Love Letters to a Serial Killer

I received a digital advance copy of Love Letters to a Serial Killer by Tasha Coryell via NetGalley. Love Letters to a Serial Killer is scheduled for release on June 25, 2024.

Love Letters to a Serial Killer follows Hannah, a thirty-something woman working a job she has no passion for and watching her friends build lives for themselves. In her aimless state, Hannah gets sucked into forums discussing and trying to find the person responsible for a series of murders in Georgia. When an arrest is made, Hannah begins writing the accused serial killer letters. To her surprise, he writes back, which begins a love affair that can only end in murder.

Hannah is a beautifully written mess. She is a blend of the contradictions much of our society has around serial killers. She is horrified by the murders, feels badly for the women who have lost their lives, and at the same time feels drawn to the danger and power of the man responsible. While these contradictions are taken to an extreme in Hannah, they are still believable. Around Hannah we see some of the polarized people that also appear in society. Some want the man executed, while others think a person from such a nice family can’t possibly be responsible. These characters around Hannah are less well developed, which did give the feeling that Hannah’s character was in an empty fictional world.

In regards to plot, this book is described as a mystery/thriller. I would put it on the cozier end of those genres, as I did have a strong sense of danger or tension at any point in the novel. There were two significant twists in the last half of the book, both of which I did figure out ahead of time.

Overall, Love Letters to a Serial Killer is a fun take on a serial killer story that still manages to expose societal and personal tendencies for consideration.