The chill of a San Francisco summer can be deadly. No one knows this better than Capri Sanzio, who makes her living giving serial killer tours of the city. Capri has been interested in the topic since she was a kid, when she discovered she’s the granddaughter of serial killer William ‘Overkill Bill’ Sanzio. She’s always believed in his innocence, though she's never taken the leap to fully dive into the case.
But now an Overkill Bill copycat has struck in San Francisco. What will Capri do as family secrets unfold and chaos ensues?

This was a cozy fun 5 star read for me. I would love to join Capri on one of her tours. She was a lovable MC from beginning to end. I enjoyed her amateur sleuthing skills and as she dove into her grandfathers case and the copycat. There were a few twists and red herrings well laid out for the reader to be thrown until the very end. I did not see the killer coming! If you are looking for a fun read that is quirky but gives enough mystery this is the book for you.

Thank you MacMillian Audio and Minotaur books for this advanced audio. This book is out on shelves September 24,

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I love the narrator, and overall pace of the book. How the storyline and the copycat killer u was also really well done. I had my suspicions about who the copycat murder was, and I was wrong! Big surprise!
As someone who grew up an hour south of SF and who also went to college there, this book appealed to me. The landmarks that were mentioned (The Legion of Honor) were places I had been, which was great too. I enjoyed the family dynamics and family secrets resurfacing.
Loved Capri’s character and her strength and ability to bring the truth to the forefront.
This is a light mystery that will keep you interested and rooting for Capri until the end!

Easy to get into and quick to capture the audience. I was not expecting who the current killer was. There is an emotional ending which invokes a lot of feelings. Very enjoyable book. Great narrator who does a great job on the reading!! Great for spooky season

A family secret…
A copy cat serial killer….
An overbearing mother-in-law goes missing…
What more could you want?
I loved this. It was faced paced and bright even for being about murders and dark family secrets. Capri is likable and winning. I highly recommend The Serial Killer Guide to San Francisco by Michelle Chouinard.

I was pleasantly surprised by this story! I laughed a lot more than I expected and loved the mystery aspect. I have to say, the twist really shocked me! I was sure I knew who was behind it all, but I was very very wrong! I enjoyed the narration a lot which made this a very enjoyable book for me.

I like the title of the book because it's not just a mystery, but also a literal guide to San Francisco. The mystery aspects of the book played out well with multiple red herrings, nicely placed clues, foreshadowing (but not too much), and surprising twists. The "guide" part came off a little like trying too hard, or like the author had all this information that she was bursting to tell the reader. Some facts that slipped into the narrative had nothing to do with the story. I also could have done without some of the awkward repetitive gestures like pinching the bridge of the nose (lots of characters do this multiple times), and rather than just leave it at that, the character would pinch their nose bridge and the author would then tell the reader exactly how they were feeling. Very little nuance. These little writing hiccups pulled me out of the story. Another thing I noticed is the main character is overly aware of how her brain is working. All of the psychologically-termed phrases got to be too much. But the author IS a psychologist, so maybe she just couldn't help herself. Still, I enjoyed the book enough that I'm hoping it's the start of a series. I need more of the push and pull between Capri and Mr. Homicide Detective.

Great read. I fell in love with the characters form the start. The story line flowed easily. The ending was predictable but satisfying.

The Serial Killer Guide to San Francisco offers a cleverly crafted mystery that delves into the life of Capri Sanzio, a tour guide burdened by a dark legacy. As the granddaughter of the infamous serial killer "Overkill Bill," Capri's life is already overshadowed by her family's grim past. However, when a copycat killer emerges, replicating her grandfather’s gruesome crimes, and her former mother-in-law becomes a victim, Capri finds herself under intense suspicion. Author, Michelle Chouinard, masterfully intertwines past and present, creating a suspenseful narrative that keeps readers engaged as Capri races to uncover the truth. The novel's unique premise, coupled with well-drawn characters and the atmospheric backdrop of San Francisco, makes for a compelling read.

The audiobook, narrated by Stephanie Németh-Parker, further enhances the experience. Németh-Parker’s dynamic and engaging narration captures the essence of each character, bringing the story’s tension to life. Her ability to convey emotion and suspense adds depth to the listening experience, making it easy to become absorbed in the unfolding drama. The pacing of the narration aligns well with the story’s rhythm, maintaining suspense and keeping me invested throughout.

Overall, The Serial Killer Guide to San Francisco is a gripping mystery that will appeal to fans of both cozy mysteries and mystery thrillers. Michelle Chouinard skillfully blends an intriguing plot with well-executed twists, ensuring readers are kept on their toes throughout the novel. Despite a minor lull in the middle, the narrative regains momentum, leading to a satisfying and unexpected conclusion. I was unable to correctly guess either suspect, which is a testament to the book's cleverly crafted mystery. 4/5!

Thank you NetGalley for the audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

Yes! I loved this book. I had it finished in no time and then I wanted more. Great narrator and story. No language, not gory but full of fun and twists and turns. I have already recommended it to many.

Cozy Mysteries exist for a reason and appeal to a certain group of people. I find myself teetering on either being slightly entertained or totally not engaged. I am never swept off my feet, probably stemming from the fact that the stakes are low and the mystery is pretty straight forward. So here I am once again finishing a "cozy" with my size 8.5s planted on the floor.
The Serial Killer Guide to San Francisco was a cute story, that had a decent plot, with mediocre characters. Capri our main lead, was tolerable, however not memorable. If this were to turn into a series I could see myslef warming up to her and maybe even befriending her. But for this book I don't feel like I really got to know Capri or her crowd. There was a lot going on between Capri trying to solve her grandfather's mystery, how her ex mother in law was killed and the whole financial scheme. I checked out a few times because there were some boring points that lagged, but it picked up at the end and actually was pretty entertaining.
However like many typical Cozys there are some pretty "buffoonish" characters and choices-Namely her daughter and how she evaded the police. Capri's ex husband was pretty goofy himself, but I think Chouinard needed a few people to create some conflict and tension.
This book has a lot of potential and if there are more in this series I can see myself reading the next.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this advanced copy of The Serial Killer Guide to San Francisco. I was not paid or influenced in exchange for this honest review,

I really had such a blast listening to this book! I loved the plot with all its twists and family drama/chaos. The book feels really fast paced, the book flew by! It kept me guessing the whole time, I had my suspicions that kept changing through the whole book. While I'm not sure if I would put this in the 'cozy' mystery genre, it does have a very cozy vibe to it!

Really well done! I will 100% be looking into more of Michelle Chouinard's books!

The Narrator was fantastic!

This was such a fun listen! I will be recommending this book to everyone I know! This was such a well rounded read. From lovable characters, to believable plot, to twists and unexpected surprises.

I am a Bay Area/Northern California native so it was fun knowing where everything was geographically. Really makes me want to drive to SF & go on a murder tour! (Do they even exist?? If not they should).

I really loved the characters. They truly made this story for me. Capri was such an amazing FMC. I loved that instead of letting her family’s history bring her down or define her she made a career out of it that she truly seemed to enjoy.

Can we talk about the fact that we get not one, but two mysteries to solve in this book! We not only get to explore the current deaths, but we also get to investigate the past. This added such a fun element to the story because there were two different crimes to look at as each piece of information and evidence came out.

To me, the ending of solving the older murder felt very rushed and kind of came out of nowhere. I definitely want to reread this one knowing the outcome and see if I spot new things.

All in all, this is to me a cozy mystery that I really enjoyed. It’s the perfect book to listen to while exploring in a coat or the perfect read for being under blankets with a warm drink!

I thought this audiobook was ok. The title was interesting and premise was great, but the execution kind of fell flat. There were quite a few parts that were overly techy and had a lot of details that didn’t feel necessary. It made the book hard to follow at times. I did like the narrator I think she did a great job.

2.5 ⭐️s rounded down

Thank you Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the advanced audio. All opinions expressed above are my own.

✌🏼Two for Friday ✌🏼
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I’m hopelessly behind on book reviews as usual so today I will be doing mini reviews for two books!
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Dearest is out about a new mom who is struggling raising her newborn on her own. When her mother arrives things start to go crazy and she wonders if her mothers is trying to take her baby. This was a 5 star for me and it out in September. I killed this in a day, and I loved wondering if Flora was losing it or if there were darker forces at play. This one is such a blast and I can’t recommend it enough!
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Serial Killers Guide to San Francisco was a 3 star read for me. The premise was awesome it followed the grand daughter of a serial killer who claims he’s innocent. She decides to look into the case to earn money for her daughter’s school. Then her ex mother in law dies in a similar way to her grandfathers murder MO and she tries to solve it. It felt like 2 books in one and I wish it stuck with the first premise. I didn’t care much for the mother in laws murder case and thought it was ridiculous how she “solved” who was actually the serial killer in under a minute of looking. This one has potential but fell short ultimately.
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QOTD- what are the last two books you read ?!

I found this book extremely fun. I think it falls under “cozy mystery” but I feel like there should be a new sub genre: fun mystery, or entertaining mystery? Amusing mystery? Something like that. It has a similar feel to Every Time I Go on Vacation Someone Dies. Where yes, people are being un-alived by someone, but it doesn’t have a gruesome feel, and instead of being gripped by fear, you’re just kind of chuckling along reading it.

The pace of this book is consistently fast. There’s actually two separate mysteries to be solved, so that keeps things interesting, as well. And I appreciated how the author had the main character work through her deductions, or explain how she was doing things like trying to unlock a secret panel. It just made it seem like the author really knew what she was talking about, or did her research. I loved learning about San Francisco, too. I’d love to take a Serial Killer tour out there! (Or just one in general.)

Just for keeping me so glued to this mystery, I’m rounding my rating up. If you’re looking for a fun mystery, to read or listen to, you should pick this one up!

Note on the narration: I primarily listened to this one because I had more time that way, and I thought the narrator did a great job.

4.5/5 rounded up

I really liked this book. I thought it was quirky and funny and it reminded me of the humor and tone of the Finlay Donovan books. I'm hopeful this is the beginning of a series that I'll definitely be reading. Loved this.

4.25 stars

The blurb and book description for this really caught my attention. I was excited when I got the approval notification because this story seemed intense yet overall pretty upbeat - which could be a weird combo for a mystery/thriller book.

This book ended up being more of a ~cozy mystery~ vibe and not thriller but I still enjoyed it. The characters were likable and the plot really tied together well. I like that there was resolve for both of the mystery storylines and I really did not see the ending coming! I also really appreciated the true San Francisco facts that were sprinkled in and the detail to history that the author gave throughout the story.

Overall, I really enjoyed this cozy book and would recommend to anyone wanting a light mystery read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this ARC!

Overall, this was a good book with an interesting concept, entertaining writing style, and narrator that kept me engaged. In my experience, for audiobooks the narrator makes or breaks the book - this was a fun book with an engaging narrator who took the source material and made it even more fun.

I was really looking forward to this book and I liked it at first! But it lost all of its momentum and slowed allll the way down. Honestly, I was bored for over half of the book. The twist in the story wasn't worth it, and the title feels misleading. The book is well written, but it just wasn't for me. I would describe it as the perfect cozy fall mystery, but I personally prefer more thrilling and exciting plots.

Many thanks to Michelle Chouinard, NetGalley, and Minotaur Books for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review. Expected publication date September 24, 2024.

Capri Sanzio grew up knowing her grandfather was a serial killer. She always believed in his innocence. As a result, she became fascinated with true crime, and started giving serial killer tours. When a recent murder seems like it has copied her grandfather's killer signature, Capri starts to investigate.
This was a wonderful cozy mystery that kept me guessing. I loved all of the true crime content, and I hope this the first book in series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced listener copy. I really enjoyed Stephanie Nemeth-Parkers narration of the audiobook. I highly recommend this book for fans of cozy mysteries and true crime.