Another bookstagram recommendation that came across my feed, Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka is said to be compelling, immersive, and incredibly well-written. I can confirm that it is all these things and more, and you might want to have your pens and fingers reading to add this one to your TBR.

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—a mother, a sister, a homicide detective—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.

Notes on an Execution does a clever and engrossing thing where it goes from second-person perspective of Ansel’s last twelve hours to third-person perspectives from the women. This stark difference – the reader experiencing the isolated experiences on dead row and Ansel’s final hours so intimately and the experiences of the women, visceral and raw but a step removed – makes the chapters feel so gripping and gritty. We are not made to empathise with him, but better understand his emotions and his thoughts, the ways in which he has acted and acts even in those last moments. Not only does it keep the engagement up throughout the whole novel, but it carries a heaviness that is impossible to forget about upon closing the book. If Notes on an Execution is going to teach you one thing, it is the power of narrative structure and storytelling.

I appreciate what Notes on an Execution is trying to do in terms of this cultural phenomenon of idolising serial killers and dangerous men. There are subtle signs and behaviours we see Ansel exhibit, the way things can change in the blink of an eye, and the complete absence of security felt by the women when his actions reveal the darker side of him. These work well to support this aim, but I do wish there was a little more in this novel to really hammer home the realities of these kinds of people. How damaging their actions are in communities and to the families left forever changed. How varied these mindsets are and what reactions there are to things not going their way. There was a breif moment where similar cases were mentioned in one of Saffy’s chapters, but I wish the severity and full scope of things were more directly mentioned to highlight the seriousness of homicides and serial killings of this nature.

The recurring themes, imagery, ideas, and feelings really helped to make Notes on an Execution feel dark, suffocating almost, and leave a sinister feeling in the back of my mind as I read it. What is innocent and harmless in one chapter is horrifying and skin-prickling in another, details linking up to cause the tension to skyrocket and the atmosphere of the book to spark with feverish anticipation. Notes on an Execution has been one of my favourite reads in terms of technical writing quality and storytelling that I have picked up in a long time. There is something about it that feels right, but more than that it feels like it’s drawing me in just like the effect Ansel has on these women.

Notes on an Execution needs to be added to TBR lists and picked up from libraries or friend’s bookshelves. It is one of those novels that will haunt you for a long time, burrowing into your brain and coming to mind when your brain teeters into crime fiction territory. It is a must read for readers of thriller, suspense, crime fiction, dark literary fiction, and anyone needing a bit of a slap in the face from their read. Maybe it will have you questioning your own interest in the topic of serial killers and the allure of such figures.