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Killing the Rabbit
Murder is the main attraction in this dark and wickedly comic new thriller that follows a young indie filmmaker on her way to fame, fortune, and a shoot-out to the death.
Hannie Reynard landed every aspiring filmmaker’s dream: a hefty grant to make her documentary Freaks or Frauds. But the groundbreaking film that was supposed to launch Hannie’s career may kill her first. Blowing the grant money on a lost weekend in Paris was bad enough, but now the “stars” of her film–women who share a unique genetic trait–have stopped talking…and started disappearing.
Coupled with a burned-out ex-classmate hitching his own hopes for a comeback to her project, Hannie finds herself the unlikely co-star of a movie that will never be made if a very powerful someone has anything to say about it. For Hannie is already in the crosshairs of his chief “cameraman”–a ruthlessly unconventional hit man who never misses a lethal shot.
From the Paperback edition.
Hannie Reynard landed every aspiring filmmaker’s dream: a hefty grant to make her documentary Freaks or Frauds. But the groundbreaking film that was supposed to launch Hannie’s career may kill her first. Blowing the grant money on a lost weekend in Paris was bad enough, but now the “stars” of her film–women who share a unique genetic trait–have stopped talking…and started disappearing.
Coupled with a burned-out ex-classmate hitching his own hopes for a comeback to her project, Hannie finds herself the unlikely co-star of a movie that will never be made if a very powerful someone has anything to say about it. For Hannie is already in the crosshairs of his chief “cameraman”–a ruthlessly unconventional hit man who never misses a lethal shot.
From the Paperback edition.
448 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published July 28, 2004
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373 people want to read
About the author
Alison Goodman
13 books4,548 followersAlison is the author of seven novels so far including the award winning Dark Days Club trilogy (aka as the Lady Helen trilogy) and EON and EONA, a New York Times Bestselling fantasy duology. Her upcoming novel --The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies-- is book 1 in a new series, and will be published in the USA, UK and Australia at the end of May 2023.
Alison lives in Australia and has recently completed her PhD, so can now call herself Dr Al.
Alison lives in Australia and has recently completed her PhD, so can now call herself Dr Al.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
September 12, 2011
As seen on The Readventurer
Whoever wrote Killing the Rabbit's description, has done it a great disservice. "A wickedly comic" thriller? Really? When was it funny exactly? When pregnant women were shot? Or when a man was cut into ribbons by some gang members? I am still waiting for those LOLs.
Anyway, the book is actually a quite gruesome and occasionally gross crime drama.
A forecaster for a huge Japanese pharmaceutical company specializing in contraceptive drugs in his zeal came up with a 200-year development plan. According to the plan, the only thing that will stand in the company's path to success in future is a peculiar genetic mutation that will eventually affect all women. Within a few generations, according to the forecaster's research, they will have an ability to resorb fetuses at will (some small mammals - rabbits and mice - have this ability already! I've never even heard of that). What is there to do? Of course, hire a hitman to eliminate all women displaying this trait.
On the other side of the world Hannie, an aspiring film maker, is working on a project called "Freaks or Frauds." One of her subjects is a woman who can resorb her unwanted fetuses. As Hannie continues working on her project, she comes across more and more deaths connected to it. Will this corporate conspiracy be brought to light?
Although this thriller is not particularly mysterious, you know all players and perpetrators practically from the opening pages, still I found this novel hard to put down. So many thing attracted me to it: the vivid world of hired killers, Japanese corporate culture, the freaky main characters, film making, the unique way the book raises the question of reproductive rights, the romance, violence and sex. And RESORBING! That thing is crazy!
Killing the Rabbit is a hard sell though. It had my innards churning on multiple occasions. Not only because of gore and blood, but whenever resorbing was brought up or the main characters mentioned their physical ailments.
Killing the Rabbit is not a book I would recommend to everyone. But if you are not squeamish and ready for some sick stuff, give it a try.
Whoever wrote Killing the Rabbit's description, has done it a great disservice. "A wickedly comic" thriller? Really? When was it funny exactly? When pregnant women were shot? Or when a man was cut into ribbons by some gang members? I am still waiting for those LOLs.
Anyway, the book is actually a quite gruesome and occasionally gross crime drama.
A forecaster for a huge Japanese pharmaceutical company specializing in contraceptive drugs in his zeal came up with a 200-year development plan. According to the plan, the only thing that will stand in the company's path to success in future is a peculiar genetic mutation that will eventually affect all women. Within a few generations, according to the forecaster's research, they will have an ability to resorb fetuses at will (some small mammals - rabbits and mice - have this ability already! I've never even heard of that). What is there to do? Of course, hire a hitman to eliminate all women displaying this trait.
On the other side of the world Hannie, an aspiring film maker, is working on a project called "Freaks or Frauds." One of her subjects is a woman who can resorb her unwanted fetuses. As Hannie continues working on her project, she comes across more and more deaths connected to it. Will this corporate conspiracy be brought to light?
Although this thriller is not particularly mysterious, you know all players and perpetrators practically from the opening pages, still I found this novel hard to put down. So many thing attracted me to it: the vivid world of hired killers, Japanese corporate culture, the freaky main characters, film making, the unique way the book raises the question of reproductive rights, the romance, violence and sex. And RESORBING! That thing is crazy!
Killing the Rabbit is a hard sell though. It had my innards churning on multiple occasions. Not only because of gore and blood, but whenever resorbing was brought up or the main characters mentioned their physical ailments.
Killing the Rabbit is not a book I would recommend to everyone. But if you are not squeamish and ready for some sick stuff, give it a try.
February 17, 2011
I really enjoyed this book. Unlike most authors that like to tease you with hints that you don't understand then forget about later, Goodman gives it to you straight, but all in good time. The characters are well-written and morally ambiguous, revealing more about themselves as the book progresses, leaving you with rich emotional turmoil. I randomly chose this book off of a library bookshelf, and I'm glad I did. It was an intriguing thriller that held my attention throughout its rich plot.
June 4, 2012
Really more of 2.5 stars, but I thought giving it 2 stars would be too low. This was not a bad book, it just wasn't for me. I picked it up because I loved Goodman's Dragoneye duology and I love mysteries. Unfortunately, this was more of a "thriller," not a mystery- the motive and the bad guys are known from the beginning. That took all the fun of whodunnit away from me and that's what I read mysteries for. If you like adult thriller novels I'm sure you will like this as well.
June 15, 2013
I have loved this books since it was a mere manuscript. First published only in the US - as Killing the Rabbit - is a great and gritty Aussie crime novel.
May 15, 2025
A 2.5
This is the first of Goodman's books that I've read and not really liked.
It's a strange mix of Sci-Fi present, thriller and corporate crime, but doesn't quite work as it comes off as "bull in a china shop" over stated, loud and "off" in an indiscernible sense. Plus it very much feels like it was written by a man rather than a woman, and this could be because it was written for a Masters in Creative Writing rather than a general audience.
It has an interesting central premise that so much more could have been done with, but wasn't, and again suffers from being too "thriller" and nowhere near enough Sci-Fi as a result.
This is the first of Goodman's books that I've read and not really liked.
It's a strange mix of Sci-Fi present, thriller and corporate crime, but doesn't quite work as it comes off as "bull in a china shop" over stated, loud and "off" in an indiscernible sense. Plus it very much feels like it was written by a man rather than a woman, and this could be because it was written for a Masters in Creative Writing rather than a general audience.
It has an interesting central premise that so much more could have been done with, but wasn't, and again suffers from being too "thriller" and nowhere near enough Sci-Fi as a result.
December 18, 2019
A enjoyable well paced thriller with morally ambiguous characters who go through believable well delivered character development.
June 21, 2014
Nalini Haynes reviewed this book; for more reviews by Nalini, see Nalini Haynes on Dark Matter Zine.
Rating: 4 and a half out of 5 stars
Previously published in the US in 2007 under the title Killing the Rabbit, Clan Destine Press published A New Kind of Death in Australia for the first time in 2012.
A New Kind of Death is set in Australia in 2008, 10 years after Hannie Reynard graduated from film school and Mosson Ferret opted out in favour of securing a paycheck. Hannie has mismanaged her grant – defrauding the IFF – and now Mosson is auditing her.
Mosson has had ten years of frustration as the numbers man while allowing his creative talent to wither from lack of use. Mosson wants another chance at creativity so he blackmails Hannie into allowing him to work on her film.
The Forecaster is a Japanese businessman whose entire life revolves around the company, living and working in Harare, Zimbabwe, while his wife and son live in Japan. The Forecaster develops a 200 year plan that could make a fortune for the company if the contraceptives market remains stable. Research revealed a rare genetic strain developing in some women who absorb their babies back into their bodies either at will or when under stress; this threatens the profitability of the contraceptives market.
A devotee of Sun Tzu’s Art of War, the Forecaster hires a hit man to kill these women so they cannot breed, spreading this gene and thereby reducing the need for contraceptives across the board.
Trojan, the hit man, is a former Vietnam veteran who has spent decades working as a hired assassin. Well past his prime and suffering the results of a lifetime of murdering people, Trojan doesn’t see any option but to continue working. He takes the job.
Notably everyone in Death has vulnerability of some kind.
Hannie suffers from Crohn’s disease (a bowel disorder); her response to her illness and the graphic descriptions of her suffering are realistic.
Mosson lost nearly all his body hair as a child, suffering the taunts and assaults of children as he learnt to fight for survival. Rejected by his mother’s Japanese family and his father’s Australian parents, Mosson is nearing forty, orphaned, childless and looking for a connection.
The Forecaster’s ambitious but distant wife is his Achilles’ heel.
Trojan suffers the shakes after and sometimes during a murder. Trojan created a family of sorts that is falling apart.
Each of these characters tells the story from their point of view in the third person except – surprisingly – Trojan, who has a first person point of view. Gradually a story evolves with shades of grey, layers and levels of deceit and corruption. No-one is innocent; everyone has a price to pay.
A short novel at 333 pages, A New Kind of Death is a fast-paced action-packed thriller. The various points of view weave together, building suspense. Key points were resolved in the conclusion while loose ends leave the reader imagining futures for those left alive.
I highly recommend A New Kind of Death.
The previous best story I’ve read about a person with Crohn’s was The Good Fairies of New York by Martin Miller, a delightful comedy with gritty realism for depth. I highly recommend both novels to those who are coming to terms with Crohn’s, their families and friends.
Rating: 4 and a half out of 5 stars
Previously published in the US in 2007 under the title Killing the Rabbit, Clan Destine Press published A New Kind of Death in Australia for the first time in 2012.
A New Kind of Death is set in Australia in 2008, 10 years after Hannie Reynard graduated from film school and Mosson Ferret opted out in favour of securing a paycheck. Hannie has mismanaged her grant – defrauding the IFF – and now Mosson is auditing her.
Mosson has had ten years of frustration as the numbers man while allowing his creative talent to wither from lack of use. Mosson wants another chance at creativity so he blackmails Hannie into allowing him to work on her film.
The Forecaster is a Japanese businessman whose entire life revolves around the company, living and working in Harare, Zimbabwe, while his wife and son live in Japan. The Forecaster develops a 200 year plan that could make a fortune for the company if the contraceptives market remains stable. Research revealed a rare genetic strain developing in some women who absorb their babies back into their bodies either at will or when under stress; this threatens the profitability of the contraceptives market.
A devotee of Sun Tzu’s Art of War, the Forecaster hires a hit man to kill these women so they cannot breed, spreading this gene and thereby reducing the need for contraceptives across the board.
Trojan, the hit man, is a former Vietnam veteran who has spent decades working as a hired assassin. Well past his prime and suffering the results of a lifetime of murdering people, Trojan doesn’t see any option but to continue working. He takes the job.
Notably everyone in Death has vulnerability of some kind.
Hannie suffers from Crohn’s disease (a bowel disorder); her response to her illness and the graphic descriptions of her suffering are realistic.
Mosson lost nearly all his body hair as a child, suffering the taunts and assaults of children as he learnt to fight for survival. Rejected by his mother’s Japanese family and his father’s Australian parents, Mosson is nearing forty, orphaned, childless and looking for a connection.
The Forecaster’s ambitious but distant wife is his Achilles’ heel.
Trojan suffers the shakes after and sometimes during a murder. Trojan created a family of sorts that is falling apart.
Each of these characters tells the story from their point of view in the third person except – surprisingly – Trojan, who has a first person point of view. Gradually a story evolves with shades of grey, layers and levels of deceit and corruption. No-one is innocent; everyone has a price to pay.
A short novel at 333 pages, A New Kind of Death is a fast-paced action-packed thriller. The various points of view weave together, building suspense. Key points were resolved in the conclusion while loose ends leave the reader imagining futures for those left alive.
I highly recommend A New Kind of Death.
The previous best story I’ve read about a person with Crohn’s was The Good Fairies of New York by Martin Miller, a delightful comedy with gritty realism for depth. I highly recommend both novels to those who are coming to terms with Crohn’s, their families and friends.
January 25, 2010
A young film maker starts out making a documentary about women who are medical freaks. Along the way she is blackmailed and then joins with an accountant from the film commission she procured funds from.
Turns out there is also a shady Corporation and an ambitious business executive who orders a hit on one of the women the film maker wants to interview.
The story line has multiple viewpoints including those of the film maker, the accountant, the assassin and the executive. The characters are vividly drawn and the story is just weird enough to keep one engaged. The story only really veers of the tracks at the end. It felt to me as if the author needed to stop but wasn't quite sure how.
Turns out there is also a shady Corporation and an ambitious business executive who orders a hit on one of the women the film maker wants to interview.
The story line has multiple viewpoints including those of the film maker, the accountant, the assassin and the executive. The characters are vividly drawn and the story is just weird enough to keep one engaged. The story only really veers of the tracks at the end. It felt to me as if the author needed to stop but wasn't quite sure how.
June 21, 2014
I've just read this novel in its new incarnation as A New Kind of Death (republished by Clan Destine Press). Definitely not for the squeamish. One of the best thrillers I've ever read, if a little hard to classify.
Japanese corporate espionage, assassins, filmmakers, Melbourne freeways and suburbs and restarants, Yakuza, Triads ... and a couple of illnesses that are horrible to contemplate but facinating to see the effects of.
Can't recommend this highly enough. One of the few books set in modern Australia that I can take seriously. Love it. Love it. Love it.
Japanese corporate espionage, assassins, filmmakers, Melbourne freeways and suburbs and restarants, Yakuza, Triads ... and a couple of illnesses that are horrible to contemplate but facinating to see the effects of.
Can't recommend this highly enough. One of the few books set in modern Australia that I can take seriously. Love it. Love it. Love it.
April 28, 2019
Annie is an amateur filmmaker looking for her big break. She is researching a medical mystery - women who can reabsorb their foetuses at will - something only previously seen in rabbits. Unfortunately for Hannie the more she looks for these women, the more they disappear, and it’s starting to become very sinister. Great story, I liked this book a lot.
October 9, 2016
I have been struggling to read this book for awhile. The main problem I have is the layout. There seems to be no beginning of a chapter to be found. I got just over halfway through and I gave up. From reading the blurb I was expecting a more crime/ mystery than a conspiracy theory. I was confused.
March 7, 2008
Interesting book. More of a thriller than a mystery, but an interesting romp through Australia.
Read
April 23, 2013The contrivance that drives the plot is remarkably plausible.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews