How to Kill Your Family

“I did something much more ambitious. I conceived and carried out a complex and careful plan, the origins of which were set in motion long before the unpleasant circumstances surrounding my birth.”

Grace’s pride, especially in connection with the six murders she committed without detection, immediately helps to establish one of her defining qualities. Even her language here makes her sound like an avenging superhero, one who prides herself in having overcome a difficult past through her own superior wit and intelligence.

“The justice system in this country is a joke, and there is nothing which illustrates that more than this one sentence: I have killed several people […] and yet I currently languish in jail for a murder I did not commit.”

Grace’s early condemnation of the justice system initiates the novel’s social commentary, a key aspect of the feminist thriller genre. Society has no problem believing that one young woman would murder another for stealing her man, even when there is no evidence of a crime. Grace’s intelligence and humor are also conveyed by her description of a key irony: She got away with six murders but was jailed for a crime she didn’t commit.

“They knew about me from the start […] when their ‘poor’ son turned up unexpectedly late one night and […] confessed that he’d got into some trouble.”

Simon’s parents’ response to the news that he got a young woman pregnant, despite being married and more than 20 years her senior, characterizes him as a victim and enables the continuation of his entitlement. They suggest he “got into” trouble rather than blaming him for causing trouble through his irresponsible, adulterous behavior. Further, their lack of regard for Marie and Grace is emblematic of society’s double standards for men and women; men are excused for making “mistakes” while women are demonized for their choices.