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purplepenning 's review for:
Love in the Time of Serial Killers
by Alicia Thompson
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
You don't have to be a true crime fan (I am not) to enjoy this story of a PhD student who sees more potential for violent crime than for love in just about any scenario. It's smart and funny and feels uniquely contemporary and populated with realistic people. Perfect for fans of Beach Read. (If I were a true crime fan — and if I had gotten a few more of the pop culture references — I could've rated this even higher.)
Phoebe is spending the summer prepping her father's house to sell while she finishes her dissertation and avoids the complicated feelings of grief and disconnect she's experiencing from his death and from being back in her childhood home. Immersed in the subject of her dissertation, true crime as a genre, she's seeing the threat of crime everywhere — even in Sam, her neighbor for the summer and, by all appearances, the nicest guy to ever nice. Suspicious. But even if he isn't a murderer who has thus far evaded detection, and even if being around her brother and childhood best friend again has her feeling a little more open to human connection, it's not a good idea to pursue anything with an allegedly nice, undeniably attractive neighbor right now. It's the summer of nailing the dissertation and defense. The summer of tying up any loose ties from her childhood. It's decidedly not the summer of Sam. (It is, of course, the summer of Sam. But not in a serial killer way. Pretty sure.)
Phoebe is just the kind of smart-awkward-wounded main character I immediately enjoy — from her writing struggles to her dry humor to her unexcavated childhood trauma and her routine realizations and subsequent mortification that the answer to AITA (of Reddit fame: "Am I the Assh*le?") is far too often "yes." In spite of all of that, she shows up, she adults up, she does the work. Did I spend much of the book wanting her to get the number of a great therapist? Yes. But that didn't distract me from enjoying this summer journey with her. And I was super pleased to see that it included growth in relationships other than romantic ones.
Phoebe is spending the summer prepping her father's house to sell while she finishes her dissertation and avoids the complicated feelings of grief and disconnect she's experiencing from his death and from being back in her childhood home. Immersed in the subject of her dissertation, true crime as a genre, she's seeing the threat of crime everywhere — even in Sam, her neighbor for the summer and, by all appearances, the nicest guy to ever nice. Suspicious. But even if he isn't a murderer who has thus far evaded detection, and even if being around her brother and childhood best friend again has her feeling a little more open to human connection, it's not a good idea to pursue anything with an allegedly nice, undeniably attractive neighbor right now. It's the summer of nailing the dissertation and defense. The summer of tying up any loose ties from her childhood. It's decidedly not the summer of Sam. (It is, of course, the summer of Sam. But not in a serial killer way. Pretty sure.)
Phoebe is just the kind of smart-awkward-wounded main character I immediately enjoy — from her writing struggles to her dry humor to her unexcavated childhood trauma and her routine realizations and subsequent mortification that the answer to AITA (of Reddit fame: "Am I the Assh*le?") is far too often "yes." In spite of all of that, she shows up, she adults up, she does the work. Did I spend much of the book wanting her to get the number of a great therapist? Yes. But that didn't distract me from enjoying this summer journey with her. And I was super pleased to see that it included growth in relationships other than romantic ones.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Medical content
From the author's note: "This story contains some themes of grief, memories of a neglected/emotionally abusive childhood, and past suicidal ideation. While there are many true crime references throughout, there is no on-the-page violence or active killer in this book."