2023 Re-Read: I reread this one for an upcoming book discussion and this is still just an enjoyable! 

Thank you to Penguin Random House for an advance audio copy of this book along with my local Barnes putting it out on the floor early! 

This book will be published tomorrow, August 16th.

I had no intention of purchasing and then reading this book in 3 days but it happened. 
I absolutely devoured it! 

I wasn't sure what I was in for as I am pretty bad with reading synopsis/description of books so I really went into this blind. But after attending an instagram live where 4 debut authors discussed their upcoming debut books, I thought let's check it out. 

I am not a fan of true crime and honestly it scares me because its real life. I think I am the exception as most women in their 30s love all things true crime (tv shows, docs, podcasts).  I was pleasantly surprised that this book was mostly a rom com then a romance thriller which honestly is what I thought it was going to be. 

Phoebe is in the homestretch of the doctorate program and actively working on her dissertation on what else true crime. Phoebe returns to her former hometown to help clean out of her late father's home and because she is in such a true crime mindset, she starts to suspect that the neighbor, Sam, is possibly a serial killer!  Phoebe learns more about this mystery neighbor throughout the summer and begins to fall for him though she tried to resist. She knows that she is not staying in Florida once her dad's house is cleaned out and doesn't want to make leaving harder. 

Phoebe's relationship with her brother was such an added surprise. I honestly loved when there were scenes with them together because of their playful banter and you could really tell how much Conner loved his sister. And actually I did send a text to my brother the part about the severed head from Wayne's World as that was frequently quoted in our household. 

OH another thing that had me cracking up was all the different pop culture references and you could definitely tell an millennial wrote this which I really appreciated it. I mean how often do you find a specific call out to Gerard Way's hair in "Helena" - swoon! 

The audio was also well done and thought the narrator did a great job! 

If you're a fan of true crime, pop culture jokes, romance, brother/sister dynamic, check this out. 

I am looking forward to what's to come from Alicia!