3.75 stars

I felt like overall, it was an enjoyable book. I read it quickly and it was a good romance. I'm OBSESSED with true crime so I think I was more invested in Phoebe and I connected with her more. I like the relationships in the story Sam and Phoebe seem to mesh well together. It was a more realistic pairing than in typical romance books which was interesting. Phoebe's brother and his girlfriend are such cute couple goals. . I think her studies made her extra paranoid and it was funny to read about her suspicions of Sam's nighttime activities. lol. I kind of wish there was some hidden letter from her dad apologizing though. The only criticism I would give is that I felt the body positive (plus size) bits of the story could have taken or left. It didn't detract but it felt almost like an afterthought sometimes. I liked it, but I wasn't shouting out in joy or crying big tears (which usually gives a book a bump in rating).

Romance or Crime Thriller? Go in blind and you decide!

This book was so much fun to read! I read the blurb a couple months ago, but long ago forgot what it was going to be about. I just loved the title and the cover, and did remember that I enjoyed what the blurb said about it. So in I went. I love both romance and true crime, so I knew I couldn't go wrong, and I was right!

There was a bit of a slow start, but it didn't take long for things to pick up and for the story to catch my interest. I even cried and laughed a little. Any author that can pull those emotions out of me gets my attention on future books. Thanks to Berkley and NetGalley for the review copy.

Love in the Time of Serial Killers was a book after my own heart. Like Phoebe, I am a huge true crime fan, and I look at everyone as a potential suspect. When she returns to the home she grew up in after the death of her father, various emotions come roaring back. Including thinking the next-door neighbor is a serial killer. Sam, the neighbor, is nice and polite, but that just adds to the suspicion.

Phoebe is a great character, and I adored Sam. They both made me laugh throughout the book, and even laugh at myself for recognizing my own quirks.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Penguin Random House for the advance listener copy and to Berkley for the ARC of this novel.

One topic that sends me down the rabbit hole on the internet are serial killers. I imagine Phoebe and I would be fast friends with lively discussions on our obsession.

Phoebe has returned home to manage her fathers estate after his death. There she meets Sam, her father’s next door neighbor, who has the looks and kindness just as other famous serial killers. In her mind, every action he takes has her suspecting he’s up to something nefarious.

This novel is a quirky, slow-burn romance. These two love interests are just the tiniest bit nerdy making them perfect for each other. The level of true crime facts littered throughout the story are fascinating. Super sweet story!

I had such a great time with this book! I was first drawn to this book by the catchy title and decided to give it a try. It didn’t take long before I realized that I had made a very good choice. The characters in this book were amazing and I kind of fell in love with each of them. I was thoroughly entertained from beginning to end of this wonderful romance.

I loved Phoebe and Sam and really wanted to see things work out for both of them. Phoebe had a lot of things that she was dealing with during this story and I thought it was great seeing her face those issues. Phoebe is slightly obsessed with true crime novels and knows what to watch out for when it comes to serial killers. Once she figures out that the next-door neighbor isn’t dangerous, they become close. Sam was such a nice guy and I really liked the way he was always there for Phoebe. These two were perfect together and I loved the chemistry they shared. Phoebe’s brother and girlfriend also added a lot to the story and I loved the way their relationship grew as they learned to depend on each other.

I would not hesitate to recommend this book to others. This was one of those books that was very hard to put down once I started reading. The book was a wonderful combination of great characters, a swoony romance, serial killer trivia, and a touch of humor. I will be looking out to read more of this author’s work in the future.

I received a digital review copy of this book from Berkley Publishing Group.

When Phoebe Walsh moves to Florida for the summer to prepare her late father’s house for sale, she also plans to finish her dissertation. She’s turned her lifelong obsession with true crime into a research topic, analyzing the genre for her thesis. With murders, cons, and others crimes always on her mind, she can be forgiven for being less than trusting or thinking Sam, her next door neighbor who keeps strange hours and has a soundproof garage might just be a serial killer.

Actually doing any writing may be a challenge as Phoebe stays busy wrangling her always positive but not always responsible little brother, Connor, reconnecting with her childhood best friend, dealing with her complicated feelings about her father with whom she hadn’t spoken in years, and evaluating Sam’s threat level. Returning to her hometown, though, gives Phoebe a new perspective on her future, her relationships, and the things that truly scare her.

I found this book delightful and laughed out loud several times. Phoebe was very relatable to me with her preference for messy buns and leggings. Because I have a PhD, I also empathized with Phoebe’s issues with her advisor and struggling to convey her thoughts on paper. As much as I liked Phoebe, I got so frustrated with her, but I appreciated her character arc. Sam, Connor, and Allison were all great characters, too!

Though I love true crime, I don’t love it as much as Phoebe! She does see the world through a suspecting lens and often discusses cases, many familiar to me. Readers should no that no murders are committed during the book. Alicia Thompson provides content warnings at the beginning of the book, and I’d encourage readers to preview those.

I enjoyed this so much, I can even imagine rereading it soon. I’d definitely recommend to romance fans.

Phoebe has come back to Florida to put her deceased father's house in order. Her younger brother Conner, who she was very close to when they were children also lives nearby. It is a chance for these adult siblings to reconnect. Phoebe though is also on a deadline to finish her dissertation on true crime, something that was an unusual obsession when she was younger is now her career path. Oh, and by the way, Phoebe sees serial killer traits in well just about everyone. Even her father’s seemingly nice and helpful neighbor Sam is not above suspicion.
Phoebe manages to insert some very important facts about killers into every single conversation. When she finds herself attracted to Sam, I'll be honest I didn't quite see why he liked her back. She has spent most of her life pushing people away and the glimpses of her sarcasm really made her unlikable at times. As the story progressed, I found out what made her this way, and she grew on me. Even as Sam and Phoebe get to know each other it was hard sometimes to see the attraction. I don't know. Maybe I haven't read enough instalove books, but things just seem to happen too fast.
Anyhow, I did appreciate how this couple just seemed like normal people. They weren't drop-dead gorgeous or insanely lucky or wealthy just two people each with their own issues (though mostly Phoebe’s) who maybe find a way to connect and grow.

I received a complimentary advanced copy of LOVE IN THE TIME OF SERIAL KILLERS by Alicia Thompson. Thank you to Berkley Publishing and PRH Audio for the chance to provide an honest review.

LOVE IN THE TIME OF SERIAL KILLERS follows Phoebe Walsh, a PhD candidate studying true crime. She’s obsessed with the subject and can work it into most conversations. When she shows up in Florida to clean out her father’s house after his death, she’s instantly suspicious of the neighbor Sam. She finds herself watching him from a distance, suspecting him of being a serial killer even as she’s also strangely attracted.

This was an interesting twist on the typical romance. I don’t think people following me would be too surprised to learn that I tend to prefer darker reads to happy sunshine reads and this book provided a good blend of a bit of both. I loved how paranoid Phoebe was about Sam’s activities which definitely made sense if your mind is centered on crime day in and day out!

I loved the side characters in this one also. Phoebe’s relationship with her brother was excellent. They have a good relationship, but their family has a complicated past. Phoebe’s relationship with her father was strained and she and her brother lived with different parents. This adds some complication to Phoebe’s openness to Sam and to relationships in general.

DNF @ 22%

Thank you so much to Berkley, PRH audio, and Netgalley for providing an advanced copy of this. All thoughts and opinions are still my own.

In a sad turn of events, I will not be completing this highly anticipated romance. I was immediately sucked in by this STUNNING cover and synopsis (the mix of romance and true crime? Yes please.)

Unfortunately, this didn't live up to either in execution. I found the heroine to be unnecessarily negative and judgmental. Her brother and future sister in law, are attempting to help her pack up her father's estate and all she does is complain and judge them.

Then when her neighbor tries to help, she complains about it. She literally yells at him and accuses him of being sexist for mowing her father's lawn....

And the true crime part, in general, left a lot to be desired. I'm by no means a "true crime junkie". I don't listen to the podcasts or watch the documentaries, so half of the references went over my head. Which would be fine, if not for the fact that they are made constantly. And in between true crime references there were other nonstop pop culture references. Which is a personal red flag of mine.

I also could not grasp why she was so insistent that the neighbor was a serial killer. She hears him in the garage and 10pm one night and thinks it's odd that he wears khakis every day... and therefore a serial killer? When she wasn't accusing him of that, she was just commenting on his attractiveness.

By this point in the book I wanted to feel somewhat connected to the story and I just didn't. I didn't care for the characters, utter lack of plot, or get on board with their impending romance. I'm really sad this one was a bust.

Listen, I was always going to love this book. From the moment I saw the title, I felt like someone had gone into my brain and pulled out the exact book I wanted to read, and I think that a lot of people are going to have the same immediate attraction. Fortunately, for me, the premise paid off and I really enjoyed the story. There are, of course, an absolute ton of nods to the true crime genre- from things the most novice of readers/consumers of the genre will recognize to more obscure references- but I also loved the main romance of the story, and how Phoebe was opening herself up to people (and cats) after years of pushing them away. I also loved the academia aspect of the story. This is absolutely one of my top romance reads of the year.

First of all I love this cover so much! Second of all this was a fun story. Phoebe is obsessed with true crime. So much so that she is writing her PhD dissertation on the topic.
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She returns to her Florida hometown after her father’s death and meets Sam. Her next door neighbor is handsome but so are serial killers. Phoebe eventually steps out of her comfort zone and finds a new relationship and reconnects with her old best friend and brother. It’s actually a super sweet story and I loved call out to some great true crime books, like #InColdBlood and anything by #AnnRule I’m not gonna lie I thought for sure someone was going to end up a serial killer. Spoiler alert there is no murder just romance!
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Huge thank you @prhaudio @berkleypub @berittalksbooks @thephdivabooks @dg_reads and @netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Phoebe is obsessed with true crime, so much so that she is analyzing true crime as a genre for her dissertation. She’s trying to complete her paper while cleaning out her childhood home with her brother. While in Florida, she meets Sam, who at first she is convinced is a serial killer, but really is just a nice guy who she may find herself falling for.

This was such a fun story and a unique premise. Phoebe's true crime obsession made for a lot of fun - I too have wrongly been convinced a man was a serial killer once or twice so that was very relatable. I loved seeing Phoebe’s development and how she slowly opened herself up to love despite being prickly and closed off in the beginning. She had a lot of childhood trauma, and it was great seeing her learn to work through that so she could learn to trust. I thought Same was the perfect balance to her closed-off exterior. He was warm and sweet and really the perfect guy to help get her out of her shell. Another shout out has to go to the side characters- between the grumpy cat and Pheobe’s brother (the flash mob scene was everything), the side characters really added so much fun to this story. Overall, this was a great read and I will definitely be reading whatever Alicia Thompson writes next.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing for the advance copy!

After the death of her father, Phoebe decides she will clean out his house this summer while also writing her disertation about serial killers. So not only does she have to deal with her dads slight hoarding problem, her younger brother, but now she also has Sam. Sam who seems like he could very well be a serial killer…

3.5 stars. This one was such a fun idea. Who doesn’t love a good true crime podcast, tv show, or book? I know I do! It was just such a different kind of rom com that I really appreciated! I loved how Phoebe went off on tangents about the serial killers she was researching, but I also really enjoyed Sam. This wasn’t my favorite rom com, but it was enjoyable and a quick read!

If they say to not judge a book by the cover, I 100% picked this book because of the cover ☠️ it’s lovely. True crime fans: this romance is for you! This book reminded me of how I felt growing up watching Sabrina and the Teenage Witch (literally nothing like the plot of the show) but for the dynamics of banter, family dynamics, and the characters involved.

If you grew up having an obsession with serial killers (slightly many of us nowadays), so did the main character Phoebe and the author did an amazing job of connecting true crime in relation to the story! Phoebe temporarily moves in next door to Sam and immediately thinks he’s a serial killer but behold — he’s a love interest?!

I thought Sam and Phoebe’s relationship was quirky, sweet, and fun. The steam was definitely there (clap) and the story hilarious. I loved being in Phoebe’s mind. And I just adored Sam. Thank you Berkley Romance for the early copy!

Phoebe is back home in Florida after her dad dies, packing up his house and handling his estate. She’s obsessed with true crime and so naturally her first instinct is that the young, single guy living alone across the street is up to no good. Over the course of a summer, they get to know each other and Sam starts to chip away at the walls Phoebe has put up around her.

I don’t listen to any true crime so the vast majority of the references in this book went completely over my head. Nevertheless, I enjoyed watching Phoebe and Sam fall in love. Phoebe’s character develops a lot over the course of the book - from abrasive and not super likeable in the beginning to opening herself up. Sam was such a cinnamon roll - an elementary music teacher who is great with kids and endlessly patient with Phoebe. I also appreciated the fat representation in the book. Phoebe mentions she’s a size 16 but it’s barely a plot point which was refreshing to not feel bit over the head with it as a central point of her identity or their relationship.

Content warnings: Phoebe’s dad dies of heart attack (in the last).

Thanks to Berkley Romance and NetGalley for the gifted copy. All opinions are my own.

If you like true crime and romance novels (and really, who doesn’t?) this one is a must! Do you think every man you ever met is a potential serial killer? If so, you’re gonna love Phoebe. She’s neurotic (again, who isn’t in 2022) and smart and her brand of wit is right up my alley. Sam was the sweetest most awkwardly adorable hero and together they made such a cute pair. Their relationship was gentle, tender and felt so genuine. They took care with each other in a way that felt so pure. Since Phoebe’s father recently passed away there’s a grief element throughout the story and she’s also trying to rekindle a friendship with someone she lost touch with years ago. Then there’s her brother and his girlfriend who were such fantastic secondary characters I kinda want to read a whole ass book about those two. These extra elements added additional depth to this cute romance, I adored it and can’t wait to see what the author has in store next.

When Phoebe Walsh's estranged father dies, she ends up somewhere she never thought she'd go again: in Florida, at the house she grew up in before her parents divorced. She and her younger brother have been tasked with clearing out their father's house to put it on the market. With a true crime dissertation deadline looming, Phoebe doesn't have time for cleaning the house, helping her brother with his proposal plans, and reconnecting with her former best friend — and she definitely doesn't have time for her annoyingly alluring neighbor who might be up to something suspicious in his garage. Is his kindness designed to lure her into a false sense of security? Or is he maybe (even worse) flirting with her?

Phoebe Walsh is a great romance heroine: prickly and emotionally unavailable, with a string of failed relationships behind her and no interest in trying again. That's not sarcasm — I love a main character who has no interest in being one. It's clear that Phoebe wants to keep her head down and finish her dissertation. She "doesn't need anyone," and her suspicion of everyone that stems from her complicated childhood and obsession with true crime stories gives her character an interesting edge. I was rooting for her, not only romantically, but in life — I loved seeing her develop a better relationship with her brother and her ex-best friend, and I especially appreciated seeing her come to terms with some of her past and open up more. I was impressed with the emotional vulnerability that cropped up throughout this book, with Phoebe facing her reservations head on and deciding to take steps to change things.

Sam is the rom-com guy of everyone's dreams, sweet and witty and unafraid of the walls that Phoebe puts up. Their chemistry is quiet and genuine, making it clear that the only possible conclusion is that they end up together.

The true crime angle is fresh and fun, giving Phoebe some depth but also giving the reader a new look at true crime and its popularity through the lens of Phoebe's dissertation. Overall, I thought the story and the characters were well-rounded, thoughtful, and entertaining.

I will say I struggled a bit with this book, and it may have been impacted by the idea I had in my mind that this was going to be a thriller/romance similar to the vein of Finlay Donovan or the Four Aunties series. When I had gotten quite a bit into the story and the book didn't HAVE a serial killer, I had to kind of back myself up a little bit and give up that idea, and quit waiting for the true crime -- a missed opportunity if I ever did hear of one LOL

While I appreciated the pop culture references, the ADORABLE flash mob, and some of the individual scenes, this slow burn was not the easiest read for me. I thought it had such a strong beginning with Phoebe having to move back to her father's home after his death, to clear out the house and deal with her past but near the middle of the story, I kept waiting for something more to develop, an additional sub plot to give the story a bit more action.

For me, the best parts of the book were the look into Phoebe's love for true crime, and how that played into her upbringing, her current relationships, and her focus at work. If you're someone who loves a slow burn, and true crime, you will definitely enjoy this one!

We read this one as a club over at @loveARCtually & we were honored to get to Zoom with Alicia Thompson before her pub day! Thank you Berkley Romance for collaborating with us, and for the chance to read and review, I gave this title 3.75 stars.

This was probably a 3.7 star, if I'm being technical, but I'm rounding up because I want this debut to succeed. I get what it was trying to do, and I'm 100% on board for it. I just felt there was something lacking in the execution.
Reading Love in the Time of Serial Killers was a bit of a disparate, off-putting ride for a large portion of the book. I feel this debut had a hard time finding its footing. I was convinced I'd rate it three stars until the last 15% or so, which made up for some of my issues with the majority of the book and saved it a star.

Love in the Time of Serial Killers follows Phoebe Walsh, a thirty-year-old PhD student trying to finish a dissertation about true crime. When her estranged father passes away, Phoebe returns to Florida for the first time in a decade to clean out her childhood home (and the fraught memories therein) with the help of her optimistic, total-opposite-to-her younger brother, Conner. Despite her efforts to keep to herself and feel as little as possible during the packing-up-the-house process, hoping to focus only on her duties to her family and her academic career instead of having any fun or getting "closure", Phoebe finds herself drawn to her neighbor, Sam, who she initially suspects is a serial killer due to her true-crime-obsession-induced paranoia. But throughout the summer, Phoebe learns about herself, her family, and the terrifying realities of love. Ultimately, she comes away with way more than a completed dissertation (including, but not limited to, a Disgusting Trash Cat named Lenore).

I'll start with the highlights of this book. The writer jumps directly into Phoebe's life and voice in a way that was seamless and required no getting used to, despite the mundanity of the actual events (can it start in the middle of the action if that action is just Phoebe arriving at her dad's old house and trying to figure out how to unload her heavy Victorian desk from the roof of her car?). Her voice is distinct and interesting even in terribly dull moments of her life, and her humor often surprised me. Additionally, while researching for her thesis, Phoebe discovers a serial killer who was active in her Florida hometown not long before she was born and dives into the memoir written by the serial killer's daughter, which was a compelling element to the book. The author employed real skill in weaving in details of true crime cases, including the aforementioned "Sunrise Slayer", and was able to subtly draw parallels between Phoebe's own relationship to her dad and the daughter of the Sunrise Slayer's own daddy issues. I almost wish there was a bit *more* clear parallel, at least before the end portion of the book, but I found the resolution of this mostly satisfying.

I also absolutely LOVED Sam. He was endearing and sexy without being over-the-top—a romance hero without the rose-colored glasses. I loved the details about Sam's life and career, and all of the banter between Phoebe and Sam was funny, fresh, and realistic—clever, but not overtly, ridiculously so. I enjoyed the romance more than I expected to by the end, considering some of my other issues with this book, and more specifically, Phoebe's character.

As a true crime fan, a romance fan, and a emotionally-reserved Capricorn with an English degree not unlike Phoebe herself, I should have been the perfect audience for this book. However, through the first 75% of it, in between some stellar moments of romance and humor, I found myself getting frustrated with Phoebe as a narrator. Phoebe is probably a textbook "unlikeable female heroine," which I'm usually 100% in support of, and which can be written in such a way that the reader sympathizes and roots for her anyway. However, I was often disconcerted by Phoebe's seeming apathy toward life and the wonderful people who just wanted to support her through it. She often comes off surly, socially inept, openly depressed with no self awareness about it (which I say as a reader with severe depression), and apathetic to the point of being tedious to read. I hated that I spent large sections of the book thinking, "I get why she likes Sam, Conner, Shani, and Alison—but *why* are all of these lovely people so unabashedly in love with *her*?"

Phoebe is thirty years old and has never had a decent relationship—romantic, platonic, or familial. Her childhood angst over her parents' divorce and her distant, sometimes-volatile father has given her deep issues around attachment and showing affection, even to her delightful brother, Conner, who was maybe my favorite character in this book (okay, third favorite—first was Sam, then Lenore the DTC). While I understand the motivation of this, and in some ways it was completely justified, I think her emotional distance was severe to the point of being annoying to read. It was illogical how she pushed herself away from people who showed absolutely no signs of ever wanting to reject her—especially her brother, who seems to have always thought the world of her. She grows closer to Conner through the book, helping him to propose to his long-time girlfriend who Phoebe also claims to love despite never making an effort to show it, but Conner's unconditional love and support for Phoebe struck me as unearned and sad because it went so unreciprocated. I will say that Phoebe "shows" her love by helping Conner with his proposal plans, though I think her help is minimal and not quite enough to balance out what I understood to be years of basically ignoring him, but her inability to express love to her brother until the very end of the book made me a bit uncomfortable/sad for him. Conner is openly affectionate and constantly spouts his high opinion of Phoebe, and as a younger sibling, it was painful to read such a seemingly-uncaring sister as Phoebe.

Additionally, Phoebe reconnects with her estranged childhood best friend, Alison, throughout the book. With Alison, Phoebe multiple times mentally decides what she needs to do or say to have a smooth and pleasant social interaction despite a complicated history (from 15ish years prior, which didn't help me to understand her severe discomfort), but she always goes with the weird/off-putting choice instead out of fear and standoffishness. (There was a moment when she had a specific thought in her inner monologue about "I should have said [insert nice/normal thing], but instead I just gave a weird nod.") It made me wonder why Alison, whose life is full and happy and who seems well-adjusted and kind, would be so hellbent on reconnecting with someone who seems so disinterested. That's a theme of all of Phoebe's relationships, especially with Sam, her love interest—they're one-sided on the part of the other person, who is always too good for Phoebe and puts in way more effort to connect than she does. That frustrated me. Why would the author give us all of these lovable, good side characters, only to constantly mistreat them through the lens of the apathetic, often-selfish narrator?

In conclusion, aside from a few issues with the frequency and specificity of the pop culture references in this book, I think my main beef with Love in the Time of Serial Killers was how it missed the mark in some of its emotional beats. Phoebe was often a joyless narrator, and I wish she'd realized she needed therapy for what, to me, read as clear depression instead of simply realizing she had people who she loved and she could accept love from them. Especially because Conner was open about going to therapy, I think this one small decision would have improved Phoebe in my eyes immensely. I wish I hadn't been so preoccupied with Phoebe's flaws while I was reading this; it would have been more enjoyable, and I think even something small (maybe a brief moment to endear us to Phoebe toward the beginning of the book, instead of jumping in with her being weird, paranoid and rude from the start) would have made a big difference. I'm still glad I read it, and I hope the author goes on to write more weird, off-the-beaten path books. I will definitely give her writing another shot in the future.

Ahhh! I absolutely adored this book and I can't tell you how glad I am that I requested it. Usually, contemporary romances are a true hit or miss with me (most of the humor comes across more cringey than cute), but I can say undoubtedly that this is one of the best I've ever read (and it actually made me laugh out loud!)

Phoebe Walsh is obsessed with true crime (it's even the focus of her dissertation), has an ungodly amount of 90's movies graphic t-shirts, and a chip on her shoulder. After the death of her father, who she hadn't seen in years after a messy divorce ended up with her staying with her mom, she is back in her hometown in Florida, ready to sell his house and get out as soon as possible. Her brother Conner is there to help, but they never got to spend much time together, seeing as his parent of choice was their dad. But Conner has an infectious sort of personality, a big kid with a love for Crash Bandicoot and Mountain Dew. And now, he needs help with one of the most important moments of his life--proposing to his longtime girlfriend, Shani. Phoebe isn't sure true love exists, but she's not going to let him down.

To keep her busy (and to procrastinate about finishing her dissertation), Phoebe is keeping an eye on her new neighbor, Sam, who has a soundproof garage and nocturnal activities--could he be a serial killer? Or is he something even more dangerous, a man who might have captured Phoebe's heart?

Phoebe was so relatable to me. As a woman who came from a home similar to hers, I struggle with the exact same issues as she does: opening myself up, being vulnerable, and admitting that sometimes I do need an extra bit of help. I loved seeing someone like us find love with such a wonderful guy, who was funny and cute and wonderful for her, and it really warmed my heart. I also really liked the secondary characters, like Conner and Shani, and Phoebe's childhood bestfriend, Alison.

This book is perfect for the broken girls who still want a bit of romance, those who love true crime, and might I mention there is a cat? Perfect!