Murder Bimbo

by Rebecca Novack

'Flays the political moment. At all levels, it is a blast' Torrey Peters, author of Detransition, Baby

'Brimming with acidic humour . . . perfect for fans of A Certain Hunger and Boy Parts. Murder Bimbo is surely going to be the book everyone is talking about in 2026' Jessie Elland, The Ladie Upstairs

I'm a 32-year-old sex worker who just killed a politician. Please, please, please turn me into a feminist anti-hero . . .

A 32-year-old sex worker has just killed extremist political hopeful Meat Neck. Holed up in an off-the-grid cabin in the woods, she now has only two days, her wits and a high-speed internet connection to save her own life.

Her best bet is to reach out to the wildly popular feminist investigative podcast Justice for Bimbos. In a hastily-typed series of emails, the newly-minted "Murder Bimbo" explains how she was recruited and then trained by a cabal of code-named US agents to take out Meat Neck.

But, when she starts a new set of emails, this time addressed to her ex-girlfriend, we begin to realize that Murder Bimbo might not be the unsuspecting cog she claims to be.

In a time where 'truth' is more flexible than ever before - who really is Murder Bimbo? And what will she do next?

Introducing an unforgettable character for our hyper-articulate, totally untrustworthy, politically murky, charmingly petty, and wholly egotistical - this is . . . MURDER BIMBO.

*Featured in Stylist 2026 books everyone will be talking about next year*

'Murder Bimbo is Gone Girl for the Luigi Mangione era, and Rebecca Novack is one of our funniest and most acerbic new writers' Catherine Lacey, author of Biography of X

'Fun, layered, and loaded with wit. Murder Bimbo is a romp through the American political landscape, infused with a propulsive plot and a voice that shouts right from the page. Impossible to put down' Jodie Matthews, author of Meet Me at the Surface

'I devoured this sharp and acidic romp of a thriller, with its deliciously dark and unreliable narrator. Intriguing, compelling, beguiling - I was completely at the mercy of our slippery heroine, and loved every minute of it. Gloriously, riotously unhinged' Emma van Straaten, author of This Immaculate Body

'What a ride! A self-mythologizing, feminist heroine for our awful age, a political assassination, and lesbian longing - I did not want this bloody clever and acerbic novel to end' Charlotte Vassell, author of The Other Half

'Refreshing, raw and radically funny' Christine Anne Foley, Kate O'Brien Award shortlisted author of Bodies

Genres: Horror, Mystery, Fiction, Adult, Mystery Thriller, Thriller, Crime

242 pages, Kindle Edition

Expected publication February 10, 2026

Reviews

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

ARC for review. To be published February 10, 2026.

2 stars. I really wanted to rate at 2.5, but that would require rounding up and it doesn’t really warrant 3 stars.

I liked the first third of this book quite a bit, but as fine with the second third and then the whole thing went off the rails in Act III.

“Murder Bimbo” (we don’t know her name) is a sex worker in her early 30s who becomes involved with a group of government agents in a plot to assassinate a Donald Trump-adjacent politician. The first part of the story is told primarily through correspondence with a podcaster and is really gripping. However, as I mentioned, the center doesn’t hold, new, more minor plots arise and it didn’t quite work for me.

I’m sorry to say that despite its early promise I really can’t recommend this one.

[Morgan Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of those books that I would only recommend to specific friends who are also insane lol. I love how weird the protagonist is, I love an unreliable narrator, I love the psycho babble of someone who has ever-changing morals and values that she vehemently defends as if she’s held them for all time.

This was one of those books that had terrible people in it and I hated them all, and that was what made it so fun.

Read it if you, like me, are a little wonky in the head and like books where women do terrible things, with or without reason.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

[Gigi Ropp · Rating 2 out of 5]

I honestly don't even know how to favorably review this one except to say it was entertaining.

Truthfully, though, this was the worst kind of unreliable narrator and the three varying acts on the same story ended up feeling redundant.

[Elizabeth Tuttle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Murder Bimbo is quintessentially millennial. An unreliable narrator sex worker assassinates a rising right-wing political figure and would be more worried about the optics of her having completed this mission with a bunch of racists if she weren't primarily fixated on impressing her ex-girlfriend.

And it is wicked fun.

Fans of Emma Cline will appreciate this one. Each of the three acts is a retelling of what happened leading up to the assassination, based on the audience our narrator would like to appeal to. As the story unravels, our character becomes more complex but never more likeable. There were areas where the character motivation and story structure didn't quite work for me, but overall I enjoyed this fast-paced, bonkers story.

[Dani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ah, what won’t lesbians do for love, or, is it love? Murder Bimbo is for fans of obsessive/psychological thrillers with unreliable queer narrators. Ms. Bimbo, truly, brava. Only slightly timely, I fear. It could use some work in being more topical (im being very sarcastic). I didn’t know where Ms. Bimbo was taking me next, enjoyed this debut novel a lot - humorously tackled so many dark aspects of American political and social culture. Absolute bonkers novel. Catherine Lacey also wins for best blurb of the year maybe

[Katie B · Rating 2 out of 5]

So the thing about writing a “sign of the times” book is that you have to reveal something or actually even take a stance and not just mash a bunch of red scare adjacent mood board items together. Local woman enraged that book entitled “murder Bimbo” is exactly how it sounds

[Rachel Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

what a wild romp! it was as darkly funny and really as strange as it sounds.

so a sex worker turned assassin roped in by neo-nazis, or is it government agents to murder someone brilliantly named meat neck (or insert chosen misogynistic piece of shit). honestly, it's kinda wild because you can insert any a many of shitty extremist politicians and it'd fit. it's topical to say the least. anyways, is she as unaware and we think? or is she manipulating the narratives? i could make arguments for both.

the separate acts did feel disconnected which is my only complaint. idk how to explain it, it felt like i had to backtrack a few times to match which narrative went to which.

but i really just think you should read this, catherine lacey's blurb alone had me hooting and hollering...gone girl for the luigi mangione era"!?! i mean, come on.

[OutlawPoet · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not like this book.

There are 3 acts. Each act tells what is basically the exact same story in a different way. The basic plotline of each section is the same - each section just tells you a bit more about our Murder Bimbo Assassin and the people in her life. An interesting concept on its surface, but the story simply isn't worth repeating 3 times.

I didn't love our MC in Act one. I actively disliked her in Act two. I loathed her in Act three. So...I guess that's different?

The story itself is remarkably dull.

Your milage may vary, but I feel like I wasted a lot of time on this.

* ARC via Publisher

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an unusual but really entertaining book that's like. nothing I've read before! Murder Bimbo is a sex worker who is hired to kill Meat Neck, a politician who is considered dangerous for the country.. The novel is told in a series of letters to Justice Bimbo and relates her trepidations and her excitement as this is something totally new to her. It's a wild ride for sure!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

[Jamie Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

The structure did bother me but I love what the book does with perspective, specifically people’s ability to tell versions of the same story to different people.

It also contains one of the best dialogues between a sex worker and a partner about the work, it made me cry.

[Brenda Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

one of those what did I just read and you must read so we can discuss.
told in 3 parts - each one showing more of Murder Bimbo's truth and manipulation.

[Miss Murder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Murder Bimbo was hired by federal agents to help them assassinate Meat Neck… or was she? We follow her through the 2 days following Meat Neck’s murder, to understand why and how it happened.

This was one hell of a ride. I love an unreliable narrator - our girl is:
1. Willing to do anything for her ex,
2. Maybe a bit impressionable, depending on which version of the story you believe, and
3. Scary.

I never knew what was going to come next as I read this - my favorite kind of a novel! A psychological thriller that somehow satirizes the political world we live in right now in the United States. My favorite part must’ve been the epilogue, just because it wrapped things up in a succinct yet again unpredictable way… but what I do know is that Murder Bimbo will strike again - I know it for a fact!!

Thanks for NetGalley for the ARC to review!

[Translator Monkey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three versions of the same murder story, a la Rashomon, but all three versions are from the same narrator. Each version is manipulated with little subtlety to suit the needs of the narrator (the titular Murder Bimbo), and rather than finding this clever, I'm afraid I found it a bit tedious. Perhaps it was meant to be a clever approach, but it just didn't stick for me.

Very basic spoiler-free plot for all three versions: Sex worker Murder Bimbo finds herself engaged through dubious means to find a way to put an end to the political aspirations of a globally-known misogynist and sexual predator named (ahem) Meat Neck. One of the options of putting an end to these aspirations is to publicly shame him, through hidden camera and microphone leaks, but this only makes Meat Neck all the more endearing to his followers (Meat Neck appears to be an amalgamation of the two Tate Brothers, but even more outwardly rapey and, oddly enough, somehow charismatic). It's a labor of revenge for Murder Bimbo, since she is also a victim of Mr. Neck's string of sexual assaults. Each of the three versions involves the decision to kill Meat, which I believe most readers will find this satisfying.

Other central characters include a true crime podcaster, a small cadre of co-conspirators, and Murder Bimbo's ex-girlfriend. The co-conspirators are the only ones we see in any depth, and their backstories to match their nicknames shift from version to version, as do the individuals themselves.

Novack's writing is quite good, humorous when it wants to be, as well as angry and/or sentimental when called for. A lot of the plotting is far-fetched, but I think it's less a reflection of the writing and more to do with the narrator casting a web to suit her needs in manipulating the reader. But ultimately the story caves in on itself for me.

Give it a read - it's a worthwhile read (three stars), but at the end of the last page, my socks were not knocked off.

[Stephanie (aka WW) · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was Catherine Lacey’s recommendation that drew me to this book – she calls it “Gone Girl for the Luigi Mangione era”. I’m glad I trusted her and overlooked the rather low ratings from readers. I found this book highly entertaining and very well-written.

Murder Bimbo is a 34-year-old sex worker who is propositioned by a secretive group of men (are they neo-Nazis or G-men?) to kill an extreme political hopeful interestingly nicknamed Meat Neck. (Yes, it’s highly topical in the current U.S. political environment.) Murder Bimbo tells her story via three separate “acts” – the first consisting of emails to the feminist Justice Bimbo and her followers, the second through emails to her lesbian ex, whom she calls “X”, and lastly, in her own words addressed to readers. It was a tad repetitive, but once I figured out what was going on, I was all in for the ride. I like a “different” book, and my protagonist doesn’t have to be likable. MB is actually one of my favorite characters of recent reads…she’s unreliable but somehow relatable, a tad crazy but whip smart. I loved not knowing what she would do next. I would recommend this to readers of Catherine Lacey (especially Biography of X) and Ottessa Moshfegh.

Much thanks to NetGalley and Avid Reader Press for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. This book hits shelves on February 10, 2026.

[SuzieQuzie7973 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley, Avid Reader Press and Rebecca Novak for sharing this ARC with me in exchange for my honest review.

Murder Bimbo is the weirdest most unhinged and most best, I know that isn't proper grammar, but this book is just sooo good. Hands down, no question, this book has the most excellent unreliable narrator. The FMC is like me, a little weird, dark, quirky and a whole lot of wonky. All in all, this book is very delicious. Ms. Rebecca is going to take y'all on the ride of y'alls lives. I can't say enough how much I didn't like this book and loved this book at the same time, and I was hooked from beginning to end. All the ups and downs, highs and lows and all the chaos is just the right amount of frosting.

I highly recommend that y'all run don't walk and get y'alls hands on this book February 10, 2026

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

(ARC - out 02/10/26 via Avid Reader Press) (4.5 rounded down) Oh my god. What a deranged, wild, completely topical MDMA tab of a novel. The titular Murder Bimbo is a sex worker turned assassin working for undercover agents to take down an extremist politician, Meat Neck. Who hired and trained Murder Bimbo? Who actually is a threat to democracy? The book is told in an epistolary style, with MB writing e-mails to her ex-girlfriend, X, and builds the very unreliable character of Murder Bimbo. Weirdly fun, frequently caustic, and so of-the-moment that it actually hurts, I loved this. I do not look forward to the discourse around it, but I loved it. Also, that cover? Stunning. Catherine Lacey blurbs this as “Gone Girl for the Luigi Mangione era” and that couldn’t be more apt. Murder Bimbo for prez (just kidding).

[Izzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley for the eARC

Murder Bimbo follows a sex worker who kills a politician she hates. The story is told through the lens she wishes society to perceive her, the lens she wishes the women she is infatuated would see her, and finally how she has come to see herself.

Be warned, this is not a fun female rage story. This is not a book where you will support or forgive all of the protagonists actions. This book is dark and violent and full of difficult internal contradictions. Definitely check trigger warnings before you go in.

All that said, I thought this was a great exploration of female rage in a way not always done. Violence for selfish purposes disguised as the greater good, I felt that Act I dragged a bit and could have been cut, but by Act II I was absolutely hooked and flew through the last two thirds in a day, I couldn't put it down.

I personally loved the retelling of different events depending on the reaction our protagonist wished to receive. I felt each retelling dived into different social commentary, e.g. what is the perfect victim/activist, what kind of perfect do we need from those we love, and what are we willing to do to others and ourselves to fulfil our desires.

Overall, this is an incredibly timely story which enraged me for so many reasons. The writing could be tightened up, especially in the first third, and I don't quite feel like the email format was truly utilised, they pay off for this came a bit too late in the story. But all being said, I was hooked and think this was a great book.

[Ellen Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a wildly entertaining ride. A sex worker turned assassin by the government, the plot was hilariously unhinged. The political chaos in this story is so relatable with our current times but mostly the plot is just pure genius. I never knew what was going to happen next. It’s such a unique storyline overall that it keeps you hooked on every page wondering if you’re about to gasp or chuckle.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Michael]

My review for this book was published by Library Journal in December 2025:

In this letter bomb of a debut, a 32-year-old sex worker writes a confession to a feminist crime podcast, Justice for Bimbos, offering her account of how she was recruited by anonymous federal agents to go undercover and kill an ascendant extremist politician. Her account, which she mails in the days she spends on the lam following the murder, explores how her background as a sex worker made her expendable, a perfect target for recruitment; she signs it with the moniker “Murder Bimbo.” The perspective shifts in the second act, as Murder Bimbo now writes to her ex-girlfriend, recasting her actions—and those anonymous federal agents—in a different, more self-serving light. By the time the third act arrives, further muddying her role in the plot and who this confession is for, the novel has evolved from a Gone Girl–type thriller to a tedious elaboration of narrative unreliability, losing its satirical bite in the process. VERDICT Some readers might find the book’s theme of justified political assassination too glib, but others will relish its subversive tone. A literary provocation in the tradition of Nicholson Baker’s Checkpoint.

Copyright ©2025 Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. Reprinted with permission.

[Ads! · Rating 1 out of 5]

an odd book that made me feel like a bad feminist for thinking it was terrible. at the end of the book, the entire story felt pointless to have told, and at the beginning it was insufferable to get through.

this novels tactic is to throw everything you could think of into it to trick you into thinking it has any level of depth, but falls apart upon further inspection.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm calling it now: this is my favorite book of the year.

Murder Bimbo has just assassinated a key political figure and is on the lam. Realizing too late that she's been caught up in the wrong sort of scheme, she fights to set the record straight by emailing a renowned liberal podcaster who she hopes will transform her story in the public eye from wanted fugitive to celebrated folk hero. She's running out of time to do this, though, since she's holed up in a remote forest cabin and suspects the cabal who put her up to the act are now looking to tie up loose ends.

This was in turns hilarious, heartfelt, and thought-provoking, but always smart and incisive. It's both highly literary (character-driven, well-crafted) and a veritable thriller, replete with twists and turns and action-packed sequences throughout. I absolutely adored reading this and was incapable of setting it down until it was finished. I'm surprised to see this book's average rating so low but I'm sure it's just the sparseness of early reviews. I think once this book finds its audience, it will move up to the coveted 3.6-3.8 average rating where any literary fiction worth reading resides. I'd recommend it to anyone (even though I don't know that it's for everyone) and will absolutely be picking up the finished copy when its published next year.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

This started off really strong, following a 30-something sex worker, named only as Murder Bimbo, who believes she has been recruited to assassinate a controversial right-wing politician. After killing him, she realises everything is not what it seems and goes on the run. The story is told initially through her emails to a famous true crime podcast known only to the reader as Justice Bimbo. About a third of the way through the book, we learn that Murder Bimbo isn’t being entirely honest with us.

On the whole, I really enjoyed the political analysis and the way sex work was treated, not as a cliché or something to be looked down on, but a realistic explanation of why Murder Bimbo started it and stayed there. She was an interesting narrator, but untrustworthy at best. I did find the unreliable narrator change-up disappointing. It felt like rehashing the same set-up.

Overall I enjoyed the book and the hook of the assassination plot, although that unfolded very quickly. I would recommend this to fans of political satire and commentary, true crime podcast lovers, and fans of the unreliable narrator genre.

Thank you to Bonnier Books and NetGalley for the eARC!

[Samantha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Murder Bimbo runs on its own timely, unruly appeal: forward pacing, a dark sense of humor, and an unreliable narrator who knows exactly how unserious she is— even runs with it. The book is at its best when it leans into that self-aware chaos, letting the tone carry the narrative instead of pretending to be a more polished, orderly mystery. There’s a confidence to its mess if you sit back and enjoy the ride rather than look for tidy edges.

Where it wobbles is in the moments it tries to stretch beyond its natural range. Some emotional beats feel underfed, a few plot turns land less like reveals and more like abrupt lane changes, and I would’ve been fine with just… Less. That said, the sheer audacity and voice-driven momentum do work hard keep the whole thing buoyant. It’s entertainment first, intention second— and once you accept that hierarchy, it’s an irreverent little detour into mayhem.

[Ellen (elmreadsbooks) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book will not be for everyone, it’s weird, bold, darkly funny and absolutely unlike anything I’ve read before but I honestly really enjoyed it! 🩷

Told through a series of emails from our protagonist (the titular “Murder Bimbo”) to a true crime podcast host and, later, to her ex girlfriend, the story unravels how and why Murder Bimbo assassinated a controversial right wing politician known as “Meat Neck.”

Murder Bimbo herself is a sex worker recruited to become an assassin and she’s one of the most chaotic, unreliable narrators I’ve ever encountered but I kind of love her? I found myself genuinely rooting for her even though she’s technically the “bad guy” in the story… although honestly there isn’t a single redeemable character in the story so, best of a bad bunch? 😂

With everything happening in the world right now, this book hit hadd, almost uncomfortably so, and it made the whole story feel unsettlingly real. It’s sharp social commentary wrapped in a strange little thriller with a twist, and that combination made it hard to put down.

I wouldn’t recommend this to everyone I know but I absolutely think my politically minded, feminist friends will eat this up.

My only real criticism is that I wanted a bit more payoff from the podcast thread. I would’ve loved to understand the fallout after those episodes dropped, because that was intriguing. I’d have liked to see Justice Bimbo respond to the emails or something idk 🤷🏼‍♀️

Overall, a bold and very timely social thriller that’s as strange as it is smart. I’m really glad I picked it up.

[Lex Ax · Rating 5 out of 5]

“People have accused me of it before, but I'm not a liar. A liar is a person who makes things up. I don't make things up. I tell the truth at whatever cost.”

Have you ever started a book and immediately knew you were going to adore it? The writing is entrancing, the characters are gripping, the story is enthralling. That’s how I felt within the first two pages of Murder Bimbo and grabbed my pen to annotate (I almost ran out of ink).

Murder Bimbo has everything I love in horror/thrillers. The political commentary, the absurd side characters, the UNRELIABLE NARRATOR who’s a murderer (who I don’t trust), but also love?

Flawlessly structured, Murder Bimbo is zany and eccentric, yet raw and vulnerable in refreshing ways. This is a book I’ll be thinking about for weeks to come.

Thank you Avid Reader Press for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

[Erica | wittyreading · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I really enjoyed the voice of the FMC. She was smart, funny and witty. The story is broken up into 3 acts and the first act was my favorite. It started to lose a little steam for me as the story progressed but I thought the 3 parts were brilliant. This is weird but I like weird.

Thank you Avid Reader Press for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

[Lydia Hephzibah]

DNF @ 45%

Setting: USA
rep: sapphic protagonist

I was so into this during part one, but then part two started and it all fell apart and I'm just not enjoying it anymore as it's not the story it made out to be, and based on other reviews from people I trust, it's not going to suddenly get better.

[Courtney Innis · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 rounded down for GR

This book is gorgeously unhinged- an unreliable narrator at its finest.
Part one had me fairly invested, starting part 2 and thinking I knew what I was reading had me momentarily confused how there was a significant portion of the book left… but I was pleasantly and dramatically surprised by the twists and turns the story took & took again.
The complexities of Murder Bimbo’s psyche were fascinating and kept me devouring page after page. It’s so interesting how you can feel like you know who someone is only to be shown how wrong you are repeatedly. It’s outstanding commentary on perspective.

Thank you NetGalley & Avid Reader Press for the ARC.

[Sophie (booksinthebelfry) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this for the first 2 thirds but the book lost me a bit at the last third.

I love the unreliable narrator and how unhinged she is. Good for her.

Thanks Manilla Press for the ARC 🙏🏻💕

3.5 ⭐

[Jessie Elland]

Brimming with acidic humour, Murder Bimbo is perfect for fans of A Certain Hunger and Boy Parts. Novak keeps you hooked as each (increasingly insane) layer to Murder Bimbo's story is unveiled. Her voice is exhilaratingly fun to read and I think Murder Bimbo is surely going to be the book everyone is talking about in 2026!