
US Publication – August 16,2022
Berkley Publishing Group
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Description
Turns out that reading nothing but true crime isn’t exactly conducive to modern dating—and one woman is going to have to learn how to give love a chance when she’s used to suspecting the worst.
PhD candidate Phoebe Walsh has always been obsessed with true crime. She’s even analyzing the genre in her dissertation—if she can manage to finish writing it. It’s hard to find the time while she spends the summer in Florida, cleaning out her childhood home, dealing with her obnoxiously good-natured younger brother, and grappling with the complicated feelings of mourning a father she hadn’t had a relationship with for years.
It doesn’t help that she’s low-key convinced that her new neighbor, Sam Dennings, is a serial killer (he may dress business casual by day, but at night he’s clearly up to something). It’s not long before Phoebe realizes that Sam might be something much scarier—a genuinely nice guy who can pierce her armor to reach her vulnerable heart.
My Thoughts
Phoebe has come back to Florida to put her deceased father’s house in order. Her younger brother Conner, who she was very close to when they were children also lives nearby. It is a chance for these adult siblings to reconnect. Phoebe though is also on a deadline to finish her dissertation on true crime, something that was an unusual obsession when she was younger is now her career path. Oh, and by the way, Phoebe sees serial killer traits in well just about everyone. Even her father’s seemingly nice and helpful neighbor Sam is not above suspicion.
Phoebe manages to insert some very important facts about killers into every single conversation. When she finds herself attracted to Sam, I’ll be honest I didn’t quite see why he liked her back. She has spent most of her life pushing people away and the glimpses of her sarcasm really made her unlikable at times. As the story progressed, I found out what made her this way, and she grew on me. Even as Sam and Phoebe get to know each other it was hard sometimes to see the attraction. I don’t know. Maybe I haven’t read enough instalove books, but things just seem to happen too fast.
Anyhow, I did appreciate how this couple just seemed like normal people. They weren’t drop-dead gorgeous or insanely lucky or wealthy just two people each with their own issues (though mostly Phoebe’s) who maybe find a way to connect and grow.
I received a DRC from Berkley Publishing Group through NetGalley.