If you’re in the mood for a psychological thriller with a dry, witty tone, then Love Letters to a Serial Killer by Tasha Coryell could be a great one for you. It has summer read stamped all over it with its fast pace and enticing premise. As you may have guessed from the title, Love Letters to a Serial Killer is written from the POV of the woman who sends those letters.
Opening sentence: I didn’t plan to fall in love with an accused serial killer.
Obsessed with a monster
Hannah is our narrator and the aforementioned woman. She lives in Minnesota and works in a job she hates, has a dwindling friendship circle and isn’t wildly happy in life. When three women from the area are found strangled and left in a ravine, she finds herself drawn to the prospect of a local serial killer.
Before I joined the forum, I would’ve said that I consumed true crime as much as any other ordinary American woman, which was to say quite a bit.
At first Hannah’s interest is all outrage and on the side of the victims. However, once she starts writing to William Thompson – lawyer and accused serial killer – she is shockingly quickly, in my opinion, drawn into his side of the story. She attends his trial and the outcome isn’t the one anyone, including her, was expecting…
Discovering an active serial killer was like discovering a monster in the closet; something that generated mass fear and paranoia despite the rarity of their existence.
Who is Hannah?
I have to say, I found it hard to understand Hannah as a character. She’s drawn to William both out of lack of options in her own life and, it seems, out of a pure fascination with a man who could commit such terrible crimes. She wants William to hurt her and is absolutely drawn to the idea that he could kill her.
I was always misreading the things that men wanted from me.
William is crafted with charisma – the hallmark of any good serial killer you could argue – Ted Bundy is actually referenced in Love Letters to a Serial Killer – the ultimate, most hideous serial killer of them all.
While I did read this book really quickly and it kept me hooked, the more I thought about it, the more the pieces of Hannah’s actions didn’t quite do it for me. And although I enjoyed the slightly sinister note it ended on, I just thought her character’s actions were too unrealistic for me to feel invested in.
That’s just my opinion though, if you’ve read Love Letters to a Serial Killer, I’d love to know your thoughts!
- Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC;
- Get your copy of Love Letters to a Serial Killer here;
- Published by Orion 4th July 2024;
- 320 pages;
- Book review rating:
Books on the 7:47 
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