enemies? Or someone a little closer to home? And can she and her friends find the real killer before it’s too late?