Murder by Natural Causes

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I'm really hoping that it's because there is going to be a sequel, but even if not, this is definitely an author that I'll be reading again! Brilliant read!

In it, we delve into the life of Cilla, a contract killer, and her strive for… absolution? Reparation? Normalcy? A bit of everything, I’d say. Murder by Natural Causes is not high literature. It’s more of a ripping yarn. If it does well I might embark on a prequel. I’d like to like to write about bridge in the 1950’s and 60’s when the game was still glamourous and people dressed for the occasion. I’ll make sure to include a few more murders, just for the non-bridge players you understand.Cilla is a young woman who appears harmless when in actual fact she’s a contract killer for a local gangster. In her youth, Cilla was chosen and trained to work in Soviet Russia, carrying out killings. She manages to escape and ends up working for Vlad. Cilla puts a lot of effort in to make her killings look like natural causes. Feeling trapped by her life, she tries to escape from the dangerous world she’s operating in. The only detail I’m not so sure about is the ending. The very last sentence, I mean. It’s open to interpretation, and while I chose the worst outcome for her, I’m not sure I’m right. If there’s something I hate is not knowing for sure, haha. The characters in the book were very well done. I liked Cilla overall and the author does a good job of making you warm to her, despite the awful things she’s done. I also really liked Smithy’s character, even if his name made me think of Gavin & Stacey. 😂

I’ll admit, I finished this book one week ago and Cilla’s self-assigned mission still leaves me wondering. Given the way she’s portrayed, does her decision make sense? Is it a sound one? I’m in two minds about it. Yes, after everything she’s gone through, autonomy and a normal life might sound appealing. On the other hand, her characterization makes it little more than a pipe dream, I think. Deep inside, I guess she’s aware of that, too, and yet. Loved Killing Eve (the book and the TV series) and of course, Villanelle will come to mind when reading this. Cilla is also Russian and trained from a young age with 'special skills', killing people for money. Murder by Natural Causes is published by Muswell Press and comes out on May 25th 2023. It is available via Waterstones and all good bookshops. It’s difficult to include bridge in a novel. Describe the technicalities of the game and there is every chance that non-bridge players will fall asleep after three sentences. Better perhaps to concentrate on the emotions; the heady highs and crushing lows that come from winning and losing at cards. Given that this is true, it seemed natural to use TGR’s, The Great Rose, one of the few bridge clubs where a high stakes money game is still played, as a setting for the action in my debut novel: Murder by Natural Causes. Take one gangster owner of the premises, add his pet assassin: Cilla, throw in a few murders along the way, ones where the victims are never identified as such because the executions are disguised as deaths by natural causes, and you have yourself a plot.

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We follow Cilla in her present day life, working, part time, for Vlad - drug lord, club owner, impaler! - definitely not a man to be messed with. I came across this Book while browsing the Kindle library, and dismissed it several times but then decided to read it. And I am so glad I did. This was a decently enjoyable read, as you got to see both the beginning and the end of Cilla’s career as a contract killer- what made her the way she is, and both why and how she decided to move on from killing people. This isn’t my normal sort of read, but I did find some fascination in the way the story makes you increasingly sympathetic to Cilla. I listened to the audiobook of this, and it was narrated skillfully by Natalie Pela. A very engaging audiobook, didn't lose concentration once, enjoyed the narrator's voice as Cilla and even sped it up to 2x speed to keep the flow! Not too gory for its genre, but with plenty of detail on training, plants and toxins, Communist ideology and hit-planning.

I adored Cilla, our main character. She's completely unremarkable in her outwardly daily life....but that's exactly what is needed in her line of work - a dry job assassin. When I was lent this book recently my heart sank. I thought it was going to be a bridge book with a murder in it. Always badly done, why oh why would anybody do another one. But, take heart dear reader. This very clever writer has managed to put a bridge setting into her book without having any bridge in it. Take a Look at Our Summary of November Highlights, Whether You're Looking for the Latest Releases or Gift InspirationWhen I’m not involved in bridge, I write dark psychological thrillers and garden obsessively. My debut novel: Murder by Natural Causes comes out in May 2023. It's not high literature, more of a ripping yarn. And there is some bridge involved.

Villanelle was stunning, a standout beauty and mistress of disguise (and fashion). Cilla is non-descript, neither strong nor memorable. But she is well-trained with a wealth of chemical and potions at her disposal and the ability to make her murders appear as accidents or as the result of natural causes. And she's getting tired, at 22, of being at Vlad's command and having no future outside of murder. Cilla used to live a normal, merely boring life. The days and weeks passed on and all resembled the same routine. In Academy 43, Cilla of 8-years-old was taught and trained to soon be an asset to the soviet union, a deadly weapon. Using a mixture of botany, toxicology, archery and the art of manoeuvre, she managed to succeed in staging numerous “Death by natural causes” hit jobs. A central theme is that of escape from an existence that is predetermined and one where once she has served her purpose, she becomes superfluous to requirements. The reality is assassins don’t get the chance to retire, they are erased by their successors. Here the stark reality faces Cilla as there are parallels in her life. She escapes the Russians only by working under the protection of Vlad. If she is to escape from Vlad who is going to protect her then?Naturally with the story centring on murder there are some gory descriptions and a little casual torture but it’s not visceral and ‘in your face’ as dry jobs are supposed to look like natural causes. If your spouse suddenly takes an interest in archery or buying lots of cherries, you might want to start paying attention though. Overall, the grammar and syntax are good! Erichsen enjoys using semicolons, something I fully approve of. Variety is important, even when it comes to punctuation. We are so thrilled to be publishing this deliciously dark début, featuring a strong, beguiling anti-hero, the inimitable Cilla, in an original and expert thriller,” Sarah and Kate Beal said. “Helen Erichsen is a rising star and one to watch.”