This book was so good! I couldn’t get ahead of the twist and I swear I had it!
The idea of a group of serial killers having a support group so they can gloat and celebrate is so interesting!
Our FMC finds her self on a hunt to find who murdered her sister and her revenge but along the way will she loose her self and her morals; will she make it out alive; will the killers find the rat among them.

Beyond hooked and read in less then 24 hours I highly recommend if it sounds interesting!

3.5 stars, rounded up. This book is quick and vicious, as Cyra's obsession with finding her sister's killer, no matter the potential danger and cost, leads her straight into the company of admitted serial killers. It's both dark and thoughtful, and a great debut.

This book is dark, twisted, and disturbingly funny—like eavesdropping on a conversation you *really* shouldn’t be hearing. It lures you in with sharp wit and brutal honesty, then drags you down a rabbit hole of killers you might *almost* root for. By the end, you’ll be questioning your own morals… and double-checking your locks.

Saratoga Schaefer’s debut novel promised to be a thrilling confection of some of my favorite things: feminine rage, serial killers, justice for victims, and dark humor.

My issue is just that nothing hit as hard as I would’ve liked or hit the right spot, in my opinion.

Part of my issue stems from there being a little too much masculine in my queer feminist thriller. If I wanted to read chapters from the POV of male serial killers then I’d go and read one of the gazillion books about male serial killers. In this book they felt out of place and like filler material. They only pulled me out of the story and tripped up the pacing.


I was provided a copy of this title by the author and publisher via NeGalley. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. All reviews rated three stars or lower will not appear on my social media. Thank you.

This novel had a unusual premise, the main characters joins a support group for Serial Killers. Not a group for victims but a group of the Serial Killers themselves.


Cyra joins the group as the only female, because her sister was murdered and has been informed this looks like the work of a serial killer.
She then joins the group incognito to try to root out who was killer of her sister.

I definitely give this 5 stars for originality, I read alot of thrillers and nothing is quite like this.
However for storytelling I give this a 3. This book was going in too many directions at once.
Possible spoilers ahead...


1. Cyra spends alot of time analyzing her own thoughts on murder, her ethics and how she feels about Serial Killers. This is fine but took up alot of the story.
2. The backstroy of the Support Group needed more, more, more! While they give a brief background on how it was created this part could have had so much more detail.
3. The Serial killers themselves weren't all that interesting. Sure they had a certain type of victim they preferred but the author could have taken this much further. They had the opportunity to really blow us away with some serial killers and instead they were all kind of meh. Serial killers are usually so ritualized and have such unique methods, and this one basically had one serial killer who was just a junkie killing for drugs.
4. The support group had a set of rules and boundaries that immediately went out the window. This was very distracting. To me the interesting concept was the group itself. How it formed, how it was sustained, how did they support each other, etc? Instead very quickly the members of the group were breaking rules left and right. The excuse given was that the female entering the group threw off the balance. I'm not sure if I feel that was a very mysogynistic take. If women are too disruptive why allow one? If you do decide to allow her, why throw the whole rule book out the window?

The ending itself was not bad, it tried to be a big twist but it wasn't really unexpected.

Despite all of this I give it four stars for being very unusual. I did really appreciate the creative idea and the author going a new direction in murder books.
I recommend for something to pull you out of a book slump, but just caution that the book just doesn't live up to the potential.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I feel like this book could have been executed better. It’s really hard to suspend your beliefs about serial killers when there’s sort of an unrealistic nature to it all. It you’re able to do that, I think you’ll love this book, but sadly I wasn’t able to.

Dull, predictable, and lacking depth. While the novel is undeniably easy to read, it ultimately feels unpolished and uninspired. As a thriller, it quickly loses its appeal: the characters are flat and clichéd, failing to leave a lasting impression on either the narrative or the reader.

The only exception is the protagonist, who manages to stand out thanks to an atmosphere that highlights his presence. However, even his well-crafted portrayal isn’t enough to salvage a story that lacks tension and depth, ultimately weakening the overall engagement.

Such a fun, smooth paced, quirky storyline from Saratoga Schaefer. This story follows Cyra, who joins a serial killer support group in an attempt to find her sister’s murderer. Remember, THIS IS FICTION! This support group works a lot like an AA support group- stale snacks and all. Cyra has to convince the others that she’s not only like them, but get to know them so she can solve her sister’s case. This was a quick read for me, definitely in a category all its own. I love when a book breaks away from the mainstream tropes and brings something new to the table. Great read, fun story, 4 stars.

Thank you NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for this ARC!

This is a basic run of the mill thriller about a sister whose sister is murdered and she joins a support group trying to figure it all out. It was a pretty fun premise and that kept me entertained for the most part. Quick and easy read

There's an intriguing idea behind this thriller but also a story that requires an epic level of suspension of belief.
I mean i'm interested in serial killer like the next girl but I found a bit to hard to imagine a group of psychopath discussing their own issue and showing the pictures of their victims.
As far as I know most of them wanted to be the top in their fields and their nickname are a bit funny.
I wasn't a fan of Cyra. I found her disturbing, obsessed and over the top.
I had fun not for the right reason but I think there's potential and some edit would help.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I felt like the premise was interesting but this one just didn’t land well for me. As the book went on I got less interested in the story. It never pulled me in. 2 1/2 stars rounded uo

Ya know, I probably should've known this wasn't for me when the two books it compares itself to were books that I just did not like. The set up of this plot just starts off nonsensical and never starts making sense

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book and, I'll be honest - it took me a minute to really get into it (more of a me problem than a book problem, as it turns out) - but once I did, I couldn't put it down. Is it plausible? Heck no. But is it fun and twisty and entertaining as hell? Absolutely!

Cyra (pronounced sigh-ra) is searching for the person who murdered her little sister and is willing to go to extreme lengths to find them and make them pay. Even if that means joining a support group for serial killers (and pretending to be one herself) and putting herself in danger. Once this story got going and all the twists were revealed, I didn't want to put it down. Highly recommend for some fun, thrilling entertainment and I'm looking forward to more by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for an arc of this book!

Overall, this was a fine read and it was entertaining. Unfortunately, I agree with a lot of the other reviews stating that the character work was not the best. As other reviews have stated, the FMC has a lot of depth to her character, however, every other character is very surface level. I feel like this took away from the overall story and it left me wanting more.

That being said, this is a quick and easy read. It was a bit predictable, but entertaining nonetheless.

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****Check back soon for a full review***

I'd like to thank Netgalley, Publishing Company for an advanced copy of (insert title of book here) in exchang for an honest review.

*I received a copy of this book from NetGalley. This review is my own opinion*

I will be entirely honest, I requested this read as soon as I saw the name. It was just too good, too intriguing to pass up on. I didn't even read the description, just dove in completely blind and had a lot of fun (if that's not weird to say) reading this thriller!

Serial Killer Support Group, by Saratoga Schaefer, opens with a frustrated Cyra at the police station trying to get information about her murdered sister. Unable to get answers, Cyra decides its time to take matters into her own hands. After talking to a friend who works for the police department, Cyra learns first that her sister's death may be connected to others in a possible serial situation, and also that the police have discovered a dark web chatroom offering a support group of sorts, Cyra decides to infiltrate the group and track down her sister's killer.
I loved the idea of this support group, and the way they set themselves up. Meeting in the basement of an abandoned rec center, with the coffee and snacks and semicircle of group members, the echoes to other support groups were entertaining. Even better was the fact that although a member brings treats each week, the others (all killers by trade) are hesitant to trust the proffered goods. I get it. I was a preschool teacher, and I rarely ate the things my kids made in the classroom, and they only offered some sketchy germs and unwashed hands. I definitely would not have tried one of the deviled eggs. Such a quirky addition to this whole scenario--a serial killer bringing a platter of home cooked treats--and I loved it!
I also really enjoyed the vignettes into each killer's life that were interspersed throughout the narrative. Named after various parasites (I don't recommend looking up some of these parasites), we get a taste of their own stories and it's easy to picture the group sitting in their semi-circle listening to one of their own sharing bits of his backstory, his origin and devolution. Although it did leave me jumpy after dark for a few nights, it was a fun addition to the story.
And as for the main story, I enjoyed following Cyra as she worked to solve her sister's murder. Nicknamed Mistletoe by the group, Cyra wears her Mistletoe persona like a mask, changing her stance and her attitude to emulate her new peers. But as time passes, she starts putting on her Mistletoe mask more and more frequently and Cyra starts to struggle to return to herself. I found this aspect fascinating, watching this character navigate life with her rapidly deteriorating personal life and her increasingly troubling alter ego. It raised an interesting question of where does one draw the line, and when do the ends stop justifying the means.
The mystery itself—who actually killed Cyra's sister—was the only element for that didn't have me fully compelled, I guessed it quite quickly in the book, but I really didn't mind. It was much more interesting to follow Cyra in this dangerous dance she's taken on with the devil.
As a huge fan of shows like Criminal Minds, I found this entertaining and very readable, and would definitely recommend to fans of the genre.

Cyra infiltrates a serial killer support group to identify her sister’s killer and learns more about herself and the serial killers of New York City. Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for this gifted copy for an honest review.

80/100 or 4.0 stars

This was a fun thriller that I enjoyed quite a bit! It was a quick read too since I kept reading to see what happens! There are some things that you have to suspend your disbelief for, but it was written well enough and the plot was fast enough to help me overlook that and still have fun!

I will definitely be checking out future thriller releases from Schaefer!

Serial Killer Support Group is an adult thriller centred around grieving sister Cyra, who’s out for vengeance against the killer who took her sister from her, and it just so happens they might be part of a support group…for serial killers, and it’s not the rehabilitative kind.

The book reminds me of Sadie by Courtney Summers a lot, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it served as an inspiration for Saratoga Schaefer’s debut. After all, they’re both stories of women pushed so far to the edge they’re willing to take justice into their own hands—even if that pursuit renders them no better than the objects of their revenge. They both also leave us in suspense of the main character’s fate.

What’s more is that neither of these stories offers us a likeable protagonist. As is the case for most during the grieving process, we are introduced to someone who has been shelled, and at no point throughout the story are we given the false hope that Cyra might go on to live on greener pastures. She has no real professional ambitions, her love life is in tatters. This is a woman who has nothing left to lose. The worst version of herself is the right man for the job the police can’t do.

Or so we think (but I’ll let you figure out what I mean here when you pick up the book *wink*).

As a true crime enthusiast, I was disappointed in myself for not catching all the plot twists and revelations, but I’m sure a more attentive reader will catch on.

One critique I did have for this otherwise enjoyable and fast-paced read, is the plot-hole regarding a character’s mysterious death, which is answered less with a concrete resolution, and more a hypothesis presented as fact.

If I was to frame this book as a recommendation, i.e. who it’s target might be, I’d be inclined to say adult readers 16+ who are looking for entry-level quick thrills.

This is a book packed with a diverse cast of bad ‘uns so rotten they nickname themselves after literal parasites, and is structured as a third-person narrative that alternates every couple chapters to offer you insight into the aforementioned parasites’ lives and minds. It is a standalone, and an ideal choice for readers trying to reach their reading goals this year.

Even serial killers need a place to be themselves, it turns out. What a shame (ironic), that this is what leads Cyra straight to them in the hunt for her sister's killers. What a double shame (joyfully), that Cyra might find her own kind of release in the hunt. Serial Killer Support Group is a riot of a thriller that had me cackling happily at Schaefer's willingness to go as far as they did. Thanks to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have a deep fondness for female characters that disconnect fully from society's expectations of womanhood and femininity. In Serial Killer Support Group (SKSG), Schaefer gives us that in the figure of Cyra. To what extent Cyra is neurodivergent, somewhere on the sociopath-spectrum, or simply over it is left up to the reader, which is I think necessary for a book like this. Schaefer slowly builds up Cyra's past, which gives a more complex picture of why she is the way she is, but it doesn't deny a certain natural aspect to her coldness as well. I have read a few books which seem, desperately, to want to have a female character that is hard and cold and willing to go beyond what is generally deemed acceptable. Few books, however, are willing to go there entirely and try to set up some kind of redemption, some sort of saving grace, so that the female character remains at least a little likeable. Or, worse, it is set up as some kind of girl-bossing feminist win. SKSG, in my eyes at least, does not do this. While Cyra starts her journey for arguably good reasons, wanting to find her sister's killer, it quickly becomes clear that there are other things at play and that Cyra is not entirely honest with herself. It reminded me, in some ways, of Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl, which, Cool Girl Monologue aside, also just lets Amy be an absolute maniac and does not try to sugarcoat her.

Cyra's sister, Mira, was murdered two months ago and the police is quite simply not doing enough. All they will tell Cyra is that, potentially, she was the victim of a serial killer. After a tip from a friend, Cyra manages to infiltrate a support group for serial killers currently active in the New York area. Not that this group is meant to support them in stopping. Rather, this little club is intended as a place where these people can be themselves. Taking on a killer persona, Cyra battles between the relief she feels at not having to fake emotions and the determination to find and deal with whoever hurt her sister. SSKG is almost entirely focused upon Cyra herself, told in third person, but is occasionally interspersed with little chapters giving some insight into the killers she comes to meet. These chapters were interesting and gave a little background to these figures, but the real gold is in Cyra's journey. As I said above, I love a female character that completely drops the facade of good behaviour and good choices. Because of that, I loved how unlikeable she is at times and the utter delusions and denial she carries around with her. There is no saving Cyra from herself and I really liked that Schaefer did not feel the need to even try to do so.

This is Saratoga Schaefer's debut novel and it makes me utterly excited for what they will write next. I have gone into enough detail, I think, about how much I appreciate Schaefer's approach to Cyra, so I will let that rest for now. I also really liked how Schaefer wrote her more gruesome scenes, be they Cyra's first real exposure to the support group and its slow, gut-clenching tension, or the high-speed murder scenes we get to witness. Another element which was fun for me but might not work for all readers is that, everyone in this book is, in one way or another, deeply unlikeable, and that is not just true for the serial killers. Cyra herself is a delightfully complicated protagonist that you find yourself rooting for and fearing all at once. There is a moment early on where she crosses a boundary and I knew, from that page on, that Schaefer would go there with her character and I was trilled. Cyra's sister and her sister's friends are also people you can't help but side-eye, while the serial killers are all gross in their own ways. Also, turns out not even the serial killing industry is free of sexism. While it is absolutely necessary for the plot, it is its own kind of comment that the support group cannot seem to cope with the presence of a single female. Watching Schaefer set up her dominoes and then knock them all over was an absolute delight and I can't wait to read more by them, because I, too, support women's wrongs!

I had a great time with Serial Killer Support Group! I love reading about unlikeable and complicated women and I love a thriller that saves a few hooks but ends up delivering exactly the kind of suspense you're hoping for!