HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER

First-timer Philipson zigzags between the story of a London Met DI’s search for the person who strangled a young student and the chapters of a how-to manual by a self-avowed serial killer that explains, not how to murder someone, but how to get away with it, time and time again.

The first words go to Denver Brady, whose privately published book How To Get Away With Murder intersperses its commonsensical advice—don’t choose victims you have a motive for killing or people you’re close to or people who live close to each other; make your crimes look like accidents or suicides or the work of obvious suspects like disgruntled boyfriends; don’t go bragging about your deeds to anyone—with matter-of-fact accounts of the deaths of his childhood friend Jono Glenholme, convent student Sarah Lawrence, and many others. Brady’s tome ends up on DI Samantha Hansen’s reading list when she returns to working for her godfather, DCI Harry Blakelaw, after time off to recover from her assault by a fellow officer Harry had transferred far from London. Dr. Pete Thomson, Sam’s therapist, doesn’t think she’s ready for full-time duty yet, but she’s determined to work the case of 14-year-old Charlotte Mathers, strangled under circumstances that make her a likely candidate for the role of Denver’s latest victim. Has Charlotte really been killed by Denver, whose book was found among her belongings? Is her murder the work of a copycat? Or is Denver’s extended confession nothing more than an ingenious distraction? Philipson manages to produce a startling series of twists and turns in the case while keeping her wildly improbable premise fresh and, it’s to be hoped, wholly original.

Caution: Even more than most crime novels, this one really does provide helpful ideas about how to get away with murder.