ROMANCE

Love in the Time of Serial Killers

Berkley. Aug. 2022. 352p. ISBN 9780593438657. pap. $16. CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
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Phoebe Walsh has moved home to Florida to finish writing her dissertation on the true crime genre while she helps her brother clean out their childhood home. The night she arrives, a handsome, scruffy, barefoot man appears out of nowhere and offers to help move her stuff into the house—a set-up that makes Phoebe suspicious. She later learns that the guy is her new neighbor, Sam, but can’t stop obsessing—what about that plastic sheeting in his garage? Who but a serial killer would need that much plastic sheeting? Why does he come and go at such odd hours? If uber-paranoid Phoebe can drop her guard, she might have a chance at love. Or she could be murdered in her sleep. Is she willing to take that chance?
VERDICT Thompson’s (Psych Major Syndrome) contemporary romance delves into some heavy themes (grief, childhood trauma, trust), but balances them with comedic characters and situations. Phoebe is a complicated, likable character who, though extreme in her reasoning, is easy to connect with, and Sam is well developed and authentic. The fast-paced plot is alternately hilarious and touching, and readers won’t be able to put it down. True crime is an incredibly popular genre, and this book is a must-read for crossover romance fans.
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