You'd Look Better as a Ghost

February 19, 2024
An irritable 30-something serial killer narrates Wallace’s deliciously eerie and darkly funny debut. While attending her father’s funeral, struggling visual artist Claire receives an email from Lucas Kane, administrator of a prestigious art prize, informing her that her painting has been shortlisted. Claire is elated, but the following morning, Lucas sends a contrite follow-up clarifying that the first message was sent in error. Considering his apology insincere, Claire stalks, seduces, murders, and buries Lucas in her back garden. Then her doctor, believing there’s a link between Claire’s blinding headaches and her grief over her father’s death, suggests she join a bereavement counseling group that meets weekly in a suburban London church hall. She reluctantly agrees, and it’s there that her problems truly begin: one of the group’s fellow members knows about Claire’s killings, and attempts to pressure her into joining a “grubby startup blackmailing business” that Lucas was involved with. As that cat-and-mouse game unfolds, Wallace weaves in poignant flashbacks from Claire’s childhood that shed light on her relationship with her father. Wallace nails Claire’s prickly voice (regarding her hippie-ish grief counselor: “I’m not disputing any of her credentials, but to me, Star looks like someone out-of-her-bloody-mind-fulness”), making readers more than happy to root for the unrepentant murderer as she navigates a series of surprising obstacles. It’s an uncommonly assured debut from a promising new voice in crime fiction. Agent: Cathryn Summerhayes, Curtis Brown U.K.

May 31, 2024

Claire, the protagonist in Wallace's gripping comic thriller debut, joins a bereavement group to try and cope with her father's recent death. Unbeknownst to the group, Claire is a serial killer and a budding artist. When Claire receives a letter informing her that one of her paintings is on the shortlist for a prestigious award, her ecstatic anticipation soon turns to seething anger when she learns that the letter was a mistake. Claire brutally murders Lucas, the man responsible for the error. As Claire continues killing people whom she decides deserve to die, listeners are drawn deeper into her world of violence and deception. An ironic twist at the novel's end adds complexity to the story and almost lands Claire in jail. Claire's cold and heartless personality is expertly captured by narrator Fiona Hardingham, who brings to life Claire's lack of empathy and horrific actions with bone-chilling realism, making the nonchalant killings more terrifying. VERDICT Though it's not for the faint of heart, this chilling, grimly funny story of a most unusual serial killer will appeal to fans of TV's Dexter and Killing Eve. Watch for Wallace's sophomore novel, The Dead Friend Project, due soon.--Ilka Gordon

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