What a wild ride. When Hannah, whose life seems to be an empty void starts following a series of murders reaches out to the accused killer, she finds herself in a world she never imagined. This fast paced, morally grey, and twisty novel takes the reader to unexpected places. A story full of what family connections, relationships and past mistakes can do to when pushed to make choices no one wants to face.

𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: ★★☆☆☆
𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: murder mystery • psychological
TW: book mentions homicide, sexual assault, and violence towards women

💌⛓️🪦☎️👀🔪

It's crazy to me that this is a real phenomenon. That people fall in love with serial killers. Like Carol Anne Boone who fell in love with Ted Bundy and had his child while he was in prison.

During the first half of the book I was trying to figure out if the author was justifying loving a killer or explaining how one falls in love with a killer, maybe neither, maybe both. But the book is tricky, because it's written from the first person perspective. It's not telling the story OF a woman, you are reading it from her perspective. It's like reading a memoir, versus a biography. Not that this is a memoir. IT IS NOT A MEMOIR. I'm simply saying it feels more up close and real then if it were written in third person. Either way, parts of this book left me feeling uncomfortable.

The main character Hannah is so stupid. I guess some would say stupid in love, but no, she's literally delusional. But then again, she is supposed to be delusional and desperate for attention because that is how she ends up in a relationship with a killer. The majority of her thoughts are very disturbing. And her obsession with murder and murderers is downright scary. I mean she literally says she fantasizes about him killing her, which is obviously not a normal thing. But again, that's kind of the point isn't it? That's the whole plot of this book- that a woman falls in love with a serial killer and to do that you would have to be delusional, an attention seeker, and a literal "hopeless" romantic.

The plot of the book was unusual, to say the least. Definitely not your run of the mill, murder mystery or thriller. I did get a little sucked into the story though, which is why I gave it 2 stars. It was definitely interesting, albeit odd, and kept me reading it. However, little less than 30% of the book is actually about the murders and solving them, while the focus is mainly on the romance between Hannah and Will, the accused serial killer. But it's not like a Haunting Adeline story, or some stalker thing or just a simple, dark romance where they are hooking up. It's mostly emotional and physiological. Hannah just becomes insanely and unhealthy attached to this man and the idea of him being a serial killer. The ending of this book was very predictable, and boring.

Hannah is tired of her mediocre life. Working for a non profit that doesn't value her, worried about money, turned down by guys. She wants something exciting to happen in her life. So when a woman by the name of Anna Leigh goes missing, she wants to help. She starts posting on a forum and talking to others interested in the case. At first it was simple innocence, she just wanted to find who took Anna and be a part of something. But as Anna's body is found and soon other bodies start to pile up, her "hobby" becomes an obsession. Once authorities finally arrest who they believe killed the women, Hannah just can't let the case go. So she mails a letter to the accused serial killer. And receives a reply. And the relationship begins.

Interesting, but messed up. But like I said, that's kind of the point. I guess it was just not my cup of tea.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the ability to read this early in exchange for an honest review.

~RELEASES JUNE 25~

As a true crime girly, the title for this one is what DEFINITELY attracted me. I loved everything about this story. There were definitely some twist and turns i truly did not expect. I love how it incorporates everything during the trial and after. A must read!

The synopsis of this book had me sold, but sadly let me down a bit (maybe because I had such high hopes). While I enjoyed the book, I had it figured out very early on. There were just so many predictable moments and there wasn’t a lot of thriller/action aspects. Overall, it was an enjoyable read, but could have been better with some more excitement/surprise.

I'm a little conflicted in my thoughts on this book. While I really did fly through it, I definitely have some gripes.

1) The whole premise of this book is that the MC falls in love with an accused serial killer through letters sight unseen. This happen in like...a page. Seriously. A woman is murdered, Hannah hears about it, then begins writing a letter to the alleged killer and no sooner is claiming she is in love. At one point she says something along the lines of she knew she was in love the first time she saw the murdered women's face. Seek help. I get that it's supposed to be a caricature of women, namely white women, who become obsessed with serial killers a la the Manson girls, but it would have worked better for me if the timeline from murder to letter writing to the L word was a bit more spaced out.

2) The MC is completely unbearable. Again, I get the caricature, but Hannah's character was SO desperate for an ounce of attention that it came off as just...pathetic. At one point she's discussing a literal murder with another character and she pauses to hope that they think her dress is pretty. Truthfully, it would have worked better for me if the author would have just went full unhinged with the character. Hannah was completely deluded, but in an annoying, insecure, I-live-for-the-male-gaze way. I think if the character was just full on unhinged it would've worked better...like have her run and fling herself at him during the trial. Give me something.

The twist was easy to figure out if you were paying attention enough and for an alleged sexy serial killer William/Wesley could not have been any more boring.

I did like the pace, as I genuinely wanted to keep reading more and figure it out. If you want a quick mystery and can put aside a maddening MC this is a good option!

Not sure how I ended up feeling about this book in the end. I wanted to like Hannah so bad and kept waiting for her to redeem herself but it never came. I suspected the truth of the murders about half way through. Overall it was an easy good read but the main character was just not likeable enough for my taste.

Hannah is the most relatable and unrelatable character I have ever experienced. It starts off with her getting ghosted and some parts were really slow. The story had good twists and turns but the way it was written confused me.
All that being said I still couldn’t get enough of it and it was a fast read. Definitely a good buffer when you’re in a slump.

I was really excited for this book. The cover was stunning! And the title, I mean come one, who wouldn’t be excited about it. Then I started to read it and the first couple sentences literally started off with a bang and I got even more excited!! But the more I read the less interested I got and it hurts me to say this but I ended up DNFing it. It was really slow and I feel like drug on. The MC I felt was a little whiny and boring. This book just wasn’t for me.

What a fun read! Hannah is feeling like she’s at a dead end and like many girls, ends up on the internet, obsessed with a true crime case. But she takes it a step farther, and falls in love with the alleged killer… and loves that he may have done it. I found myself giggling through the chapters while trying to figure out the truth and twists. There are funny friendships, interesting family dynamics, saucy scenes, and quick chapters. The twists were predictable, but not for poor Hannah. Love Letters To A Serial Killer comes out June 25th, and you should add it to your tbr! Thank you Berkley Publishing Group & NetGalley for this ARC!

Serial killers and the women who love them.

What a wild ride! This book really delves into the mind of a person who could fall in love with a suspected murderer, it’s got twists and turns along the way and even though you can see the ending from about half way through it’s well worth the journey.

I love a book where there isn’t necessarily a hero, each character is deeply flawed in different ways (some more than others obviously) and while you sit and shake your head over their bad decisions it also makes you wonder how you would react in the same situation.

If you are in the mood for mystery/thriller that will make you cringe in horror as much as it makes you gasp in horror. You’ve come to the right place!

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the ARC.

Sorry to say I found the book slow going and the characters unlikable. Thought the premise would be interesting but turns out not so for me.

3.5 ⭐️

I went back and forth on whether to rate a 3 or 3.5 stars. I liked the concept of this book, and I actually enjoyed the main character, but it seemed slow at times, and I found myself saying, " Can we just get to the conclusion?" I'm not sure this will be everyone's cup of tea. However, I do recommend you give it read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing group for this early copy in exchange for my honest review.
This book was so entertaining. I could not put it down. The main character was annoying but I honestly loved it and I believe it was the author’s goal to make her an annoying but overall likeable character.
This book made me laugh out loud multiple times, and I really enjoyed reading it. I predicted the ending/who-dun-it early on but the very last page surprised me even though I thought it was a minor possibility.
Overall a solid 3.5/5 stars! Would recommend to anyone wanting an entertaining and well-written book to read!

2.5 stars to this unique but flawed "love" story with a dark twist

While it was interesting to get an idea of what goes on inside the minds of women who become infatuated with serial killers, I do wish we had gotten more background on Hannah and her upbringing. This could have explained more about her mental state throughout the book. As for the characters, I didn't much care of any of them, as they're all pretty unlikeable. There was also nothing unpredictable or particularly engrossing here, and the twists were obvious. Although it was a quick read, and somewhat entertaining, its not one I'd recommend.

This book was unlike anything I have read before. I was intrigued early on. The mid fell a little flat for me, and I saw the twist coming, but overall it was a very enjoyable read!

Many thanks to the author, publishers, and NetGalley for the advance copy.

If you are looking for a dark, twisty, or high-intensity thriller, this will not be for you. This is a thriller that features a little bit of a more quirky vibe. The author's writing style is easy to read and keeps your attention. I loved the jump into the story early on & the book maintained a fairly quick pace throughout part one. Part two has a slightly slower pace as it focuses on detail building but is still enjoyable. Fortunately, part three returns to a quicker pace as events unfold. While seasoned thriller readers will likely guess the twists, it is still really fun to read them.

This is definitely a story whose main character will drive you nuts. Hannah is a 30 something who is feeling a bit behind in life and spiraling fast. You watch her make many poor decisions and lose herself throughout the story as she lusts after the ultimate bad boy, a potential serial killer. As for William, you see so much of him through Hannahs's psychosis that you can't truly decide how to feel for most of the story.

All in all this was such a read and fresh take on a thriller. I could easily see there being a second book or movie.

3.5 stars! As a true crime girly, I loved the concept of this book so much!! After Hannah’s life starts going downhill, she becomes obsessed with true crime. She follows a serial killer case in Georgia that has her becoming a pen pal to the suspected killer, William. With all of their back and forth letters, and her attending every day of William’s trial, she begins to fall in love. However things are not what they seem and Hannah begins to have doubts and looks further into the murders and Williams possible involvement. There are twists and turns during Part 3 that had me on the edge of my seat. I did not see the ending coming at all. This was such a fun thriller to read! Thank you so much to Berkeley Publishing and NetGalley for proving me this ARC to review!

I actually would give this 2.5 stars. This was a wild ride exploring the ever growing obsession of true crime and serial killers. It was slightly slow for me and seemed somewhat surface level at times but it was a quick and easy read.
Thank you for this ARC NetGalley

I don't know what style I was expecting going into this book, but I found myself kind of surprised by what I found. Honestly, if the description speaks to you, you should pick it up and check it out.

2.5

I have some thoughts about this one. This was one of my most anticipated reads and I'm sad to say that it felt like a little bit of a letdown. Usually, thrillers that involve serial killers or the "do they have the right guy" trope are really fun... and right up my alley. This one, however, felt quite bland and repetitive. In addition to that, it was incredibly predictable and I had the entire plot figured out the second someone other than the main characters was introduced.

Diving in a little bit deeper now: I actually enjoyed a bit of this book. I liked the delusional main character to an extent - though her shtick got old very fast. I really liked the unreliable feeling that I got from reading her perspective... it just felt very surface level and I think it would've been fun to see that aspect of the story expand past what it was. The delusion was repetitive and really didn't add as much to this story as I was hoping it would.

I also found the vocabulary usage in this book to be quite pretentious. I don't think I have ever looked up the definition of SO many words for one book. While I know there is supposed to be an air of sophistication in parts of this book, the main character (who happens to be the one narrating this entire book), makes it a point to show us that she is clearly not of that level of sophistication. So the usage of such vocabulary seems very out of place.

Aside from that, there are three things that really sunk my rating:

1. the "thriller" aspect, or lack-thereof: This felt like more of an attempt at dark romance more than anything else. While yes, there was mystery involved at some points, it seemed a lot more focused on dark and sexual obsession with murder/being murdered. I don't mind a little bit of smut in my reads, this one just seemed to have a bit too much for a book whose genres were listed as "general adult fiction" and "mystery/thriller."

2. the pacing: Why does everything of any importance happen within the last 30 minutes of this book? It kind of felt like everything and nothing was happening at the same time. I wouldn't say this book was slow, but I was worried toward the end that it wasn't going to wrap up as nicely as I would like it to... and I was correct in that assumption. It was rushed and last minute.

3. the twist and ending: As I stated earlier, this was incredibly predictable. You could see the twist coming a mile away even if you are not an avid thriller reader. Everything about it felt lackluster and bland - with the smut thrown in just to give some sort of shock factor.

Unfortunately this one was just not for me. Which is a bummer because the premise was so good... until it wasn't.

Thank you to Berkley, Tasha Coryell, and Netgalley for the gifted copy of this book.