Notes on an execution a novel

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Summary

"A searing portrait of the complicated women caught in the orbit of a serial killer. . . . Compassionate and thought-provoking." {u2013} BRIT BENNETT , #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Vanishing Half "A profound and staggering experience of empathy that challenges us to confront what it means to be human in our darkest moments. . . . I relished every page of this brilliant and gripping masterpiece."{u2014} ASHLEY AUDRAIN, New York Times bestselling author of The Push In the tradition of Long Bright River and The Mars Room, a gripping and atmospheric work of literary suspense that deconstructs the story of a serial killer on death row, told primarily through the eyes of the women in his life{u2014}from the bestselling author of Girl in Snow. Ansel Packer is scheduled to die in twelve hours. He knows what he's done, and now awaits execution, the same chilling fate he forced on those girls, years ago. But Ansel doesn't want to die; he wants to be celebrated, understood. He hoped it wouldn't end like this, not for him. Through a kaleidoscope of women{u2014}a mother, a sister, a homicide detective{u2014}we learn the story of Ansel's life. We meet his mother, Lavender, a seventeen-year-old girl pushed to desperation; Hazel, twin sister to Ansel's wife, inseparable since birth, forced to watch helplessly as her sister's relationship threatens to devour them all; and finally, Saffy, the homicide detective hot on his trail, who has devoted herself to bringing bad men to justice but struggles to see her own life clearly. As the clock ticks down, these three women sift through the choices that culminate in tragedy, exploring the rippling fissures that such destruction inevitably leaves in its wake. Blending breathtaking suspense with astonishing empathy, Notes on an Execution presents a chilling portrait of womanhood as it simultaneously unravels the familiar narrative of the American serial killer, interrogating our system of justice and our cultural obsession with crime stories, asking readers to consider the false promise of looking for meaning in the psyches of violent men. "Provocative, intelligent, thrilling, moving."{u2014} PAULA HAWKINS , #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Girl on the Train "Spellbinding and beautifully written . . .an irresistible, unbearably tense thriller; a poignant, deeply compassionate tale of resilience; and a vital intervention in the way we talk about violent crime." {u2014} MEGAN ABBOTT, New York Times bestselling author of The Turnout

Published Reviews

Booklist Review: "Serial killer Ansel Packer is on death row. His path to execution is revealed in flashback through the eyes of Lavender, the mother who abandoned him; Saffron Singh, the detective who tracked him; and Hazel, the sister of his wife. Lavender clings to the belief that she rescued her sons by sending child services for Ansel and his baby brother after she fled their sadistic father. In contrast, Singh has been convinced of Packer's malevolence since they were kids and she discovered his collection of mutilated animals outside their foster home. Singh has been investigating the unsolved disappearances of three local women and knows that Packer killed them, just like he did those animals years ago, but she can't crack his respectable image. When Singh finally shatters Packer's facade, the three women are caught in the explosive fallout. Kukafka (author of young-adult thriller Girl in Snow, 2017) crafts a disturbingly remorseless killer in Packer but infuses the events that draw readers to his final moments with raw empathy and lingering questions about human evil and the the destruction left in its wake."
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Publisher's Weekly Review: "This masterly thriller from Kukafka (Girl in Snow) opens on death row in a Texas prison, where Ansel Packer is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection in 12 hours. However, Packer, who's killed multiple women across the country, including in Texas and New York, isn't worried. That surprising attitude is accounted for by the early revelation that he befriended one of the prison guards and is plotting a last-minute escape. Flashbacks, starting with Packer's birth to a 17-year-old mother in 1973, trace his path from childhood to what seem to be his final hours. He grew up with an abusive father and began killing and mutilating animals when he was three. Those sections alternate with passages from the points of view of his mother, who was also abused, and of a New York State police investigator devoted to getting justice for Packer's victims. Kukafka skillfully uses the second-person present tense to heighten the drama, and toward the end she makes devastatingly clear the toll taken by Packer's killings. Megan Abbott fans will be pleased. Agent: Dana Murphy, Book Group. (Jan.)"
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Additional Information

Subjects	Serial murderers Family Fiction Serial murderers Friends and associates Fiction Death row inmates Fiction Literature Mystery Fiction Electronic books.
Publisher	[Place of publication not identified] :HarperCollins,2022 HarperCollins2022
Contributors	OverDrive, Inc.
Language	English
System Details	Mode of access: World Wide Web. Format: Adobe EPUB eBook Format: Kindle Book Format: OverDrive Read Requires Adobe Digital Editions or Amazon Kindle
Description	1 online resource
ISBN	9780063052758 006305275X
Other	Classic View