I’ve been on a thriller binge and also missing my fun romances at the same time. This is a perfect blend of the mystery and fun of those two. Capri is such a fun character to follow around and the audiobook narrator, Stephanie Németh-Parker, might be a new favorite narrator of mine.

I will be encouraging everyone I know who enjoys true crime and thrillers to read this book. My audiobook lovers should definitely give it a listen.

4.5/5

This is the perfect cozy thriller. The flow on the writing makes this go by so fast. I also had the ALC and the audiobook is fantastic! I loved the humor along with the different storylines you're following.

You follow along with Capri while she works as a tour guide for different serial killers around San Francisco. Her grandfather was a serial killer and she's always thought he was innocent. Now there's a copy cat killer killing in her grandfather's style, and Capri's ex mother in law becomes a victim. so you go along with her while she tries to exonerate her grandfather and help solve her mother in law's murder.

The ending took me by surprise! I had so many theories and didn't know how it was going to end.

Thank you @macmillan.audio for the ALC and @minotaur_books for the ARC!

In The Serial Killer Guide to San Francisco, written by Michelle Chouinard, Capri is a Tour Guide in San FranciscoGranddaughter of William, “Overkill Bill” A convicted serial killer who always proclaimed his innocence.
Now there is a possible copycat killer,who has already killed Capri’s Ex-Mother-In-Law, shortly after she cut off Capri’s daughter. Because of this, Capri now has to prove the innocence of herself and her daughter, while keeping her family safe.
I loved this book, the mystery, the comedy, and even the unexpected bits of romance. I appreciated that it had a clear ending, even though I would love to see more books with these characters! This was a fantastic debut novel, and I am looking forward to more books by this author.
Thank you to NetGalley; and to the narrator, author, and publisher of this book for an ALC in exchange for an honest review.

this was such a fun read. i was so sucked in and absolutely couldn’t put it down.

also, i sincerely need more about detective petito. sincerely

First, I absolutely loved this book. If you love true crime, absolutely read this. HOWEVER, it is lacking the engaging parts. The red herrings were perfect, so well done. But there was too much internal dialogue. And the ending! (Don’t even get me started on how it could have been better, but it doesn’t feel like it was the authors idea- ya know?)

If Capri would have discussed more with her co-workers, daughter, even ex-husband, hell even the detective, it would have been better. Plus it leads you to believe this will be a romance mystery, news flash IT IS NOT. It’s not properly advertised, which is the publishers fault. Not the authors.

SO. If you like true crime, figuring out the nitty gritty, you’ll love this!! I did!! Just know that it isn’t sunshine and rainbows and you’ll be wishing Capri did some hanky-panky with a certain detective at the end.

Enjoy!


—-edited to add—

I could see this novel as a prequel to a series. I hope we haven’t seen the last of Capri!!!

The Serial Killer Guide to San Francisco : Michelle Chouinard
Pub Date : Sept 24, 2024
Media Type : Audiobook
Rating : 3.5/5

Thoughts: Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for this advanced reader audiobook in exchange for my honest opinion. A cozy fun mystery story + serial killer troupe? Sign me up! The main character of this book, Capril, is the granddaughter of a serial killer "Overkill Bill". She has made a career out of showing people around San Francisco and specially about the lives of many different serial killers.

Suddenly, two murders occur, one of which is Sylvia, Capri's ex mother in law in the same method as her grandfather, Overkill Bill. All these years later, Capri goes after finding who the killer is, along with solving the cold case of Overkill Bill. Extremely entertaining and fun with a unique spin, I enjoyed this audiobook and the narrator. The reason I rated it a bit lower is because the ending was slightly predictable.

This was such a fun and quirky murder mystery! Fans of the Finlay Donovan series will love this book!

I enjoyed the story of Capri who is the granddaughter of a serial killer who runs a company dedicated to giving murder of San Francisco. I liked how Capri gets involved in solving a copycat murders that includes her ex mother in law and all the situations she finds barrack in. I really enjoyed how Capri works too solve the current murders while also trying to clear her grandfather's name from the cold case of the Overkill Bill case.

I listened to the audiobook and enjoyed the performance.

Such a great read! It’s got a great true crime feel. Capri is a great character with great determination. Everything comes together really well. The past and the present collide, and she just figures out both. These two times hold such great significance to her and her family. Amazing read! I’d love to read more from this author.

The Serial Killer Guide' to San Francisco is about Capri, who makes her living, giving serial killer tours of the city. She has been interested in the topic since she was a kid, when she first discovered she's the granddaughter of serial killer William ‘Overkill Bill’ Sanzio. She believed in his innocence, though she's never really reaserched it.. since her dad refused to talk about him..

..That is until a copycat killer emerges, and one of the victims happens to be her ex-mother-in-law, Sylvia. Capri and her daughter Morgan are considered possible suspects as they both had heated exchanges with Sylvia the day of her death. Capri's efforts to reveal the real killer will unravel numerous family secrets,

I was drawn to this book because I have lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for quite some time and have been curious about going into the mystery genre for a bit. So I thought why not read a mystery solving search for justice story set in SF?

It was a bit slow developing for me so I almost put it down and moved on to something else, but it definitely had me on my toes wondering what's going to happen next, what's the real story, guessing who actually did it. As a mom and wife, I could empathize with different part of the story, the depth of the love of a parent. Cheating comes up in this book a few times and I didn't love the attitude of the men feeling like it wasn't a big deal. I know a lot of people may actually feel like that, but in my mind, it's definitely not cool and their attitude bugged me. I liked the twists and turns in the story but it just might be that mysteries and thrillers aren't my favorite cup of tea.

Narration: I thought the narration with multiple voices by one narrator was great! I tend to listen to books on 2x most of the time and her voice was perfect at 2x speed for me.

Thank you Net Galley for my ARC copy of the audiobook!

Loved this fun feel good mystery.
Such an easy listen, and equally easy read. Loved the pace of the book, the characters, and the colorful San Francisco history.
This story is told from the main character, Capri’s point of view. She is such a fun and well developed character, and makes you immediately care about what is going on with all the players in this story.
Capri is a tour guide in San Francisco, and is the granddaughter of a famous serial killer. When someone close to her turns up dead, she has to figure out why and if there is some kind of connection to her past.
Loved the way she was investigating murders in different time periods. The flow of this book was just so easy. Would totally recommend!
Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan audio for the AAC

The Serial Killer Guide to San Francisco is the perfect book for folks who can't get enough of Only Murders in the Building. The book introduces us to Capri, granddaughter of supposed serial killer "Overkill Bill" who has started her own business as a serial killer tour guide.

Present day, a couple of copycat murders take place and Capri can't help but feel pulled to try to solve these mysteries and her grandfather's case, especially because she's deeply connected to both.

The book was as lighthearted as a book about serial killers could possibly be. I enjoyed the narration and story very much.

I loved this book so much. Everything about this audiobook production was top tier, to the point that a few notes into the music at the beginning of the book I paused and saved it for last because I knew it would be my favorite of the ones I had at the moment.

The story is a cute cozy mystery that has a ton of not only San Francisco but also serial killer history in it. The lead character was warm and funny, and I want to hang out with her sometime. The side characters had a lot of personality and depth. I appreciated how this book showed different sides of and reactions to grief as well. I won't give spoilers, but people responded in array of ways to loved ones passing, and this book really demonstrated well how you can't tell from how someone grieves just how much they are hurting.

I'd highly recommend this book to cozy mystery lovers and true crime lovers (even if it isn't REAL true crime). I'll definitely be re-reading this one.

The Serial Killer Guide to San Francisco by Michelle Chouinard. I needed a different type of book to break up the heavy books I have been reading. I really enjoyed this audiob0ok. It kept me engaged and I wanted to see how it ended. There were a lot of moving part in the middle, which made things a bit confusing but the ending was great!

Thanks Macmillan Audio for the free audiobook.

3.81 stars.

I started The Serial Killer Guide to San Francisco after DNFing not one but TWO different audiobooks because I couldn’t get into them. This one did the trick and hooked me right away. It’s a super quick and enjoyable cozy mystery. While the mysteries aren’t ground breaking, the quirky characters and their relationships with each other kept me hooked. It gave big “Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advance For Murderers” vibes — both are cozy mysteries set in SF that really bring the city to life. Overall, I’d recommend this one if you enjoy cozies and/or love reading books set in SF.

Big fan of the narrator’s performance. Her voice is appropriately emotional and I really liked her different male voices. The old man voice in particular is really effective. It was easy to tell it apart from other male dialogue without being overly exaggerated or caricatural.

Overall ratings
Exact star rating: 3.81
10-pt star rating: 4
5-pt star rating: 4

Attribute ratings
Characters: 3
Atmosphere/Setting: 5
Writing Style: 3.5
Plot/Pacing: 3.5
Intrigue: 4.5
Logic: 3
Enjoyment: 4

This was a fun, engaging story. I truly enjoyed the characters, setting, plotting, and pacing. The mystery was double-layered, as there were the past murders and the present-day murders to solve.

The additional element of the serial killer tours with lots of history and background about San Francisco and the various historical killers was interesting and added to the experience for sure.

I did the audio version and the narration was brilliant; she has distinct voices for the characters and the sound mixing was flawless.

I will recommend this title to folks who like cosy-ish mysteries such as Arsenic and Adobo or similar, to folks who like dual-timeline stories like Fiona Davis, or anyone who is looking for a light, enjoyable audiobook mystery.

This is a cute, cozy read with lots of backstory and location details on San Francisco and its notorious murderers throughout time. I listened to the audio and really enjoyed the narration. There’s a lot going on with a solved (but possible not correctly?) old case and current murders alongside family drama and business building, but it all actually worked really well. I don’t know if this is the start of a series, but I hope so. Our main girl, Capri, had some sparks flying and I’d love to watch that potentially progress. There’s mixed media with podcast recordings and snippets of the tours Capri guides, so I always felt engaged. Definitely recommend.

This was a fun ride through the streets of San Francisco with a dash of true crime sprinkled in! Capri is a solid lead who believes her grandfather was wrongfully accused of some pretty horrific murders. She decides to start a podcast to clear his name and make some extra cash after her mother-in-law decides to cut off her daughter's school tuition payments. The setup is clever—Capri turns her knowledge of the city’s dark history into a true crime tour, and we get to tag along for the ride!

The story has an easy flow, and the fabulous narrator really brings it to life. Capri’s dynamic with her daughter is both sweet and believable; it’s refreshing to see a character balancing the role of a parent with some good ol’ crime-solving on the side! I especially loved the little tidbits of true crime facts that popped up throughout—like hidden Easter eggs for crime junkies.

While the book's premise is unique, the execution sometimes felt like it was just shy of being truly gripping. Still, it’s worth a read if you're into podcasts, true crime, or just want to get lost in the foggy, eerie streets of San Francisco for a while!

Interesting premise. Trying to clear one family member can point to others closest to you. The narrator was fabulous.

I"m so glad I went to San Francisco with the Serial Killer Guide! Chouinard really captures the feel of San Francisco, and the mystery was compelling, too. Capri is the granddaughter of a convicted serial killer and a tour guide for a company she created that gives tours of the important places in the lives of serial killers. When her ex-mother-in-law is found murdered in a manner similar to the way Capri's grandfather murdered women, she sets about figuring out what happened. I listened to this as an audio book and found myself looking forward to my car rides so I could find out what happened. I thoroughly enjoyed this book!