I’m grateful and honored that People Magazine/people.com exclusively revealed the cover for Somebody Worth Killing! You can read the whole article here!
Excerpt: “Writing Somebody Worth Killing felt like magic — like the story I’d been waiting my whole life to tell,” Payne tells PEOPLE of the novel, which has been described by Berkley as part Dexter and part Big Little Lies with a dash of Finlay Donovan.
“It’s about a woman who’s not just an assassin, but also a busy mom and devoted wife. Nadia’s trying to do her best for her family, while still carving out time to be herself and pursue her passion (which just so happens to be killing people)… These seemingly opposite roles — mom and killer — in one person felt like a wild idea, but also a reflection of the reality so many moms deal with — wearing multiple hats, working the 'double shift,’” Payne says.
New Book coming June 16!
Somebody Worth Killing
Meet Nadia Davis, a doting mom and loving wife who has a big secret: she’s actually an assassin. And she really needs a babysitter who shows up on time.
Nadia Davis is living the dream as a successful working mom with a career she loves, two adorable little girls, and a devoted husband who has no idea that she’s secretly a hired assassin and psychopath who kills certified bad guys. So when Nadia finds out she’s been “mommy tracked” by her assassin’s agency and is no longer getting the bigger, more exciting jobs, she demands an important mark…somebody worth killing.
But it turns out that big kill is the last person she expects—her husband. How is the sweet, kind, teller-of-dad jokes she’s promised her life to an evil villain who needs exterminating? Has their whole life together been a lie? Now Nadia must choose between the two things she loves most in life, the career that keeps her sane or the family she thought she knew.
Somebody Worth Killing will publish June 16, 2026. If you preorder from her local bookstore, Browser’s Bookshop in Olympia, you’ll receive a signed copy and a little something extra! Click here for your copy. Please specify in the comments if you want specific personalization.
Jessica Payne lives in Washington State with her daughter and husband and an internet search history that would raise eyebrows. A firm believer in strong coffee and stronger women, she writes about mothers who know how to handle a sniper rifle and a carpool schedule with equal precision. When she's not writing, you'll find her trail running through the forests of the Pacific Northwest as she plots her next fictional murder. She is the creator of the Substack community One Tired Mother.
Her next novel, Somebody Worth Killing, is coming from Berkley/PRH in June 2026.
Her other novels include Make Me Disappear, The Lucky One, The Good Doctor, and Never Trust the Husband.
Author photos by Sally Jones and Impressions by Ellie.
