Love in the Time of Serial Killers by Alicia Thompson | Book Review

This book is like the child of two of my special interests: romance and true crime. As my first read of 2024, I was not disappointed!

Why I read it: I first saw this book while browsing at a bookstore. It combines two of my special interests (romance and true crime) and obviously, I had to have it. I read during Bout of Books when I couldn’t decide what to read and figured that it made a certain amount of sense to pick up a book related to true crime after I’d spent a couple days binge-watching it.

Review #insixwords: Connected so hard with this book.

More:

• Phoebe, the FMC, is writing a dissertation on true crime as a literary genre with a focus on the relationship between author and subject, and I want this to be a real dissertation I can read.

• Despite the true crime focus of Phoebe’s dissertation and the number of references to various crimes, TV shows, and books, it doesn’t glorify serial killers or murder or have on-page violence. It’s more about Phoebe’s relationship to true crime and why she’s drawn to it—and maybe why others are as well.

• (It probably says something about me that I knew and had already seen the specific episode of Disappeared referenced in this book. I do not, however, keep a spreadsheet of cases from Disappeared to check whether there’s been progress as Phoebe says she does.)

• Come for the true crime and romance, stay for the younger sibling relationship, the rekindling of an old friendship, and for the cat that adopts Phoebe.

• As a single POV book, Phoebe’s narrative and arc is the focus. The relationship she builds with her younger brother, the friendship she starts up again, the cat she adopts—all of these things are important to her overall character arc of being vulnerable and opening herself up to love and trust. Which is, obviously, also important for the romance part of this book.

• Was I more charmed by the true crime, young brother relationship (and his quest to propose to his girlfriend), and the cat than the romance? Possibly. But that’s also good too. Sam is a cinnamon roll, which makes her initial suspicions of him being a serial killer an amusing setup.

• Sam is a musician and elementary teacher, and despite Phoebe’s belief that she’s not caring, he sees through this—her actions tell a different story.

• There are a lot of pop culture references besides true crime in the book. I found them charming more than anything. Your mileage may vary.

Recommendation: A must for fans of romance and true crime! This is ultimately a story about a woman digging through her past (sometimes literally), who’s reconnecting with people and finding her place in the world when she’s held herself apart from life and from people for so long. Also, there’s sarcasm. And a cat.

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*Not an affiliate link; I make no money from your purchases. If you do feel moved to buy a book, however, I’d love if you supported my local romance bookstore, Tropes & Trifles.

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