Murder By Natural Causes

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In Murder by Natural Causes by Helen Erichsen, Cilla is an assassin who specialises in “dry jobs”— murders that are interpreted as death by natural causes. She has a very particular set of skills that make for a lucrative, albeit murderous, life. She also may or may not be a psychopath. The only problem is she wants to get out of the business, and that’s a tricky conundrum to solve since she works for gangster Vladimir Haugr. 

But Cilla has a plan, starting with burying plastic-wrapped bundles of cash in her London garden. Don’t underestimate Cilla’s ability to think on her feet—she is the product of a Soviet espionage and murder school called Academy 43, where she learned the tricks of the trade. Cilla is only 22, but she’s an old hand at murder, having committed her first killing at 14 years old.

This zippy thriller has echoes of Killing Eve, if Villanelle also played bridge on the side. Cilla’s flashbacks to her childhood and education at Academy 43 bring real depth to her character—you root for her to succeed, even if she is a contract killer. The novel was also educational—I now know the difference between a “dry job” and a “wet job” (lots of blood), along with the shelf life of many poisons.

This was a very clever, and at times funny, thriller, which I raced through until the end. 

Reviewed by Maureen Stapleton
Maureen Stapleton, a writer and journalist, has written for The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Radio Times, Heat, and many others.
More reviews by Maureen Stapleton

About Murder By Natural Causes

This is an intelligent thriller introducing a brilliant anti-heroine whose actions grip the reader right from the first page. Cilla is a 22-year-old contract killer, specialising in the dry job: a murder which is interpreted by the world as death by natural causes. She is an amoral anti-heroine that the reader has little choice but to root for.

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