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A Degree of Murder: It's 25 years since they graduated...but revenge never gets old.
Not yet published
Expected 9 Apr 26IT'S BEEN 25 YEARS SINCE THEY GRADUATED...BUT REVENGE NEVER GETS OLD.
The Class of 2000.
The Actress. The Techie. The Bimbo.
The Sportsman. The Bad Boy. The Writer. The Singer.
The Lecturer. The Musician. The Mature Student. The Weirdo.
But who is The Murderer?
It's Bathory University's 25-year reunion. The Class of 2000 reassemble - and old flames and old feuds are quicky reignited.
Laurence still loves Diana. Mags still hates Bill. Tillie wants Ed. Ryan wants revenge. Rob turned out good. J.D. turned out bad. Lilah's not the same. And as for Marty...
But when murder strikes, the clues to the killing can be found a quarter of a century ago on Graduation Day 2000. As the secrets, tragedies and betrayals from years gone by play out at the reunion, someone is taught a deadly lesson.
Eleven witnesses - or are they suspects? - from the Bathory students and staff recount events in the years 2000 and 2025 while the murder trial unfolds before us. But who is the victim? Who is accused of being the killer? And is the right person even on trial?
The murderer will be revealed... but only by degrees.
Praise for award-winning, bestselling author Maz
'Fabulous' JANICE HALLETT
'Deliciously funny' MARTINA COLE
'Pure fun in book form, a laugh out loud murder mystery...a book you won't be able to put down!' C L MILLER
'Wickedly spit-out-your-tea funny...but also heartwarming' S. J. BENNETT
'This witty mystery will please fans of Richard Osman and Janice Hallett' The i Paper
'Gorgeously warm, brilliantly witty...impossible to put down' LUCY MANGAN
Warm, wacky and witty. I loved it!' SALLY PAGE
'A triumph' DAILY MIRROR
'Sometimes a book comes along that reminds you why you fell in love with reading. ..an absolute joy!' WOMAN & HOME
'Splendidly offbeat whodunnit' DAILY EXPRESS
The Class of 2000.
The Actress. The Techie. The Bimbo.
The Sportsman. The Bad Boy. The Writer. The Singer.
The Lecturer. The Musician. The Mature Student. The Weirdo.
But who is The Murderer?
It's Bathory University's 25-year reunion. The Class of 2000 reassemble - and old flames and old feuds are quicky reignited.
Laurence still loves Diana. Mags still hates Bill. Tillie wants Ed. Ryan wants revenge. Rob turned out good. J.D. turned out bad. Lilah's not the same. And as for Marty...
But when murder strikes, the clues to the killing can be found a quarter of a century ago on Graduation Day 2000. As the secrets, tragedies and betrayals from years gone by play out at the reunion, someone is taught a deadly lesson.
Eleven witnesses - or are they suspects? - from the Bathory students and staff recount events in the years 2000 and 2025 while the murder trial unfolds before us. But who is the victim? Who is accused of being the killer? And is the right person even on trial?
The murderer will be revealed... but only by degrees.
Praise for award-winning, bestselling author Maz
'Fabulous' JANICE HALLETT
'Deliciously funny' MARTINA COLE
'Pure fun in book form, a laugh out loud murder mystery...a book you won't be able to put down!' C L MILLER
'Wickedly spit-out-your-tea funny...but also heartwarming' S. J. BENNETT
'This witty mystery will please fans of Richard Osman and Janice Hallett' The i Paper
'Gorgeously warm, brilliantly witty...impossible to put down' LUCY MANGAN
Warm, wacky and witty. I loved it!' SALLY PAGE
'A triumph' DAILY MIRROR
'Sometimes a book comes along that reminds you why you fell in love with reading. ..an absolute joy!' WOMAN & HOME
'Splendidly offbeat whodunnit' DAILY EXPRESS
360 pages, Kindle Edition
Expected publication April 9, 2026
3 people are currently reading
35 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
4.5 stars
Thanks to NetGalley and Headline for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.
It is a mixture of formats. I never thought anyone could write the way Janice Hallett does, but Maz has found a similar way of telling the story, but it's not always like that. Yes there's emails and newsletters and court notes etc. But it's alongside what you'd call "normal" prose. So, if you're generall not a fan of the first type of writing, please stick with it, because they really help give an extra layer to teh story.
I loved Maz's debut adult novel - Over My Dead Body - and whilst I own a number of her kids books, I haven't read any yet. I did read her last book - That'll Teach Her - but it didn't quite hit the same heights for me (we can't love every book I suppose). But as soon as I started this one I knew it would be just as good as Over My... . It's so fast paced but not too much, full of twists and turns but not overwhelming. I had no idea where it was going, who to trust, who to believe, who was good, who was bad - it's got so many layers to it.
The characters are a mixture of heroes and villains, none of which are 100% good or bad. The "baddies" almost elt like pantomime baddies, and I mean that in the absolute best way possible. Any of them could have done it, and I really enjoyd learning all about them and trying to figure it out - which of course I didn't.
Tere are a lt of characters, let me say. I am awful at remembering names so I did struggle at times, but I don't think it negatively impacted my enjoyment of hte book as a whole, mainly because they are all so distinct nad so well written.
Each character's chapter is the same story, but from different POVs which I thought was very good, because we get completely seperate angles that only add to the conusion and the tension.
She's not given us everything at once. She's teased things so we don't always know who or what we're reading about, which gets your imagination going.
I didn't find it a quick book to read - not a negative, just an observation. It takes a lot of thinking and concentration which makes it a slower read, which is fine, but it's probably not one you read whilst you're trying to multitask, it deserves your full attention.
I'm an early-to-bed kind of person, but I had to stay up to finish this. I am notoriously bad at working out whodunnits but this really had me shocked and bamboozled (good word!)
I would definitely recommend this to people who like "different" thrillers, whodunnits with a twist. It's a great read and thoroughly exciting.
Thanks to NetGalley and Headline for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.
It is a mixture of formats. I never thought anyone could write the way Janice Hallett does, but Maz has found a similar way of telling the story, but it's not always like that. Yes there's emails and newsletters and court notes etc. But it's alongside what you'd call "normal" prose. So, if you're generall not a fan of the first type of writing, please stick with it, because they really help give an extra layer to teh story.
I loved Maz's debut adult novel - Over My Dead Body - and whilst I own a number of her kids books, I haven't read any yet. I did read her last book - That'll Teach Her - but it didn't quite hit the same heights for me (we can't love every book I suppose). But as soon as I started this one I knew it would be just as good as Over My... . It's so fast paced but not too much, full of twists and turns but not overwhelming. I had no idea where it was going, who to trust, who to believe, who was good, who was bad - it's got so many layers to it.
The characters are a mixture of heroes and villains, none of which are 100% good or bad. The "baddies" almost elt like pantomime baddies, and I mean that in the absolute best way possible. Any of them could have done it, and I really enjoyd learning all about them and trying to figure it out - which of course I didn't.
Tere are a lt of characters, let me say. I am awful at remembering names so I did struggle at times, but I don't think it negatively impacted my enjoyment of hte book as a whole, mainly because they are all so distinct nad so well written.
Each character's chapter is the same story, but from different POVs which I thought was very good, because we get completely seperate angles that only add to the conusion and the tension.
She's not given us everything at once. She's teased things so we don't always know who or what we're reading about, which gets your imagination going.
I didn't find it a quick book to read - not a negative, just an observation. It takes a lot of thinking and concentration which makes it a slower read, which is fine, but it's probably not one you read whilst you're trying to multitask, it deserves your full attention.
I'm an early-to-bed kind of person, but I had to stay up to finish this. I am notoriously bad at working out whodunnits but this really had me shocked and bamboozled (good word!)
I would definitely recommend this to people who like "different" thrillers, whodunnits with a twist. It's a great read and thoroughly exciting.
March 9, 2026
I am just going to start this review by saying, I just love this author’s writing. It’s so engaging that I always feel the story gets under my skin straight away and whenever I have to put the book down, I am thinking about it and itching to pick it back up. I really enjoyed the mix of epistolary elements with the trial transcripts and newsletters weaved between the traditional chapters. It’s somewhat of a massive understatement to say that there’s a LOT going on with the Bathory University’s class of 2000 but I was here for all of it, entertained from start to finish. Sure, there are a lot of different characters and secrets to keep straight and that can sometimes become confusing, especially as they are similarly named (Lyra and Lilah - I am looking at you) but it doesn’t detract from your enjoyment of the book. I am left wishing I could read Maz Evans’ next book right away. 4.5 stars rounded up.
Thanks for the author, publisher and NetGalley for a chance to review an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Thanks for the author, publisher and NetGalley for a chance to review an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
When murder strikes at Bathory College’s 25 year reunion, clues can be found from graduation day. The students and staff recount events in the past and current year, while the murder trial unfolds. But who is the victim and who is accused of being the killer? The truth will be uncovered.
I previously read That’ll Teach Her and really enjoyed the humour and mystery in it, finding it a fun read. I hoped this would be the same and I was pleased to find it was. This was another entertaining story, with some mixed formats thrown in with the bulletin and court case, parts I found I enjoyed (more so the bulletin). As unlikeable as some of the characters were, they were very amusing to read, although felt like caricatures at times. The story kept me guessing and there were some good twists that I enjoyed discovering.
Although this was an entertaining book, I did have a couple of areas I didn’t like so much. I found that the chapters were a bit too long and slow, I would have preferred them to be a bit shorter and snappier. I also found that as we were introduced to a lot of characters at once, it was hard to keep them all separated from one another, which at times felt confusing. Even though I had these issues, overall this was an enjoyable mystery and perfect for those looking for a twisty, well written story full of dark humour. I will definitely continue to read more by this author. 3.5 stars rounded down. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy in return for an honest review.
I previously read That’ll Teach Her and really enjoyed the humour and mystery in it, finding it a fun read. I hoped this would be the same and I was pleased to find it was. This was another entertaining story, with some mixed formats thrown in with the bulletin and court case, parts I found I enjoyed (more so the bulletin). As unlikeable as some of the characters were, they were very amusing to read, although felt like caricatures at times. The story kept me guessing and there were some good twists that I enjoyed discovering.
Although this was an entertaining book, I did have a couple of areas I didn’t like so much. I found that the chapters were a bit too long and slow, I would have preferred them to be a bit shorter and snappier. I also found that as we were introduced to a lot of characters at once, it was hard to keep them all separated from one another, which at times felt confusing. Even though I had these issues, overall this was an enjoyable mystery and perfect for those looking for a twisty, well written story full of dark humour. I will definitely continue to read more by this author. 3.5 stars rounded down. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy in return for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Maz Evans has delivered another brilliant darkly comic mystery with A Degree of Murder. It’s definitely a book that you need to keep your wits about you to read as it features multiple points of view, different time lines and twists galore.
To begin with, the reader is completely in the dark as we don’t know who has been murdered, who is on trial or even who is narrating that particular time line. Gradually as we see events from the fateful reunion of 2025 as well flashbacks to the original graduation in 2000, we find out the identities of the victim and accused.
I loved the variety of characters although it was bit tricky to keep track of who everyone was to begin with as the POVs switch quite quickly. It was an immersive read as seeing the same events unfold from multiple POV really gives a feeling of seeing things from all sides. To link the two events together we also get Tillie’s hilarious newsletters as she keeps everyone up to date with how the alumni of Bathory University. Some of the details and people mentioned are irrelevant to the story but they are all funny and definitely not to be skipped.
The way that the relationships between the characters was gradually revealed kept me having to re-evaluate what I thought about each one and the twists kept on coming right to the end.
This was another really enjoyable mystery read by the author and I am grateful to Net Galley and the publishers, Headline, for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
To begin with, the reader is completely in the dark as we don’t know who has been murdered, who is on trial or even who is narrating that particular time line. Gradually as we see events from the fateful reunion of 2025 as well flashbacks to the original graduation in 2000, we find out the identities of the victim and accused.
I loved the variety of characters although it was bit tricky to keep track of who everyone was to begin with as the POVs switch quite quickly. It was an immersive read as seeing the same events unfold from multiple POV really gives a feeling of seeing things from all sides. To link the two events together we also get Tillie’s hilarious newsletters as she keeps everyone up to date with how the alumni of Bathory University. Some of the details and people mentioned are irrelevant to the story but they are all funny and definitely not to be skipped.
The way that the relationships between the characters was gradually revealed kept me having to re-evaluate what I thought about each one and the twists kept on coming right to the end.
This was another really enjoyable mystery read by the author and I am grateful to Net Galley and the publishers, Headline, for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Everyone has their secrets, and no one is truly innocent. Get ready to join Bathory University's Class of 2000 as they push past the skeletons in their closets to put on their best clothes for a reunion no one is likely to forget!
A Degree of Murder by Maz Evans is a Mystery/Thriller book that is set to be published on 9th April 2026.
5 Stars
A huge thank you to the Marketing team at Headline Publishing for inviting me to read the ARC of this book through NetGalley. I was lucky enough to review the ARC of Maz Evans' debut adult novel Over My Dead Body and was truly thrilled to be given the same opportunity for A Degree of Murder two years later.
This might just be my new favourite book. As the book progressed, I got more and more confused, I truly had no idea what was coming until it hit me in the face. I . Could. Not. Put. It. Down. The twists and turns in this book will give you whiplash. I cannot wait for A Degree of Murder to be released in April so that I can purchase a physical copy and get all of my friends and family to read it.
A Degree of Murder by Maz Evans is a Mystery/Thriller book that is set to be published on 9th April 2026.
5 Stars
A huge thank you to the Marketing team at Headline Publishing for inviting me to read the ARC of this book through NetGalley. I was lucky enough to review the ARC of Maz Evans' debut adult novel Over My Dead Body and was truly thrilled to be given the same opportunity for A Degree of Murder two years later.
This might just be my new favourite book. As the book progressed, I got more and more confused, I truly had no idea what was coming until it hit me in the face. I . Could. Not. Put. It. Down. The twists and turns in this book will give you whiplash. I cannot wait for A Degree of Murder to be released in April so that I can purchase a physical copy and get all of my friends and family to read it.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
If there is one thing you can count on with a Max Evans book is that it will make you laugh, and this was no exception - I think my favourite parts of the whole book were the 'Bathoru Bulletin' sections. That being said, I did find this book a little bit hard to stick with. The chapters were incredibly long and a bit "waffle-y" in parts. There is also a lot of characters and relationships go keep track of, and I found it quite hard to keep up with who was who. There were some stand out characters that, by the end (once I'd managed to work out who was who), I loved and some I hated. The ending and twists were good, if a tiny bit predictable. This is a book that jumps between two timelines, has lots of little individual story lines branching off of the main plot, and requires a lot of concentration to really understand what's going on. This is a strange one, I both did and didn't enjoy this one in different ways!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This is one of those books that is difficult to describe without spoilers but what I can say is this is brilliant, and you should read it!
I was able to read an advanced copy of this thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, Headline Fiction, but the opinions expressed are my own. I loved this, it's clever, the characters are fully formed from the start, and the relationships and conversations are realistic and never felt strained unless it was supposed to. There are some seriously nasty people in the graduating class of 2000 who definitely haven't mellowed in the intervening 25 years! No spoilers but the Bathory Bulletins featured in each section are just wonderful and thoroughly enjoyable on their own. Highly recommended.
I was able to read an advanced copy of this thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, Headline Fiction, but the opinions expressed are my own. I loved this, it's clever, the characters are fully formed from the start, and the relationships and conversations are realistic and never felt strained unless it was supposed to. There are some seriously nasty people in the graduating class of 2000 who definitely haven't mellowed in the intervening 25 years! No spoilers but the Bathory Bulletins featured in each section are just wonderful and thoroughly enjoyable on their own. Highly recommended.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
What a thrilling five-star read. The twists will keep you guessing and wondering who and what is happening as just when you think you know, rug pulled. I like the way that the author has kept the details semi hidden, so you know someone is on trial, but not who at first, and the way its done, and the alternating timelines, its wonderful how easy it is to keep it all together, but still keeping you hooked and on tenterhooks wondering will Mags get her happy ever after, and who is keeping the deepest secrets. The deeper into this book you get, the deeper this pulls you into its hooks and gets your brain running.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you to Netgalley for the arc edition of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I really enjoyed over my dead body so I was really excited to have the opportunity to read the latest adult fiction by Maz Evans.
A degree of murder is a fun mixture of transcripts, different timelines, points of view from other characters. It keeps your brain interested without being too complicated.
The characters were a great mix of funny, unlikeable, bad boys, kooky, mature. All of them had flaws and the unlikeable ones showed a softer side at certain points.
The actual story was good to follow and it had a great twist at the end.
A really enjoyable read.
I really enjoyed over my dead body so I was really excited to have the opportunity to read the latest adult fiction by Maz Evans.
A degree of murder is a fun mixture of transcripts, different timelines, points of view from other characters. It keeps your brain interested without being too complicated.
The characters were a great mix of funny, unlikeable, bad boys, kooky, mature. All of them had flaws and the unlikeable ones showed a softer side at certain points.
The actual story was good to follow and it had a great twist at the end.
A really enjoyable read.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews