and then you have the women's povs... which. initially i was very into. i thought wow this is refreshing. but the women are just used as justification for this dude's behavior. or we're supposed to question nature or nurture i guess. but i think that in writing a story in this format, you're innately going to have the man be the focus of the story. Kukafka upends the power dynamic of male serial killer and female victim in a thrilling second novel . . . It is deeper, wiser, more painful than her debut: devastating in its impact, and impossible to look away from. I can't remember the last time I finished a thriller in tears, not even sure by that point who my heart was hurting for * Observer, Thriller of the Month *

Unflinching, mesmerising, heartwrenching and deeply intelligent and compassionate * Gilly McMillan * Why publicize their death? Why make a spectacle that will lead to articles, headlines, documentaries, and hallmark movies? They are just another white man who battered a woman. Nobody should care about him. We should care about the women whose lives were stolen. About their mothers and daughters. About the futures never experienced. Kukafka writes gorgeous, spellbinding prose, distilling huge, complicated themes into crystalline moments of deep, painful truths.... [NOTES ON AN EXECUTION is] a vital addition to the suspense genre and to the larger conversation about violent crime."We have billions of potential lives...thousands of alternate universes running like streams beneath our current reality. if morality is determined by our choices, then we must also consider those other universes, in which we've made different ones.' I found this to be a dark, intense, powerful, and emotional book. It's a literary thriller that is superbly written, pacy, and asks you questions about yourself and how you feel about the themes throughout. it doesn't make judgments - as the reader, do you believe in rehabilitation? Did Ansel get what he deserved? And one of the biggest questions of all - that of nature versus nurture. I love how every perspective in this book is different and none of them viewed as wrong or negative in any way. Even the serial killer is viewed as a human being who has made mistakes. Not that that redeems him in any way. But it forces us to humanize him. Which is intriguing not only as a reader but as a person. It questions rehabilitation and nature vs nurture and how the system fails us at every turn. The main characters are going to lodge themselves in your head. While it is easy to judge Ansel – who wouldn’t judge a convict facing execution, there are so many emotions that the plot stirs up about him that you can’t help wondering what category to slot him in: is he a plain old psychopath, or can you justify, maybe even forgive, at least a part of his behaviour? The main woman characters are also well-layered and not with typical 2D characteristics.

In alternating chapters, Kukafka introduces each of these ladies on their own terms: Lavender, Ansel’s teenage mother; Saffron Singh, the homicide detective who brought Ansel to justice; and Hazel, Ansel’s sister-in-law. Through Lavender we witness an abusive, predatory marriage, the foundation for Ansel’s birth. Lavender was wooed by Ansel’s older father when she was only 16, and within six months she was neatly imprisoned on his farm in upstate New York. Although Lavender tried to shield her young son from her husband’s cruelty, already we see the signs that something is not quite right with Ansel. He has a near preternatural intelligence, and on one occasion he emerges bloodstained from the woods surrounding their home clutching a beheaded chipmunk. This distinctive take turns the overdone serial killer trope on its head, making it more palatable, more intelligent and more emotional. Kukafka portrays a sinister man through the perspectives of the women who knew and loved him, with subtle but shattering truths peppered throughout * Newsweek * When focusing on achieving WIGs, have a positive mindset. Measures that help you to win will motivate you. Avoid measures that discourage you when failed. People are often automatically drawn to lag measures. They are termed ‘lag’ as they focus on the past - you cannot change them. Revenue, profit, and customer satisfaction are examples of lag measures. I am tired of seeing Ted Bundy’s face. This is a book for the women who survive....Average men become interesting when they start hurting women. Notes on an Execution was born from a desire to dissect this exhausting narrative.” A work of literary suspense that deconstructs the story of a serial killer on death row, told primarily through the eyes of the women in his life.

What is The 4 Disciplines of Execution About?

Only discuss the WIGs, ignore the whirlwind. Anyone who has let the whirlwind get in the way of meeting their WIG commitments must be held accountable. Encourage them so that they know their work is appreciated, but remind them that if they do not uphold their WIG commitments, the team suffers. Allow them the opportunity to catch up. Takeaway #8. Immerse your team leaders in your WIGs