Honey
Published on 7. May 2026
Book
Hardback
352 pages
978-0-00-875977-3 (ISBN)
Description
The darkly comic killer debut novel of 2026.
PICKED AS A BOOK TO LOOK OUT FOR BY VOGUE, ESQUIRE, MARIE CLAIRE, THE NEW YORKER, STYLIST, ELLE AND GLAMOUR
'The blistering thriller taking the literary world by storm' VOGUE
'The best kind of campus novel, satirical and razor-sharp, crossed with a crime story: Thompson is an exciting new voice' GUARDIAN
'Honey might be the most anticipated debut novel of the year' ESQUIRE
'It's just so clever' LOUISE O'NEILL
'Impossible to predict' ERIN KELLY
'A beautiful, relentless novel' ABIGAIL DEAN
'Wow, basically' HARRIET TYCE
'Worryingly relatable' SOPHIE DUKER
The first time, Yrsa doesn't intend to kill.
But the Cambridge professor sitting opposite has manipulated her friend, stolen her research. When she flicks the bee into his Sanpellegrino, she thinks he'll get a nasty sting.
Then he's dead. And Yrsa, who - let's face it - has been bored for a while, is alive.
It's a sweet feeling, finally having some control.
Comic, sexy, addictive, unpredictable, Honey is about the not-always-righteous path of taking justice into your own hands.
The essential next read for fans of Butter, Yesteryear, My Sister the Serial Killer, Fundamentally or Boy Parts.
'Yrsa serves up the unhinged hot girl homicide I didn't know I needed' SOPHIE DUKER
'Juicy, dark, addictive, and truly clever. Yrsa is the antihero we've been waiting for' SILVIA SAUNDERS
'A marvel of a novel, a story that breathes beyond its pages' ORE AGBAJE-WILLIAMS
'A twisted comeuppance story ... Wow. Think Fleabag' KIRKUS
'The hotly-anticipated debut ... a dark tale which throws light on the intersections between politics, race, sex, violence and love through the eyes of a female serial killer' MARIE CLAIRE
'Dark, thrilling and undeniably hot' GLAMOUR
'Brilliant' SERVICE95
'Sexy, scary, this debut became compulsive reading for me' BELFAST TELEGRAPH
'Thompson writes with wit and precision' IRISH TIMES
'Imani is a writer to watch and Honey is the entertaining (and quietly damning) read you'll need to kick off spring' ELLE
PICKED AS A BOOK TO LOOK OUT FOR BY VOGUE, ESQUIRE, MARIE CLAIRE, THE NEW YORKER, STYLIST, ELLE AND GLAMOUR
'The blistering thriller taking the literary world by storm' VOGUE
'The best kind of campus novel, satirical and razor-sharp, crossed with a crime story: Thompson is an exciting new voice' GUARDIAN
'Honey might be the most anticipated debut novel of the year' ESQUIRE
'It's just so clever' LOUISE O'NEILL
'Impossible to predict' ERIN KELLY
'A beautiful, relentless novel' ABIGAIL DEAN
'Wow, basically' HARRIET TYCE
'Worryingly relatable' SOPHIE DUKER
The first time, Yrsa doesn't intend to kill.
But the Cambridge professor sitting opposite has manipulated her friend, stolen her research. When she flicks the bee into his Sanpellegrino, she thinks he'll get a nasty sting.
Then he's dead. And Yrsa, who - let's face it - has been bored for a while, is alive.
It's a sweet feeling, finally having some control.
Comic, sexy, addictive, unpredictable, Honey is about the not-always-righteous path of taking justice into your own hands.
The essential next read for fans of Butter, Yesteryear, My Sister the Serial Killer, Fundamentally or Boy Parts.
'Yrsa serves up the unhinged hot girl homicide I didn't know I needed' SOPHIE DUKER
'Juicy, dark, addictive, and truly clever. Yrsa is the antihero we've been waiting for' SILVIA SAUNDERS
'A marvel of a novel, a story that breathes beyond its pages' ORE AGBAJE-WILLIAMS
'A twisted comeuppance story ... Wow. Think Fleabag' KIRKUS
'The hotly-anticipated debut ... a dark tale which throws light on the intersections between politics, race, sex, violence and love through the eyes of a female serial killer' MARIE CLAIRE
'Dark, thrilling and undeniably hot' GLAMOUR
'Brilliant' SERVICE95
'Sexy, scary, this debut became compulsive reading for me' BELFAST TELEGRAPH
'Thompson writes with wit and precision' IRISH TIMES
'Imani is a writer to watch and Honey is the entertaining (and quietly damning) read you'll need to kick off spring' ELLE
Reviews / Votes
'The best kind of campus novel, satirical and razor-sharp, crossed with a crime story: Thompson is an exciting new voice' Guardian 'With her dark, adrenaline-soaked debut, Imani Thompson arrives as Britain's brightest young novelist ... the blistering thriller taking the literary world by storm' Vogue 'Dark, thrilling and undeniably hot, this novel will leave you gasping for air' Glamour 'Honey might be the most-anticipated debut novel of the year' Esquire 'Imani is a writer to watch and Honey is the entertaining (and quietly damning) read you'll need to kick off spring' Elle 'The hotly-anticipated debut from British author Imani Thompson, Honey is a dark tale which throws light on the intersections between politics, race, sex, violence and love through the eyes of a female serial killer' Marie Claire 'Clever and brilliantly gripping ... As I shut it for good, I found myself buzzing with adrenaline' The Standard 'A worryingly relatable, deliciously dark debut - Yrsa serves up the unhinged hot girl homicide I didn't know I needed' Sophie Duker 'A wonderfully sticky debut, impossible to predict or to forget' Erin Kelly 'Phenomenal. The voice is utterly singular, the writing is stunning, and it's just so clever and sharp. It reminded me of Promising Young Woman (except it didn't pull *any* punches) with a touch of Such a Fun Age' Louise O'Neill 'Wow, basically. It's a cracking read, crackling with energy and wit ... A one-sit read' Harriet Tyce 'It would feel slightly cheap or easy to call Imani Thompson's Honey, 'whip smart' and 'wildly entertaining' because it's so much more ... Honey is a marvel of a novel, a story that breathes beyond its pages' Ore Agbaje-Williams, author of The Three of Us 'This is a beautiful, relentless novel, twisting away from easy answers, arcs, or redemption' Abigail Dean, author of The Death of Us 'A twisted comeuppance story, a campus-life spoof, and a look at the dating-app generation of women ... Wow. Think Fleabag channeled by Valerie Solanas' KirkusMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
HarperCollins Publishers
Dimensions
Height: 239 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 37 mm
Weight
566 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-00-875977-3 (9780008759773)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Person
Imani Thompson is a British writer with Jamaican heritage. During her time studying Sociology at Cambridge University she was published in The Mays and won the Vogue new writer's prize. She wrote Honey while working as a bookseller at Daunt Books and is now working on her second novel.