Australian author Jack Heath has drawn from disturbing real-life workplace experiences to create his latest gripping murder mystery, Kill Your Boss, released this month by Allen & Unwin.
From Fast-Food Trauma to Literary Inspiration
Heath's journey into the dark side of workplace dynamics began during his teenage years working in fast-food, where he witnessed supervisors engaging in inappropriate behaviour that would later fuel his fiction. One supervisor regularly played degrading pranks on female staff members, while the regional manager openly expressed his belief that "tits behind the counter" represented the most profitable business model.
"We should have complained to the regional manager, our boss' boss - but he was even worse," Heath recalls of his early work experiences that planted the seeds for his new novel.
Corporate Absurdity and Employee Motivation
Later working in the technology sector during his twenties, Heath encountered another extreme example of toxic leadership when a CEO demanded his entire team physically assault each other during a conference call. The executive, who later appeared in news articles described as an "expert in employee motivation," left a lasting impression on the author.
"To be fair, that meeting left me very motivated," Heath notes with characteristic dark humour that permeates his writing.
The author discovered his experiences were far from unique when friends shared their own workplace horror stories, including managers demanding staff retrieve uneaten prawns from customers' plates for reuse, mocking employees with serious medical conditions, and even attempting to trick staff into consuming foods they were allergic to.
Creating the Ultimate Terrible Boss
Heath combined these real-world accounts to create Neville Adams, the unlikeable victim in Kill Your Boss who serves as head of library services in the fictional New South Wales town of Warrigal. The author deliberately subverted expectations by making a librarian - typically seen as helpful and kind - into a "cruel, selfish and stupid" character.
"Having stitched together my Frankenstein's monster, I killed him," Heath admits, describing the creative process as somewhat cathartic.
The author conducted detailed research for the murder methods in his novel, consulting the Splat Calculator to determine that his character would hit a steel bike rack with 4410 joules of force after being pushed from a library roof. He also explored the properties of carbon monoxide and even examined library compactors to understand how a person might be crushed.
When the plot stalled halfway through the manuscript, fellow author Benjamin Stevenson provided the simple solution: "Third victim." The suggestion proved invaluable in moving the story forward.
Dedication to Good Leadership
Despite exploring the worst of workplace management in his fiction, Heath dedicates Kill Your Boss to two of his best bosses - Steve and Andrew from Dymocks Belconnen bookstore in Canberra. They demonstrated that running a business without turning evil was possible, even if Heath suspects they might find the book's title somewhat off-putting.
Kill Your Boss follows Heath's previous successful novels Kill Your Brother and Kill Your Husbands, continuing his tradition of dark, twist-filled mysteries that resonate with anyone who has ever endured challenging workplace dynamics.
The book is available now from Allen & Unwin for $34.99.
