Killing Adonis

A TRAGICOMIC TALE ABOUT LOVE, DELUSION, CORPORATE GREED AND THE HAZARDS OF USING A PINEAPPLE CUTTER WHILE HALLUCINATING

“His characters, while often outlandish, are believable despite the novel’s sometimes-absurd storylines, and the dialogue is excellent… Killing Adonis is an immensely pleasurable read and will have some appeal to fans of Wes Anderson’s films and readers looking to be entertained by something a little off-the-wall.”
- Bookseller & Publisher, July 2014

"...quirky, brisk and very enjoyable novel...it was a book I found myself ravenously seeking out in any free moment, eager to chase the mystery. It's been some time since I've felt the addiction of such a 'page-turner'."
- Abbey’s Bookshop

“This is a novel that has it all, from murder plots and comas to billionaires and backstabbing. Local author, J.M. Donellan’s second (adult) book is feisty, surreal and filled with humour… If you’re looking for something to entertain and perplex in equal measures, while delighting you with its unabashed weirdness, then this is the book.”
- West End Magazine


LIGHT DUTIES, LARGE PAY, NO QUESTIONS ASKED… OR ANSWERED

After seeing a curious flyer, Freya takes a job caring for Elijah, the comatose son of the eccentric Vincetti family. She soon discovers that the Vincetti’s labrynthine mansion hides a wealth of secrets, their corporate rivals have a nasty habit of being extravagantly executed, and Elijah is not the saint they portray him to be.

As well, Marilyn Monroe keeps showing up, unaware she’s very much deceased. And there’s something very strange about the story that Elijah’s brother Jack is writing…

WES ANDERSON MEETS ROALD DAHL

Donellan offers copious quantities of Moscow Mules, peppers them with Pineapple Cutters, inserts a series of mind-bending corporate shenanigans, a cameo from Marilyn Monroe and cartons up thousands of tiny sleeveless jumpers then frames it all with a vibrant Kandinsky-inspired, sensory-overload of colours.

By cleverly combining all of these elements with a preposterous yet amazingly believable comic storyline, Donellan unlocks a complex, confused yet strangely compelling world. Freya, a nurse with high ideals for a selfless life, quickly abandons her dreams. Through she keeps revisiting Florence Nightingale’s enduring wisdom, her “real” world – the one she unexpectantly finds herself in after accepting a cakewalk job caring for the comatose son of the extravagantly wealthy Vincetti family - is anything but!

Challenging corporate responsibility as she works through the tangled mansion - with locked doors and danger rooms testing her resolve - Freya is confronted by unfathomable ethical questions and impropriety.

Throughout Killing Adonis, Donellan takes readers on tempting tangents that have been artfully inserted to deliver a “wild ride”. Freya, the main protagonist, is a synaesthete – she hears colours – which adds a delightful sensory overlay to the superb dialogue and vibrant imagery.

Questioning what’s real by shining his warped lens on modern morality, emerging young writer Donellan’s characters border on the absurd, enriching this modern-day allegory of the corporate world.

Killing Adonis is a story that deals with the surreal that lurks quietly in the shadows of the mundane, with a mix of black humour, philosophy and social critique, garnished with just a touch of violence and/or theoretical physics.