If – like me – you love a comedy murder mystery or thriller, but have been judged by someone for it, I’m here to tell you that it’s ok because of science. That’s right, there is actually science behind your enjoyment of silly murders. One of the things that we humans find funny is incongruity (again this is according to science, not me, and I’d like to stress this is almost the only bit of science I know). We recognise two things as being wildly different and that the act of putting them together seems ridiculous. Thus, laughter ensues. Obviously, it’s more complex than this but a) I’m not that smart and b) there’s a word count here. The main thing is that the reason we find it funny is not because we’re bad people, it’s because the two things – comedy and murder – are so wildly different it prompts this response in us. Also, if you’re anything like me you make light of things that you’re afraid of. I am afraid of death; so I laugh in the face of it…on the page. So if you also love a comedy thriller, here are my top five, current favourites. After all, they do say laughter is the best medicine. Just maybe some of the characters are a little beyond the help of said medicine…
How to Kill Your Family by Bella Mackie
This darkly funny novel following antihero Grace Bernard as she enacts revenge on her terrible family had me hooked from the description. It’s witty and sarcastic, completely unique, and above all else it left me cackling. Unlikeable female characters get a bad rap but no matter what she does you root for Grace Bernard.
I read this book years ago and it remains a favourite to this day.
Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Sutanto
Protagonist Meddy Chan is set up on a blind date by her meddling aunties. When the date doesn’t exactly go to plan, and she ends up accidentally killing him, her and her aunties set about trying to hide the dead body.
This book has everything, unexpected killers, laugh out loud moments and even a bit of romance! I love everything Jesse Sutanto writes and to be honest I struggled to pick only one of her books to include on this list.
Bunny by Mona Awad
This book has it all, drama, horror, and satire. Set on a University Campus, outsider Samantha Heather Mackey is drawn into a clique of unbearably twee rich girls called the Bunnies.
Bunny is twisty, hilarious and terrifying in equal measure. The characters are so well drawn that you can’t help but stay stuck down the rabbit hole until you’ve finished it.
How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin
Frances was told she’d be murdered by a fortune teller in 1965. For sixty years she tried to stay safe while none of her friends or family believed her. Until one day, when the murderer succeeds.
Enter her Great-Niece Annie from London, who finds herself caught up in Frances’s posthumous act of revenge against her sceptical friends and family. With a country estate full of clues to unpick, whoever solves Frances’s murder gets to inherit her millions.
Village murder mysteries are my favourite thing, and this one’s engrossing, clever and twisty as well as being packed with humour.
A Most Agreeable Murder by Julia Seales
An eligible bachelor dropping dead at a ball? Check. A cast of brilliant characters trapped in a mansion with a killer? Check. A hilarious main character who’s trying to put her ‘unladylike’ obsession with true crime behind her? Check. The perfect package for a cosy, funny, mystery in my opinion!
A cross between Jane Austen and Knives Out/Glass Onion, this has some incredible one-liners and is utterly ridiculous in the best of ways. An absolute treat of a book.
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