Robbie never gets up until she hears her partner start the coffeemaker in the kitchen. What would be the point? She’d only be pretending to be functional until the coffee was done anyway, so why not stay in bed?

But soon, the coffee aroma drifts through the apartment entwined with the sound of Dee singing showtunes, and that’s Robbie’s cue. She checks the calendar on her bedroom wall and the armada of sticky notes reminders for the day, then heads to the kitchen.

When she and Dee finish coffee and breakfast, they head downstairs to Coda, the embodiment of what Robbie honestly thought was an absurd dream up until they made it a reality: their own queer karaoke bar, a space centered around community and music—and people who are very bad at singing and insist on doing any anyway. People who aren’t Robbie, obviously. It takes a lot of tequila to get her to sing in front of anyone.

They go over the books together—or rather, Dee goes over the books and Robbie tries her damndest to pay attention. The details never stick in her brain well, but she knows the gist. Coda always teeters on the edge of profitability until they add in the cash they launder through the business. Honestly, she’s got no clue how other bars stay afloat without a bit of crime to buoy the coffers. Well, come to think of it, maybe everyone is doing something on the side. Yeah, that makes more sense.

Speaking of which, Robbie needs to hit the road soon if she’s going to get to Chicago in time to catch her latest target before he leaves his office. She needs to see the route he takes home. Based on the client’s description, it sounds like that might be a good opportunity, but obviously, Robbie never takes a client at their word. She needs to see for herself, let the pieces come together in her mind in that way she can never quite explain to anyone else but can picture with perfect clarity.

If she times it right, Robbie can scope out his routine tonight and do the setup while he works tomorrow. She leaves Dee to finish muttering over the finances, grabs her keys and the duffle of gear she packed last night, and starts her drive. With any luck, she’ll be able to stage the perfect accident to kill her target and still be able to get back home in time for 80s karaoke night at Coda, her favorite. She has her priorities, though. Before she can let loose watching drunk lesbians belt out Total Eclipse of the Heart, she had to make sure she’s stopped her target’s heart first.

Robbie turns on the playlist she has for when she’s headed out on a job, cranks the volume, and sings her way to a spot of light murder.

ROBBIE MCNEIL’S HIT LIST
Genre: Traditional Mystery
Release: March 2026
Format: Print, Digital, Audio
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Sourcebooks | Wild Sisters Book Co. | Bookshop.org

For fans of This Girl’s a Killer and Joanna Wallace comes a quirky, queer, crime-filled mystery following a contract killer who breaks all her rules when she is hired to kill someone who doesn’t exist…

For this hitwoman, curiosity may be killer.

Contract killer Robbie McNeil never asks questions. Her mission is simple. Do the job. Get paid. Get back to running the karaoke bar she co-owns with her queerplatonic partner and fellow contract killer, Dee. And it works… Until their ambitious new theatrical venture breaks the bank.

When a mysterious new client hires Robbie for a hit, she takes the job, even though it’s sketchy as hell he won’t tell her anything but the target’s name. But hey, she didn’t build her reputation by being curious, and she desperately needs the cash.

Except something about this new target doesn’t add up. When he disappears with no record he ever existed, she chucks her no-questions-asked policy out the window, determined to figure out who this target really is. But the price for asking questions is high and might just cost Robbie everything she holds dear.

Meet the author
Brianna Heath is queer, neurodivergent author who writes books that can be broadly described as “Be Gay, Do Crime.” She aims to put stories out in the world that reflect the lives and experiences of people who often do not see themselves represented in media. Robbie McNeil’s Hit List is her debut novel.

Brianna lives in Northern California with Beau, her rescued border collie/gremlin, who, like her, has absolutely no chill. She can be found at briannaheath.com or on IG as @briannahwrites.