finished reading

The catchy title and premise of this book hooked me; unfortunately, the lopsided nature of the story left me hanging.  I liked Phoebe's work on her dissertation about the cultural aspects of serial killer stories.  That left room for numerous interesting references to both the dissertation process and serial killer lore.  I liked the relationships between Phoebe and her brother, her childhood best friend, and her soon-to-be-sister-in-law.  I loved Sam as the main male character--I mean, who doesn't love a shy, nerdy, elementary music teacher!  So with all of these pieces that I liked, the book was lopsided--focusing too much on Phoebe's stalled journey through her parents' divorce.  I thought the cat took away from the story.

From the publisher:

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.