She's A Killer
** Longlisted for the Ockham NZ Book Awards 2022 **
** Longlisted for the Dublin Literary Award 2023 **
ALICE: 30-something, IQ of 159 (almost a genius), only communicates with her mother in Morse code. Her imaginary friend is back.
ERIKA: 15, daughter of hot ‘wealthugee’ who loves Russian literature, genuine genius, killer eyeliner and killer instincts.
The climate is in crisis and wealthy immigrants are flocking to New Zealand for shelter, stealing land, driving up food prices and taking over. But Alice has far more important things to worry about: hating her best friend’s husband, getting free wine and quiet-quitting her dull day job.
Until she meets Erika.
Now, Alice is about to find herself drawn into action of the most radical – and dangerous – kind. Just what is a slacker to do?
Bold, darkly funny and brilliantly bizarre, New Zealand publishing sensation She’s a Killer is the satirical dystopian cli-fi thriller you never knew you needed. Until now.
'Smart, assured, and extremely funny' – Eleanor Catton
'A fabulously dark pleasure, delivered in prose of singing tautness' – Luke Jennings, author of Killing Eve
‘A thumping good story’ – New Zealand Herald
‘Damn funny . . . a dextrous and talented writer who has really hit her stride’ – STUFF Magazine
‘Brilliant’ – Greg Fleming, NZ Listener
‘Equipped with an exhilaratingly badly-behaved protagonist, She’s a Killer builds from a slice of very strange life into a thriller by way of a succession of stunning comic set pieces. You’ll laugh – a lot. And then you’ll cry and be really surprised about it since you were laughing so much’ – Elizabeth Knox, author of The Absolute Book
‘The novel’s sense of humour – it’s full of sharp one-liners and witty writing – doesn’t detract from the seriousness of the subject underpinning the narrative, making She’s a Killer a great read for those who like a bit of edge to their literary fiction’ – Books & Publishing
'Kirsten McDougall’s brisk speculative novel takes a clifi premise and moulds it into a bizarre and bracing thought experiment, twisting the psychology of disempowerment into fast-paced action.' — The Sydney Morning Herald / The Age
Kirsten McDougall is a novelist, short story writer and creative writing lecturer. Her 2017 novel Tess was longlisted for the Ockham NZ Book Awards and shortlisted for the Ngaio Marsh Award. She’s a Killer was longlisted for the Ockham NZ Book Awards 2022. She lives in Wellington, New Zealand.
