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Somebody Worth Killing
  • Published: 21 July 2026
  • ISBN: 9780593954706
  • Imprint: Berkley
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 304
  • RRP: $65.00
Categories:

Somebody Worth Killing

Formats & editions
Hardback
21 July 2026
EBook
16 June 2026
Audiobook
16 June 2026
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The glass ceiling inspires murderous rage in this fast-paced suspense novel about a suburban mom who moonlights as a hired assassin.

Meet Nadia Davis, a doting mom and loving wife who has a big secret: she’s actually an assassin. And she really needs a babysitter who shows up on time.

Nadia Davis is living the dream as a successful working mom with a career she loves, two adorable little girls, and a devoted husband who has no idea that she’s secretly a hired assassin and psychopath who kills certified bad guys. So when Nadia finds out she’s been “mommy tracked” by her assassin’s agency and is no longer getting the bigger, more exciting jobs, she demands an important mark…somebody worth killing.

But it turns out that big kill is the last person she expects—her husband. How is the sweet, kind, teller-of-dad jokes she’s promised her life to an evil villain who needs exterminating? Has their whole life together been a lie? Now Nadia must choose between the two things she loves most in life, the career that keeps her sane or the family she thought she knew.
  • Published: 21 July 2026
  • ISBN: 9780593954706
  • Imprint: Berkley
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 304
  • RRP: $65.00
Categories:

About the author

Jessica Payne

Jessica Payne lives in Washington State with her daughter and husband and an internet search history that would raise eyebrows. A firm believer in strong coffee and stronger women, she writes about mothers who know how to handle a sniper rifle and a carpool schedule with equal precision. When she's not writing, you'll find her trail running through the forests of the Pacific Northwest as she plots her next fictional murder. She is the creator of the Substack community One Tired Mother.
JP

Praise for Somebody Worth Killing

Praise for Somebody Worth Killing

“A loving mom, a devoted wife, and a total psychopath: Nadia Davis is the most unlikely assassin ever and my new favorite antiheroine. Somebody Worth Killing is wild, full of heart, and outrageously fun. I couldn’t get enough of this twisted juggling act of mom duty and contract killings—it’s Jessica Payne’s best work yet!”

—Marisa Walz, author of Good Intentions

“A mother, wife, and…a contract killer. Somebody Worth Killing is everything I want in a thriller: it is fast-paced, action-packed, and at times laugh-out-loud funny. Nadia is the female Dexter I always wanted.”

—Lauren Ling Brown, bestselling author of Society of Lies

“Jessica Payne is one of the boldest new voices in crime fiction today! Her novels are addictive, brilliant, and always bingeworthy! Payne never misses!”

—May Cobb, bestselling author of The Hunting Wives

"One of the best thrillers I've read this year, Jessica Payne's newest was made to be devoured in a day—which is exactly what I did. This minivan-driving mom assassin is everything I didn't know I needed. Fans of Mr. and Mrs. Smith will adore the cat and mouse game between the sociopathic wife and her unsuspecting husband. All I ask is to be first in line to read the next one!"

—Jenna Satterthwaite, author of The New Year's Party