Synopsis
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.
Richard House's The Kills is an epic novel of crime and conspiracy, told across four volumes.
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.
Part of the Picador Collection, a series celebrating fifty years of Picador books and showcasing the best of modern literature.
‘A damn good book’ – The Sunday Times
‘A staggering achievement’ – Daily Mail
‘A thrilling, overwhelming ride’ – The Spectator
Details
08 October 2026
9781035091522Reviews
Richard House's Man Booker-longlisted novel stands out from the pile . . . an ambitious and complex meta-thriller that spins its many stories like plates, tantalising you at every turn . . . a page turner . . . and a book absolutely to be read twice over
Richard House has written a damn good book . . .The Kills is possibly the most eyebrow-raising entry on this year's Booker longlist . . . he is not your average novelist, but is also a film-maker, artist and magazine editor . . . If this all seems hifalutin, rest assured: The Kills is still all about spinning a good yarn
Prepare to be dazzled by this monumental novel . . . a true achievement. House’s sea of words relentlessly interrogates his themes through action and dialogue, leaving his reader washed up on a faraway shore, dazed yet exhilarated
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 . . . House’s novel gets at the truth in a truly profound and unique way
