Notes on an Execution: A Gripping and Atmospheric Literary Thriller about a Serial Killer on Death Row

Notes on an Execution is a novel that illustrates the truth of "Hurt people hurt people." This story is so exquisitely written & internal in nature. You delve into & feel the emotions of every single character. Even the protagonist on death row has a history that, while on the one hand, he may deserve the punishment - but on the other hand, maybe life in prison would be more just? That point can certainly be debated. The focus of the novel, though, is not as much on the offender. It is on the women he has encountered along the way. What are their stories, their history, their relationship with him - whether fleeting or lasting. Such an interesting & worthy take! So often in stories of crime, the victims are simply an object of the awful deed done & the awful person who did it. Their voices are lost or forgotten. This tale reverses that. You can see with each chapter that a person has suffered some level pain & in turn, causes pain to another. Sometimes, it's inadvertent & with otherwise best intentions but still the end result is hurt. This book really makes you think of the domino effect that one action leads to another. My only challenge was getting used to the "2nd Person" literary point of view. I'd never had the opportunity to read a book that utilizes it & I understand that it is rarely used. In this case, the death row inmate is You, the reader. After a few chapters, however, I adjusted & could see that the author wanted us to be that much more intimately inside his head. It works! I read this book last month & when I looked back at all the others I'd read in 2022, this one is easily the best! Highly, highly recommended!

I ordered this book immediately after hearing the author on one of my favorite podcasts. I was intrigued by her desire to humanize the stories of the victims rather than just focus on the serial killer. I also love female detectives. This one should be a movie. It was a page turner till the end.

I absolutely enjoyed this holistic perspective of the effect the murders had on the family and friends of the victims. More often than not, victims are forgotten to the crime itself. Seeing the people who cared and envied those who were affected, through the idiosyncrasies and imperfections that made them who they were, made this story feel like more of a tragedy of what they could have become and the roles they prematurely leave behind. I also enjoyed seeing how each women’s trauma leads them to cope in different ways. While they might have been perceived as morally right or wrong in their methods, I appreciate the nuance that is provided to each of them and their growth. Overall, it’s an incredible, well-worth read and deserving of the recognition it has currently been receiving!

While I don’t know that I liked the story itself, it has a writing style that pulls you in and doesn’t let you go until you finish. For that, I have to give at least 3 stars. Ansel’s first few years were heartbreaking. While the psychopathic tendencies were evident even then, it does make you curious what life would have been like if he had been born to a different set of parents - or even if his mother hadn’t removed the token she gave him of protection or laid upon him the too mature responsibility of caring for a dying infant. The author was able to clearly show how our choices affect not just us, but those around us. I would have been happier without the (thankfully, brief) sex scenes. They were crude and did not do anything to enhance the story. I can’t say I really liked any of the characters, so I wasn’t wrapped up in the book that way. The ending wasn’t a surprise - no mystery to be solved. Thinking through it, it’s not a book I would read again nor one I would be drawn to normally. My views of right and wrong, moral and immoral, life and death are grounded in the truth of the Bible, so this did not have me deep in thought on any of those subjects. But, again, the writing just drew me in and held me - and I do love that in a book.

The characters were vivid and believable. Sad but also beautiful. I recommend it and it gives insight into the death penalty and the process around it.

This was a very engaging and compelling literary fiction with a touch of mystery. You know from the beginning that Ansel committed the crimes in the book but there is still some mystery to figuring out when he was caught and how things unfolded with his case. This is not a story made of surprise twists though I was still surprised at times. This story is not about Ansel Packer, though. Told in multiple timelines over a 40+ year span, this is the story of three women in his life: Lavender, Hazel, and Saffy. These three were all affected by him in some way. I would argue that Saffy is the most developed character and probably the one I wanted to spend the most time with in the story, but all three of them are developed and well-written. I thought Lavender’s story as the young mother to Ansel was a sad one. And through Hazel, we got to know Jenny who married Ansel. This book is trying to make a point about the cultural fascination with serial killers and the wrongness of this. There were some interesting thoughts as well about even his death being somewhat glorified. Even though we do get in Ansel’s head on occasions throughout the book, the story emphasizes that it doesn’t really matter why he did what he did. No matter why, he did very bad things and hurt a lot of people because of it. I highly recommend this book. I think if you have the same expectations that I had for it (not a thriller), you will really like it!

It is a very interesting book. It is very nice to see all the different points of view. The author seems to be very informed of the consequences of trauma in the lives of people.

This book was captivating, evocative and just brilliantly written. Reads like a modern literary classic. Not a pop thriller by any means, but absolutely a page turner.

Really different but excellent book, beautiful words, put together so well the paragraphs flow so effortlessly off the page. Highly recommended.

This is a very moving, and harrowing, story told brilliantly by the author. She manages to bring empathy to all the characters, even the killer, by telling their stories from a very humane stance. The construction is brilliantly done, as the reader is taken backwards and forwards through the years spanning the characters' lifetimes. The prose is often beautiful and always interesting. The space the author dedicates to examining the killer's life, and thinking is a credit to her as she never looks for the easy answers of who he is and what made him become what he became. Highly recommended.

Excelent!