Six Weeks to Live by Catherine McKenzie

Published by

Sarah Ann

on

January 20, 2026

Six Weeks to Live is one of many literary fiction novels by Catherine McKenzie. This one is about a mom who finds out she has brain cancer and thinks it was intentionally caused by someone in her family.

Forty-eight-year old Jennifer Barnes is happy, healthy, and doing okay—she has three grown triplet daughters, two grandkids, and a nice boyfriend. So it’s a total surprise when her doctor tells her she has terminal brain cancer and only has six weeks left to live.

Shortly after her diagnosis, Jennifer learns she’s been poisoned by lead, and that it contributed to her brain tumor. She realizes it was someone in her family who tried to kill her, and sets out to figure out “who” and “why.”

The story in Six Weeks to Live is told by four characters: Jennifer and each of her three daughters. In all the “Jennifer” chapters, Jennifer frantically rushes around trying to figure out who poisoned her. In the rest of the book, each of the triplets reflects on her upbringing and relationship with their mom.

I like how the author adds in one last chapter revealing the surprising “twist.” Lots of authors do this and I love it, like Ruth Ware, Clare Mackintosh, and Karin Slaughter, to name a few. Overall, I think it was easy to piece together all the clues and figure out who the murderer was.

One major gripe I had about Six Weeks to Live is that its chapters are too short given all the narrative switching that goes on between characters. It gets confusing at times, because you don’t really get to spend enough time in one character’s head before switching to another.

Also, we get halfway through the book before Jennifer even tells her boyfriend Andrew about her condition. Why doesn’t she tell him sooner? I was starting to think Andrew was a figment of her imagination.

Six Weeks to Live wasn’t great. It certainly wasn’t my favorite Catherine McKenzie book, but it was still okay.

Sometimes, it seems as though many authors resort to giving their characters cancer when they need to write around someone’s impending death. Cancer progresses gradually, and so maybe it’s easier for authors to work with?

Many years ago, I was sent review copies of other books by Catherine McKenzie, and that’s how I came to be a fan. My favorites are Forgotten (2012) and Spin (2009).

Other books by Catherine McKenzie include:

What did you think about Six Weeks to Live? What’s your favorite book by Catherine McKenzie?

Last Updated on January 25, 2026 by Sarah Ann

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