A satisfyingly wicked and action-packed read that’s impossible to put down, Mark Mupotsa-Russell’s The Hitwoman’s Guide to Reducing Household Debt is a spectacular debut thriller.
Already generating significant buzz, it has secured a pre-emptive screen deal with a major producer, although further details are under wraps.
This witty and humorous thriller features an unforgettable narrator and a vibrant, multifaceted cast of characters.
Olivia Hodges used to do horrible things – back when she worked for a Spanish crime syndicate – but she fled that life and moved home to Australia, building a family in the hippie, hipster community of the Dandenong Ranges.
When a small-time criminal gang brings tragedy to her family, superstitious Olivia believes it’s the universe demanding payment for her crimes. She wants revenge, but has to get it without adding to her karmic debt.
So she creates situations where these bad men get themselves killed through their anger, ego and greed – all while trying to mislead the cops long enough to finish what she started.
For years, Mark consumed films and TV shows about contract killers, but when he became a full-time dad, he began to wonder how an assassin might juggle roles as a partner, a parent and a killer-for-hire.
In The Hitwoman’s Guide to Reducing Household Debt he masterfully delves into themes of morality, the everyday logistical complexities of maintaining a double life and society’s perceived gender roles.
Mark also wanted to make the book fun – to “fill it with raunchy humour, violence you’re not sure you should enjoy, chases and banter. And all of it with real, human characters,” he says. “Contract killers have been big in pop culture forever, and I wanted to reflect what that life might be like, especially on an emotional level.”
“That it’s probably not a high-fashion world of “cool” kills; it’s more about damaged people living in a world that completely corrupts their internal morality. And what would it be like to come back from that?” said Mark.
At the heart of The Hitwoman’s Guide to Reducing Household Debt, amid the intense car chases and violent confrontations, is the story of a marriage. It delves into the intricacies of sharing a life and children with someone else and the secrets we hold on to, all in the name of safeguarding our loved ones.
With razor-sharp writing and a memorable narrator who will join Villanelle, Ray Shoesmith and Dexter in the ranks of beloved fictional murderers, The Hitwoman’s Guide to Reducing Household Debt is for fans of Killing Eve, Mr Inbetween, Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone, and My Sister, the Serial Killer.
Mark Mupotsa-Russell is a writer living on Wurundjeri Country in the Yarra Ranges. His debut novel, The Hitwoman’s Guide to Reducing Household Debt, won the 2023 Affirm Press Mentorship Award. Before writing novels he was a screenwriter, film reviewer, cocktail columnist, PR consultant and communications adviser in the suicide prevention sector. He lives among the trees with his art therapist superstar wife, hilarious son and a moodle majestically named ‘Mufasa’.
The Hitwoman’s Guide to Reducing Household Debt is published by Affirm Press and available from all leading book sellers including QBD Books.
Image: The Hitwoman’s Guide to Reducing Household Debt – courtesy of Affirm Press