Love in the Time of Serial Killers

I enjoyed this book. I am a true crime junkie and had a lot of fun with the references thrown into the book about shows and non-fiction books. I loved the idea behind her PhD topic. I feel like societies exposure to true crime in all varieties totally lead to thoughts of bodies being in trash bags that you see along the road or the sketchy behaviors people may have.

Phoebe moves into her father's house after he passes away and notices the new neighbor across the street. A man about her age who seems to be doing some sketchy things in the middle of the night. When she starts to insert herself into his life in order to prove he just might be a serial killer, she realizes that her past and personal obsession with true crime may be leading her to some seriously misconstrued thoughts.

I liked the way the story shows her grief for a relationship with her father that she never really had and the struggle Phoebe has with herself when it comes to building new relationships. She's used her education as a way to keep people at arms length. I thought this was going to be a lot darker given the content warnings at the beginning but it was well done and the story ended up being really good.

I am glad I had the opportunity to read this one and will be looking into more books by Alicia Thompson!

Spice Level: 2/5 - about 3 spicy scene, light to medium description Weird, romance, family bonding. I went back and forth on 4 or 5 stars on this one. Overall, I enjoyed the read, there's just a lot happening over the course of one summer. Phoebe is a character you're probably going to dislike. She is very stand off ish, rude at points, and unfriendly. It's no wonder she is lonely and disconnected from her family and peers. That being said, she had a rough childhood. Her hyperfocus on serial killers feels like a neurodivergent trait but I'm not going to label her as that since the text does not do so. I enjoyed the way her brother approached their childhood woes, with therapy and kept an open mind for guiding his sister through hers. Their characters are true to the nature of siblings. Same parents, different childhood experiences, leading to vastly different adult personalities. All of the aspects of her brother are basically true life. lol I can totally see this crash bandicoot man bouncing around any town, living on vibes and golden retriever behavior. Sam is a shy neighbor, that left a little to be desired with his personality. But I'm choosing to believe he has a type as Phoebe's brain seems just as high risk taking as his ex girlfriends. I can def. see how him and Phoebe compliment each other, as frustrating as their story is through a lot of this book. I kept yelling, 'just talk to each other!' at the pages. haha Phoebe does have a full arc coming to Jesus moment with her self and what is important in life, so that def. redeems her core personality being similar to sand paper. Overall, it's a journey, and has a lovely ending. You'll love this book if you enjoy emotional growth journey with a pinch of insta-love mixed with family drama.

felt like a terrible, middle school aged self insert. the book fails to address anything about true crime and the downfalls of the community, such as how it affects survivors and victims families. as a criminal justice major it was horrendous to see how obsessive the main character was about the wrong things. i hated all the slang and pop culture references - the sibling dynamic was the worst of it. i have never written a review before but felt like i had to warn others of this book.

This was a fun read overall. The main character, Phoebe, was a bit… much. She’s written too “I’m so closed off” “I’m so unlovable” that it makes it hard to read at times. The idea of a PhD candidate writing her dissertation on the inner workings of true crime genre of literature was an interesting idea but the constant references to movies and pop culture really gave a “trying too hard to be cool” vibe and was sometimes too much and would throw off the whole scene. All together it was funny and the right amount of steam. If you’re looking for a good beach read with some true crime sprinkled through, you might like this.

Cute book! Did move slow at times, but as a true crime girlie I enjoyed the references! Definitely more romantic than I anticipated!