An astonishing landmark novel in four books, The Kills is both a political thriller and a bravura literary performance. Longlisted for the 2013 Man Booker Prize.
Longlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2013.
Shortlisted for the South Bank Sky Arts Awards 2014.
Book of the Year in the Guardian, Spectator, Independent and Daily Mail.
The Kills is an epic novel of crime and conspiracy.
It starts with an explosion, a man on the run and the theft of over fifty million dollars. It moves from the Middle East to the Mediterranean, around mainland Europe via the sleazy underworld of Naples, and across America. It ends in a locked room.
Brilliantly original, playful and ambitious, The Kills is a terrifying, awe-inspiring, mind-blowing sensation.
'A damn good book' Sunday Times
'A staggering achievement' Daily Mail
'A thrilling, overwhelming ride' Spectator
One of the most epic novels I've read in a long time, and also the most original . . . reads like John le Carré and Roberto Bolaño got together to write a dark, intricate, messy, sometimes surreal spy thriller with elements of corporate espionage. And with a side of a damning indictment of the Iraq War unlike any other that I can think of . . .
The Kills portrays the underlying randomness and chaos of the world, and the absurdities of logic we build up to justify our bad decisions in ways that are uncomfortable to us . . . House's novel gets at the truth in a truly profound and unique way.