How to Kill a Client (Joanna Jenkins, A&U)

Gavin Jones is the slimiest, most unpleasant client at big law firm Howard Greene—and that’s with some stiff competition. When this misogynistic, manipulative man dies suddenly it’s not so much a question of who would want him dead but a Clue-style game of who wouldn’t. Debut author Joanna Jenkins clearly understands the inner workings of a top law firm, and this shows in the details of her first novel, from a waiter quietly taking coffee orders around the boardroom to the big-picture machinations cloaked in HR speak. The story is largely told from the perspectives of three women: bright and idealistic new partner Viv; Ruth, a seasoned partner mourning the sudden loss of her husband; and Anne, the dead man’s awkward but sweet, put-upon wife. These women are given rich and complex inner lives, while the secondary characters often feel two-dimensional in comparison. Although the writing is not always elegant, the author juggles her cast of characters and their perspectives with ease, creating tension and constantly propelling the plot forward—with plenty of intrigue and red herrings along the way. Set in the cold atmosphere of the corporate world and the competitive homes of the rich, How to Kill a Client skewers the greed, misogyny and malfeasance in the corner offices of capitalism in a satisfying and twisting thriller.

Fay Helfenbaum is a freelance writer and editor and was a bookseller for five years. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

Category: Reviews