They say that older men like nothing better than to potter in their sheds. But what about older women? Well, hopefully their shed activities are a lot less… um… visceral than those of Brenda, the antihero at centre stage in Warm Bodies, the new novella from John Marrs. Officially released on 1 November 2026, it’s available during October as a Kindle First Read if you’re signed up to Amazon Prime.
You could say she’s part of the grey economy, but actually Brenda is working in the blackest corner of the black economy. By day, she’s a grandmother, childminder and dinner lady. By night, she’s up to something in her shed – a bit like a Deliveroo driver, it’s a zero-hours thing, but never involves tepid chicken skewers in congealed satay.
She could be your neighbour
The lead character in Warm Bodies is one of several things that makes this short story feel so inventive. “I didn’t want to make her a serial killer as that’s been done before. Instead, she’s a kind of middle-man,” says John Marrs. “I can’t even remember how exactly Brenda arrived in my life, but I know she was fully formed when she appeared. I knew her inside and out and she is one of the easiest characters I’ve ever written. I could picture her as one of my neighbours, an ordinary working grandmother who is devoted to her family. Behind closed doors, we all have secrets, only hers is a lot more extreme than most!”
Of course, the intrigue is all around Brenda not getting caught. If you love Dexter or Claire, the serial killer in Joanna Wallace’s novels, you’ll love Warm Bodies just as much. Brenda’s nemeses are her nosey neighbours. She sees herself as busy and family focused, though naturally wants to keep others out of her business. But in the local WhatsApp group run by the especially bossy Beth, she’s painted as a menace to the community.
They start a dirty tricks campaign against her, but really have no idea who they’re messing with. Quickly the building sense of anticipation – that these awful women will soon meet someone capable of awful things – makes Warm Bodies a joy to read. That juxtaposition between the unreasonable and unkind neighbours, who seem a bit mad, a bit obsessed, while the voice of sanity in the story is someone who has an outrageous sideline, is delightful.
“There’s quite a lot of humour in this story, and that comes from the WhatsApp group conversations,” continues John. “There are so many hypocrites in it, all manipulated and egged on by a vindictive parish councillor with an axe to grind. Everyone wants to please her and be liked by her, so she manipulates them into doing her bidding without ever getting her own hands dirty. At least not for a while…”
Don’t make me angry!
Warm Bodies also touches on a theme we see mentioned a lot in crime fiction at the moment – female rage. When is it, and when is it not valid? In fact, throughout his career as a crime novelist, John has always written about female, and he enjoys writing female characters most.
“There is no challenge in thinking like myself. It’s more of a challenge to think from a female perspective,” he says. “And from the positive feedback I get from the majority of my readers, I must be doing something right. I don’t want to write romantic extras, they don’t interest me. I want to write strong female leads who do what they deem necessary to get by.”
Oh, and Brenda will certainly do what’s necessary to get by. But she has to be subtle at every turn as the 107-page book is populated with other characters who could catch her out. Her daughter and grandchildren have no clue what’s going on – they’re wrapped up in their own lives, as they should be. It’s a bit of a worry that her daughter is getting friendly with the local community support officer. Brenda’s only friend, whom she occasionally meets for coffee – well, she can’t be allowed too close. Nor can the pig farmer whose property runs up to the end of the garden. Trouble is, he has eyes for Brenda.
The author’s first short story
Although we’ve reviewed John’s books on the site before, and we interviewed him six years ago, this is the first time I’ve personally read one of his works. Two things astonish me. Firstly, when John was a journalist and began writing crime fiction, 80 agents and publishers rejected his work. That’s a crime in itself! And it demonstrates that independent and self-publishing avenues really are the lifeblood of the genre – they’re where a lot of the innovation happens. Now the Northampton-based author works with Thomas & Mercer and has 16 novels under his belt.
Secondly, I just can’t believe this is John’s first short story… It’s so well balanced, very amusing and engaging, and comes with a double twist at the end that you really won’t see coming. You know short fiction is good when it leaves you well satisfied without a huge commitment of time – like going to a warm café for a nice, smooth latte and a delicious brownie that won’t take all afternoon to enjoy.
“A couple of years ago, my editor at Thomas & Mercer asked me if I had ever thought about writing a short story for their Amazon Originals series. I dismissed the idea. Margaret Atwood and Ian Rankin had written them before and who was I to think I could join their ranks? I also enjoyed writing books that came in at between 90 and 100,000 words and an Amazon Original story needed to be closer to the 25,000 mark. But then a couple of weeks later a story appeared in my head about a woman who was up to no good in a small village, and how her neighbours were absolutely fascinated by what she was up to behind closed doors. I thought it would be fun to write from her perspective, and from the perspective of a WhatsApp group that gossips about her behind her back. So, I started writing. Only when I finished did I even tell my editor, and thankfully, she loved it,” concludes John.
I loved it, and you might too. It’s the kind of story that has a dark undertone, perfect for crime fiction lovers, but it’s also funny and poignant too, in many places. It can feel bad to ally with Brenda – a bit, anyhow – but sometimes you’ve got to feel a little bad in order to feel good.
If you’re an Amazon Prime member and you can enjoy Warm Bodies by John Marrs as your Kindle First Read free book during October 2026. After that it’s £1.99 on Amazon. Dive in with the buttons below. (Photo credit: Corinne West)