Review by Autumn Trapani
This week we have a review of a debut mystery, Robbie McNeil’s Hit List by Brianna Heath, along with an interesting interview with Brianna. Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win a copy of the book and a link to purchase it from Amazon.
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| Image Source Poisoned Pen Press |
Robbie McNeil’s Hit List by Brianna Heath
Robbie McNeil is, in some ways, a fairly typical 30-something. She co-owns a karaoke bar, Coda, with her best friend, Dee; she’s a veteran; and she doesn’t quite fit in with most groups. She’s also a professional hitwoman. Her specialty is arranging “accidents.” It’s this side hustle that gets her into trouble in Robbie McNeil’s Hit List, a novel by Brianna Heath.
One of the big tenets of being a hit person is “don’t ask questions.” But when Robbie is hired by a mysterious customer to perform a hit on a young man who suddenly vanished with no indication he ever existed, Robbie throws all caution out the door and asks lots of questions about her target. That’s where the fun begins.
There’s a lot to like in this novel, and the biggest thing I liked was the friendship between Robbie and Dee. They refer to it as a “queer platonic partnership,” and as quirky as that sounds, the friendship is far quirkier while also being very realistic. The pair call each other out on questionable behavior while still constantly being there for each other. I would almost call it heartwarming, except that Robbie and Dee are far too unsentimental for such a term! They also share a love of music and a deeply abiding belief in the power of music to heal.
Robbie is a very likable character, deeply loyal to Dee and to their joint venture, Coda. She is also very resourceful when trying to get information about her targets. I found myself shaking my head in admiration more than once at her methods of gathering intel.
But perhaps the best thing about this story (at least for me) is the musical theater subplot. Robbie has written a musical, Dee is starring in it, and interspersed throughout the saga of trying to find out where and just WHO her target is, Robbie deals with all manner of roadblocks while trying to get the musical produced. There are delightful scenes of rehearsals and problem solving, and yes, the two stories do dovetail. To find out how, you’ll have to read the book.
All in all, a very fun journey through the world of hitpersons, musical theater, and friendship. The book also has many head-spinning twists and turns that add to the enjoyment.
Autumn Trapani is an avid reader and enjoys letting others know about good books through her reviews. When not reviewing, you can find her working as a property manager - although she always has her nose in a book at lunchtime! Autumn lives in Portland, OR with her husband and two cats.
Interview with Brianna Heath:
KRL: How long have you been writing?Brianna: I’ve loved writing stories for as long as I can remember. I have notebooks from when I was 7 years old with little stories I wrote. But I started seriously writing books during the pandemic after many years of not writing, and I fell in love with it all over again.
KRL: When did your first novel come out, what was it called, and would you tell us a little about it?Brianna: My debut, Robbie McNeil’s Hit List, just came out in March. It’s a mystery following a queer contract killer who just wants to run her karaoke bar in peace with her partner, but things start to unravel when she’s hired for a hit on someone who definitely isn’t who he seems.
KRL: Have you always written mysteries/suspense and if not, what else have you written?
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| Brianna Heath |
Brianna: I have a firm “you never know until you try” philosophy when it comes to writing, so I’ve dabbled in many different genres. Some I’ve tried and discovered they aren’t for me, while others I give them a shot and absolutely love. Mystery was one that I discovered I love, and it’s been so fun getting to play with the common elements within the genre and put my own spin on it.
KRL: What brought you to choose the setting and characters in your latest book/series?Brianna: Robbie McNeil’s Hit List was inspired by a joke, so I always knew it was going to involve murder and a karaoke bar, but when I was brainstorming, it took a little bit before the idea came together to write from the perspective of a contract killer. It felt like such a fun and different way to dive into a mystery, and as soon as that thought landed, the whole story felt like it fell into place in my mind.
KRL: Do you write to entertain or is there something more you want the readers to experience from your work?Brianna: I mostly write to entertain, and at the end of the day, I want readers to come away from my books feeling like they had a good time with characters that feel like friends. But I also draw from my own experiences, which include being a queer, neurodivergent person, so I hope my books do what all good fiction does and help expand someone’s perspective or show them an experience outside their own.
KRL: I love that! Do you have a schedule for your writing or just work whenever you can?Brianna: I refer to myself as a speed drafter. It takes me about a month to write a full first draft of a book. So for that, my only rule is that I have to write every single day from the first word until I have a complete draft. I’m grateful my lifestyle allows me to do that in large chunks of time most days, and I know my approach wouldn’t work for everyone, but so far, it’s serving me pretty well!
KRL: What is your ideal time to write?Brianna: My brain takes a while to boot up, so I always write best in the evening/at night. The sweet spot for me is usually between 10 p.m. and midnight (or 1 a.m. if I’m really in the zone).
KRL: Do you outline? If not, do you have some other interesting way that you keep track of what’s going on, or what needs to happen in your book when you are writing it?Brianna: I deeply, deeply love an outline. Everything I write has a minimum of 3-4 outlines throughout the whole process from drafting to editing, and those all are set up in spreadsheets that keep me on track. Part of what allows me to draft so quickly is that when I sit down to write for the day, I look at my outline and know exactly where I’m going. I can explore along the way as I build out characters, settings, and dialog, but my outline always tells me where my scene starts and where it needs to end, and that helps me continually move forward.
KRL: Did you find it difficult to get published in the beginning?Brianna: Oh yes. The process of pouring so much of myself into a piece of writing and then sending it out to be repeated rejected hundreds of times over the span of multiple years was incredibly hard. It took a while for me to learn to distance myself emotionally from the difficulty of trying to get published, but eventually I did, and that helped me remember that regardless of what’s happening on the publishing side of things, I can always come back to the part I love, which is writing itself.
KRL: Do you have a great rejection/critique or acceptance story you’d like to share?Brianna: Robbie McNeil’s Hit List got somewhere around 115 rejections from literary agents. A lot of publishing comes down to right person, right time. My agent was fairly new when I signed with her, and I was one of her first clients. She is absolutely the very best person I could’ve landed with, but I quite literally could not have found her any sooner. Those 115 rejections were all either wrong person or wrong time, but I did finally find the right one!
KRL: Glad you didn't give up! Most interesting book signing story-in a bookstore or other venue?Brianna: Oh, I don’t think I have a good answer for this! I’m a new author, so right now, every book signing is honestly kind of surreal, and it’s incredible that’s something I get to do at all. But shout out to all the indie booksellers I’ve met along the way. Every single one has been a genuine delight to talk to and work with.
KRL: What are your future writing goals?Brianna: Keep writing. Really, that’s it. It’s been a little challenging for me to juggle the publishing side of things with continuing to carve out the time and mental energy I need to write, but I think there’s a balance in there. I’m going to keep writing stories as long as I can, and hopefully, some of them land in front of readers. (The next one will land in 2027, so stay tuned!)
KRL: Who are your writing heroes, or writers that inspired you?Brianna: I feel like my answer should be a real author and not someone fictional, but to me, often what makes an author inspiring is that they’ve created characters who feel so real and impactful despite being fictional. So my first thought for this immediately went to Anne of Green Gables, literary hero to so many kids who felt awkward and like we didn’t quite fit but found escape and joy in creating stories. And in that same vein, Lyra from Phillip Pullman’s His Dark Materials series, which also follows that theme about the power of telling stories.
KRL: What do you like to read?Brianna: I love mystery and fantasy best, but I actively decided several years ago not to pass over books because they were labeled with a genre I didn’t think I liked. So I will pick up anything in any genre now and give it a try. Sometimes, it’s not for me, but sometimes, it results in reading books that I absolutely love that I might not have discovered otherwise. And I’m a huge audiobook fan, because it means I can read constantly even when I have to physically go about the rest of my life and not just curl up in my hammock with a book all day every day (which I would do, if I could)!
KRL: What are your favorite TV shows or movies?Brianna: When it comes to TV, my go-to is always sci-fi: Doctor Who, Battlestar Galactica, and Fringe are all time favorites. What I love about mystery books doesn’t always translate to TV, so often I stick to reading those, but I do love Murdoch Mysteries too.
KRL: Have you any advice for aspiring or beginning writers?Brianna: Find your people. Join writing groups in your area, through your local library or bookstore. Join online writing communities. Not every one of those will end up being the right fit for you, but when you find the right people you click with, it makes such a huge difference. Writing can be a very isolating activity, but you can learn so much from other writers and just find a sense of community when you find other people who also love to make up imaginary people and worlds in their head for fun. And know that there are no absolute rules to writing. Find what works for you, which may not always be what works for someone else (even if that someone else is a big famous author who seems like they probably know better than you… they only know what works for them!).
KRL: What is something people would be surprised to know about you?Brianna: If you ever see me at an in-person event and I look like I’m fidgeting under the table, I’m probably secretly solving a Rubik’s cube. I even have a tiny one on a keychain so I always have a cube to fidget with on the go!
KRL: Do you have any pets?Brianna: I have a rescue who looks like a Border Collie but is actually six gremlins in a trench coat. His name is Beau (short for Beauregard) and if you check my Instagram around Halloween, I always make us coordinating costumes. (All are fun, but my personal favorite was me as Ms. Frizzle and Beau as the Magic School Bus!)
KRL: OMG we just rescued a puppy that is supposed to be a Border Collie mix, and I totally get the gremlins thing lol Is there anything you would like to add?Brianna: I think we just about covered everything! I appreciate the opportunity to get to chat with Kings River Life and introduce myself to your readers. Thank you so much for having me!
KRL: Thank you so much for taking the time to answer our questions. Where can our readers find you online?
Brianna: You can find me at briannaheath.com or on Instagram as @BriannaHWrites. You can also subscribe to my newsletter for book updates at briannaheath.substack.com (or if book updates aren’t enticing enough, I also guarantee a picture of my very cute dog in every post!).
You can click here to purchase this book from Amazon.
To enter to win a copy of Robbie McNeil’s Hit List, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line "hit list” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen May 16, 2026. U.S. residents only, and you must be 18 or older to enter. If entering via email please include your mailing address in case you win. You can read our privacy statement here if you like.
Check out other mystery articles, reviews, book giveaways & mystery short stories in our mystery section. And join our mystery Facebook group to keep up with everything mystery we post, and have a chance at some extra giveaways. Also listen to our new mystery podcast where mystery short stories and first chapters are read by actors! They are also available on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, and Spotify.Disclosure: This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which we receive a few cents if you make purchases. KRL also receives free copies of most of the books that it reviews, that are provided in exchange for an honest review of the book.
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