Love in the Time of Serial Killers: TikTok made me buy it: an addictive slow burn romance from the bestselling author

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True crime is especially interesting, because it tends to reflect and shape our cultural attitudes toward crime in general. You look at how the genre has morphed in the last sixty years, even, from the way Truman Capote made it more literary in In Cold Blood to the more sensationalistic, hard-boiled accounts written in the eighties and nineties, to how personal and nuanced Michelle McNamara gets in I'll Be Gone in the Dark. And then it's like, who's writing these books? What relationship do they have to the subject going in, or what relationship do they form as they go down this dark rabbit hole? How do they choose to present the information, and how does that affect the way a reader might feel about? Does that change how 'true' the books are, really?” I can see why you'd doubt relationships, and family, and love," Sam said. "It sounds like a tense way to grow up, and I'm really sorry you had to go through it. But, Phoebe, your parents were just two people. Ted Bundy and whatever his girlfriend's name was were two people. Hell, Bonnie and Clyde stayed together until the bitter end, and even they were only two people. You can't extrapolate your worldview from such a small data set.” Maybe it’s just me, maybe it’s the release of Dahmer on Netflix, but the whole obsession with the true crime genre thing is not the cute and quirky personality trait that people think it is. If you have a genuine interest that’s great. But I am a bit over it at this point. Once I got through the beginning of this book, it got much better in terms of the story. I much more enjoyed it when Phoebe was getting to know Sam, when she was reconnecting with old friends and her brother, etc, than when she thought Sam was a serial killer. DNF @43% I considered pushing myself to finish this because I had a review copy, but I'm more than far enough through now to know that this just isn't a book for me. Something about the main character just rubs me wrong and I can only really see her getting more on my nerves the deeper through I get. If you enjoy true-crime and pop culture references, this may still work for you!! But it was not for me and that is okay lol Love in the Time of Serial Killers is funny, sharp, and thoughtful.” —Sarah Hogle, author of You Deserve Each Other

Love in the Time of Serial Killers By Alicia Thompson |The Works

But that had hurt my pride, not my heart. And I think it was that phrase that had burrowed deep, like a splinter - my whole heart. Had I ever given anyone or anything that much of myself? Did I even want to?” Though the story is “CUTE” I was expecting something “CAMPY” with LOTS of suspicious activity happening next door to make Sam seem “dangerous” before Phoebe realizes just how wrong she was. (Think “The Southern Book Club’s Guide To Slaying Vampires”) The whole serial killer thing is definitely contained to her writing about them in her dissertation and making references to them. It’s not a mystery or a thriller. It’s funny without being a comedy and a bit morbid without being morose. It has first person narration and only one POV from Phoebe. There’s an HEA and I can see arguments for this being either contemporary fiction or contemporary romance. It is definitely character driven and focused on Phoebe reconciling her past with the future that she ultimately wants (which she surprisingly hasn’t figured out at the start of the book). Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for providing a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. However, seeing her once best friend Allyson around is making her discover that she misses having a girlfriend she can count on. In addition, meeting her young neighbor Sam who is nice to look at, and spending time with her brother and his girlfriend are all causing her heart to thaw. Especially, when a feral cat enters her life too.I glanced down. My arms were pushing my breasts together, making my cleavage look even deeper than usual. "Oh my god," I said. "My tits look amazing." If you are in your twenties, I BET you will relate to this story more than I did-especially if you enjoy steamy “open door” bedroom scenes in your ROMANCE novels (another NO for me!) It could be a perfect book for you. Over time, she realizes Sam may not be a serial killer, but something much scarier—a nice guy. She could get a job teaching some place across the country—now is simply not the time to fall for anything serious. Alicia Thompson is a writer, reader, and Paramore superfan. As a teen, she appeared in an episode of 48 Hours in the audience of a local murder trial, where she broke the fourth wall by looking directly into the camera. She currently lives in Florida with her husband and two children. I chewed on the end of the pen, wondering if I should include any other details. It had been too dark to tell what color his eyes were. His voice had been deep, with a rasp, almost... but I couldn't write that. If my body was found in the woods behind the house, and investigators were competent enough to do a forensic analysis of this notebook, I didn't want editorializing words complicating the narrative. Words like compelling, or god forbid, sexy.”

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Thompson’s clever premise is a trendy hook for a romance that explores family, grief, and the relationships that define us.”— Washington Independent Review of Books Alicia Thompson’s romance debut is an utterly charming delight. A hilarious and heartfelt love letter to anyone who’s ever gotten swept away by a personal interest. With toe curling swoons, witty banter, and enough true crime references to make Truman Capote proud, this is not one to be missed.”— Sonia Hartl, author of Heartbreak For HireWhen I initially spotted this ADORABLE book cover and INTRIGUING title, I just knew I had to read it!! First of all: Phoebe's obsession with serial killers is not as funny as the author thinks it is. It's not quirky, it's not nerdy, it's just obsessive. And a bit concerning. Halloween is just around the corner, but this book by Alicia Thompson proves that love doesn’t always have to be scary.” — Newsweek He reached up to gently pull the elastic from my hair, combing his fingers through the waves as they splayed over my shoulders. Even that massage on my scalp felt good, and I closed my eyes, swaying into him. The writing was fine. The style was casual, such as there was some abrupt sentences and some slang acronym, that I wasn’t a fan of.

Love in the Time of Serial Killers by Alicia Thompson Love in the Time of Serial Killers by Alicia Thompson

But now here he was, although even in the dark I felt like I could see the color slant across his cheeks. I hoped he never lost that." Take, for example, Sam, the young, attractive barefooted guy who appeared the night she first arrived and offered to help her unload the heavy desk strapped to the roof of her car. In a reverse scenario, serial killer Ted Bundy asked a woman for help with something in his car and look what happened there. Is this guy another Ted Bundy? Good looks CAN be deceiving.I think the editor could’ve pushed for more an arc for him, since this was ultimately sold to readers as a romance. It didn’t really impact my enjoyment because I liked the story and I liked the growth of Phoebe and I loved the HEA. Sam did have his moments—hello bossy Sam taking care of Phoebe kink—but it could be a way to increase the romantic tension and add depth to the relationship as a whole. Highly recommended for romance readers who enjoy flirty dialogue, pop-culture references, strong female characters, and, of course, true crime.” — Booklist (starred review) Turns out that reading nothing but true crime isn't exactly conducive to modern dating—and one woman is going to have to learn how to give love a chance when she's used to suspecting the worst. They don't know each other as well as you would assume siblings do, just due to the circumstances of their upbringing. Additionally, it can definitely be hard for Phoebe to let down her defenses to connect with people. At this point, she is willing to give it her best shot. Extra: The book definitely relies on pop culture (and true crime) references so if that’s not your thing, maybe rethink this one. It worked for me because my brain works like that too—the amount of times I say “I just want to dance” from Music and Lyrics is alarming since I never want to dance and 9 times out of 10 I’m met with the reception of a dot dot dot. In one breath the book is talking about Dateline and with the next it’s drawing parallels to America’s Next Too Model. Some of my other favorites were American Girl, Lisa Frank, and cinnamon brown sugar Pop-tarts. The references are also an armor that Phoebe wears as a defense mechanism whenever she feels uncomfortable (hence the amount of them).