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A Sociopath’s Guide to a Successful Marriage

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A Sociopath’s Guide to a Successful Marriage

By: M. K. Oliver
Narrated by: Perdita Weeks
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The witty and gripping new thriller introducing your new favourite murderous heroine: Lalla Rook.

'Lalla Rook is ruthless, unapologetic and shamelessly murderous, you're going to love her' Gillian McAllister

‘A wickedly dark and hilarious debut … witty, wise and wildly entertaining’ Alice Feeney

'Deliciously dark, clever satire. Lalla Rook is a genius creation. I absolutely loved it!' Shari Lapena

-

There’s a dead body in my living room.

I’ve not called the police because it was I who stabbed him. Seven times in all. The truth is, it’s surprisingly difficult to dispatch someone with a vegetable knife.

In case you’re wondering, the dead man is not my husband. I do resent our pitiful sex life and his woeful lack of ambition, but I wouldn’t murder him for it. Not yet, anyway.

Right now, I have far more pressing concerns: scheming to get my daughter into the perfect school; buying my dream home in Hampstead; and disposing of a corpse.

A woman’s work is never done. I’ve created the perfect life – and I’ll kill to keep it.

Praise for A Sociopath's Guide to a Successful Marriage

‘Scintillating … a sardonic social comedy cunningly disguised as a psychological thriller' Sunday Times, Pick of the Month

'This satirical thriller is the perfect antidote to the winter blues' Guardian

'The most wildly entertaining novel you'll read this year: suspenseful but funny, shocking yet stylish' A. J. Finn

‘Big Little Lies meets Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ Booklist

‘A blackly comic delight … sharply sardonic and unputdownable’ Financial Times

‘A witty, propulsive debut with an anti-hero you can't help but root for’ Mirror

‘Hilariously dark, refreshingly honest, and highly entertaining’ Woman’s Weekly

READERS LOVE LALLA ROOK

‘This one is a wild ride, but in the best way possible … What a main character!!!!’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Perfection to read … such a good ride’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘An incredibly fun read! A one-of-a-kind main character … I honestly couldn’t get enough of her. Twisty, sharp, and wildly entertaining’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Witty and wild … an unforgettable female protagonist finding her own way through some very bad days’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Totally chaotic and that's why I adored it … chock full of twists and turns’⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

©2026 F & D Creative Ltd (P)2026 HarperCollins Publishers
Crime Fiction Crime Thrillers Domestic Thrillers Literature & Fiction Psychological Satire Thriller & Suspense Funny Witty Exciting Marriage
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Critic reviews

‘Scintillating … a sardonic social comedy cunningly disguised as a psychological thriller.’ Sunday Times – Pick of the Month
‘A blackly comic delight … sharply sardonic and unputdownable’ Financial Times
‘A witty, propulsive debut with an anti-hero you can't help but root for’ Mirror
‘Hilariously dark, refreshingly honest, and highly entertaining’ Woman’s Weekly
‘This masterfully paced novel is full of unpredictable behaviour, arrests, framing – and a terrifyingly charming killer’ Sun
‘Wickedly amusing … Slyly witty and beautifully observed, Lalla is not to be missed’ Daily Mail
‘Wonderfully twisty plotting and lashings of lifestyle porn, this satirical thriller is the perfect antidote to the winter blues’ Guardian
'Lalla Rook is ruthless, unapologetic and shamelessly murderous, you're going to love her. This is a gripping and hilarious read, full of razor-sharp wit’ Gillian McAllister
'Deliciously dark, clever satire. Lalla Rook is a genius creation. I absolutely loved it!!' Shari Lapena
'The most wildly entertaining novel you'll read this year: suspenseful but funny, shocking yet stylish' A. J. Finn
‘A wickedly dark and hilarious debut … with well-drawn characters you will love to hate’ Alice Feeney
‘Razor sharp… wicked, wicked humour… Destined to be a hit’ Vaseem Khan
'Deliciously dark and hilariously funny; this book is original, unpredictable, and highly entertaining' Jackie Kabler
'Wickedly, wickedly funny … It's a pure delight to read' William Shaw
'What a debut! … Look no further for your new favourite anti-hero' John Marrs
'Lalla Rook is my kind of heroine, and M.K. Oliver is a huge new talent to watch! Sarah Harman
'A rip-roaring read. Deliciously dark and devilishly funny. I couldn't put it down!' Rebecca Taylor McKay
‘Hilarious, acerbic, cleverly plotted and hugely entertaining’ Rebecca Bainbridge
‘Lalla is a brilliant creation – like a modern day, female Tom Ripley … absolutely tons of fun’ R S Burnett
All stars
Most relevant
This was so well written, and I found myself rooting for the devious heroine the whole time. The characters were fantastic — most of them wonderfully hateful, too!

Loved this!

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Loved the lead character and her ability to go through life, dismissive of all the chaos she causes. She is wickedly evil, narcissistic, yet so funny. I know it sounds cliched but I genuinely could not get enough of this book. Loved it from start to finish. Although the authors ‘Oscar’ thank you speech at the end of the book was rather tedious.

Wickedly funny

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The black humour, wonderful descriptions and superb narration make this my favourite book this year.

Fabulous 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

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I finished this book quickly as I enjoyed it so much. A roller coaster of twists and turns. Dark fun!

Brilliantly Wicked

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Absurd but somehow coherent. Extremely witty. Lovely prose style and excellent narration. Apparently I have to write 15 words minimum for some reason so I will add that I am very much looking forward to the sequel..

This is a very good book

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