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Who Can Blame Her
Not yet published
Expected 27 Aug 26PRAISE FOR BELLA
'Delicious' JOJO MOYES
'Super-sharp, lethally witty' NIGELLA LAWSON
‘Wonderfully wicked’ RED
'Very funny… I inhaled it' JOE LYCETT
‘Taut, pacy, seamless… a huge pleasure to read’ MARIAN KEYES
“You know Diana Leyland… she climbed the ladder by marrying a man on each rung! I think she gets rid of them when she’s got what she needs. I think she poisons them… I wonder who’s next .”
To lose one husband is unlucky. To lose two is careless. But three? Three must be murder…
Diana Leyland has her sights set on a new target, David Farrand.
His daughter Cat has other ideas…
Bella Mackie's book 'What A Way To Go' was a Sunday Times bestseller w/c 2024-09-09.
'Delicious' JOJO MOYES
'Super-sharp, lethally witty' NIGELLA LAWSON
‘Wonderfully wicked’ RED
'Very funny… I inhaled it' JOE LYCETT
‘Taut, pacy, seamless… a huge pleasure to read’ MARIAN KEYES
“You know Diana Leyland… she climbed the ladder by marrying a man on each rung! I think she gets rid of them when she’s got what she needs. I think she poisons them… I wonder who’s next .”
To lose one husband is unlucky. To lose two is careless. But three? Three must be murder…
Diana Leyland has her sights set on a new target, David Farrand.
His daughter Cat has other ideas…
Bella Mackie's book 'What A Way To Go' was a Sunday Times bestseller w/c 2024-09-09.
Kindle Edition
Expected publication August 27, 2026
About the author
Bella Mackie
20 books1,404 followersVogue columnist. Author of best-selling novel “How to Kill Your Family."
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
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May 7, 2026Never understood why people submittied a little comment before the book came out until today because I JUST GOT AN ARC for this and I am so excited!
Just yesterday I wondered when Mackie would do another book, and the universe answered! :D
Just yesterday I wondered when Mackie would do another book, and the universe answered! :D
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Just finished Claws Out by Bella Mackie and I absolutely flew through it. Definitely my favourite of hers so far.
Bella Mackie just has this brilliant way of writing messy, chaotic, morally questionable characters that somehow still feel incredibly real and entertaining. From the very first chapter I was completely hooked and honestly didn’t want to put it down.
I did guess the twist before the reveal, but for me that didn’t matter at all. If anything, it made it even more fun watching everything slowly unravel and seeing how all the pieces would finally come together. The pacing was spot on and there was always enough tension, drama and humour to keep me fully invested.
What I loved most was the tone of the book — sharp, witty, darkly funny and incredibly clever without ever trying too hard. There were so many lines that genuinely made me laugh out loud, which is rare for a thriller. Bella Mackie really nails that balance between suspense and humour.
The characters were brilliantly written too. None of them are particularly likeable in the traditional sense, but that’s what makes them so entertaining to read. Everyone had secrets, agendas and flaws, and it made the whole story feel deliciously chaotic.
Overall, such an addictive and clever read. Even knowing where things were heading didn’t stop me enjoying every second of the journey. Funny, twisted, dramatic and ridiculously easy to binge.
Big thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for the ARC
Bella Mackie just has this brilliant way of writing messy, chaotic, morally questionable characters that somehow still feel incredibly real and entertaining. From the very first chapter I was completely hooked and honestly didn’t want to put it down.
I did guess the twist before the reveal, but for me that didn’t matter at all. If anything, it made it even more fun watching everything slowly unravel and seeing how all the pieces would finally come together. The pacing was spot on and there was always enough tension, drama and humour to keep me fully invested.
What I loved most was the tone of the book — sharp, witty, darkly funny and incredibly clever without ever trying too hard. There were so many lines that genuinely made me laugh out loud, which is rare for a thriller. Bella Mackie really nails that balance between suspense and humour.
The characters were brilliantly written too. None of them are particularly likeable in the traditional sense, but that’s what makes them so entertaining to read. Everyone had secrets, agendas and flaws, and it made the whole story feel deliciously chaotic.
Overall, such an addictive and clever read. Even knowing where things were heading didn’t stop me enjoying every second of the journey. Funny, twisted, dramatic and ridiculously easy to binge.
Big thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for the ARC
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
3.75 stars
I thoroughly enjoyed Bella Mackie’s last two books – How To Kill Your Family and What A Way To Go – so, at this point, she’s an auto-read/buy author for me.
So much so that when I was sent an early Read Now link for her latest book, I abandoned all of my responsibilities, as well as my current read, to start it.
I always enjoy her social commentary and the witty way that she gives us a glimpse into the upper middle class, and while I was rooting for Cat to oust Diana, it’s another case of basically every character being pretty deplorable, which I guess is the whole point.
But something was lacking overall.
While I was intrigued to see how Diana’s first three husbands had met their maker, and if Cat would be able to get rid of her new stepmother before something bad happened, knowing that David survived kind of took away any anticipation, when it came to how it would end.
I also guessed who the true murderer was pretty early on, however, I didn’t expect a certain character to be murdered and the way in which they went out was pretty shocking.
That being said, the less that can be said about someone’s supposed ability to communicate with animals, the better.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I thoroughly enjoyed Bella Mackie’s last two books – How To Kill Your Family and What A Way To Go – so, at this point, she’s an auto-read/buy author for me.
So much so that when I was sent an early Read Now link for her latest book, I abandoned all of my responsibilities, as well as my current read, to start it.
I always enjoy her social commentary and the witty way that she gives us a glimpse into the upper middle class, and while I was rooting for Cat to oust Diana, it’s another case of basically every character being pretty deplorable, which I guess is the whole point.
But something was lacking overall.
While I was intrigued to see how Diana’s first three husbands had met their maker, and if Cat would be able to get rid of her new stepmother before something bad happened, knowing that David survived kind of took away any anticipation, when it came to how it would end.
I also guessed who the true murderer was pretty early on, however, I didn’t expect a certain character to be murdered and the way in which they went out was pretty shocking.
That being said, the less that can be said about someone’s supposed ability to communicate with animals, the better.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Review of advanced copy from Netgalley
Diana is a femme fatale hermit crab; as she outgrows one husband, she finds another to move onto, leaving the previous one an empty shell. As our story begins she's got her eyes on her great white whale, David Farrard, but is it a net Diana is holding? Or a harpoon?
Claws Out! is a dry satire of the English class system, set in North London (South London gets it in the neck a few times) where our players are Champagne Socialists superficially accepting their label of privilege whilst desperately trying to maintain or gain wealth in the background. Our main plot sees a tennis match of wits between Cat, David's daughter, and Diana, as they vie for David's attention, leaving you sympathetic at times for both, and unsure about what really happens to Diana's catches.
Mackie makes the most of every moment in the novel to sprinkle in more humour (see chapters marked 'Interlude for a Murder') and I couldn't put it down.
Thanks again to Harper Collins and Netgalley for this ARC.
Diana is a femme fatale hermit crab; as she outgrows one husband, she finds another to move onto, leaving the previous one an empty shell. As our story begins she's got her eyes on her great white whale, David Farrard, but is it a net Diana is holding? Or a harpoon?
Claws Out! is a dry satire of the English class system, set in North London (South London gets it in the neck a few times) where our players are Champagne Socialists superficially accepting their label of privilege whilst desperately trying to maintain or gain wealth in the background. Our main plot sees a tennis match of wits between Cat, David's daughter, and Diana, as they vie for David's attention, leaving you sympathetic at times for both, and unsure about what really happens to Diana's catches.
Mackie makes the most of every moment in the novel to sprinkle in more humour (see chapters marked 'Interlude for a Murder') and I couldn't put it down.
Thanks again to Harper Collins and Netgalley for this ARC.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Another good read from this author.
This book was a pleasure to read. It had satire aplenty, particularly about the people who live in North London, which did make me laugh. The way they tried to pretend that they didn't have money but still expected privileges because of it was spot on.
The story itself was different to the author's other books as it was quite a long drawn out plot. Yes, there were deaths in abundance, and I did guess whodunnit before the ending, but this didn't matter as the storyline was entertaining. I particularly loved David, who thought he was a feminist but kept making sexist comments.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.
This book was a pleasure to read. It had satire aplenty, particularly about the people who live in North London, which did make me laugh. The way they tried to pretend that they didn't have money but still expected privileges because of it was spot on.
The story itself was different to the author's other books as it was quite a long drawn out plot. Yes, there were deaths in abundance, and I did guess whodunnit before the ending, but this didn't matter as the storyline was entertaining. I particularly loved David, who thought he was a feminist but kept making sexist comments.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.
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