S. F. Prescott

Suspenseful and twisty!

Tasha Coryell lives in St. Paul, Minnesota with her husband, son, and greyhound. She holds an MFA and PhD from the University of Alabama. Her stories, essays, and poems have been featured in a multitude of journals, and Love Letters to a Serial Killer is her first novel. In her free time, Tasha can be found running, cross-stitching, and watching copious amounts of television.

Publishing June 25th, 2024.

When I read the premise of this book I was intrigued. After watching numerous documentaries covering the trials and crimes of notorious serial killers such as Bundy, Ramirez, Dahmer, I’ve always been curious about the women and men who romanticize them. What would cause these people to become so desperate and/or willfully ignorant toward such a dangerous individual? And Tasha Coryell provides a glimpse into the psyche of a woman who does just that. Hannah, the protagonist, wavers on the razor’s edge of obsessive groupie and armchair detective when she becomes infatuated with accused serial killer, William.

The author does an awesome job at creating suspense by jumping back and forth in time occasionally, providing the reader a glimpse of Hannah in imminent danger. I enjoyed the novel’s structure, allowing the twists to flow, however found Hannah difficult to understand given her odd choices. She’s not so much unlikeable as she is (in my mind) insane for traveling across the country to seduce a man who’s been accused of violently killing four women. Her fantasies of being killed by him during intimate moments were difficult to understand, as were the choices she made to befriend his family during the trial.

I found the characters interesting, especially William’s wealthy family and the strained relationship he had with his brother. The twists were believable and I was gripped until the last page. I didn’t resonate with any of the characters in this novel, but that didn’t take any enjoyment away from the overall story. The ending was insane, but not completely out of character for Hannah, clearing up the questions surrounding her mental state. Her odd attraction to violence and quest for meaning in life were answered.

For readers who enjoy unexpected twists, female protagonists, and complicated relationships.

Synopsis:

Recently ghosted and sick of watching her friends fade into the suburbs, thirty-something Hannah finds community in a true-crime forum that’s on a mission to solve the murders of four women in Atlanta. After William, a handsome lawyer, is arrested for the killings, Hannah begins writing him letters. It’s the perfect outlet for her pent-up frustration and rage. The exercise empowers her, and even feels healthy at first.

Until William writes back.

Hannah’s interest in the case goes from curiosity to obsession, leaving space for nothing else as her life implodes around her. After she loses her job, she heads to Georgia to attend the trial and befriends other true-crime junkies like herself. When a fifth woman is discovered murdered, the jury has no choice but to find William not guilty, and Hannah is the first person he calls upon his release. The two of them quickly fall into a routine of domestic bliss.

Well, as blissful as one can feel while secretly investigating their partner for serial murder…