Honey

A Novel

By: Imani Thompson

A dark, provocative, adrenaline-rush of a novel about a graduate student who murders bad men and justifies it in the name of feminism, by a bold new voice in fiction

“Might be the most-anticipated debut novel of the year thanks in part to its perfect-for-Hollywood premise.”—Esquire

“A darkly comic novel about the tricky politics of race, sex, violence and love . . . the entertaining (and quietly damning) read you’ll need to kick off spring.”—Elle

A Most Anticipated Book of the Year: Glamour, Debutiful, Book Riot, Esquire, SheReads, Elle, Stylist

She just wants to know what justice feels like.

Yrsa is bored: bored with her PhD program, her entitled students, and the never-ending pages of racial violence and feminist theory she has to read. But most of all, she’s bored with the men in her life—especially the bad ones.

And then, one sunny afternoon, she accidentally kills one.

Suddenly a problematic professor is dead, and Yrsa, well—she’s no longer bored.

Emboldened, she starts to chase the high, and soon no misbehaving sexist man within commuting distance is safe.

Finally Yrsa’s academic research feels useful. But how long can killing in the name of feminist and racial solidarity justify her actions? And how long until her actions—and buried family secrets—come back to unravel her?

Critic reviews

“Dark, thrilling, and undeniably hot, this novel will leave you gasping for air.”—Glamour

“Might be the most-anticipated debut novel of the year thanks in part to its perfect-for-Hollywood premise.”—Esquire

“A darkly comic novel about the tricky politics of race, sex, violence and love . . . The entertaining (and quietly damning) read you’ll need to kick off spring.”—Elle

“Oooh, baby. If there was one book you could judge by a cover, it’s Honey. This book is a hot, sweet, and unforgettable ride.”—Debutiful

“[This] worryingly relatable, deliciously dark debut . . . serves up the unhinged hot girl homicide I didn’t know I needed.”—Sophie Duker, Comedian and Writer

“A marvel of a novel, a story that breathes beyond its pages, makes you laugh, makes you angry, and makes you want to learn in equal measure.”—Ore Agbaje-Williams, author of The Three of Us

“Brilliant—a one-sit read.”—Harriet Tyce, author of Blood Orange

“Utterly singular, the writing is stunning, and it’s just so clever and sharp.” —Louise O’Neill, author of Asking for It

“Yrsa is the antihero we've been waiting for—very few of us could fail to understand her righteous anger, if not her measures.”—Silvia Saunders, author of Homesick

“A twisted comeuppance story, a campus-life spoof, and a look at the dating-app generation of women negotiating how their desire to be desired might sit with the feminism they treasure. Wow. Think Fleabag channeled by Valerie Solanas.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Thomson debuts with the scintillating tale of a disillusioned Cambridge University PhD student who goes on a killing spree . . . adds intriguing layers to the sordid thriller plot, such as accessible descriptions of the complex sociological theories of Saidiya Hartman and Stuart Hall, and the story includes a shocking revelation about the origin of Yrsa’s killer instinct. There’s a staggering level of depth to this pitch-perfect satire.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review